Ripples in the World

It's Hot Chocolate Time!!!

2011-11-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's that time of year again...the leaves are falling off the trees and scaring my dog (you would think that he is getting pelted with rocks when leaves fall down and hit him), starbucks is bringing back the pretty red cups with snowflakes on them...and what's inside? Yes, you're right...hot chocolate, apple caramel spice, peppermint white chocolate mochas etc...anyone who knows me at all will know that I LOVE drinks that make you feel all warm and cozy inside! I could drink something hot all year long, to me, there is nothing better on a day like this (today is rainy and dark for those of you who don't know) than a hot chocolate with salted caramel or a peppermint mocha... But beyond the drinks and leaves and whatnot...there are so many things that I love about this time of year, it really is incredible what the season brings to the table...sometimes things that we overlook, or fail to see altogether. so this is where I will try and tie in something Christ-like...Fall...moving into Winter can be a time of great growth for us...it's a time when the Church begins anew (new year's right around the corner for the Church) and we are able to reflect on what we have been given that we are thankful for and areas that need a little pick me up...why wait until January 1st? So perhaps a walk through our year is in order, my parents keep a jar on the mantle that throughout the year we fill the jar with little slips of paper that have our blessings listed on them...let me tell you...this year that jar is quite full...but the jar doesn't even have to be filled with the "big" blessings, it can be filled with things that are as simple as starbucks hot chocolate. What we are thankful for is as simple as we make it...why not try it? Write down what you are thankful for, what has God given you this year? on the flip side of that...what do you need to work on? what is keeping you from growing in your relationship with Christ? what needs to be released...there is a great line in a song (Hosanna by Hillsong) that asks God to "break my heart from what breaks Yours" (God). This is the best time of year, when leaves are falling off the trees and things are dying to allow a part of you to die to self. Maybe sit down and have a hot chocolate and make a couple of lists for the season.

The Final Countdown

2011-04-11T12:06:00.003-04:00

As I typed the title I saw flashes of Rocky playing in my mind's eye. It made me want to go and run the stairs of some old, abandoned football field. But that is neither here nor there...aren't we all counting down to something? Right now I am counting down to my wedding...there is a little ticker on our wedding website (165 days to go) and I'm sure that there is something that you are counting down to as well...maybe the end of school, the days till that big vacation, your graduation...whatever it is...we all have one. What's yours?

The Church has a countdown going right now too. Lent to Easter...that's what Lent is after all...a big countdown to Easter...time to prepare...I know that I need my countdown for the wedding because there is still a lot that needs to be done...but I have a definite timeline of when I have to get there and what the to do list is. It can be stressful sometimes watching that impending deadline coming up...but it's coming nonetheless. So to with Easter...it's not just that time when we get to eat all the candy we gave up for Lent...no it's something much more than that. It's a time for growing and learning more about yourself. Lent into Easter is a time of rebirth, we are reborn in our faith, we are reborn in ourselves. I think countdowns should do that...they should be milestones of what makes us who we are...where we are. So take some time today and think about the countdowns that have been in your life. What were those milestones like? What are you counting down to right now? I know that you'll be hearing a lot more about my countdown in the coming months...

It's a good thing I'm not God...

2011-04-07T10:55:00.002-04:00

I realized over the past two weeks that it is a really good thing that I'm not God. I think we all have our moments where we would like the opportunity to be God but no matter how hard we try, we fall short of completely controlling the situations we find ourselves in. It never fails to amaze me how much more God can make of a situation than we can. A couple of weekends ago, I took a lot of high schoolers on retreat; the weekend had a lot of ups and downs, but the downs were pretty low. I left that weekend not feeling revitalized for ministry like I normally do when I come off of retreat. I had to meet with parents over their children's indiscretions and talk about consequences. It's never an easy thing to have to explain to parents where their child has fallen short. I always have to remind myself that this is their pride and joy we're talking about when we talk about their child. This is a lot like God, I'm sure in the way He looks at us. We fall short a lot, and even when we do, He still looks at us as His pride and joy, even though we disappoint him. But this brings me to my point about it being a good thing I'm not God. See, I forget that the pride and joy of someone else needs to be dwelt with gently, and lovingly. I fall short of seeing that in every situation, and I think that we all do with certain things...whether it be not gossiping about someone, making snap judgements about people or not loving people the way we should. When we deal with other people, no matter who they are or how they treat us, we need to look at that person as the pride and joy of our Father...who looks at them the same way He looks at us...with love! My two cents today is this: Look at people with fresh eyes...look at them the way God looks at them, as His pride and joy. That's also how He looks at you. Always!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

2010-10-12T12:46:00.003-04:00

This is one of my favorite Food Network shows! I love hearing what other people like to eat and the different places that they've gone to eat at. I recently was able to go to one of the 50 best breakfast places in the 50 states voted by the Food Network. It was a great place with a fun atmosphere. The food was...okay. It wasn't the best thing I've ever had, but it wasn't bad. It got me thinking...what was the best thing I've ever eaten? Well, I have had some pretty great things...pizza is a favorite, and I like it when we make it from scratch and put fun toppings on it. Orange scones from Panera are amazing! Bean dip from a little Mexican restaurant in Steubenville, Oh, Oh and grilled toast from Spanky's in Steubenville...OM! That is one of the best things ever! I could go on and on about the great things I've eaten...but I want to touch on the BEST thing I have ever had! Jesus gave us His body and blood, a sacrifice for us, every time we participate in the celebration of the Mass. On the outside it looks like a little wafer of bread, pretty much tasteless and not much texture, but when I think about what I am consuming I am overwhelmed by the mystery of it all! In the gospel of John, Jesus says, and I quote: "Amen, amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." People LEAVE Him because of this, they say "nope, not doing it." Don't you think if Jesus had meant it was just a symbol of His flesh and blood, he would have called them back? Don't you think He would have said, "I didn't mean it like that"??? Instead He turns to His best friends and asks if they are going to leave Him to. He meant what He said! So then I think...if He really means it, then I need to pay attention...if we are what we eat...if we partake in the Eucharist on a weekly, or daily basis, we will become more like CHRIST! That is, by far, the Best Thing I Ever Ate...and I've eaten a lot of great things!

Life is a Gift

2010-10-07T11:14:00.002-04:00

I was sitting in my office the other day and a woman came in, and she was telling us that just the night before her house had burned down with her in it! She was a little shaken, she had literally just come from the hospital from being treated for carbonmonoxide posioning. But she was also very calm...too calm, I thought for someone who had just lost everything. Then she said this: that everything in her house had burned EXCEPT for her little saint statues and crucifixes. Someone was watching over her... She explained that she was very out of it while she was in the house and not really knowing what was happening but she started to pray for the intercession of St. Michael and that she was so blessed because she had been saved. This made me stop and think, here I was thinking how horrible it was that she had lost everything...but I had forgotten that the most important thing/person had been saved. HER! What a miracle! The reason why she was so calm was because she knew that God had spared her...she very easily could have died that night. But God knew that she still has work to do on this earth, His work. What a gift I was given that day too! I was reminded that things are simply that: THINGS...but life, ah life, that is the real gift! Clothes can be re-bought, books, furniture, things...you can get replacements. But life, that doesn't get replaced. Are you living your life for the right reasons? Are you cherishing the gift that Christ gives you everyday? Live your life with purpose!

come away and rest

2010-09-22T11:01:00.002-04:00

There is one door at St. Mary's that the moment I walk through it I feel a difference immediately! It seems unreal that something could affect my mood immediately...not just my mood, but my very being! I walk in and shut the door and there is nothing but silence, people can be packed into the little room and yet, it is still completely silent. It's strange to me that people can be so quiet there amidst the noise of our world. "What door?" you ask, the door to our Perpetual Adoration Chapel. When I walk in I am reminded of the scripture, "come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Mt. 11:28). I can't help but walk up front because I have to get as close to my Lord and Savior as I possibly can. The Adoration Chapel isn't just a place for me to go and get away from the world, it is a haven for peace and grace, mercy and love. I look at the Monstrance that holds my Lord and I am reminded of the sacrifice that He made for me. I get so caught up in the duties of the day and the many emails I have to return that I forget to head next door (my office is right next to the chapel) and allow Jesus to "give me rest." I forget that Christ has invited me to be with Him. I think of all the things I have to do and I have to slow down and remind myself of the saying "we are human BEINGS not human doings." I need to sit and BE with Jesus so I can experience this rest that He promises to those who trust in Him, who cast their burdens down at his feet. I invite you this week to walk through that door and simply BE with Jesus. He wants to give you rest!

welcome to fall

2010-09-16T12:30:00.002-04:00

Wow, when I looked back on the last blog, I felt a little guilty that I hadn't blogged in a long, long time...but when I look back on the summer, all I see is insanity. So it made a little more sense that I didn't have much time to blog. But I'm back and we're getting ready to kick off the year for youth group and it's almost fall...joy! I love fall...it reminds me of a lot of things but what it reminds me of the most is me! Ha, my birthday is in the fall and I always thought that that was the reason I loved the season so much, but now I think that it's everything that comes with the season, pumpkins, apple cider, sweaters and football! I love all of these things, they all make me happy, I love that I was born in the fall, because I have a good excuse to celebrate life. The season also reminds me of many things I love about my faith. I love that we celebrate the Rosary for the entire month of October, we have great feast days and we celebrate the saints in a special way. This year, I am reminded that amidst the football games, fires in front of the fireplace and going sweater shopping I need to remember what my goal is, my ultimate goal: I want to me a saint. That is my goal, to get to heaven, so I look forward to the ways I will grow this fall...I hope you're looking forward to the season as much as I am...and feel free to wish me a happy birthday whenever :)

Spring Cleaning

2010-05-12T11:07:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I've blogged...I'm not sure where to begin again...BUT since it's springtime I thought it might be nice to talk about cleaning. Now this might be a scary word for some of you...I personally enjoy cleaning, and I actually clean when I am stressed...it works out great for the house. Anyway, we'll get back to that in a little while...recently we celebrated Easter, we're still actually celebrating Easter.

I was blessed to spend some good, quality time with my brother and sister-in-law for a couple of weeks over the holiday. They happen to live in Italy, so that made the time spent with them even MORE enjoyable. So while I was there we got to see the Shroud of Turin, this is the cloth that wrapped the body of Jesus after He died. What a gift! I felt so blessed to see it up close and examine the wound marks on His chest and back, the blood marks from the crown of thorns and look at the imprint of His face. My Jesus. Right there in front of me...it made me realize something...it took a while to process, but after coming home and getting back into the swing of things at work, I began to think more about that cloth. People think that it might be a fake, or that it isn't really Jesus' imprint on the cloth...but I believe it to be the real image of Jesus there...I saw a photographic negative of Jesus on that rainy day in Turin. We live our lives thinking that if Jesus would just give us a sign, we'd stop doing what we're doing and follow Him...or if He'd just preform some miracle in front of us we would believe more firmly in Him. But that's the lie that Satan wants us to buy into. That's the lie of the world...we can't see Him, He hasn't done anything lately...look at all the hurt and violence, disease and death...He could come and stop it if He wanted to. He did! That's the thing...He did! Over 2000 years ago...He hung on a cross for all that violence, death, destruction...you name it...He hung on a cross for it. We tend to say that Jesus doesn't give us signs, I feel like the sign I saw in that cloth was one of the most real signs He gave us...the wounds that were imprinted on that cloth give us proof of His sacrifice. The same sacrifice that is offered everyday around the world on every altar in every Catholic church! Jesus gives us His body, He gave His blood so we could be made new!

