Thank you St. Joseph of Cupertino and St. Thomas Aquinas!

I'm in shock, but BEYOND ecstatic! Ladies and gentlemen... I've passed my Oceanography midterm exam! Yes, seriously! I was 2 points from an A as well. I'm truly shocked! I didn't think I would pass the exam because I was so out of it and I didn't even finish the essays because I was so stressed out. But I passed. Thank you, Prof. Dewart! And, a big, huge special thank you to St. Joseph of Cupertino (patron saint of exams/test takers) and St. Thomas Aquinas (patron saint of students). I asked for their intercessions. Really, I asked for at least a low C but they completely came through for me. My confidence just shot through the roof! I was honestly dreading not passing my Oceanography class (which would be a first for me; I'm sort of a nerd, lol) because it's the most intense but I'm so confident that I'll pass it now! :D I feel like doing a cartwheel but I still kind of crummy from the second cold (yes, it's officially the second one) so I'll wait until I get better to celebrate. :D

Oh, and I wanted to share the prayers I said to both saints in case any of you want to use them in the future for your studies and exams.

St. Joseph of Cupertino
O St. Joseph of Cupertino who by your prayer obtained from God to be asked at your examination, the only preposition you knew. Grant that I may like you succeed in the (here mention the name of Examination eg. History paper I ) examination.
In return I promise to make you known and cause you to be invoked.
O St. Joseph of Cupertino pray for me
O Holy Ghost enlighten me
Our Lady of Good Studies pray for me
Sacred Head of Jesus, Seat of divine wisdom, enlighten me.

St. Thomas Aquinas
Creator of all things,
true source of light and wisdom,
origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of your light penetrate
the darkness of my understanding.
Take from me the double darkness
in which I have been born,
an obscurity of sin and ignorance.
Give me a keen understanding,
a retentive memory, and
the ability to grasp things
correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent
of being exact in my explanations
and the ability to express myself
with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning,
direct the progress,
and help in the completion.
I ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Alright, I have a World's Great Religions assignment to finish... then finish this week's Oceanography assignment... then work on the English Lit critical analysis of "Wife of Bath" by Chaucer... etc. Yes, more school craziness for me. Hopefully next blog I'll be able to share this beautiful dream I had where that involved a golden crucifix I found. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D

P.S. Oh, also a big thank you to St. Therese of Lisieux as well. I had a very bad morning yesterday (health wise) and I prayed for her intercession -- ended up falling asleep and woke up so much better. Have I mentioned how much I love her and her story? That will also be coming up soon. :D
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Proud to be Catholic When No One Else Speaks Up.

I got back from my British Literature class a little while ago. We're starting to dive into some of the stories that are part of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (I can already imagine some of you rolling your eyes, lol). Well, before we really dove into it the general prologue, she asked how many of us were Roman Catholics. Take a wild guess at who was the only one who raised their hand without hesitation. Yup, I was the only one. I spoke up too. I said "I'm Roman Catholic... and I'm proud!" I even pumped my fist up in the air for emphasis. lol. No one else spoke up. Well, no, the guy who sits next to me said he was born Catholic but I guess is a lapsed Catholic. If any of you read one of the last entries in August about when I was in the History of Religions class, the first day back, you'll remember I was the only one who spoke up and said "I'm Roman Catholic." (Side note: I also did the Sign of the Cross with my Rosary and kissed the Crucifix on it, out in the open, right before I entered the classroom).

All of that got me thinking... why are some young Catholics either ashamed of being Catholic or why do they just not acknowledge it? I know, personally, I used to hesitate to say that I was Catholic because of negative connotations that word has, especially in today's society. I just didn't want to deal with all the "stupid questions" (this is my mind frame at the time; I was away from the Church at this time) people wanted to ask so I just said I was Catholic and just stayed quiet. Now, since I no longer care what other people think and because I'm a stronger (spiritually) Catholic, I speak up. I acknowledge that I'm Catholic, and I always say that I'm proud because I am.

It makes me sad that I used to be one of those people who were silently Catholic amongst the masses. It makes me even sadder that there are still A LOT of young people who are that way. It's like you're denying the Lord, in a sense, because you're afraid to speak up and say that you believe in Him. Guess what... no one's gonna make you feel like crumbs if you speak up. No one's made me feel bad about being Catholic. Maybe it's because I live in such a diverse city (Los Angeles) and thus everyone's a little more open-minded. Maybe it's because people are much nicer than others believe. Or maybe I've just been lucky. I don't know. All I know is that it's not going to hurt to speak up once in a while. On the contrary, it'll make you feel spiritually stronger and you can bet you'll earn points with God because it's showing your love for Him and for your faith. :D

I believe that's all I'm going to write for now... and quite possibly for a few days. I'm still getting over my cold so my nauseousness is still present. Yuck. I'm also a week behind schedule so I'm going to play catch up (especially with my British Lit and Oceanography classes). Hope everyone is having a good week. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God bless. :D
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