.

I’ll be in Anaheim from now until Sunday. Until then, check out some of my blogging friends linked in the sidebar.

~Rebecca

She could be if she so desired.

In case you haven’t heard, Brazilian actress and model Camilla Belle will be starring as the Blessed Mother in the upcoming film “Mary, Mother of Christ,” set to start production in May.  I’ve blogged about the film at Catholic in Film School. (I’m interning at one of the partnering companies.)  I’ve read the script and it’s amazing. It will be interesting to see if this film affects her faith at all, the way the Passion of the Christ did for some of its actors.

Camilla was snapped a few days ago at a pre-Oscar party:

Unrelated photos of her:

Dominican model Sessilee Lopez is on the spring cover of Latina Magazine:

My good friend Rosario submitted the following article to 4marks the other day, written by her sister Cecilia:

I never liked Lent when I was growing up. It was much too solemn and sad for me. My views have changed since then. My silent retreat has been a great precursor to Lent, which begins this week. I must say, I have been eagerly anticipating the solemn season for a while now. I have been narrowing my list of Lenten resolutions to a practical size.

In years past, I had a tendency to be overambitious at the beginning. By week two I would be overwhelmed and give up. The problem was I never prepared for Lent. The day before Ash Wednesday, I would frantically try to figure out what I was going to do and what I was going to give up. I wound up with a whole list of things and tried to do them all because I didn’t have time to discern what God wanted me to focus on

The last few years, I’ve had amazing Lenten seasons, even with the lack of preparation. This year, I’ve been preparing myself, not to make it easier, but as a sort of conditioning so I will be ready to give myself to each moment especially when that moment is difficult.

I never liked Lent when I was growing up. It was much too solemn and sad for me. One would have thought my melodramatic younger self would have preferred the dreariness of Lent, but I didn’t. The drama queen act was a cover for a very shy, homely, easily frightened and awkward girl with absolutely no confidence. Lent seemed to blow away that cover which left me feeling very exposed. I worried about upsetting and disappointing people around me. I felt that during Lent my thoughts, faults and failings were left in the open for God and the world to see and judge. Besides, Lent meant giving up things and fasting from things. I obviously had little self-control and discipline, considering I would give into most of the far-fetched ideas that entered my head, like the misconceptions I had regarding Lent.

My views have changed since then. I’ve learned to accept and embrace who I am as a Daughter of God, with all of my weaknesses and strengths, failures and triumphs. Instead of dreading these 40 days, I now long for them for the very reasons I disliked them in my youth.

Lent is the perfect time for stripping myself of all unnecessary distractions so I can see myself as I truly am through the eyes of Christ. There is grace enough for me to walk through the gray, cold, desolate areas of my life. Christ accompanies me every step of the way as I learn to die to my desires through fasting and prayer.

Don’t get the wrong idea – I have not mastered Lenten practices. It continues to be a MAJOR challenge but I love it! The more I give myself to the difficulties of Lent, the more dynamic the Easter celebration will be. I am confident this Lent will be a great adventure!

http://ceciliamschwartz.wordpress.com/

Kerry Washington

Ellen Page

Michelle Williams

Zooey Deschanel

Taraji Henson

Anne Hathaway

Isla Fisher

Nicole Ricci and Alicia Keys

Freida Pinto at the Oscars, congrats to Slum Dog BTW.

Sanaa Lathan in this very sweet cocktail dress.

I’ve added a few new links to various categories in the sidebar, so check ‘em out when you get a chance.

Also, check out this website Suddenly Darling, created by 16 and 17 year olds Katelyn Rose and Sara. Their website is phenomenal, and they are so cute! I can’t even believe that they are only 16 and 17, because when I was there age, modesty was not something I was thinking about. Props to their parents and blessings to them both.

In other news, there may be a modest fashion show coming to the SoCal area. Well actually, it is coming. The show is still in the planning stages, but it is going to be an amazing high fashion event. I’ll give you more details as I receive them. Pray for the organizers.

This evening at 8pm, myself, the majority of my friends, and a host of other people will be consecrating ourselves to Jesus by way of St. Louis de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary.

I have read some of St. Louis’ writings, but have never officially consecrated myself. Some background on this devotion that will take place over the next 33 days:

Total Consecration is an absolutely beautiful exercise to increase your spirituality and ability to truly serve our Lord Jesus Christ. The basic premise set forth by St. Louis Marie de Montfort is simply that Jesus came into the world through Mary and that for us to always be assured of being close to Jesus, even closer than ever before, we should go through Mary.

Initially, this idea may seem strange to some. Why consecration? And why consecration through Mary? What does that even mean?

Consecration means to set aside for a sacred purpose. Mary’s life was set aside for the sole purpose of serving our Lord. By following her example, we, too, can completely give ourselves to Christ in a fundamental way that consecrates us to Him. We give our lives to Him in service and love.

Consecration to Jesus through Mary according to the method of St. Louis de Montfort is a method used by Pope John Paul II and it is this consecration that lead to the founding of Rosary Army in 2003.

Why do this?

We consecrate ourselves in order to be more devoted to the Lord and His Blessed Mother. It helps us grow in holiness and increase our faith, hope, and love. It is a prayerful and focused method of drawing closer to Jesus than ever before.

Rosary Army has some really great explanations and podcasts on this topic.

I was talking to my girlfriend who has done the consecration for the last ten years, and she told me to “get ready” because powerful things happen. I believe it, as I have had some amazing things happen to me through the intercession of Mary, and over the years as I have grown closer to her, my understanding of God’s love and relationship with Christ has grown exponentially.