That gets me to the Spring Cleaning part of this blog...if we say that Jesus is Lord, if we choose to believe that He came to save us...then we better be willing to say that for better and for worse. The Apostles left everything to follow Him...He didn't preform magic tricks in front of them to make them come and follow Him. They saw something in Him that they chose to believe. If we choose to believe like they did...I'm sure that there are things that we need to get rid of...I can think of a half dozen in my life that I need to clean out so Jesus can more fully be in my life...Spring is the perfect time to start again...everything is new...and Jesus came, died and rose so that we could be made new! Happy cleaning!

The Manual of the Holy Catholic Church

2010-02-25T12:58:00.002-05:00

Wouldn't it be great if you could get your hands on one of those? I often find myself thinking that there should be manuals for EVERYTHING! Including kids...but that's another story altogether. Well, this past week I found a beautifully bound copy of THE manual of the Holy Catholic Church. It was pretty impressive book, and we were all pretty intrigued by it. We flipped through the pages and found some answers to interesting questions. The problem I think is that a lot of times we don't read the manual and we end up breaking something. How many times do we actually read the manual of something we buy from cover to cover? I'm sure there are a ton of things about my iPhone I don't know because I have never read the manual...or TV's, or DVD players or the Wii or whatever the case may be. We normally think: I can figure this out on my own, I don't need to read the WHOLE manual. That's where we go wrong sometimes in faith. We have manuals, and it's not THE manual of the Holy Catholic Church (though that's cool), we have the Bible and the Catechism. These books tell us so much of how we ought to live. But how often do we begin to read and think we get the general picture and will figure the rest out on our own? Or how often are we reading and we don't like the way it's telling us to do something so we put it down? Or worse yet, how often do we never even pick it up because we think that we already know what we're doing? Yep, it's a growing problem...we can compare this back to technology...it's getting more and more complex and there is so much more that you need to know and yet less and less people have the patience to read the manuals. Just like faith, life is becoming more and more complex and yet, less and less people feel like they need to pick up the Bible to figure out how to live. All we need to do is read the manual!
During this season of Lent, it is a perfect time to start reading the manual! Spending some time everyday getting to know our Lord is the perfect way to keep from breaking down. Yes, there will be hard times but if you read the manual, you'll have everything you need to repair any damage. May the Lord bless us and keep us close to His heart during this time of Lent

"Come follow me" - Jesus

2010-01-20T14:20:00.003-05:00

Here's to a quote that has changed the lives of many. Jesus had a lot of great one-liners! I think that this was one of His best. I was just talking to my friend in Colorado and we were talking about opening a business together...and having a lot of one line quotes from Jesus all over the room. We were laughing so hard thinking about it. But a little later I was reflecting on that one line that Jesus said to almost everyone He encountered and I just sat with those words for a while.

"Come, follow me" was a very simple invitation, He still extends the invitation out to us today! But what made people leave their nets and follow Him? What made two men leave their father in the boat and follow Him? What made a woman pour expensive oil on His feet and follow Him? What was it about Him? It said that Jesus was found "human in appearance" though He was God. So what made people follow Him? What makes people follow Him still? I think what it boils down to is this: People saw in Jesus something they wanted. Peace. There is something about following Jesus that brings peace!

We search for that peace in a lot of places. There is a lot going on in this world that says it can bring you peace but let's be real...can it? Can that massage really relieve stress? Well, maybe for a while...but those stress knots will come back. Can Dr. Phil really fix your relationship? I doubt it, maybe he can give you some common advice. Can Judge Judy bring you the justice that you so desperately are searching for so you can finally just be at peace with whatever it is that someone did to you? I can tell you now that the answer to all those questions is...well, maybe, but the result will not be a lasting one.

Following Jesus (and this may sound really corny) is the only way to gain the peace that we are searching for. I was anxious about a few things over the holidays...I couldn't figure out why my life was out of sorts...it bothered me and so I decided to take it to prayer...I walked into Adoration and immediately felt a sense of peace at just BEING in the presence of Jesus. This is what it came down to for me...I needed more of Jesus in my life. I needed to lay down my nets (all the extra work) and follow Him, I needed to offer all my material possessions (including my body which is only mine for a little while) to Him and let Him use me for whatever purpose He wanted. I needed to take that one liner that Jesus said "Come follow me" and (as Nike's one liner says) just do it! I needed to FOLLOW HIM...and everything else would be taken care of...Jesus promises life in ABUNDANCE! And we need that in a world that promises empty things and is full of darkness and uncertainties. We need to cling to the promise that when He said "come follow me" He would take care of us in every sense of the word, and bring PEACE! So my point is this...Jesus had some great one liners!

Follow Him!

Back from the dead

2009-12-14T12:16:00.002-05:00

It's been a while. I feel like I was brought back to life recently. I was pretty wiped out for a while just being sick with first a cough and then a cold...man...the east coast is brutal! My new favorite thing is a vapor tablet that you put in the shower with you and it's amazing!!! ANYWAY...enough about that...I have been praying this Advent about the coming of our King and how blessed we are to have so many chances to run back to Jesus when we fall. I feel like December is a great time to be close to the Church because there are so many great feast days and Advent services to prepare yourself for Christ. Just yesterday in Mass we heard some of the most amazing readings because they were all about rejoicing...sometimes our world is pretty dark and twisty and we don't see a lot to rejoice in, but everyone loves Christmas, (except the Grinch) and it is a time to reconnect with our childhood. Or at least we should reconnect with our childhood...recapture some innocence that brings hope back into our hearts! Rejoicing in the Good News that was brought to Mary is a way that we see hope...we rejoice that she said "yes" to God even when she didn't know what would happen. We are blessed in this season to be brought back from the dead, and be brought to life in the celebration of the birth of our Savior...O come, O come Emmanuel, let us rejoice that you have brought us back from the dead!

Come Lord Jesus, Come!

2009-12-01T16:50:00.002-05:00

We just started our New Year! What's your New Year Resolution? Did you make one yet? I never keep my "drop 10 lbs" goal on January 1st, that pretty much goes out the window on January 2nd. But as I prayed today in front of the King of Kings, I made a resolution that I intend to keep. In the gospel of Matthew Jesus talks about not allowing yourself to worry about tomorrow because today's worries are enough for you to handle. I sat there today and I heard just a LITTLE itty bitty voice say "I always take care of you, AnnaMarie." It took me a second and I heard it again, and I felt days of worry and anxiety melt away in a breath. Why do I worry? It's satan, that's all it is. He's nothing compared to Jesus! And what a wonderful time to remember that in this season of Advent.

The word "Advent" literally means "to come to" and the Church is very wise in giving us a time to prepare ourselves to allow Christ to come to US! I always try to be mindful of this season because it can get overlooked very easily because Christmas season is so much fun to decorate for and celebrate, but it IS a time to make ourselves ready FOR the Christmas season. See, our society just gets it wrong...we STOP celebrating Christmas after December 25th. That's just when it starts! But we can get carried away in the moment. This year I had to take a step back and say "God what do you want me to learn in this season of preparation?" And what I heard was the gospel reading when Jesus says "can any of you, by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan?" and later goes on to say seek first the kingdom of God, and don't worry about tomorrow because today is all God is asking of you. He is taking care of the rest. My prayer this Advent is that I can prepare myself for the celebration of the King of Kings who is coming to us every moment of every day saying "I always take care of you!" Come Lord Jesus, Come!!!

A Calling

2009-11-10T16:36:00.003-05:00

I just got back from a retreat that was looonnnngggg....very long. I was completely exhausted from it, but after recovering for a weekend and praying over it for a couple of days I love to look back on retreats. I think about the word "retreat" and how it literally means to fall back. I know that I titled a blog "retreat" before but this isn't the point to the blog so I feel like I can fish back a little bit! Looking back over this past week with some pretty amazing seniors I am reaffirmed that I am exactly where God wants me to be. Sometimes it is hard to see that in all of the things we get caught up in daily. Sometimes people ask me how I came to be a youth minister and my answer has changed over the years a little bit but it always comes back to this simple fact: this is how God formed my heart. Let me get a little personal with you here.
I think that God has a unique plan for us, each of us. And I know that there are many times my heart has been far away from God, but He never stopped calling me back to what He wanted me to do. And ultimately it's this: youth ministry. I hear often that people are afraid of kids and that they think it would be hard to minister to kids in today's generation but to me, it's just what I am called to do. Am I good at it? Not always. Do I love it? Every minute! And retreats are a good reminder of that calling in my life and on my heart. Retreats are hard because everyone is at a different place, but I am so comforted when I put high school students in front of our Lord that He will give peace. It was something He promised: "peace be with you, my peace I leave with you." Our Lord never fails. Never!
God places a call on all of our hearts. Do you hear it? Do you listen? Like I said sometimes I didn't, but I know that in the midst of my darkest moments that call never stopped coming. The Fray wrote a song called "You Found Me" and there is a part in it that says, "I waited by a telephone that never rang" and it can feel that way sometimes but one thing I can promise you, one thing I am certain of: He will never deny you His peace if you ask for it. This call that God placed on my heart a long time ago is solidly founded in the teens that I am honored to serve. So retreat, even though it drained me of all energy, was rewarding because I was able to see God calling on the hearts of the teens who were there!

Saints and Souls

2009-11-02T13:40:00.003-05:00

Some days there are no words for remembering. But it is so important to pray for the souls of the faithful departed and to invoke the saints for prayers! We need the mercy of God to pour down into our lives and we need to see how much we need that mercy! We are nothing without Christ dying on a cross, and rising victorious for us in our brokenness! Thank you Lord, for trampling death for us!

Pub Talk

2009-10-22T10:39:00.002-04:00

My roommate and I frequent a certain bar in Fells and catch up on life. Last night was one such night. After dinner and talking we decided to walk down to the bar and have a drink...we got there and sat at the main bar with our drinks and started up a conversation that we had left off from earlier. Within a half hour of being there two men came up and sat at the bar beside us saying that we were the only two "normal" looking people to talk to in the whole bar (likely story). Oh how wrong they were...the first question that they asked us was what we did for a living. When we answered they knew immediately that we were anything BUT normal. Working for a church when you're 20-something isn't exactly normal...but the question that they asked is normally a very safe question for 20-somethings. The guys looked at us a little stumped because they didn't quite know where to go from there with the conversation. Now, all the bartenders at this bar know us and know what we do, so it's always really amusing for them to observe the men who approach us and how quickly they tend to retreat. But not these guys, they were determined to see this conversation through. After some really awkward questions about faith and politics I began to realize that this is what being a Christian should really be like all the time. That this is where ministry takes place...at the bar! That we are witnessing everywhere we go...not just at church but at bars, grocery stores, at the gym. The term "they will know that we are Christians by our love" is corny but true. There should not be a time when we aren't witnessing to our faith...but the cool thing is that we can still be normal and do that. I can have a conversation with someone in a bar over a drink.
It is always funny that the first question after people find out what we do is "are you allowed to drink?" People have such a warped conception of who Christ is and what religion is. So many people only see religion as a means of controlling people and oppressing freedom...but Christ said it perfectly, "I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly." He is not a God who oppresses His children...rather He is a God who allows us to live in freedom and love...His love! I think that G.K. Chesterton said it perfectly “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.” We need to rise up and show the world that the Christian Ideals that we hold to as truth are worth the struggle that will end in victory with Christ. Maybe that starts with a conversation in a pub!

If not now...when?

