I am celebrating Labor Day (and my upcoming 40th birthday) by taking a week off blogging. Grad school is absolutely wonderful and requires quite a bit more effort than the "real world," especially as I work to get my health back to 100%. While I reserve the right to break my own embargo, I hope to refrain from posting again until next weekend.
Many thanks again, as always, to those of you who have prayed for me. The experience I had the day I began this new stage of my life, with its sense of certainty that I was where I was supposed to be at that moment, gave me great joy. As a commenter wrote, it truly is the best feeling.
I am also beginning to feel inspired to do in-depth writing (as opposed to blogging or simple news reporting) for the first time since composing "Eve of Deconstruction: Feminism and John Paul II" some months ago. If the inspiration continues, I may extend the blogging hiatus to see how far it takes me—whether it leads to another magazine article, a book, or a paper for school. And if it only does lead to a school paper and nothing "saleable," something inside me feels that—as much as this newly full-time student could use some extra writing income—it will be more than worth it.
The most fascinating piece of writing I have read during the past month, other than assigned reading (Father Aidan Nichols O.P. rocks my world)
, is the "Freedom from Adam's Sin" chapter of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger's Daughter Zion. It made me revisit a piece I had previously read, St. Maximilian Kolbe's final essay, "The Immaculate Conception—Who Are You?" (available in The Kolbe Reader), and find it alive with new meaning. Together, those works, as well as the Pius X encyclical I read earlier (and now need to reread) answered many questions I had about the Immaculate Conception, opening up exciting vistas. One day, I hope to have the theological grounding to explore those vistas in my own writings. But first, I need to buy the Blackfriars Summa ...
Commenters, your civility during my absence is greatly appreciated, as always. While I will try to resist commenting myself, I will spy in from time to time to keep the peace.
