coffee clicks

Hey, it’s been a while since I did one of these! Dropping by with your list of assigned reading for the weekend, the best of what’s around the internet from the week we’re closing out, plus some lighter fare to lead you into leisure time:

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First up, this rare gem from Cardinal Sarah responding to Jesuit Fr. James Martin. Not rare because of it’s content, for the man is a holy genius, and if you haven’t partaken of “God Alone” or “The Power of Silence,” get thee to Barnes and Noble, but because he keeps a notoriously low profile and op-eds aren’t his jam. But this one is worth reading and reading carefully and prayerfully.

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Next up, this fascinating and brief biography of a female Catholic novelist from the 20th century whose work I’d never heard of, and whose books don’t show up at all in my library system. Could she be the next big thing? (Well, posthumously, anyhow.)

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You’ve probably seen something on the news about the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate map” (thanks, CNN) purporting to identify extremist hate groups in an effort to build a more civil and just society shout down people they disagree with and have them branded as bigots (and thus rendered anathema in polite company.) Love those dirty political machinations. Worth a good, careful read.

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Have you read the recently released “Nashville Statement” of collectively held beliefs signed by dozens of well known Evangelical leaders and theologians? It is “largely consonant with Catholic thought” according to at least one Catholic ethicist, and I tend to agree, with a few reservations. Namely, that the failure to identify contraception as a major piece of the puzzle of what has radically reshaped human sexuality in the 21st century seems foolish at best and willfully ignorant at worst. Still, the statement contains echoes of JPII’s Theology of the Body and while it doesn’t go far enough, I pray it becomes a good jumping off point for further study and examination.

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I’ll hit the 5 month mark shortly on my breakup with technology. Well, sort of. In case you missed it, here’s my recap of life with a dumber phone and the ways I’m still struggling to moderate social media usage and manage my constant hunger for connectivity and entertainment.

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Porn is lame:

Moore (the Kansas City Royal’s GM) expressed hope that team formation program might focus on the development of players beyond the early years of their careers, into the “next part of their journey – what type of husbands [and] what types of fathers [the players may become].”

He also linked pornography to the damage it has on family life and other relationships, saying that it can lead to the domestic “abuse of women.”

How ’bout dat?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Originally I thought this might be a weekly thing, but I kind of like the randomness of dropping it on you guys here and there. So, this week’s edition brought to you by one grumpy post-op 4 year old (ear tubes in, adenoids out), a hotter than hell mid July in the Mile High city, and the general malaise of late-but-not-yet-late-enough-to-be-excited pregnancy.

All the excuses, be mine.

1. I found this piece really consoling and convicting and, oddly, hopeful. It’s about how pride really is the deadliest sin and it lists out some subtle ways it can manifest.

2. I know you’re sick of hearing the rants about Planned Parenthood, but I feel a moral obligation to keep the indignation stoked, at least in my own apathetic heart. Here’s Cici Richard’s best efforts at the nopology, basically excusing the good doctor captured munching kale and talking fetal dismemberment for using “inappropriate” language. Also, gush gush gush, lie, redirect, and finally, “we do mammograms, you know” (no, they don’t.)

3. In other words? #sorrynotsorry. And nobody is surprised.

4. I always love reading Grace’s birth stories, but this one takes the cake if only because she handily included a template which I can print off and laminate for my own delivery-room comfort. Oddly enough, I found myself googling “drug-free births after epidurals” for a good hour yesterday afternoon, either because I’m crazy or I’m fearing a precipitous 4th delivery. Option a is much more likely than option b, especially given my track record of 19 hours, 12 hours, 28 hours. I might as well resign myself to the lucky chronological lottery (aka Divine Providence) that landed me smack in the 21st century, since I fancy myself a likely candidate for death-by-childbirth. Drugs it is.

5. This little boy was a real man. God, have mercy.

Taking an early weekend here to baby moon while a. I’m still at the not-quite-sleeping-in-the-recliner stage of pregnancy so hotel bed = bliss and b. my college-aged sisters are around to toss a baby or 3 to for the night. So we’re trotting out in high style for 24 hours of downtown Denver luxury and I’m giving you a web-wide roundup a whole day early. Party hats and fireworks.