2009-10-14T13:37:00.002-04:00

Toby Mac just came out with a song recently called a City on Our Knees and the lyrics are awesome! I was reflecting on these lyrics and how the song asks:
If you gotta start somewhere why not here
If you gotta start sometime why not now
If we gotta start somewhere I say here
If we gotta start sometime I say now
I think sometimes we get very caught up in saving the world that we miss the mission right in front of us. On the home front, if you will, we are called to do something HERE and NOW. There is so much that needs to be done in our own communities. But we can't start until we start on ourselves. Remember the passage about not pulling the splinter out of your friends eye while there is a plank in your own? Did you ever stop to think that on an airplane they advise you to first put on your own air mask before assisting the person next to you? There is a reason that we need to take care of our own spirituality first sometimes. It helps us to minister (yes, we're all called to minister in someway) when we are being ministered to! As Toby Mac says, we gotta start here and now. That's just my thought for the day. Check out Toby Mac's song. Peace!

"God's greatest attribute...

2009-10-13T11:57:00.003-04:00

is His mercy."
I had a professor in college (a favorite) who always said that if we put that quote on the front of our test books he would never fail us. He said that if God was merciful enough to offer us life in His kingdom that he could be merciful enough to not fail us. Everyone in his class always remembered to put that on the front of the booklet. But all of us, also, studied very hard for his tests regardless of the fact that we knew we wouldn't flunk. I think it was because we respected the man so much that we wanted to do well for him. The thing I loved about his teaching was that he taught what he lived, he didn't live what he taught. I think there is a huge distinction in that. There are people who will live what is taught to them, but then there are people who live a certain way and teach by that example. As Christians, we are all called to live that way. St. Francis of Assisi said that we should preach the gospel at all times and only use words when necessary. That is living our life in a way that teaches others how to live too!
But no matter what we do...there will never be a time when we don't need God's mercy! We can never do anything to "earn" heaven. There are not enough good deeds in this world that would allow us to merit heaven...Only God can bring us into eternal life. I think sometimes we get caught up in doing good deeds but it is God who sees our hearts and loves us through everything! One of my very favorite passages in the Bible is in the book of Psalms chapter 18:19-20 which says "He [Christ] saved me because He loved me." I did nothing to deserve it (salvation), I've done everything to have lost it, but that doesn't change the fact that He loves me! What a gift! God's greatest attribute is His mercy! How thankful I am for that gift of mercy!

The Lord's Day

2009-10-12T11:21:00.004-04:00

I recently upgraded my phone and much to my dismay I had to have a middle school kid show me how to put the phone on silent! Crazy...this world is moving so fast I can't keep up! But yesterday helped me to slow down. After numerous times of having to go back to my office because I forgot this or that for youth group, I found myself starting to get irritated with the people around me driving slow or walking slow...I had to literally stop and remind myself that even if I was working it was still the Lord's Day. How often do we get caught up in what we're doing and we don't even stop to think that there is something bigger going on in this world? On the Lord's day we are commanded to slow down. That is actually a COMMANDMENT! Weird eh? I think that God really knew what He was doing. He didn't command us to work...we do that out of necessity. But He knew that we'd get caught up in that...and so He commanded that we take one day that is just for reflecting on Him.
There are so many ways that we do that. But we get caught up in sports and practice, homework and yardwork, and we forget that all of these things are pointless in a grand scheme of things. Jesus reminded us in this Sunday's gospel that it is hard for a rich man to get into heaven...even if he observes the commandments. God alone knows the soul. The rich man went away sad because he had many possessions. He was invited to follow Jesus and he turned away. We all have that invitation, how often do we walk away? It's sometimes easy to walk away because we have the INTENTION to follow Christ later and before we know it...time has flown by. Just like I was saying about how quickly technology changes in this world...so to does time past just as quickly. There is a verse that says the pathway to hell is paved by good intentions...how true.
The Lord's Day is an opportunity to stop and make time to reflect on Christ's invitation to follow Him. Yesterday I forgot that...I didn't take enough time to reflect on my invitation to follow Christ. But the great thing about Christ is He invited me again today to follow Him. Take time for the Lord today...take time to reflect on His invitation to you!

Spirit Week

2009-10-01T13:12:00.003-04:00

It's that time again...homecoming! I remember when I was in high school and things were so crazy the week of homecoming. Spirit week was the biggest time of the year for us in high school...now that I am a few years removed from high school and I find myself working right near a high school I am getting caught up in that excitement once again. Isn't it funny how sometime things just throw us back to a time in our lives that are either good or not so good as far as memories go? Remember those times? Were they a long time ago, or just last week?

That's not really what I wanted to talk about though. I wanted to talk about something different...it still has to do with spirit...but I feel like this week is totally spirit filled for a different meaning altogether. This week the Church celebrated a lot of feasts, one being today, which is the feast of the Little Flower, or St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. This past week we also celebrated the feast of the Archangels on the 29th and then tomorrow we celebrate the feast of the guardian angels, and there are many others that are coming up! God gives us so many opportunities to experience the Spirit and His Grace...we need only to be open to it. Let it rain down on you this week! Praise God for His infinite mercy!

millstones

2009-09-28T14:21:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday's gospel reading was pretty in your face. Jesus, I don't care what anyone says, was NOT a nice guy. That doesn't mean He wasn't loving, but let's be real...anyone who says "if you lead one of these little ones astray it would be better for him to wrap a millstone around his neck and cast himself into the sea" is not a "nice" guy. He's a "real" guy. Yep, I think Jesus was a real guy. A really not nice kind of guy! But at the same time, you always knew where you stood with Him. I think we still know where we stand with Him. He isn't going to sugarcoat the truth, or water it down. He will tell you like it is. Wrap that millstone around your neck, my friend and cast away!

This is one of the stories in the Bible I like to joke around a lot with because it's so to the point. But the reason I can joke around with it so much is because I know and understand the importance of it. I can see that story and relate it to my own life. I can see that millstone and ask myself if everything I am doing is truthful and loving...or if I should be wrapping that millstone around my neck. I work with kids for a living and I better be darn sure that I am leading kids closer to God and not further away. I can never let my own insecurities or opinions lead someone away from Christ or having a personal relationship with Him. I have to know that how I live my life reflects the relationship I have with Christ and therefore witness to Him. Do I always do that? Certainly not. We all mess up and make decisions that lead us away from Christ, but it's in turning back that we set the example. It's by repenting and stating that we were in the wrong that we show people how to set the bar higher for themselves in order to make it to heaven. Jesus is that bar that we are setting. Do we set Jesus really low in our lives? Or is He "the bar" that we are reaching for, striving for? Are we striving to set that example for everyone around us, or should we be looking for a millstone? Priase God He always lets us come back when we mess up, Amen!

Live for today...

2009-09-18T15:40:00.002-04:00

Over the past few days I have seen quite a few people who have had some major health problems...and none of these people are super old. It makes me really reevaluate the way we tend to live life. I know that for myself I can easily say, I'll do that tomorrow...but what if tomorrow never comes? I know this sounds cheesy but as I watched last season's finale of Grey's Anatomy and people are dying and the monologue is all about asking ourselves if we told the people who have changed our lives that we loved them, I found myself asking the question: "Would I be ready if I died tomorrow?" I don't think this is a morbid question...actually I think it is a wise question. We have to constantly be thinking beyond this world...beyond this life. Are you? If I had to say that I would change ONE thing then I wouldn't be ready to meet my maker. I mean, clearly I can improve on things but I need to know that I am as ready as I possibly can be. It's a big deal...it's the difference between heaven and hell, it's the difference between seeing the face of God for all of eternity or being deprived of the very thing that gave breath to your soul!
I made it a habit a long, long time ago that I never, ever hang up the phone or walk out the door without telling my parents or brother that I loved them. Because what if I never see them again? I want the last thing I said to be something of love. It's imitating Christ, even when we don't feel like it, and even when our family irritates us beyond measure. That is what Paul was talking about when he said, imitate me and I imitate Christ.
I encourage you tonight before you go to bed to sit down with a piece of paper and write the things that most desperately need changing in your life...do you need to apologize to a friend or family member who you've hurt? Do you need to forgive someone for hurting you? Do you need to spend more time in prayer? I know I do!
Live this day like it could be your last...and Christ's peace will enter your heart!

Do you worship the snooze button?

2009-09-17T10:55:00.003-04:00

I love sleeping...it's actually one of my favorite activities (can it be considered an activity?). It is one of my favorite things in the world to get into my fluffy, cozy bed at night and just snuggle down for sleep! And then the alarm goes off! Now, I am not one to hit the snooze...nope, not because I don't want to continue to sleep but once I'm up, I'm up. I hate the sound of that alarm too. Ick! But I think for a lot of us getting out of bed is tough...it's much more inviting to continue to stay in that warm place and not have any cares in the world. I imagine that this is what the womb would be like...I would like to think that when I was born I was clinging onto my mom's rib or something so I didn't have to come out. I guess I didn't cling too hard because I was out in 45 minutes! That's besides the point. We like being comfortable and a lot of us really like that extra five minutes to sleep. I wonder what the world would be like if we didn't hit the snooze button. I wonder if all of us would just get out of bed and start our days like clockwork. I think back to when there weren't alarm clocks in everyones room and people got up with the sun and went to bed when the sun went down. Did they just NATURALLY get up? Were they really THAT disciplined? That amazes me because we live in a world that lacks discipline...ie we tend to worship the snooze button.

I think this lack of discipline has almost come to be expected from the young people! But take heart young people! (myself included) today's reading was from the 1st book of Timothy in which he says "Let no one have contempt for your youth,but set an example for those who believe,in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity....Do not neglect the gift you have". We are not chained to the snooze button, we are not chained to the laziness that people expect from the youth in today's society. I encourage you to break the mold! Get out of bed 5 minutes earlier and spend it in prayer. I challenge you this week...take an extra five minutes out of your morning and thank the Lord for giving you life! Let's worship our Salvation, not our snooze button! Happy morning!

The saints of our time

2009-08-27T11:58:00.002-04:00

Today's gospel talked about us being ready for the coming of our Savior. An old proverb says, "do not put off until tomorrow what can be done today." There are many times in my life, in my day, that I will say..."I can get that done tomorrow" and I'll spend my extra five, ten or fifteen minutes checking facebook or my email, or the score of the Steelers game on nfl.com. :) But today's gospel speaks to me especially, maybe to you too, about the need to be diligent in our work and in our faith. We don't know the hour that Christ is coming...and there have been times when I certainly would not have been ready to meet Jesus face to face if He would have come down. So hopefully, we can truly say at the end of each day I did everything I did today for the greater glory of God.

Today we also hear about St Monica, the mother of St Augustine...and man, to be the mother of St Augustine, you would HAVE to have been a saint! St Augustine was a bit of a party animal...he had mistresses and even had a child outside of marriage. But his mother, Monica, knew her son had the potential to be great. Yep, GREAT! And she prayed and she prayed and God worked in her son's life helping Augustine become not only a saint but a doctor of the Church! But as I listened to the gospel and heard about St. Monica, I found myself thinking about St Monica's fear as a mother for her child. Did she wonder if he would make it to heaven? Did she fear that Christ would come and her son wouldn't be ready? And as those thoughts crossed my mind and found myself thinking of my mom and all the grey hairs I probably gave her when I was going through "the world is against me" stage. Mom's have a special place in today's feast of St Monica. Mom's pray hard for their children to turn out well, and not just that, but they pray that their kids make it to heaven. Today's feast of St. Monica is really a feast for all mothers and for their strength to keep on praying even when their kids are making poor choices. What a gift to have St Monica and her intercessions for mothers today!

fire, fire, FIRE!!!!!!

