Hey friends!
How are ya today?
I’m doing great! I’m actually on my way to the airport! I know – this has been the summer where I’ve lived out of an overpacked and disheveled suitcase. This time I’m headed out to Utah! I’m going out West to celebrate my birthday with my best gal pals!
**Real time Update** We saw Henry Cavill in the security line!!!!! *swoon*
We’re going to go hiking, and jet skiing, go to a couple concerts, drink wine and eat yummy food! Along with a couple other super secret adventures that I’ll tell you about later 😉 I can’t wait to take you on the adventures with me! I’ll be sharing videos like I did in Spain…only this time I promise I won’t use that ridiculous butterfly filter! haha
This is the same group of gals I went to Iceland with last year at this time! We’re officially making it a tradition to travel together in the summer! Yay for friends and letting people in! 🙂
But today was extra special because I was interviewed on a podcast this morning! It’s called the Among the Lilies podcast, and gosh, what a joy and honor to chat with Cameron! I would highly highly recommend the pod. It’s a show for ladies who are “tired of pretending and ready to be real.” (But gents, don’t feel like you can’t listen too! All are welcome!) It’s a raw, honest and super entertaining podcast about life as a Christian in today’s crazy world. We had a fabulous conversation, and I am so so SO excited to share it with you when it comes out in a couple weeks!
I want to just thank everyone for such kind and supportive words after Monday’s post. I was pretty nervous to share such intimately personal stuff, so thank you for loving me and accepting me with open arms. Truly, I was humbled and so touched by your love.
So for tonight’s post, I was planning on responding to the Pope’s Letter that he released in response to the overwhelming number of new allegations of abuse that have been brought to light here recently, this week.
To say that my heart is completely broken and shattered for the victims would be an understatement. Additionally, to say that my heart is also incredibly angry and full of deep disappointment and disgust at the authorities in the Church and the way they’ve handled this atrocious scandal would also be a gross understatement.
And I’m going to be honest, I have really struggled with coming up with the words to address it. Frankly, I don’t really have anything “nice to say” and I’m truthfully still trying to wrap my mind around the how, and the why, and the gravity of the scandal and aftermath.
And instead of just complaining or spewing harsh comments, born from a place of intense anger, thus merely adding to the noise, I’m going to just take it to prayer until I have something constructive that can actually add to the conversation.
Because at the end of the day, it all comes down to the dignity of the human person, and how sadly, these perpetrators completely violated that dignity. The dignity we possess simply because we are daughters and sons of God. The dignity that, as priests, they had the obligation to protect and hold in the highest esteem. The dignity that the Catholic Church as a whole, has always stood for and fought for, in its social outreach programs and decrees, etc., and yet has grossly failed to respect among the most vulnerable, within its own four walls.
It is abhorrent.
And as maddening and befuddling and seemingly complacent the Pope’s response was, I’m going to choose to hold my tongue until I can better and more fully understand his position.
After Monday’s post, I ended up getting a lot of comments and questions about lots of eating disorder related topics. But one comment I kept receiving specifically was about the notion of Body Positivity, or the “BoPo” movement, and what it really meant. They saw that I tagged a couple of my photos on Instagram with that hashtag, so what the heck does it mean?
Well, I actually wrote piece about it two years ago. And the podcast version of it randomly popped up in shuffle this morning. And it reminded me, not only of my roots of this blog, but also about the dignity that you and I possess, and how far I’ve come in my journey to recognize and claim that dignity in my own body. And it really gave a stark juxtaposition, given the recent abuse scandal, and the disregard of that inherent worth, by the people who should be protecting it.
So tonight, I invite you to do two things: take a listen, or read that post – it was truly one of my favorites for a lot of different reasons. And 2) if you haven’t read the Pope’s response to the abuse allegations, take some time to read it. It is long, very wordy, and will leave you feeling all sorts of feelings…frustration and outrage were some of them for me.
My dad, being the saint he is, and knowing how discouraged the Pope’s response left me, sent me another really interesting response, by bible scholar and theologian Ted Sri. Feel free to take a read.
That’s all for now.
See ya tomorrow morning on the Podcast!
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78 responses to “Utah, Here We Come!”
Amen-Amein!! <3
Thanks Kristi! Hugs and love xox
Welcome to the west coast, have a great time!
Thanks John!! Yay! Hugs and love xox
Utah has many beautiful sight to go hiking and just visit and enjoy the pure beauty of it.. have a blast ..
