Classes; More Pictures from the Mission; Soccer and Catholicism.

My apologies for taking a while to write another blog. Life has been that busy for me. I've even put my writing on hold for a few weeks but I am determined to get back to it today (as well as finishing St. Teresa of Avila's autobiography -- which I still haven't finished) because I start classes in about a month and I won't have much time after that.

Oh, and about that, I really lucked out and was able to return to a school I loved to finish my first degree (which I'll be done with next summer, whoo!). Just to give you an idea of how much school is going to take up my time -- I have History of Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Images of Women in Literature, and Environmental Biology courses. Translation: I will have A LOT of reading and writing to do for 3 and a half months. All I want is to make it through the semester alive. Seriously, that's all I want. I want to be able to make it through without having major issues with my anxiety or health (this is the first time in a while that I'll have to attend my courses in classrooms) and without being completely burnt out. Prayers to St. Dymphna and St. Thomas Aquinas will be said on a nightly basis. Anywho, I am not going to stress myself out with the thought of how much I am going to suffer (haha) by changing topics into a more pleasant one.

Mom and I went back to the San Fernando Mission last Sunday. It was A LOT more crowded than expected but it was still lovely to walk around and relax. We even got to rest on a bench in the Bob Hope Memorial Garden. It was a hot day so to sit under the shade, with flowers and roses surrounding us, feeling the cool breeze come in, smelling the fragrance of the flowers as the breeze swept by... it was very lovely. I took more pictures that I wasn't able to take the previous time (because I'd run out of room on the memory card) but was able to take this time around. So, without further ado, the pictures from the latest trip to the Mission:


Picture of Pope John Paul II (obviously not taken by me) from his visit in 1987; A sign explaining the picture; A letter showing that the Pope did in fact come to L.A. when I was a baby (therefore I remember zip!).


A paint of the Madonna and Child Jesus that's inside the Convento (convent).


Angels at the beginning of a path that leads from the Convento to the side of the West Garden.


The path leads to the West Garden with a view of the Old Mission Church (tall building) and the building where workshops were set to show what life was back in the day.


Candles inside the old Mission church. You press the top button and it lights up. You can't shut it off, though. It'll do it itself. I tried. lol.


A smaller fountain hidden, near the entrance of the Bob Hope Memorial Garden.


A river/waterfall/creek thing inside the Bob Hope memorial garden. I'm a city girl, sue me. lol. It's so NICE in there.


Statue of Blessed Juniper Serra, the founder of the California Missions, with an native child; The plaque below the statue.

I hope y'all have enjoyed the pictures. Sorry, I go "tag happy" because I don't like other people taking credit (or not giving credit) when they take the pictures.

I have A LOT to do today, but before I go I just want to say how HAPPY I am to keep finding little connections between soccer and Catholicism. As I mentioned in the previous entry, I just found out (a week ago-ish) that a professional soccer player decided to quit his team to become a Catholic priest. How awesome is that?! Chase Hilgenbrinck played for the New England Revolution (and I am almost positive that I got to watch the final game he played with them) but, as stated in the Catholic News Agency website, he explained: "After years of discernment, I feel strongly that the Lord has called me to become a priest in the Catholic Church. Playing professional soccer has been my passion for a long time and I feel blessed to have successfully lived out this dream. My passion now is to do the will of God, which is wanting only what He wants for me. Though I will miss the game of soccer, I know that I am moving on to something much greater." You can read more about his story here (Soccer pro retires to pursue Catholic priesthood). Chase is truly an inspiration and I wish him nothing but the best. And all of this reminds me of Eddie Gaven, of the Columbus Crew (the other MLS team I love), and the rest of the members of Catholic Athletes for Christ. Though their vocation isn't the priesthood or other religious order, they still inspire other young, Catholic athletes not to be ashamed of their faith because, as sad as it is, it's becoming increasingly "uncool" to talk about your faith with friends as you're growing up. I say that anything negative anyone has to say about me regard my religion means bupkis to me. (And bupkis is a Yiddish term for "nothing") lol. In fact, I'm gonna be proud to say that I'm a Religious Studies major when I go back to school next month. So there. lol.

Alright, well, I've written a lot. Sorry. lol. I am going to go write, and read, and just relax and make the most of what is left of my summer vacation. Hopefully no more heavy weeks because I have a month left of freedom and I want that freedom to last me because I won't have any for months. *groan* lol.

'Til next time, thanks for reading and God Bless.
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