2009-08-25T10:15:00.005-04:00

I used to be so afraid of fire I wouldn't even light a match. Yep, I didn't light my first match until I was probably 16 or 17 years old. I had my dad or my brother do it for me...or I'd get one of those cool fire starter plastic lighters with a long handle. I was so afraid of getting burned! I had this fear that I would catch on fire and my skin would fall off...that's gross! But as I got more bold I realized that if I was careful I wouldn't get burned. This analogy of fire is perfect for talking about our faith. Sometimes I am so afraid of getting "burned" by people that I shy away from certain issues because I don't want to chance my skin falling off...you get me? I think it is pretty common that we back down when talking about Jesus to our friends, co-workers, families because of what might happen. Will we get burned? What if fire isn't such a bad thing after all though?
Lately I have prayed a lot in front of the Blessed Sacrament and over and over I find things keep referring to fire. In songs, in verses, in conversations it seems like things just keep going back to this idea of fire. As I was reading about St Alphonsus I came across a quote "To cast fire upon the earth—that is my mission! And how I wish it were already blazing fiercely! Nothing in the world can set hearts ablaze with love for God like the Blessed Sacrament." This more than anything just affirmed what God has been speaking in my heart that we are called to truly cast the fiery love of Jesus Christ on this earth! How do we do that? Especially in a world of fires of the wrong sort? There is a lot working against us. But we were baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit and we were confirmed in that later when the fire came down again through the Spirit in the sacrament of confirmation. There is a lot of darkness in this world and we are called to bring light to it. We're called to be burned by the fire of the love of God and to go and start that fire in others!
I was talking with my best friend about her retreat she just got back from and she was telling me about how in one of the Servant Songs, in Isaiah 50, there is a verse that says this: "But all of you are kindlers of fire, lighters of firebrands. Walk in the flame of your fire, and among the brands that you have kindled!" All of us are called to serve, not one like another, we are called to cast fire upon the earth in a way that is uniquely ours. God did not make us to be cookie cutter images of the saints, no, He created each of us to cast fire upon this earth in a way no one else can. How are you called to do that? How does God want you to witness His message to the world? It will be hard. He says that upfront. But we know that at the end of the day God wins the war...He banishes Satan and we, His people, are victorious under the King. So I pray that today we can take that step together to be bold, and to cast fire upon this earth.
But don't play with matches, you WILL light yourself on fire, and your skin WILL fall off. Gross.

Redemptorist what????

2009-08-04T11:52:00.002-04:00

Driving up the hill to the Notre Dame Retreat House in Canandaigua, NY this past weekend, I was reflecting on my month of working at St Mary's and what that has meant for me spiritually. One of the things I've been hearing a lot about since coming here is Christ's crucifixion gives us plentiful redemption! So when I went up to this retreat house for a symposium for the Redemptorist Order this was the focus of my heart. So I got to my room and sat down thinking I would be able to relax and take it easy for a while. God had other things planned as He usually does. So I went down to the chapel and was greeted by this French priest who was one of the most joyful people I have ever met. Was this the life of someone who had experienced plentiful redemption? This was my experience throughout the weekend. People were joyful and excited about this order of priests, this way of life. And I found myself getting more and more excited!

The order of the Redemportists was started by St Alphonsus Ligouri and is called the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, St Alphonsus is also a Doctor of the Church because of his influential thinking and practice of life. He had this call to aid the abandoned and the needy. Aren't we all abandoned and needy at some point or another in our lives? Don't we always need someone to look out for our needs? I know that sometimes I just NEED to fall back on my family or friends. I know that sometimes I feel alone. This is our world. Yes, we can focus on the actual poor and sick of this community, but we can only really serve when we can recognize that poorness and sickness in ourselves as well.

This past weekend I met a lot of wonderful people, doing great things in this world to further the mission that St Alphonsus lived by. It inspired me to go forth from that weekend and do the same! The Redemptorists take a 4th vow of Perseverance and I think that this is something that we can all learn from. There will be times that we will be spiritually dry and worn out by the battlefield that is this world. There will also be times when we see much fruit in our work...but what is most important is that no matter what we see, we can persevere through everything so that at the end of our lives we can look back and truly say that everything we did was "Ad majorem Dei gloriam"! (All for the greater glory of God!). This perseverance is what will sustain us when we want to give up. We must, as St Paul tells us, "pray at every opportunity" so that we can stand firm.

You know what they say...practice makes perfect!

There's something about Mary

2009-07-22T14:29:00.002-04:00

Today is a great feast day of an amazing saint. Her name was Mary Magdalene and there is a little confusion about who she was, but what it really comes down to is that she was a woman of whom much was forgiven and therefore she love much! When we talk about Mary Magdalene we take a look at the gospels because she is in there quite a bit. In the gospel of Mark, he talks about Mary Magdalene, out of whom he [Jesus] had driven seven demons. She was healed by Jesus. The one thing we can see from the gospels is that that Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' best friends. She was with Him until the end, at the foot of the cross and after. She was the first person the risen Jesus appeared to, and she was the woman who believed and ran back to tell the others what she had seen and heard. What an amazing witness! We are called to be a witness in that way. We are called to not shy away from the cross because it is scary or difficult to see. We are called to believe the words of Jesus and go out and share those words with others.
I love St Mary Magdalene because she is called the saint of whom much was forgiven. I like this reference because it leads me to look deeper into my own life and the many things that have been forgiven. The other part of that title is that she loved much. I hope that I love much because much has been forgiven. The Mass readings talked a lot about love today because Mary loved her Lord so much. The first reading was from the Song of Songs, which most people relate to a love of a man and a woman. But here I think that this was about the love of man towards God and visa versa...one line says "I sought him who my heart loves, I sought him but did not find him." Just like today's gospel, Mary goes to look for the Lord at the tomb and she doesn't find Him. She looks for Him and finally He appears to her. In the Song of Songs it ends with: "I found Him who my heart loves." It makes me think about that deep love that our souls are created with, a love so deep that we can't even comprehend it without God's help! Our souls CRY OUT for that love...we seek that love all the time. Sometimes we look in the wrong places but God won't stop until He has all of us! Just like Mary Magdalene we seek God, and He's there. Sometimes, like in today's gospel, we don't recognize Him at first but when we do we rejoice, just like Mary did.
Today, let's work on that idea of forgiving because we have been forgiven, and loving because we are loved! St. Mary Magdalene, Pray for us!

Miss Independence

2009-07-06T21:23:00.002-04:00

Just this past weekend we celebrated the anniversary of our nation's independence. What a blessing it is that we live in a land where we are free to do so many things. Free to worship without fear, free to come and go wherever we please. This gift of freedom was fought for by our forefathers and it is maintained by many people today...people we might even know and love.

I was thinking about this over the weekend while I was working a fund-raiser at my parish. So many people were coming in from out of town to see the fireworks and I will be the first to admit that fireworks are my favorite, but I couldn't help but wonder if we view this freedom the way we view fireworks. I LOVE fireworks (love, love, love) but I love them from afar...I never want to get too close because it's dangerous. But is this the way we view freedom? We love our freedom, but do we fight for it, or do we love it from afar? No, no I am not talking about strapping on some gear and going off to war...but I am talking about fighting for things we know to be right. There are many things that we tend to look in the other direction when they happen...what do we do in the here and now? In our hometowns? Do we value the freedom that was so violently fought for with the importance it deserves? It makes me think a lot about the statement from (don't judge) Spiderman, "with great power, comes great responsibility." We have a great nation, a powerful nation. We have the responsibility to uphold the rights of all people!

So, back to my title...Miss Independence. This month I kinda feel like that...since I've moved from Colorado I have felt a lot of independence...sometimes it is scary, sometimes it is fun. But I am overwhelmed sometimes at the responsibility of being independent (My parents are on my speed dial for a reason :)). So as I sat watching the fireworks with friends I reflected on that independence that was believed in to the point of death...I thought about the people who are fighting for that freedom now, and the ones who have died fighting for it, and I felt an amazing feeling of gratitude to people I might never meet, but who have changed the world I live in! My prayer is that I fight for the freedom and dignity of every human person in this great and powerful nation that was founded on defending values!

A New Chapter

2009-07-02T10:25:00.002-04:00

I think maybe my life is on chapter 8 right now...like I just started chapter 8. Chapter 1 I was born, chapter 2 I was playing with dolls, chapter 3 I was saved from awkward middle school years because I was homeschooled, chapter 4 I was a mean high schooler, chapter 5 I went to college (I was hopefully no longer mean), chapter 6 I started my job at St Mary's, chapter 7 I was started my job at STM, and hence chapter 8...now! Wow, that sums up my whole life. I like it!

Yesterday, was the first day of work, I picked out some cool new office furniture and am waiting for it to come to me! But backing up about a week and a half, I started driving across country...I made it, don't worry. But I made it about a block from my parents house before I started crying, not because I was scared but because it is sad when things come to a close in your life. I was sad that God had called me away from some really amazing people, especially my parents, but I also had a sense of excitement for what God has planned next.

I had to write a letter introducing myself to my new parish and in it I was reflecting on the saying: the only constant thing in life is change. It is a very true statement but one that people hate accepting. Oh, I know, I know, I heard it a lot during the elections...change, change, change. But when it really comes down to it, people have a really hard time watching things change in life. The loss of a loved one, the moving on of a friend. There are many things that we don't like when it comes to change; sometimes I don't like having to change my coffee brand because I have to get used to something different. But change will happen and the only thing we can control is how we react to it.

That is an important thing to reflect on...how we REACT to something that happens to us, or around us. There are many times I have left God out of that reaction and it is in those times that I see where I failed most. When I don't pray about the situation and what God is calling me to do in that situation I tend to do very prideful things. Things that aren't the best because I am simply reacting in a purely human way. Which makes sense in this world because I am human, but because we live in a secular world this is the only logical thing to do...make the best decision based on MY knowledge. But I KNOW that God has already seen the end result...so why not ask for HIS guidance?

Tomorrow we celebrate the feast of St Thomas the Apostle. We all know that we refer to Thomas as "Doubting" Thomas, because he doubted that Jesus had actually risen from the dead. How did Thomas react to this change? Well, he didn't react well, but isn't this the way most of us would react? Isn't this how we react to most things in life? He lost his faith because something didn't go the way he thought it should. That's life, that's change. St Thomas, who, when he saw his Lord, fell to his knees and exclaimed: My Lord and my God!" knew how wrong he had been and he repented to the Lord. Let us follow the example of St Thomas and say "my Lord and my God, may Your will be done in my life today and forever!"

Taking time

2009-06-11T22:01:00.003-04:00

Today, I am home with my parents getting ready to leave Colorado. It is a very strange feeling packing things up, and I sometimes feel like my life is getting more and more crazy; and with that craziness I find myself getting more and more on edge about the littlest things. I'm sure that my parents are ready for me to start driving! So I took some time and went to Adoration...God is good because I was sitting there trying to center myself so I could spend some quality time with the big Guy and it just wasn't working at all. So I was getting ready to leave when the lady who was also in Adoration came over and asked me if I could stay the next hour because the 2 o'clock person didn't show up. I didn't have anything else to do so I said yes (a little reluctantly). So for the next hour I didn't have a watch or a phone and I truly just sat with Jesus. As I sat, I thought about how our God knows everything we need...always. Even when we don't know what we need. I didn't THINK I needed to sit for an hour...but I did.

I have been so consumed with getting everything together that I had forgotten my most important Friend. As I left the church, I had a sense of peace, promising to come back and visit the next day, I knew that I had to re-prioritize myself if this move was going to be Christ-centered. Basically life is always going to be crazy. It will only get more crazy as we get older. Maybe this is because there is always going to be more responsibility expected of us. So how do we deal? Well, it certainly is easy to shove prayer to the back burner because God is never going to be screaming at us about deadlines or due dates. But at the same time we should never expect that tomorrow we are going to have time for prayer. What if tomorrow never comes? I was reminded of this today. I had kept telling Jesus that I would talk to Him later, later, later...what if my "later" is now? What if I was missing out on life because I was too busy to slow down and let it happen? We are only here on this earth for a short time...our bodies are on loan...so I don't want to look back on my life and see that my biggest accomplishment was that I was a workaholic...or a taskmaster...or worse, that I didn't sit down with my best Friend everyday to let Him know how grateful I was for the gift of my time here.