Aw thank you so much! Yeah I can’t wait to explore! Hugs and love xox
With the Church holding upwards of twenty trillion dollars it should do the right thing by those victims. Instead, of letting the statue of limitations expire these claims that are justified. Ushering the promotion or retiring of these, predators. There are/were many victims of the social and civil engineering of the church. It would be the right thing to help the victims heal but, we’ll see. Its much easier to ignore them. As has been the case for a very long time. These allegations can be traced back as far back as the creation of the Vatican.
It is very very sad indeed. Hugs and love xox
My cousin was a victim. He fought in court for six years. It’s not the money. He’s stuck there. He’s almost fifty and just, never recovered. Many do, but his case and his care were an exception. The man who assaulted him went to jail after the third victim almost a dozen years later. Power, has its privileges.
Gosh that breaks my heart to hear. I’m so sorry
Different worlds. Same religion.
Yep
You’re about 40 minutes from me in Salt Lake. I go to your side, when I have too 😂
Lok
There’s good news. 2% of people start their relationships on a plane. You know so, all that traveling you do. Couldn’t hurt.
Haha I saw that same story today! How funny!!
Maybe one of those nice TSA fellows that tell me I’ve been selected for a random search.
Maybe not classy enough.
Love this. Enjoy your time there
Thank you Scott!! Hugs and love xox
I’m from Utah! Hope you enjoy your stay in our beautiful mountains! 😀
Oh awesome!! Thanks friend! Hugs and love xox
I too am digesting this scandal in the Church. Having a son in a seminary causes me to be doubly angry because the sexual abuse of seminarians and newbie priests by the powerful is one of the big holes in the reforms of 15 years ago.
But for now, have a great time with your friends.
Oh gosh I’m sure this is hitting super hard for you and your family. I will definitely keep y’all in my prayers. Hugs and love xox
Congrats on the interview! Will want to hear it when it comes out. The trip sounds awesome! Hope you have a wonderful time. Regarding the other issue, what can you say? Every time someone gets caught we all say how horrible and terrible it is, but it continues. And I know it hurts to know the people you trusted were involved or tried to cover up. You have the right answer, just take it all to Jesus. Pray for repentance, justice, healing, and encouragement for the ones who have been faithful. They’ll get a bad rap because of the failures of a few. Don’t want to end on a sad note, so you have a great trip and weekend!! Looking forward to those videos!! 😊
Thank you Kenneth! Yeah turn to prayer. Amen to that. Hugs and love xox
I hope that YOU enjoy Utah. It is my favorite states. Maybe you can put your toes into the Great Salt Lake.
Thanks JB!! it’s really so beautiful! Hugs and love xox
YOU are very graciously welcome BBB. You will have lots of fun. Hugs and love back to YOU.
🙂
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Sometimes it is hard to even believe a loving God exists.At times like this we can do nothing else but cry out to God in prayer, “I believe help me in my unbelief!” Remember He died for all!
That’s such a powerful prayer. Thanks Hugs and love xox
Have a wonderful time in Utah. Salt lake city is very beautiful especially when your plane first lands at Salt Lake City airport. May God get you there safely . As a Roman Catholic I am very disappointed and sickened in seeing that once again this topic has reared its ugly head. Once again, nothing has really happened and our leaders are giving lip service to the victims and not really addressing the issue of why this is happening yet AGAIN. (I lived in Boston for 13 years and I still remember the scandal in the church there . ) All we can do is ask God to watch over the victims and remind them that THEY DID NOTHING WRONG.It is those “servants of God” who will have to answer to a higher authority for what they have done .
Thank you so much! I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts on this difficult issue. Hugs and love xox
Oh yay! Welcome back to Utah, my home! (Watch out for all the smoke from neighboring states and recent fires here and the algae plumes in the water.) But this is definitely a great place to come! 😊💕
Thank you Staci! Lucky you to live in such a beautiful place! Hugs and love xox
Omg Henry Cavill, did he look even hotter in person? 😍
There needs to be a change in these churches and religion. It’s become too frequent!
Have a safe trip! ☺️
He did! Sooo handsome! Hugs and love xox
It’s infuriating, but I explored this treasure chest of a post, both good and bad.
The vacation narrative is pleasant.
Thank you friend. Yeah tough issue to wrap your head around. Hugs and love xox
This is so far from the most important thing in this post, but did you win the lottery ticket to go see the wave in Utah?! It’s on my bucket list. Actually, road tripping through Utah is on my bucket list.
Thank you! I’m unfamiliar with the wave, but we’re definitely going to do up tbe town! 🙂 Hugs and love xox
My #2 son lives in SLC, Utah. Nice place. Kind of a micro version of LA. Lots of Mountains east and west of the city. Enjoy your time there.
