Blog Post #10

Unit 3: Resilience

1. Could you ever see yourself sharing similar messages that your Letter Writer did on your own social media accounts? Why or why not? What would you say?
   No, I could not see myself sharing messages on social media like Paul sent to the Romans. I couldn't see myself sharing such messages because my social media accounts are mainly personal and do not have much to do with God or other faith related topics. I feel that Paul's messages were good and kind, but I don't think I would start an account like that of my own free will. However, if I did make an account like that I would mainly include inspirational quotes and motivational videos.
2. What were some new things that you learned from the Marian Apparition projects (be specific)?
   I learned about the different types of apparitions and their appearances, for example statue or just a regular apparition. I was also surprised that these apparitions are known to have appeared all over the world. I expected the apparition to only appear in Catholic/Christian majority countries, and found out that this wasn't necessarily true. I also learned that apparitions have to be approved by the Catholic Church, and there are large investigations that have to be made to be claimed as real apparitions.
3. How did you see resilience at work within the Marian apparition that you researched?
   The Marian apparition that I researched was Our Lady of Knock, and her appearance showed a lot of resilience. The woman who first saw the Marian apparition experienced resilience through Mary because she never doubted that she had seen Mary and never changed her story as long as she lived. This shows resilience because there were probably many people, primarily church officials, who doubted her and didn't think her claims were true due to how different the appearance was in comparison to previous Marian apparitions. The people of Knock and the priest of the church in Knock also showed resilience by believing that Mary had truly appeared and accepting it as a sign of Mary's love and faith in them.
4. Do you see yourself as being resilient? Why or why not?

  Yes, I see myself as a resilient person. I believe that I am resilient because I have experienced losses and hardships that have transformed me into a better person. They have also forced me to change and look at life in a different, and more positive way. Everything that I have done and experienced has led me in some way to the person I am today, and I think it would be accurate to say that I'm a resilient person.