So my question today as I wandered out of Adoration was: What am I doing with that time?

It's kinda like a celebration

2009-05-26T13:50:00.002-04:00

There are a lot of different steps in our life that we take...these steps take us in different directions all the time. One thing I have learned throughout this year is that we always need to take time to celebrate life and resurrection. We just celebrated the feast of the Ascension of our Lord this past Sunday. I was reflecting on the readings before Mass and in the Acts of the Apostles, Luke talks about the apostles being commissioned by Jesus to go and be witnesses to the end of the world. And after He told them to do that, He was lifted up and taken on a cloud into heaven. How awesome a sight that would have been to see! It certainly makes me want to celebrate that our Lord is indeed an awesome God! One of the steps that we will make in our life is the decision to be a witness for Christ or to walk in another direction. That step takes courage because Christ Himself said that the Christian life would not be easy. But we are also told that there is something greater that we look to that is out of this world. If we aren't living for heaven, if we aren't living to get there...what are we living for?
I wonder sometimes what the Apostles were thinking when Jesus was taken from their sight. Were they super excited that they would see Him again soon? Were they scared to continue the mission without Him physically walking with them? Did they know without a doubt that He WAS walking with them regardless of if they could see Him or not? I like to think that they were excited at the prospect that Jesus trusted them with His mission, excited to live out their lives as a witness for Him and what He taught, what He laid down His life for.
Jesus calls each of us to do the same thing. To go out and witness with our lives and not just our words that we are Christians. It is hard to take that step sometimes, but each time we do, it's kinda like a celebration in heaven. When we take a step towards Christ, He is there cheering us on...even though we can't see Him physically...He is there! What a gift! What step will you take today to be a witness?

God is good!

2009-04-30T15:45:00.002-04:00

Here in Denver we are very, very blessed to have a great Archbishop. I remember on one occasion he asked me how I was doing. I replied "I'm good, thanks." And he looked at me completely straight faced and said "no one's good but God." It was a great "learning" moment for me. I remember thinking about that and still to this day I remember to think that. No one is "GOOD" but God. We are all hopefully going in that direction but God is always good! He is good when we choose the wrong path; He is good when we choose the right path. Basically He is good, ALWAYS! I love that about my God. He will never let me down. Things of this world will let me down. My car, which I love, will break down (and it does often); my phone which is attached at my hip will be dropped and not work (this hasn't happened yet, but it will). My new jeans will eventually rip, my best friend and I will fight. This doesn't mean that any of these things are bad, it just means that we live in a world of things that are imperfect. But God is perfect, which is what make Him the most solid thing we can put our hope into! So today whenever you take out your cell phone to send a text message, or you pull out of the driveway with your car, send a prayer of thanks up to God for His Goodness!

We are an Easter people! ALLELUIA!!

2009-04-15T17:18:00.002-04:00

Happy Easter! It's Easter Wednesday and there are sooooo many things that I feel I could talk about right now! Jesus has been raised from the dead, Alleluia! Man, I have missed that word. I was sitting in Mass today and my second favorite gospel was proclaimed and I almost started to cry because it is such a beautiful story! Today's gospel comes to us from Luke chapter 24. The road to Emmaus. Jesus meets up with a couple of His disciples who are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus and Jesus has prevented the disciples from recognizing Him and as He walks with them He asks them what they are talking about and they tell Him about what had happened in Jerusalem and how Jesus' body could not be found. And Jesus proceeds to unfold the scriptures to the disciples and then He sits and eats with them and as He broke the bread they recognized Him but he vanished from their sight. And then they say one of my favorite lines in the entire Bible "were not our hearts burning within us as He unfolded the scriptures to us?" There are a few points to this story. First, it gives us an image of the very first Mass after the Last Supper (go and read it and see if you can pick out the parts of the Mass). Second it shows us that there was fear among the disciples (why else would they be leaving?). But most importantly, it shows us that Jesus is always there to pull us back in when we are scared of what might happen. The disciples were walking to Emmaus because they were giving up, they thought that Jesus had failed. They thought that by Jesus dying, everything was over. And Jesus shows them how wrong they were; but He does it with love.
In this world there is a lot that we don't know. We don't know the outcome of anything. There is always something that could go wrong. But our late, great Pope John Paul II said this:

"We do not pretend that life is all beauty," he told Catholics during a visit to Adelaide, Australia, in 1986. "We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his paschal mystery -- the mystery of his death and resurrection. 'We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!' We are not looking for a shallow joy but rather a joy that comes from faith, that grows through unselfish love, that respects the 'fundamental duty of love of neighbor, without which it would be unbecoming to speak of joy.' We realize that joy is demanding; it demands unselfishness; it demands a readiness to say with Mary: 'Be it done unto me according to thy word.'"

This quote stuck out to me as I was reflecting on what Jesus did for us so unselfishly. Not only that, but He continues to unfold understanding to us through the saints and through Tradition. Just like the disciples in today's gospel, we will doubt and we will start to walk away. He will always be there to pull us back when we look for Him. Praise be Jesus Christ, our RISEN Lord!

Judas, Judas, Judas

2009-04-08T17:53:00.002-04:00

Today in the gospel we hear about how Judas makes plans to betray Jesus. Our pastor, Father Andrew, said that it is called "spy" Wednesday because in the gospel of Matthew it says that "from that time on" (after he had been paid) "he [Judas] looked for an opportunity to hand him [Jesus] over."
I always used to read the Bible and think how horrible Judas must have been because in almost all the accounts of Judas, his name is immediately followed by "the one who would betray Jesus." I would think to myself, "geez, I'm glad that my name isn't immediately followed by that." But as I got older and I recognized my sin more and more I realized that we all hand Jesus over to be crucified at one time or another. We do it every time we sin. That's a little depressing sometimes to think about. We all betray Jesus when we fall away from Him and choose the comforts of this world over Him. We hand Him over when we back talk our parents, when we gossip about our friend, when we lie, the list goes on and on! How depressing is that right? WRONG! Well, yes, it could be depressing but there is someone else who betrayed Jesus who we can look to. And that person is Peter. Remember when Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times? Well, that's a betrayal of sorts. That was Peter, picking life over his love for his Lord. We pick things over our Lord all the time. But who did Peter become? Peter became our first pope! What hope that gives us as Christians!
So here's the difference between the two men in the Bible who betrayed Jesus. Judas experienced something called remorse, which means he deeply regretted what he had done. But he didn't have repentance in his heart. He experienced something painful in his heart but didn't come back to the Lord and acknowledge his wrongdoing. Peter on the other hand, goes out after he denied Christ and the Bible says that "he wept bitterly." He cried not just because he regretted what he had done, but he cried because he had true sorrow in his heart. Father Vann, who was a priest, lecturer and author, said that this true sorrow of Peter gave him a "deeper love, and the deeper love a great strength; so that in the end he becomes the Rock on which the Church stands immovable." We love much when we are forgiven much!
I hope this last push towards Easter, in this holiest of weeks, that we can come forward, acknowledging our sins with true sorrow, so that we too might be able to become immovable for Christ our Lord!

It has been much too long!

2009-04-03T15:52:00.002-04:00

Where have I been??? I ask myself that sometimes! Spring is so busy for youth ministry sometimes and it seems that if you're not careful, Jesus can take the backseat. But God has really blessed my lent in so many ways. I went on a retreat just for myself which almost never happens and while I was on it, I had a lot of time to reflect on my relationship with Jesus. If I truly want to make Him my best friend and my number 1 then I need to be a little more attentive to Him and what His desires for me are. But what is so cool about God is He never smacks you in the face because you're not getting it, but rather, He very gently draws on your heartstrings and whispers how much He love you. I was reminded of that in a huge way this past weekend. I was in Adoration with Jesus and the priest who was bringing Jesus around in the Monstrance was blessing each person individually and instead of just doing the sign of the cross he bent over each person and touched the Monstrance to the top of each person's head. It was like getting kissed on the forehead by Jesus, and it just filled me with this longing to know Him more and more! I wouldn't say that I haven't felt Jesus before like that, but especially during lent when we are trying to unite in the suffering of Jesus, we can get distracted from what the meaning of suffering really is. I was reflecting on that meaning of suffering on the cross for us. Jesus was "pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our sins..." and in place of "our" I put in the word "my" and it changed. That meaning of suffering became real because He suffered for ME! That's love! So as we are getting ready to enter into Holy Week, I pray that you let Jesus come and kiss you on the forehead...that we are able to feel the love that came from His suffering on the cross!

A time of refelction

2009-03-19T15:18:00.003-04:00

This Lent is almost over...and I have been thinking about our very merciful Father who loves us! I was reading the psalms yesterday and this very wonderful psalm stuck out at me in a powerful way. In Psalm 18 (which is very long) a king is reflecting on how much God loves him and how thankful he is for God rescuing him from his enemies. He calls God his rock, his fortress and his deliverer. It goes on to say "my God, my rock of refuge, my shield...my stronghold!" What does it mean to be a stronghold? I think in this case it can be taken very literally. God, literally, holds us in the palm of His hand when we are in times of distress. Even when we turn out back on Him, He never fails! About halfway through the psalm the king exclaims "He saved me because He loves me." I read that and stopped dead in my tracks. I reread again, and again, before it hit me that our God didn't send His son to die and save us because we deserve it, or because we earn it or go to Mass every Sunday (not that it hurts) but He saves us because He LOVES us! There is nothing we do that will make Him stop, or be any less inclined to save us! So as I sat there with my Bible in hand staring at those words and thinking "wow, what an awesome God!" It made me think of this song by Third Day, called "take my life." The second verse says "how many times have I gone astray the number is the same as the stars in the sky." And God never says He won't take you back...He always takes you back. He saved you because He LOVES you. I pray that like the gospel says today that God SO LOVED the world, that He gave His only Son, so that we might have life that you believe that He saved YOU, specifically you, because He loves you, so much!

You have had 5 husbands and he who lives with you now is not your husband

2009-03-15T14:57:00.003-04:00

This is the reading from the gospel of John that we hear today. Jesus is pretty blunt when He says this to the woman at the well. He knows her inside and out, and He STILL offers her the water of life. The Water that will sustain her thirst forever! We know that Jesus is talking about Himself here, that He really isn't talking about water. He is speaking of the saving Water of life that He Himself will pour out on a cross. I love hearing this gospel! I love it because it tells the story of each one of us. No, no, not all of us have had 5 husbands, but rather that we all have "skeletons in our closets that we don't want anyone to see...but Jesus sees, and Jesus loves anyway. He knows that we fail a lot! A lot! But He knows that He was sent by His Father to love us anyway! This gospel, read to us in the third Sunday of Lent, gives us hope! Hope that there is a savior who loves us no matter what we do, who we are or what we've already done. He forgives the greatest of sins! If a woman who had been married 5 times, and living with a 6th can be forgiven of her great sins our sins can be forgiven too! Jesus will never stop knocking on the door of your heart, asking for you, yearning for you! He loves you! So today, as we reflect on the gospel, let's remember that those "5 husbands" (aka: sins) in your life are never greater then the Father's love for us. Will you drink of the merciful water He is offering?

Are you a giver?