Speaking of baby mooning and leaving kids behind in general, I tend (vvvvvery much to my surprise) to be somewhat of an anxious mother traveler. So every time we’ve left any arrangement of the children behind, I tend to vacillate between remote helicopter parenting via text message and actual panic attacks in the hotel room. So we’ve hit on the perfect and budget-friendly solution: the in-town stay cation. We get a full night’s sleep in pitch dark, climate controlled luxury, and my neurosis is inexplicably laid to rest by my immediate proximity (within 30 minutes or so) to the children.

Crazy doesn’t even begin to cover it. But hey! No airport security.

This week felt like it was all about con.tro.versy on the internet, but I found some super interesting related content for y’all’s clicking pleasure. And there was some uplifting stuff in there, too. Here’s what I’ve rounded up:

1. Dan Burke over at the Register does a bang up job explaining with humility and great charity why it is so essential to be docile to the Holy Spirit’s movement within the Church and to always, always “be more attached to the work of God Himself,” whether or not He has in fact worked through brokenness or outright evil to reach you. Because He’s God, and He can totally do that.

2. I’m loving everything Jen Fitz is writing lately, and wondering why I’ve not heard much of her until now. Clear, concise, and convicting. My favorite trifecta. (Fr. Robert Barron has a really excellent piece on Laudauto Si, too. Bonus click for you.)

3. I sobbed – ugly tears – while I watched this kickstarter vid. I’m betting my next 3 visits to Starbucks you will, too.

4. My minivan, formerly a source of mild humiliation and unusual smells, can now boast an impressive curated collection on par with an Ivy League institution. Ahem. It was intentional, I’m sure.

5. I’m really thankful to Brianna for saying what she did about racism, about the reality of living a life of white privilege in a privileged and white part of the United States, and how perhaps the most troubling thing to come in the aftermath of the mass murders in Charleston has been the … silence. Just, silence. Because people don’t know what to say? Because it’s too politically charged? Because there’s too much else that’s evil in the world to distract us? I’m glad I got distracted by her piece earlier today.

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest. Seriously. We’re on day 4 of a solid week of forecasted rain, thunder storms, and then (oh joy) snow on Sunday, and it’s so lush and green (and humid!!!!!!!) outside that my dry, cracked Colorado heart can hardly stand it. And I don’t mean that in an endearing way.

Still, it’s good for fire season, or the hopeful lack thereof.

I have some super interesting stuff for you guys to feast your brains on today, but first can I just share a little thriftstore victory with you?

This wall above our bed has been nekkid (or decorated well beneath Lord David’s tastes. RIP gold stick on 3D Target flower decals) for the past 18 + months we’ve lived in this house, and I’m soooooooo happy to have something I really love filling that space at long last. And the best part? Under $6 at my fav local thrift store. All the heart eye’d emojis for Littleton Saver’s 4ever.

1. This first piece answers a burning (and maybe politically incorrect?) question I’ve long wanted to ask but never quite been able to find the polite phrasing. (Though my mom’s usual nail tech is actually a Vietnamese man who rescued an incredible number of fellow refugees from a boat wreck off the coast in their escape attempt and lived to tell the tale. He’s amazing.) But isn’t this so cool?

2. This one is kind of gross, and science-y…but Dave and I both read it and were positively enthralled (and kind of disgusted). I think you’ll feel similarly. Especially about his eye changing from blue to green. (Shiver.)

3. Maybe this will break your heart, and maybe it should. All the prayers for the consolation of beautiful Madison’s family, and a sobering gut check for the rest of us on the dangerous discrepancy that can exist between the real world and the world we edit/filter/share on social media. Rest in peace, and may her story inspire courage and compassion for other victims of depression and anxiety who struggle with suicidal urges. It’s never, ever too late to ask for help. (And it’s never too late to reach out to someone and act on that uneasy feeling in your gut, either.) Until it is.

4. Is there anything more hilarious than a left leaning human of the masculine persuasion trying to dissect the Catholic Church’s “oppression” of women from the female perspective? Nope, didn’t think so. Brilliant job, Mary.

5. Katrina nailed this one down tight. I sometimes struggle with the balance of portraying the realness of NFP with the heartbreaking beauty of it. She cuts right to the heart of the matter, and does it much more gently than I usually manage.

I hope you have yourselves a fabulous weekend, friends. And I hope you are able to offer the mama in your life (I’m talking to you, guys) what she’s really hoping for this Mother’s Day: unconditional love.