Even in the Night

Sometimes, after studying for a long time, my mind is racing too much for me to be able to fall asleep right away. In the midst of finals, with an eight-hour take-home exam starting at 9 am, tonight is one of those nights. Usually, when I find myself in this mindset, I'll pull out my breviary and go through the Compline. Actually, since I downloaded the iBreviary app for my iPhone, I tend to use that instead of my physical book, because the iPhone is back-lit. (There's a metaphor in there, somewhere, but it's 2 a.m., so I'll leave it to you, trusty reader...)

Anyhow, I am often blown away by how relevant the passages are to how I'm feeling at the moment. Tonight was no exception. The psalmody was Psalm 16:

Preserve me, Lord,

I put my hope in you.

I have said to the Lord

“You are my Lord,

in you alone is all my good.”

As for the holy and noble men of the land,

in them is all my delight.

But for those who run to alien gods,

their sorrows are many.

I will not share in their libations of blood.

I will not speak their names.

You, Lord, are my inheritance and my cup.

You control my destiny,

the lot marked out for me is of the best,

my inheritance is all I could ask for.

I will bless the Lord who gave me understanding;

even in the night my heart will teach me wisdom.

I will hold the Lord for ever in my sight:

with him at my side I can never be shaken.

Thus it is that my heart rejoices,

heart and soul together;

while my body rests in calm hope.

You will not leave my soul in the underworld.

You will not let your chosen one see decay.

You will show me the paths of life,

the fullness of joy before your face,

and delights at your right hand until the end of time.

A beautiful sentiment for final exams. It is so easy to turn grades into a false god, so tempting to rely on myself instead of God for strength, so disappointing to lose sight of the true definition of wisdom. Father, thank you for reminding me that you are by my side, and that, even in the night, my heart will teach me wisdom.

Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake;
watch over us as we sleep,
that awake, we make keep watch with Christ,
and asleep, rest in his peace.
Amen.

Twitter

So, I’ve been trying out Twitter for a few weeks now. I hadn’t really seen any benefit to it over Facebook status updates—until yesterday! I tweeted the following:

astempson Studying in the Kogod Courtyard of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Sunshine - wind = perfect!

To my surprise, THE SMITHSONIAN RESPONDED. How crazy is that?! This is what the Smithsonian had to say to me:

smithsonian RT @astempson: Studying in the Kogod Courtyard @AmericanArt Museum. Sunshine - wind = perfect! (Don't forget Water Features+Food+WiFi!)

Alright, that is pretty darn awesome. Twitter, you've won me over.

As the Storm Passes Through

As I was sitting at my desk, outlining for final exams, I couldn't help but to notice how ominous the sky seemed:


I took a photo so that I could write a little post joking about how I hope it wasn't too foreboding of final exams, but then, five minutes later, a low rumble alerted me to how quickly the scene outside of my window had changed:


A thunderstorm! What a delight! Seriously, I love thunderstorms. It is an absolute downpour! And, it was 65 and sunny earlier today, too. Crazy East coast weather!

In other news, I have some amusing quotes from my professors to share from the past few weeks:

“Seibert—now, that is some fine lawyering.” - Criminal Justice professor on Missouri v. Seibert

“Abraham Lincoln didn’t have a TV! He walked 16 miles in the snow and didn’t have a TV!” – Contracts professor on whether a TV or stereo would be considered a necessity

“What can you do around here if you cannot drive? You can drink. And, indeed, many people do.” – Property professor on living in Houston

“He can’t do it all… He’s not Super-Scalia.” - Property professor on Justice Scalia's ability to determine the common law

And, in the time it took me to write this post, the storm has seemingly passed:

Springtime

This was a long week. My Legal Research and Writing brief, worth 50% percent of my grade, was due yesterday. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep the past couple of days--especially since I had spent the prior weekend anticipating and celebrating Easter, rather than writing. To top things off, today we had a make-up Criminal Justice class, which meant that my schedule went as follows: Contracts, 9:00 - 11:00 am; Criminal Justice, 11:10 - 1:00 pm; Property, 1:20 - 3:20 pm. Ouch. Plus, all three classes were in the same lecture hall! What a day.

When I emerged from room 207 after six hours of lecture, it was absolutely gorgeous outside! 70 and not a cloud in the sky. I dropped off my stuff at my apartment, grabbed my camera, and went on an adventure to the National Cathedral on a whim. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the visit (or, see the whole album):

Flying buttresses!

The front of the National Cathedral.

The Space Window, honoring man landing on the Moon.

Cats, birds, and squirrels?!