2009-03-04T16:26:00.002-05:00

I was at my parish mission last night and the talk was all about Eucharist. The priest who was giving the talk was expressing that when we receive the Eucharist the gesture that we do with our hands, bringing them together and holding them out to receive is the same gesture that we use to give. In this gesture, God gives and we receive. And in this gesture, we give and God receive. Or at least, that's whats supposed to happen. But do we truly give? Or do we walk up to communion thinking of what we're going to do when we get out of Mass? When we walk up to receive communion, we should be thinking of the imperfections in ourselves that we can GIVE to God while He is giving Himself to us. In this, God receives our imperfections and makes them new, whole, better! When we give something little to God, He can make it more. I know that for myself, I think: "what do I have that is good enough for God?" But what is so great about God is He doesn't need a lot to make something great. Think about all of the stories in the gospel...these stories are about people GIVING something to Jesus, and Him in return making something more. The priest at the mission last night used the example of Jesus feeding 5,000 people. A boy gave something small, 5 loaves and 2 fish, and Jesus transformed it into something MORE than enough!! So much so that there were 12 baskets left over from this small gift. How much more so, when we go up to receive communion, if we offer our own little selves God can turn around with that gift and make it something more than enough! This talk really changed the way that I look at walking up the line to communion. I hope that as this wonderful season of Lent continues that we can all take steps to recognizing our imperfections and bringing them to the table of the Lord so He might be able to TRANSFORM us into something more!

In Him through her

2009-02-19T13:37:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow starts the consecration to Jesus through Mary as taught by St Louis Marie De Montfort. St Louis Marie De Montfort gives us direction on how to become more like Jesus by going through Mary. This is something that many people hesitate to look into because they fear that they might be "idolizing" Mary by making such a big deal as to consecrate oneself to her. This is not the case though. Why else would Jesus have given us His mother? Why would it be so important for Jesus, on the cross, to mention that we should take Mary as our mother? He yearns for us to view Mary as He did. St Louis Marie understood this and shows us how to give everything to our Lady so that she might take it to her son. Why, you may ask can we not do this ourselves? Well, a wise professor once used the example of a child bringing an apple to God. Not that He wouldn't accept it, He would. But how much more so if that apple was presented by His queen on a golden plate? It is all about mediation. Have you ever asked someone to pray for you? Why not just do it yourself? We NEED to share the load! It's innate in us that we aren't to go the road alone.
So...who better to lead us to the Savior then the one who brought Him into this world? Mary is the perfect model of a disciple. She could have been the most influential because she had spent the most time with Jesus, more then anyone! She chose instead to stay in the background and be silent. That was where God called her. Now He calls her to an elevated role in Heaven...He calls her to be a mediator for us. She was called many times throughout history the "Mediatrix" which translates into "she who mediates." Of course she would, of course! She loves her children, the children she was given by Jesus on the cross. She takes the hurt and the suffering, the joy and the sadness and she brings it to Jesus who redeems! That's what this consecration is all about! It's about getting closer to Jesus through Mary!
I love Mary! I love that she said "yes" when anyone of us might have said "no." I love that she was so in touch with the will of God that she was willing to stand by and watch her only Son be offered up on a cross for our sin. I love that she suffered spiritually so that we might live eternally with her and her Son in Heaven! I pray that you might come to know and love our Lady, our Mamma Mary as much as she loves you!

In my opinion...

2009-02-11T11:50:00.002-05:00

These words can really make or break the conversation. I seem to find that people almost immediately stiffen up when they here those words. I can't really blame them...these words will almost always be a little controversial to what your opinion is. I'm reading a book right now that overviews 7 levels of intimacy. It's actually called "The Seven Levels of Intimacy" by Matthew Kelly. The 3rd level of intimacy that he talks about is "opinions." And how people tend to stay in the 1st and 2nd levels because when people start talking about opinions disagreements start to come into the picture. But what I really loved about this chapter where he talks about our opinions is that he explains how we can have opinions and still have objective conversations. I can totally relate to this because there are so many times in a conversation where I'll feel like I need to make people agree with my point of view. Really, what I SHOULD do is sit back and listen. I could actually learn a lot. So many times I think we only focus on what we're going to say next in order to win the argument that we aren't really listening to what the other person is saying.
It is very good to have opinions, I completely encourage that. I LOVE having my own opinions and being able to vocalize those well. But I have to have opinions with the knowledge that I am not infallible and I need to be humble enough to admit that my opinions aren't always right and I should be open to growing. To be so set in our opinions can cut us off from good change. I remember I used to think that coffee wasn't very tasty. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? My opinion of coffee changed as I got older...and wiser! Our opinions change and we have to be willing to accept that other people can change their opinion too. It isn't always going to be us who will change that opinion for the good (or sometimes unfortunately for the worse).
What opinions do you have on matters of faith and morals? What opinions do you have on what's right or wrong? You can have an opinion about anything. God gave us the ability to choose what we hold as important. He gave us the opportunity to love past other's differing opinions. Will we choose to love today?

Super Sunday

2009-02-06T15:17:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday was pretty darn fantastic! I watched my team win the Super Bowl! It was so great! It was touch and go there for a while but they pulled through. There are a lot of things we can take from the Super Bowl, some good, some bad. I was pretty disappointed with the commercials. I really thought so many of them bordered on inappropriate...a lot of unnecessary sexual innuendos. But I love watching teams pull together and work with each other to make things happen. That is what both teams did. In this case, the Steelers came out on top, but that didn't make the Cardinals a bad team. It was the best of the best playing against each other.

So with that, how do we apply that to our own lives? Well, personally for me, it is always good to be reminded that we are not called to "go it alone." We are called as Christians to unite. The word "Catholic" means universal, that tells us something about our faith. I think one of the things it tells us is that we're not called to be alone. We are called to community, and in that communion we gather at the table of Christ, His altar of sacrifice. That is why going to Mass is SO important. I know there are days we wake up and we really don't feel like going to Church with our families, but that is when we MUST go! Being Catholic is so cool because we GET to come together once a week and celebrate a meal together. Not just any meal...THE meal. The meal that will bring us to salvation. We don't get to Heaven alone. Super Bowls aren't won by one person. We need community, teamwork, to get to the goal line. That goal is Christ.

I hope that you can find Christ in every aspect of your life. He is there...in the smallest of things. He is waiting for you in the end zone!

Colorful Colorado

2009-01-30T16:21:00.003-05:00

I've lived in Colorado most of my life. And talk about seeing all four seasons...in one day! You'll start out the morning freezing cold and by the time 3:00pm hits you're ready for the pool. Today was a little bit like that actually. I woke up in my freezing cold room and now I'm sitting in my office wondering why I needed all these layers. I love that about Colorado though. This state never lets you stand still. Not only is there a lot for us to do but with the weather constantly changing it keeps you on your toes. This is where our faith life should be. We should never be content with standing still. When we're standing still we're not growing. So today, I encourage you to get out and enjoy God's creation. I know that I'm heading out there soon myself! "Seek the Lord and you will find Him."

TOUCHDOWN!!!!!

2009-01-28T16:09:00.002-05:00

It's almost that special day! Super Bowl Sunday! Yes I will be out in black and gold, cheering for my team like its my job. But at the end of the day, the win or loss doesn't make me. If fact at the end of the day I'm still gonna be me and another super bowl title for my team isn't going to make or break me. Now don't get me wrong, I want them to win. But the other day when one of the girls from youth group asked me what I would happen if they lose, I had to stop and think for a minute before I said: "well, then they lose."
I think that this is a great teaching opportunity for our teens, especially our boys. Maybe we adults even need the reminder too. Sports don't make us. Grades don't make us. Who we date; who we hang out with, popular or not; first chair in band. These things don't make us. But we certainly seem to start going down that road when we're asked what does make us. We have be able to separate these things from the things that really matter. Who we help, what we do with the time that God gives us, who we love. What makes us better people? Completely what God created us to be. These things make us.
The ultimate touchdown that we're going for is the winning one right? We don't want to score a touchdown and then lose. We want to win. But what do you want to win? Popularity? Money? Clothes? Captain of the football team? Or do you want to win the everlasting prize? Run so as to win. St. Paul tells us that. And who better than St. Paul can show us how to win that race? His conversion was just celebrated this past weekend at Mass. What a story his life is!! He scored the winning touchdown when he was struck blind for three days so that he might be able to see the Christ he was persecuting and change his ways. What made St Paul? St. Paul was on fire for his faith and for his God! What made St Paul was his love which was a burning fire that spread throughout all the world! What makes you? What kind of touchdown do you want to score?

Go Steelers!!!!

A Little Down Time

2009-01-25T12:40:00.002-05:00

I think I've said this before, but man are we a culture of fast moving people or what? Even as I'm sitting here typing this I am doing about three other things at the same time. Why? Because we are trained to be a people who "do." Last night was a really nice time to sit back and really take a time out. I went out with a friend of mine and we went to Vigil Praise. Vigil Praise is put on by the seminary that is in Denver and it is led by seminarians. Two hours of just sitting with Jesus. Sometimes it is hard to just sit and be still.

I was sitting there trying to focus in and I was starting lose it a little when the song "Center" by Charlie Hall came on. And the lyrics of the song really spoke to me in that moment. It starts out by asking Christ to be the center of our lives, and goes on to say that He (Jesus) holds everything together and that everyone was made for Him. The chorus simply says "be the place we fix our eyes, be the center of our lives." My favorite part of the song says "we lift our eyes to Heaven, we wrap our lives around your (Christ's) life."

I just sat there and like a flip chart my mind started to go though all that I have learned over the years about our generation is considered to be "post-modern;" which means we don't have a center. I won't get into dates or anything, I'll just summarize. The time right after Christ was considered to be pre-modern, and God was at the center of everything. EVERYONE acknowledged that God was Creator. Later, as time passed and science came to light, people began to think that everything could be explained through science. So science became the center. This was known as modernism. Now, we live in a post-modern world. We are taught that whatever we want to be the "center" is center. The problem is, we aren't being educated that God is still creator. We are being taught that God is only Creator if we WANT Him to be. But really its all relative.

This song really helps us to remember that life is NOT relative. We were CREATED by and for Christ. He holds everything together. Just like in Colossians 1:17 "He (Jesus) is before all things, and in him all things hold together." So I encourage you today to take sometime and make Christ the center of your life today. If we fix our eyes on Him, we will hold together. Even in the darkest of times.

A Time of Change

2009-01-21T13:31:00.004-05:00

So we have entered into a new time as of yesterday. We have our very first African American President of the United States. What a historic day! I am so thankful that as Americans we have, for the most part, overcome our issues of race and segregation. There will always be people who are less accepting of others, but we pray for them and their conversion of heart.

What we must keep in mind is that in this time of change we cannot get complacent. Which means that we can't just think that because we have someone who is promising change that it will happen without us. We have a president who is very charismatic and progressive which can be a good thing but (as they say in Spiderman) with great power comes great responsibility. This new president has the responsibility to our country to respect life from its very beginning to the very end. This is something that our president doesn't think is the most important issue. The most important issue is always life, above and beyond anything else. The Catholic Church holds this to be the most fundamental issue: Respecting the dignity of human life.

