I'm on Black Catholic Messenger Again

 Yours truly has some new-new at Black Catholic Messenger. Check it out here:

https://www.blackcatholicmessenger.com/africa-and-the-early-church-review/

Honesty Hour, or the Struggle of Originality

Your humble blogger wants to be honest for a moment. It's been a struggle to come up with original content. Writer's block has been plaguing me-especially given one of my goals with this blog has been to not to be just a rehash of ideas that have already been around (and expressed by more brilliant minds). In the struggle, though, the thought came to mind of something I've alluded to in past posts. Sometimes some things are worth reiterating, because they're great ideas, and the more the good is reiterated, the more it gets ingrained. Having a good thing ingrained is, well, a good thing, right?

Best,

Msranadee 

Faith as History

The Lenten reflection book your humble blogger has been perusing for the season had a passage from Pope Francis for yesterday that hit like a ton of bricks- "Faith becomes history ". It had me thinking, and it made sense. What we put faith in shapes our history-individually and collectively. It could be our faith in people, money, ideas, or a higher power that forms the path on which we live our lives. And so, the question is posed to you, dear reader: What have you put faith in that became your history?

Works cited 

Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Lenten Reflections With Pope Francis. New York. NY 2023.

To Gamma Phi Delta on Founders ' Day

 She dons pink and blue

Feet shod in peace and harmony 

Holding fast to the path

Laid by the 13 pearls

That set forth the foundation 

Of refinement and culture 

That is 

G A M M A

Why the Excitement for "Bloody Hell"



 Your humble blogger just saw on Twitter that a movie about a variation in sex development will have a premiere at SXSW and is beyond excited. Bloody Hell, written, directed and co-executive produced by Molly McGlynn, according to the SXSW website, is a "coming-of-age 'traumedy'" about a 16 year old with MRKH, a variation of sex development. This is huge news in that on screen media representation of such variations (sometimes referred to as intersex) are few and far between. SXSW is a major platform. In addition, another one of the executive producers is none other than your humble blogger's fave, Janelle Monáe. 

Such a move could be considered par for the course,  as Monáe is all about highlighting underrepresented voices. This also hits close to home for your humble blogger,  as she has a variation of sex development called Turner Syndrome which was diagnosed at 17. Though MRKH and Turner Syndrome are different, the fact that a variation in sex development is getting representation on the big screen brings a sense of solidarity for your humble blogger.

This movie is also significant given, as noted in the SXSW article,  McGlynn  herself has MRKH. We're not only getting an underrepresented story,  but one being told by a member of that underrepresented group. From all these angles,  the excitement is real. Your humble blogger is looking forward to watching it.

Thank you, Molly and Janelle,  for making such a necessary story available. 

Source:

 https://schedule.sxsw.com/2023/films/2079262?_ga=2.178641508.1558548870.1673467896-445338556.1673467896

A New Year's Intention

Your humble blogger doesn't usually do New Year's resolution. However, it felt apropos to set an intention for 2023. That intention is grace-grace for self and grace for others. Life is too short to be hard on yourself or other people. To clarify, that doesn't mean eschewing accountability. It means recognizing we're human and we fall, but allowing the space to get back up again-and with dignity.

-msranadee 

What I'm on right now

Right now,  the mood is black nail polish. It seems so apropos for fall/winter. Perhaps it's because clothing tends to veer towards darker colors when the weather gets colder. As for the brand your humble blogger is using, it's Run the World by Mischo Beauty. Allure Magazine described it as opulent and the accuracy is real. With it being Cyber Monday tomorrow, why not treat yourself (and /or someone else) to this award winning brand for the holidays and all season long.