#7QT: Everything looks impossibly small

1.  I recently finished I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson, who as a 13-year-old Jewish girl was removed from Czechoslovakia and sent to Auschwitz.  The infamous Dr. Mengele liked her long blonde hair and told her to say she was 16; because of this, she was not gassed and managed to survive the Holocaust and reunite with her mother and brother.  Her father and many other family members sadly perished.

Many times while reading this book, I had to set it down and immediately pray for Christ's peace in this world, for those facing persecution at this moment, and for the Jewish people.

2. Some passages moved me to tears.

 [When they are transferred from the ghetto into the hands of the Germans]
"The SS!" Bubi exclaims with horror.  "We're being handed over to the Germans!"

"We're in God's hands," Mommy whispers.  "Hungarians, Germans - what's the difference?  God is with us.  He's with us everywhere." (page 68)

[When their group is awaiting "decimation," where all would be lined up, and every random 10th person (determined by the SS guards) would be shot for "sabotage."]
There is a soft murmur from the bed above.  The girls from Guta are reciting the Psalms.  The chant of the doomed.  They have a small prayer book from somewhere, and have managed to hide it...Mommy and I are able to repeat the verses in Hebrew after them...In a pause between passages I can hear muffled sobs...

One by one, all the girls join in reciting the Psalms.  The sobbing grows silent..."Read on," someone calls.  "Read on until they come for us."  And the two little skinny sisters from Guta read on while the light turns brighter, and brighter.  (109-112)  

3.  Reading of their faith in the midst of terrible, terrible suffering has strengthened my own. 
 
4.  On Monday, I attended my Diocese's Faith on Tap.  The talk was on faithful citizenship and the need for all Catholics, especially lay persons, to be active in their communities, knowledgeable about different topics, and interactive with their representatives.  If you need a refresher on Catholic social teaching (I admit I do!), check out these great podcasts from the USCCB here.

5.  Anything I might want to complain about now looks impossibly small next to the hardships of the concentration camps.  Darn, I have nothing to write about!

6.  On Saturday, my boyfriend and I are attending an 80s-themed engagement party!  It 's sure to be a blast!  At 25, I finally have a friend getting married!  My first friend getting married!  Yes, things are different on the East Coast.

7.  Speaking of #myfriendsaremarried, this tumblr is hilarious.  Some bad language and sins against chastity are mentioned - you've been warned!

Example: When my friend tells me I'll find love when I stop looking for it