This issue of life is so precious and valuable to us, or it should be, because if you're reading this your mother said yes to life. So I encourage you to stand up for life. It is truly a gift from God and you and I do not have the power to give it, or to take it away. No matter how much power you have it is never right to play God. Not long from now, in fact tomorrow morning and all day, thousands of people will march in Washington DC for the right to life. I think it is very of God that one of the first things our President will see is a people standing up for something that he does not hold as sacred. Let us pray for the softening of the heart of President Barrack Hussein Obama tomorrow on the anniversary of Roe Vs Wade. Let us pray for our country of freedom, that one day we will recognize that the unborn should have the freedom to one day to make the choice for change as we have so boldly made that choice!

http://www.catholicvote.com/

Cheese

2009-01-14T18:09:00.003-05:00

I really love cheese, so much so that maybe I'd marry it! But that would be a very one-sided relationship. A relationship which would end in me eating the cheese. But as I was savoring a really sharp cheddar not too long ago, it made me sit back and think. Oh, I thought about the cheese and its texture and flavor. But what I really had to sit back and think on was the word "love." I use that word a lot, maybe too much, or maybe just in the wrong context. I really love, love. But maybe our society put the wrong kind of spin on that word. A long time ago, way back when I was in high school :) I read a book called "Real Love." It took the analogy of "pizza love." We love pizza, but would we marry it? Would it love us through the rough times? Would WE love it when we were stuffed full of pizza and it made us sick? No, no not really. So we really just loved it while it was useful to us (the pizza that is). But how many things do we say we love? I love God. I love my shoes. I loved that movie. I love coffee. I love my car. I love my parents. I love my hair, I love YOUR hair. I love. I love. I love. I bet I say that 100 times a day. I bet you do too! Is it wrong? No, not really. But is it accurate? Probably not. Don't we want to mean what we say? Christ said He loved. He said He loved by dying on a cross. That's REAL love. We live in a world of extremes. We are always on highs or lows. We love or we hate. We constantly are looking for things or people to love. Maybe for the perfect example we need to look to the Cross. The MOST extreme of all loves. It's not pretty or popular. It's messy and bloody. That's love. So the next time I say "I love cheese." You can gently remind me that I really just LIKE it!

New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-09T16:39:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year! It's been a while since I've blogged. I was back on the east coast for a while and it was good to be there! I saw my big brother who is my favorite! And I saw my best friend. I love being around my Lauren. She calls me on and helps me grow. It is so important to have people like that in your life. People who love you regardless of your failings and faults; people who tell you the truth even when you don't want to hear it. So this past new year's eve I made a promise to God to make sure He's my #1 in everything.
It's so easy to SAY that God is your number one but it's an entirely different thing to actually DO it. I think we can all think of times we haven't made God #1 in our lives; whether it's making a boyfriend or girlfriend #1 or school or sports. There are thousands of things that we often put in front of God but when we're asked if God is our #1 we tend to say "of course He is." I am guilty of this too. I'll say one thing and go and do another thing. But don't let that get you down. Even the Saints would struggle with that. St Paul said, I do what I should not and do not do what I ought (that's a paraphrase). So we can lean on the saints who struggled the same way we struggle and they will help strengthen us for the journey. Our God is so good. He gives us EVERY opportunity to grow closer to Him. So this new year, my only resolution is to love God more by making Him my #1!

what were we thinking?

2008-12-19T18:49:00.000-05:00

Today marks a day when I swallow my pride for the betterment of the population as a whole! Isn't this picture great? That's Chris and David's real hair...Sue and I just were along for the ride! I hope you all get a good laugh out of this one!!!

The night is always darkest before the dawn

2008-12-17T19:13:00.002-05:00

It is almost time to welcome Christ into our lives through the celebration of Christmas! Have you been preparing? I have been trying, sometimes it is so hard to do that with all of the things around us beating us down! I think we can find so much hope in Christ though...just this past weekend we had the high schoolers present a skit that shows how hard it is sometimes to crawl back to Christ when our sin weighs us down. But the coolest thing about this skit is that Jesus never stops pulling us back with that invisible rope that was given to us at Baptism. That rope ties us to Christ in a way that nothing else will because it gives us the grace to get to Him and get back to Him even when we fall!
So hang on, hold fast! The sky is always darkest before the dawn...but that dawn is coming and He's coming soon! 8 more days!!!!!

Oh Mamma!! It's COLD outside!

2008-12-09T14:34:00.003-05:00

Can I hear it for a snow day? Oh my goodness did we get dumped on in good ole Denver! I remember last year it snowed on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception too! Maybe Mamma Mary is trying to do some clean up before her Son is born again in our hearts on Christmas. But this feast isn't about her Son's conception which is commonly thought. But rather HER conception. When she was conceived in the womb of Ann her mother. It is a beautiful picture to think that Mary was PRE-sanctified in the womb because of the role she would play. That Mary, blessed among women was chosen to be the God-Bearer, or the Theotokos, and her role began at (even before) her conception. We hear about it in Genesis 3:15, when we are told that a "woman" would have complete and total enmity with Satan. And HER offspring would defeat his. This isn't Eve that we are learning about it, it is Mary. So we celebrate that she was conceived without sin and that she was continued through her life without sin so that we might have an example who could bring us closer to Christ. This is where we have to step back and make sure that all of our devotion to Mary is Christ-centered. That everything about Mary that we love ultimately brings us to her Son. She would want it NO other way!!

So we celebrate that. I love Mary and I love her Son! I was honored to go and be with other youth ministers from all over the country and learn more about the Christ that I love and I learned how to share that love with the teens I minister to! It was cold, cold, cold in Cleveland, Ohio; but my heart was warmed by the Christ I saw in so many people who sacrificed time with loved ones to come and minister to me! It was a neat experience to see so many people on fire for the same thing that I was on fire for! Maybe being still rather young in the field of youth ministry made me like a kid in a candy store at this conference. I had nothing else to compare it to and so I soaked it all up. I met people from Texas, Baltimore (saw some I already knew) and people from home who I got to reconnect with. I know that Christ is doing amazing things in this country even when we can't necessarily see them. I know that because of the people I met over the weekend!

I was reminded most of all of God's amazing love for His people. In this time of advent I hope that we can all be that love to other people!!

What are we waiting for?

2008-12-02T11:46:00.002-05:00

Happy Advent! Did you know that Advent is a time of waiting? What are we waiting for? Well, we're waiting for Jesus, His birthday is fast approaching and we need to get ourselves ready for it! How do we go about that though? I think the best way to do that is to first get ourselves into a place that we pray more. The best way to get ourselves ready for someone to come is to do a little bit of house cleaning. I mean "interior" house cleaning though. Like going to confession and making sure that all the junk that gets in the way of Jesus coming into our hearts is GONE.

The season of Advent is kinda like a mini Lent. And we give things up when we get ready for Easter because we're waiting for the Resurrection of Our Lord. So to, when we are waiting for His birth we should be getting ready too. Sometimes I give things up in anticipation for Him. One year I gave up coffee...that was a bad idea because my priest said that my sacrifice shouldn't make other people suffer. That's just a funny example but in all seriousness...one of the best ways to pray is to fast from something that brings us joy. Then God knows that the sacrifice is genuine. So maybe this year we can give something up in anticipation of the coming of our King, who is going to be born into our hearts anew on Christmas day!

Amazing Grace

2008-11-23T16:31:00.002-05:00

Just yesterday I was waiting in line for confession and I was praying for the right words. God knows that even though I talk A LOT it often doesn't come out right. But all of a sudden I just felt this flood of faith come down and I just thought to myself, "what a merciful God we have!" And at that moment the church bells started to toll the three o'clock hour and I knew that the holy Spirit was flooding mercy down over His people! 3:00pm is the Divine Mercy Hour from Saint Faustina who was given the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Christ said to St. Faustina: At three o' clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony: This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world. I will allow you to enter into My mortal sorrow. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion."

In college I would sit in my Christian Anthropology class and right at 3:00pm the professor would stop class and we would pray: O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as Font of Mercy for us, I trust in You! We would repeat this three times and then we would continue on with class. As I was standing outside the confessional yesterday, I was reminded of those words, that prayer. The door opened and it was my turn to go into confession and I knew that the mercy of God was truly flowing down on His people. Think about what you have in your life that is blocking Jesus out. We all know what these things are...we know that we need the mercy of God to overcome it. Sometimes we're too comfortable to let it go. But in the end, God's mercy will win out. Let Him win today!

Masks

2008-11-13T19:08:00.002-05:00

How often do we put on a mask and walk out the door? No, no Halloween is over, I'm not talking about that kind of mask. I'm talking about the masks that cover up our hurts or our worries. I'm talking about the masks that might make us more "popular" or "cooler." Sometimes we even wear these masks around our parents. We want them to think they have the "perfect" kid or we're super smart. Or sometimes we want them to think we're a lot more of a troublemaker then we really are so we can get some attention. I know that sometimes it feels like we're the only one who is going through hard times. But think about all of the other people out there wearing masks that cover their imperfect lives...
There is a song on the radio called "Give me Your eyes," by Brandon Heath. In it, he is asking God to "give me Your eyes for just one second, give me Your eyes so I can see everything that I've been missing." I think that sometimes in our own mind, it can't get any worse in school or with friends or a boyfriend or girlfriend, or with family. But if we could see the way that God sees, for just ONE second we would see through the masks that people, ALL people put on everyday. And we might be surprised that there are things going on in the lives of people we love that are very serious and very difficult. But it's hard to get out of ourselves sometimes. Once a month we head downtown to make lunch at the sandwich line for the homeless. I sometimes wonder what happened in the lives of these people that led to them being homeless. I wonder if I could see inside their broken hearts what would I see? Then I remember that I too am broken, we all are. That is why we must answer the call to love ALL people. Not just the ones who are easy to love. We have to be willing to look past the masks that people put up. So we ask that God will allow us to see as He sees, so that we might embrace the broken hearted and love the way Christ loves!

Man plans, God laughs...

2008-11-09T16:38:00.002-05:00

I was driving to work today thinking about that statement. When "man plans, God laughs." I don't know who said it but I think they hit the nail on the head. I am constantly making plans for my life and constantly I am disappointed. I sometimes get frustrated with God when I feel like nothing is going the way I think it should. Today as I was driving and being a little frustrated with God for this exact reason that little saying hit me. I wondered if God was laughing at me. I don't think He is laughing in a malicious way, but I think that He is laughing in the same way that a dad would laugh at their little kid trying to push a square peg into a circle shaped hole. It's not a mean laugh it is a gentle laugh. And eventually the father will help their child put the right shape in the right sized hole. Sometimes it's only in failing that we realize our need for God. Sometimes it's only after our plans have failed time and time again that we look to God to see what His plan is. His plan will always trump ours...there will never be a time when God will say..."man I shouldn't have done that." Or "oops." His ways are flawless!
I think we can rest in that...but we don't. We plan and plan and plan. We plan for high school, we then plan for college and when that is all done we plan for marriage or our call to the religious life or priesthood and then we plan for what happens after that. We plan our days, our weeks, our months and our years. Not that organization isn't good, but when it pushes out room for God's plan it's pointless. I admit that I am completely guilty of this! I love, love, LOVE planning things. But there are SO many times I am so depressed with the outcome. And that stems from me not letting God's plan come in and shake mine up. It takes time but when I look back on what "went wrong" in my opinion, it is always for the best. This is where I need to learn over and over to place my trust in a God who I can't see but He can see what I cannot. Does that make sense? I can't see God but God can see the rest of my life, even up until I die. So if I would have married so and so, or moved across the country or took the freeway instead of the county road, my life would not be where God wants it to be. I have a God who desperately loves me and plans for my well fare and happiness. He doesn't want me to be unhappy. I can only make myself unhappy when things don't go my way. So today, once again I will place my trust in a God who, I know, has a better plan! I hope you can do the same!!

All Soul's Day

2008-11-02T17:36:00.003-05:00

Why do they put All Soul's Day right after All Saint's Day? Ever wonder? Well, I don't know the answer but I have a speculation! I believe that the Church celebrates All Soul's Day directly after All Saint's Day to give us hope that our loved ones who have gone before us, marked with the sign of faith (baptism), and in a state of grace will truly become saints when they enter into heaven. Because we know that you cannot enter into heaven unless you are completely purged of all sinfulness and that when our souls are perfectly united with Christ we enter into heaven. So therefore, we too will become saints. Sometimes that is hard to focus on when we are suffering though. It isn't easy to focus on the end product when we are suffering here and now, am I right? I know that there are many times in my life I have looked back on something and said "Oh now I know why I had to go through that." Even though at the time I couldn't see how God could work through my pain.