It really is so beautiful! Hugs and love xox
Have fun in Utah! And read my last post about the clergy sex scandal in PA. I too am a practicing Catholic, Caralyn, and have no words to describe this horror. Ted
Thank you Ted. Yeah it is such a sad situation. Hugs and love xox
I trust you’re reading this, safely ensconced somewhere in Utah! The pope/abuse piece I’ll do some reading on before possibly commenting on that. For now, my thoughts on BoPo.
I remember that article. As I re-read it, a weird parallel came to mind; gun violence. Hear me out. If you accept that you are not your body, but rather that you are your spirit and soul occupying the machine, the tool of your body, you can begin to see the parallel. St. Paul referred to his body as this earthly tent he longs to leave, so this agrees.
People talk about gun violence as if the guns are the problem. They are not. Studies have shown conclusively that the machine, the tool, is not the issue. It’s the people who use it who need to be dealt with.
So, as you said, if you continue worrying and obsessing over the tool – in this case your body – you’ll miss the nut of the problem entirely. “Body Violence” would be the misnomer you could give to the movement. BoPo is the current label, but they are making the same mistake while using positive language. The problem remains the same; don’t treat/deal with the tool. Take care of the person.
A strange comparison, I know, but hopefully helps to help separate self and body, which can be hard to do.
I always enjoy your articles that get back to the roots of BBB. It’s where your passion really lights up! Have some birthday fun, and travel safely!
What an interesting comparison. Thank you for sharing that perspective Jeff. Oh i definitely will!! Hugs and love xox
Hi my friend!!! Happy birthday!!!! I hope Utah treats you well. My very best friend lives out there and i was just there last September again and every time I’ve been, I love it even more!
As far as the crisis in The Church is concerned, I follow this YouTube channel and love to listen to Father Mike speak. This video he made is how we should all feel. Take a look. –> https://youtu.be/AdR8eyaDCHg <–
God Bless You!
– David
Hi David! Oh thank you so much. I’m having so much fun 🙂 oh I love Fr. Mike! He is such a powerful force of faith! Thanks for sharing! Hugs and love xox
Ugh, to the betrayal of trust by people in positions of authority. I just don’t even have the words.
I hope you have a wonderful trip here in Utah. Hopefully you will be somewhere that you don’t have to breathe too much smoke from the wildfires!
Yeah it is really really sad. Thanks friend. Hugs and love xox
Have fun and be safe
Thank you MCM! Hugs and love xox
Your welcome and much love and peace!
xox
much love
Great Post! Have an awesome time….I’m so jealous lol. The catholic church and the scandals are so disturbing and my hometown is going through catholic school closures…that is rumored to be controversial. Makes our faith in the church a little rocky but my inner faith still stands strong!😘 I want to see many pictures of your trip!💕
Thank you so much! Yeah it is really disturbing for sure. So sad. Hugs and love xox
And I hope the school closures are just a busted water pipe or something! Amen! Good thing our faith is in Jesus and not in an earthy organization. Hugs and love xox
The news of the abuse scandal left me deeply shattered. I actually found the Pope’s response comforting, but of course it doesn’t fix what has happened. Only God can heal those people and I’m offering my prayers and sacrifices for them. We also need to ask for holy vocations to priesthood!
Thank you so much Paola for sharing your thoughts on this difficult and disturbing issue. Yes we need God’s healing. Hugs and love xox
We would love you to write 5 things for our site http://www.5thingstodotoday.com. Just a sentence each. Think about what you would do if you could only do 5 things today. Be creative. Think general lifestyle things including travel, eating our etc. Email to 5thingstodotoday@gmail.com. Thank you very much. David
Thanks for the invite David. Would love to! Please email me at beautybeyondbones@yahoo.com and we can work out details!
Sure will do this later. David
go to Zion National Park
oh man! i’m on the plane! next trip — it’s on the list! 🙂 thanks! Hugs and love xox
Enjoy your adventure in Mormon land.
thanks Ian! 🙂
Thank you Caralyn, and in prayer
thanks
You’re right, the whole thing is abhorrent and the church’s response-or lack thereof-is mind-boggling and maddening. I’m glad to see you’re getting to travel and see some of God’s beauty while simultaneously making memories with your friends. Appreciate your post. Happy blogging!
Thanks friend. Yeah it is so tragic and sad and makes me very upset. And thanks – yeah I’m very grateful for such wonderful friends! Hugs and love xox
It’s absolutely impossible to read Your posts and not smile!!! You’re a beam of sunshine and I hope You had a wonderful time with Your friends! And Happy Birthday! Yay!!! 🤗💖☀️
Aww you’re so kind to say that! Thanks!! Hugs and love xox
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