Now, I have to apologize in advance for what I'm about to write. As I was walking through the beautiful neighborhood near the National Cathedral, admiring the front yards of the houses, I couldn't help myself but to write a poem. Yeah, I know--what could be more cliché than an English major writing a poem inspired by flowers in bloom in spring? Nevertheless, I thought I'd share. (It is my blog, after all.)

The nameless flowers of my youth
Were not quite such as these:
No daffodils in my backyard;
No tulips made me sneeze.

At home, the plants did bloom year-round
In gold and white and blue.
But here, the flowers come and go;
They know not what to do.

And, what about the purple trees
That line some D.C. streets?
I know that they won't last for long--
For now, they're quite a treat.

I yearn for spring in Sunnyvale,
Yet stay, to my chagrin.
But, I'll be back before too long
For springtime's fervid twin.

I was just on C-SPAN!

I WAS JUST ON C-SPAN! So cool! Last month, Catholic Forum, along with several other student groups on campus, put on an event called Faith on the Hill, which was a panel discussion with the House and Senate chaplains. It started out as a small idea, but quickly blossomed into a quite large event with media coverage. C-SPAN finally aired their footage of the event this evening. I can be seen right at the beginning, walking in at the last second because I was handing out programs at the door, and then I'm full-screen at 28:15:


AAAAA! I was on C-SPAN! I... I have nothing else to say.

EDIT: I'm also in the shot when Sr. Dorinda (sitting on my right) asks a question.

Let It Rise

Let the glory of the Lord rise among us.
Let the glory of the Lord rise among us.
Let the glory of the Lord rise among us.
Let us rise. Oh, oh, let it rise...

Today, there was a little taste of Berkeley-style campus ministry here at Georgetown, because Catholic Forum, in conjunction with the Christian Legal Society and Campus Ministry, organized our first-annual Easter Brunch! I'm going to be on leadership for Catholic Forum next year, so I volunteered to coordinate the event. I was impressed by how things turned out: we had over 75 people in attendance, tons of food, and the whole thing went off without a hitch. Fr. Alexei even made a lamb out of butter! (Apparently, butter lambs are a Polish Easter tradition.) I'm glad that I got a chance to learn the ropes of Georgetown's student organization bureaucracy this semester, rather than having to figure it all out next semester after this year's leadership graduates.

About 16 of us walked over to St. Aloysius Church from school for Easter Mass this morning before the brunch. (We didn't have Mass here on campus because our chapel congregation is so small.) I had never been to the church before, but I liked it! They had a great gospel choir, and a very lively congregation (e.g., much clapping, calling out of "Amen!"). It really warmed my heart to see so many of us walking to Mass together this morning--especially a few people that don't normally attend Mass at our little chapel. It gives me hope for next year's ministry, in spite of such wonderful people graduating, and the lack of interest in some of the more spiritually-oriented (as opposed to social) events that Catholic Forum has put on this year. Alleluia!

One Ha' Penny, Two Ha' Penny...

Hot cross buns! I've always wanted to participate in the tradition of baking hot cross buns for Good Friday, so, when my Lawyers in Balance meditation group organized a reunion brunch for today, I decided that this was a fantastic opportunity. I had never eaten a hot cross bun before, and certainly had never baked them before, so I relied upon a recipe that I found online.

I think they turned out pretty well! Everyone at my brunch certainly liked them. I'll definitely make them again. I love baking: kneading dough with my hands, the smell of yeast, and watching the dough rise... It's so cool! I mean, who was the first human to figure out that yeast could be used to make bread rise? Wikipedia suggests that it may have been an accident. What providence!

Holy Thursday Mass at the National Shrine was very good last night. Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, presided. I liked his homily; of particular note, he was describing the most profound thing that a devout and well-educated person had ever learned--"Jesus loves me, this I know, because the Bible tells me so." The quote was so out of nowhere that it delighted me immensely. The choir and the organ were very dramatic.

My favorite part was at the end of the service, when the Eucharist was transferred to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. The choir was singing alterating verses in Latin and English, and processed to the side chapel, which made the acoustics incredible. It's funny, because I always initially take umbrage at John 10, where Jesus calls us sheep. I'm not a sheep! I'm independent, I think for myself, I'm strong! But, as I, with the congregation, followed the Eucharist to the side chapel, not knowing exactly where to go, when to kneel, how long to pray, I realized that we are, in some sense, sheep. I ended up copying whatever the few sisters from the Missionaries of Charity were doing, frankly. (I figured, you could do worse than following women who belong to the order founded by Mother Teresa.) But, in light of the utter humanity of the moment, there was something beautiful in all of us, gathering together, none of us really knowing what we were doing, but pulling together to follow Jesus.

On that note, back to the Shrine for the Good Friday liturgy. Blessings.