I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

Hate to break it to you, guys, but saying “You look pretty today” loses its effect when you say it EVERY DAY… it’s like dude, i’m in sweat pants.

I’m not bragging about my looks, I’m just making sure God gets enough credit for his beautiful creation.

     effectively, putting my opinion out here does nothing for the cause, but there are some things that I feel the need to say in any case.

     At Life Teen this past Sunday, our group leader talked to us about not being “cafeteria Catholics.” Essentially, not picking and choosing what of the catechism to believe, and going only with that. There aren’t supposed to be disagreements with Catholicism, really. We only have one denomination for a reason; if you disagree, it’s basically go be Protestant.

     But I DON’T disagree, per se, with the teachings alluded to by the title there^. The best way to introduce my opinion effectively would probably be to relay the best possible example of how I see it.. so in the news, maybe a year, year and a half ago, there was a Catholic priest in some European country, I don’t remember which, who refused communion to a man because he was openly gay. When asked about it, the priest simply said that it was because the man lived a life of sin. The gay man in response told the press, “I don’t mind that he refused me communion because I am a sinner, but if that’s the case, let him refuse communion to all other sinners as well.” So let’s assume, for now, the highly debatable statement that homosexuality is, in and of itself, a sin. Just for the sake of keeping the point I’m attempting to make simple, because whether it is would be another entire post’s worth of ranting, and because in all other respects I have little to question about my religion, so I’m going with what its text has to say. (As a side note, though, it’s hard for me to think of a state of being as sinful.) From the point of view of a practicing, perfectly content Catholic.. God gave us free will, right? He doesn’t prohibit our actions, just asks that we live our lives in accordance with His will. At the same time, we’re implored not to make judgments on the actions of others. Our job is to do the very best that we can, and yes, to bring others to Him, but we’re in no way told to force anyone from their “evil” ways. As far as the law is concerned, we can’t really make it illegal to sin. Granted, there are some things that are both considered sinful and against the law, like killing and stealing, but those are only those that are significantly detrimental to society. Lying, sex outside of marriage, etc. are not against the law because while yes, society WOULD function better without them, the people affected by such actions are only those directly involved in them and the consequences don’t tend to be fiscal or physical, but rather mental or emotional, which are touchy subjects in a court of law. So granting Catholicism the right to call homosexuality a sin (hey, it’s their dogma), what is it that makes gay marriage detrimental to society? In fact, does it even have a negative consequence at all? Less so than do lying or adultery, in any case. Who are we to judge and say the by keeping their marriage illegal, we’re keeping them from sinning? If God himself gave man the right to free will, what makes us think we can take that away from anyone, and why gay people more so than straight people? Marriage, as a religious institution, can be one man and one woman.. but nowadays, it’s a lot more than a religious institution. It’s a legal institution. There are rights involved, and they’re rights EVERYONE deserves, gay or straight, “sinful” or not. If you really think of homosexuality as a sin, all that you’re called to do is not act in that way for yourself. 

     Abortion’s a lot harder of a subject because yes, I do think of it as a sin. It really is the taking of a life, and for that to be legal is much harder to justify. But it’s along the same lines.. if you’re like me, and you so strongly don’t believe in it, don’t do it. Don’t do anything in support of it. But it’s the idea, still, of trying to make that which is sinful, illegal. Much as so many religious people could find ways to argue, a teenage girl getting an abortion is NOT hurtful to society. It’s hurtful to the girl, yes. It’s hurtful to the soul inside her. But the girl has free will, and arguably in the long run will do better from a social standpoint, if not emotionally. And also arguably, the law is there to protect the smoothness of how society runs, not everyone’s emotional well-being. I don’t personally believe in abortion; I’d never get one, and if every baby ever conceived could be born and given for adoption, I wish they ALL could. But at the same time, I don’t believe it’s anyone’s place to keep others for deciding for themselves. 

Sometimes said person actually WANTS to be friends. blahblahblahblah this is an overdramatic girly post. but some people are like, Oh, that’s a cliche, they just want to break it to me easy and I disagree! you know? I mean does it REALLY ever hurt to be good friends with someone, ever? 

alright, i’m getting off my soapbox now. 

insomnia’s usually kind of my thing. it’s weird.

it’s monday.

That sound good? I’m so NOT feeling this whole “cold weather” thing. >.>

thieving—magpie:

i was raised by parents one way.

and by society another.

mash up those two things together and you get what i believe in.

i’m not always sure where to draw the line sometimes.

however, i know it’s always better to love than hate.