I’ll keep you posted over the next 33 days!

Selma Blair

Selma Blair and Diane Kruger

Monica

Rachel Bilson (night)

Rachel Bilson (Day)

Kim Raver

Have you seen this movie?  I have, and I will post a review tomorrow. While it’s definitely not a Christian-based movie, it definitely touches on some of the mistakes many women make when it comes to dating.  

If you have seen it, I’m curious to know what you think.

Katherine Mcphee

Joanna Garcia

Hillary Duff…her make up looks great…

Mischa Barton

Rachel Bilson, who recently just confirmed her engagement to Hayden Christensen!

Olivia Palermo

Brittany Snow

Molly Sims, Zoe Saldana, and Heidi Klum

Older readers will remember that a few months ago I dedicated a week of posts to modest bridal wear.  A number of new designers have come to my attention in the last few days, so I’m just curious—-do you want me to do another bridal week?

I’m only asking because I think the vast majority of readers are single ladies…but hey, who doesn’t like looking at white dresses? So if you want another bridal week, leave a comment on the post.

I haven’t commented on the octuplet story because I learned in 5th grade that if you don’t have anything nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all.

But check out this article about 22-year-old WNBA star Candace Parker, a married woman who just so happened to make the stupid “mistake” of having a baby with her husband:

Parker probably figured the news would be non-controversial, given that the fresh-faced Los Angeles Sparks forward and Olympic gold medalist is happily married to Sacramento Kings forward Shelden Williams. Both earn more than enough to support a family: Parker alone reaps millions on and off the court as one of the most celebrated women athletes in the world.

But Parker’s pregnancy was not greeted with the same approval and tolerance that many of today’s child-bearing sexagenarians and single mothers by choice enjoy when they form their families. Instead, Parker was blasted by fans and pundits for becoming a mother at age 22. Critics bemoaned her selfishness in putting maternal ambitions ahead of her team’s 2009 season prospects. Others lamented her foolishness for starting a family when she should be living a strings-free existence oriented around her glamorous career.

Not long ago, a 22-year-old woman was considered plenty old enough to marry and bear children. But in today’s era of prolonged adolescence and commitment phobia, high-achieving women like Parker often face ridicule and scorn for defying the feminist conventional wisdom that marriage and motherhood are second-rate pursuits best delayed until middle age. Young mothers frequently are accused of forfeiting a hard-won feminist privilege: the right to spend their 20s single-mindedly pursuing sexual license, success and self-fulfillment without the hassles of a husband and children. (Source)

I wish nothing but blessings on Parker and her new family….just wish the public would do the same.

The cool gift bags I helped pack…but didn’t receive…lol

Tiffani, me, Rosario

Did I escape intern duty? Heck no.

Baseball player Jeff Suppan. Nice guy too.

Fr. Willie and Chris Kramer

Barb Nicolosi, co-writer of Mary Mother of Christ with Monika Moreno, the head of the Angelus Student Film Festival

Shameless plug.

Being that my university is of the Jesuit variety, there’s a lot of emphasis placed on service to others. Last fall I started helping out with a confirmation class, and a number of my friends also involved in religious education are now applying to a Catholic-based program called PLACE Corps.

PLACE Corps stands for Partners in Los Angeles Catholic Education.

It is based on my campus, but applications are accepted from around the country. The program involves two years of teaching in an LA Catholic school while earning a teaching credential and a debt-free master’s degree. Teachers live in community together for support and spiritual growth. I have one friend that I am praying gets into this program as it has changed a number of people’s lives.

If this sounds like something you may be interested in or know someone else who may want to learn more about this organization, check out the PLACE website here.

In other news, Keke Palmer visited the Scholastic Store in New York two days ago to read to some of her younger fans. Yay for Keke, yay for literacy.

Though I haven’t written about it here, I have been following this story about the “Italian Terro Schiavo” quite closely:

Eluana Englaro has died, three days after she began to be deprived of nourishment.

Last week, the comatose 37-year-old Italian woman was taken by her father Beppino from a hospital in Lecco, Italy, where Eluana was receiving care from Sisters of Mercy. She had been in a coma since 1992 as a result of injuries she sustained in a car accident.

Her father acted without legal authorization, in order to place Eluana in a medical clinic in Udine that was willing to kill her by depriving her of the food and hydration she required through a feeding tube in order to stay alive.

After her father moved her, Italy’s right-of-center government led by Italian Prime Minister Sylvio Berlusconi introduced a bill to prohibit the withdrawal of food and water from comatose patients. But Eluana died today before the legislation could be voted on in the Italian Senate, Associated Press reported. Source

Jennifer Hudson

Leanne Rimes

Sheryl Crow

Sanaa Lathan

Adele

We’ve all said it. But are we correct in our judgement?

Granted, we’ve all been in a store, happy as a clam looking for a top or some other fantabulous item, and seen some weird-looking ruffle-bubble-wrap concoction that just looks plain hideous.

But the truth of the matter is that most garments are meant to be paired with something else, or styled in such a way that it is not “ugly,” but unique, beautiful, and modest!

I will be going shopping with Emmy from Catholic Nerd Writer some time this week. She needs a dress for the Catholic Underground RED Party, and I am going to illustrate my point. The next time you go shopping for clothes, think about how a particular item could be styled to fit your modest fashion needs.

Happy shopping ladies,

Rebecca