So I believe that the Church in her wisdom gives us this feast on the second day of November to remember the souls of those who have passed away to give us hope. I also think that the Church wants us to see that our sufferings can be offered up as something more. This is called "redemptive suffering." Which means we are redeemed through our sufferings, and we can "offer up" our sufferings for others. I used to say that I was going to offer up all of my suffering for people with backaches...this was a funny thing for me to say, but I truly believe that someone out there was relieved of their backache because of my sufferings. God knows sometimes we need other people to help us out. And if that relief comes through my suffering for someone else I had better be willing to bear that suffering with dignity.

The examples that I look to are (of course) Our Blessed Mamma, Mary who bore her suffering silently and courageously, all the way to the cross, where her Son was crucified. The other person who I think endured suffering unto death with dignity was our late Pope, John Paul the Great. He truly showed the world how to suffer gracefully and never complaining, even to the end. He showed us how to die with dignity. Whenever I start to complain about my sufferings I try to remember him, or Mary so that I to might offer up my suffering for someone else. And that "someone" might be remembered today, on All Soul's Day!

All Saint's Day

2008-10-31T12:51:00.003-04:00

Happy All Saint's Day...or as some would say, Happy Halloween! I prefer the first, and here is why... When I was little I used to be a cowgirl ALL the time for Halloween. That was until I was about 6 or 7 years old. My brother was always a cowboy and it worked out well...we were the coolest kids on the block, okay, we were the only kids on the block. But that was okay cause there was more candy for us! One year my parents said that Halloween was getting too demonic and that we weren't going to celebrate it anymore. All I could think about was the lack of candy. But my parents had a good alternative: we BOUGHT the candy, shut off the lights so no one would come looking for the candy and then watched movies in the dark. This became a tradition for a while until high school. Looking back on that decision to avoid Halloween as the world saw it, gave us an opportunity to not only grow closer as a family but it allowed us to move a little further away from the world. Christ tells us to be IN this world not OF this world. And in today's world Halloween is very much OF this world insofar as it allows Satan to really have a field day with little souls dressed up as his minions. I never understood why parents would let their children dress up as the destroyer of souls. It shows how desensitized we have become to evil. The Church in her wisdom gives us a perfect way to counteract this evil by celebrating the All Saint's Day vigil on this day. She (the Church) gives us examples of those who TRULY were IN this world and not of it! The saints are perfect examples of ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives! I think that in order to rid ourselves of our material view of life will only be possible with the intercession of Mary and the Saints. Maybe this day would be a good day to remember your Confirmation Saint who died living their faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Faith in God?

2008-10-23T13:42:00.005-04:00

There are so many unknowns today. Fear of the economy, fear of losing money in the stocks, fear of many, many things. Maybe these fears have nothing to do with the economy, maybe these fears are not being loved, not making your parents proud, not making the team. Maybe your fear is not getting into heaven because of sin that is weighing you down. Maybe your fear is going to confession because you think what you have done is bigger then God's forgiveness. Whatever your fear is I can assure you that God is bigger!
When I was little, maybe 7 or 8 I used to have this freakish fear of the dark and being alone at night. So much so that I would take a blanket and pillow and I would sleep on the landing of the stairs right outside of my parents room. This would often result in my dad stepping on me in the middle of the night when he was heading to the bathroom. But I was SO afraid to be alone downstairs. So my dad took me into my room one day and showed me that he had put a deadbolt on my window so no one could be able to open it from the outside. All I needed to do was put my faith in my dad and everything was okay.
Today, I still put my faith in my dad...my earthly dad AND my heavenly Dad. I trust my earthly dad because God put him here on earth to be in charge of me and I honor that. My Father in heaven is taking care of my earthly needs and my heavenly needs. I need to trust that He will suffice. We as children of God are not supposed to put stock in this world. We don't put our trust in Dow Jones, we put our trust in God. The things of this earth ALWAYS will let us down. It might not be today or tomorrow but there will come a time when something is lost to us. This world finite, it will fade, so will we. But God is INFINITE...He will never fade away!!
Like I said, there is much uncertainty in our world today, but there is only fear in losing material possession. This world cannot strip us of our dignity, or our worth as children of God; only we can do that. If we place our trust in Him He will carry us through even the worst of times.
That's tough because we are a generation of people who are used to getting what we want when we want it!!! But lately in prayer I have asked God to empty me of the selfishness inside, or anything that my heart holds onto so that I might only be filled with Jesus Christ.

Tattoo anyone?

2008-10-19T15:34:00.002-04:00

Shocking I know, but this Sunday (today) we are talking about the 4 Marks of the Church. The 4 Marks are: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. Just like a tattoo marks our skin, the 4 Marks of our Church are marked on our soul. When we talk about our faith we are proud to say that we are one, that no matter where we go in this world, we can find a Catholic Church and Mass will be the same as it is in our own home town. We believe that our faith is holy, that Jesus Christ founded it and since He is holy, so is our faith. Catholic simply means universal, we are solidly founded in this faith of a Holy God. And finally, our faith is Apostolic, that means our faith was built on a Rock and that Rock is Peter; to whom Jesus entrusted the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
How is this like a tattoo? Well, when we allow Christ to really take over our lives, it is really tough to ever "get rid" of Him. He enters into our thoughts and our decisions. Even when we are doing something wrong we are (hopefully) pricked with a thought of Christ suffering for our sinfulness. We are able to see that our decisions can radically effect our lives, good or bad. When we live for Christ, much like a tattoo people can see Christ radiating from us. I am NOT saying to go out and get a tattoo for Christ, but I am saying that we should be SO Christ-like that people should be able to see Him in us. St Paul tells us that our bodies are temples of the holy Spirit and that we should glorify God. Maybe today would be a good time to start shining in the light of Christ!

October Fest

2008-10-08T14:51:00.002-04:00

I LOVE this month...maybe cause I was born in it...no, I think my love is deeper then that! There are wonderful feast days and it is the month of the Rosary and it's FALL! The leaves are changing, or I guess here in Colorado they are either dead or still green, and harvest is coming to a close. It's been a while since I've written but I have had a lot going on. We've been gone on retreat and this, that and the other. BUT I'm back!
This month, like I said, is full of feast days (just yesterday was the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary) and I think that it isn't coincidence that there are so many wonderful feasts now. I was sitting just this morning praying my Rosary reflecting on the Visitation, when Mary went to see Elizabeth after the angel Gabriel had announced that she would be the mother of God. I was intrigued that the first thing that Mary did was set out and go bring the "gospel" (Jesus) to someone else. She was truly evangelizing by bringing Jesus out to Elizabeth right away! That's so awesome! As I was reflecting on that though I thought: how often do I NOT bring Jesus to people? How many times am I selfish and self-centered and I don't think about anyone else and their problems? Those times can add up. I prayed today that I might be able to become more like Mary. She knew that carrying Jesus in her womb she could very well be stoned to death because she was not married. Yet she still went out to proclaim Jesus to the world. She knew that she might be outcast among her family and friends but she still went out and proclaimed Jesus to the world. How much more so should I carry Jesus out to the world? Regardless of what might be said, or if I am ridiculed for my belief. Jesus said: "Blessed are you when you are they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven." Will you be bold as Mary was and bring Jesus to the world?

Happy Fall

2008-09-23T15:03:00.002-04:00

I love fall! Pretty trees, pumpkins, sweaters, football, and caramel apple cider! It is always a good season...did I mention I was born in this season? Which makes this season EVEN better! But anyway...that's not really what I wanted to talk about...oh wait, yes it is! Birthdays are very important, doesn't pretty much everyone celebrate theirs? Ask anyone...I talk my birthday up A LOT! But there is a day that in my life that is even MORE important! "What could be more important than being born?" you might ask yourself. The day that I was baptized, I was born into the family of God. It was the day that my parents promised to raise me in the faith and help instill morals into my life. This day didn't come the same day that I was born, it actually didn't come until February 12. In my family we celebrate this day as much as we celebrate our actual birthdays because without this day we wouldn't have the graces of the sacrament that help get us to Heaven. I don't know about you...but that's where I want to end up! Do you know your baptism day? If you don't you should ask! Make it a point to celebrate this day as well as your birthday. Your birthday is great because you get presents (I am much looking forward to that :). But your baptism day is the day that you received the greatest gift: the gift of becoming a child of God!

Rainy Days

2008-09-12T12:53:00.002-04:00

Today I woke up and I could hear rain on the roof. Immediately I rolled back onto my stomach and grabbed my stuffed animal, Puffin, close and tried to fall back to sleep. I didn't have to get up early and there was NO way I was getting up and going out into that rain! But I was now already awake...I tossed and turned for about 15 minutes and finally told Puffin that cuddle time was over (don't judge me for still having a stuffed animal okay?). I got out of bed, thanked God that my roommates left me some coffee and sat down for the Today Show. But I soon became restless...which never happens with me and the Today Show...so I went to the gym and worked out, thinking that this would get me energized for the day and get the restlessness out of my system. I left the gym, and on the way home felt still just a little restless. It hit me at that moment that I hadn't given my day to God. St. Augustine once said that "our hearts are restless O God until they rest in you." This is so true, especially today because we have so much to fill our lives with that aren't of God. And these things ALWAYS fail to satisfy don't they? I mean seriously, let's look at this. There is always something bigger or better that we want but don't have. Like cell phones...it seems that as soon as I get a new one an even better one comes out and I want that one instead. Or if I go shopping and I get something cute and then the next week feel like I need something else already because there is something new in the stores.
If this is what we use to fill our lives, if we live only on our desires and whims of the moment we will always feel like we are coming up short. We need to first let Christ fill us and then the other things we desire will be a little less important. We can still want to look cute or have a cool phone but not if that is what defines us. We need to be defined by our Father who loves us and in that we find rest. SO on your next rainy day, try to start it by giving it to God!

Stand your ground!

2008-09-05T16:05:00.003-04:00

Hola! Happy September! I just got back from Vail where all of the youth ministers from the Archdiocese of Denver gathered for a retreat. I don't envy the man in charge. We are all used to being in charge of retreats and telling kids to be quiet and pay attention but when it is our turn to be ministered to we become worse than the teens we minister too! There was much laughter and talking before every session and Deacon Don was constantly telling us to simmer down! But it was wonderful to retreat to the mountains and be ministered to! The entire time we were up there we talked about being evangelists like St Paul. It was stressed that we should not allow Satan to discourage us in anyway. I thought that this applied to more then just ministry so I decided to share some of the things that were shared with me.
We are in a battle for souls, Satan is constantly trying to snatch our soul away from Christ. It would seem that our first reaction should be to rise up and fight. But did you know that YOU personally will not be able to defeat Satan? Crazy right? :) Well, it would be prideful to think we alone are capable of doing such a thing. God doesn't expect us to defeat Satan, but He does expect us to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil. In Exodus 14:14 we are told that the "Lord Himself will fight for us, we need only to be still." That is a God who loves us! He is willing to fight for us!
But what happens when we fall into discouragement? What happens when we fail that test or we don't get the part we want in the play? What happens when we don't get picked for the team? Where is God in that? It sometimes doesn't feel like He's really fighting for us. But what we have to remember is that our victory won't be in this world...it will be in the next. And we have to do EVERYTHING to stand firm so on that day we can say we did our best to live for the Lord. Pray, stay close to the Sacraments, surround yourself with positive people. Live in the light! Stand firm! In the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians: "For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers....Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done ALL to stand." Go and "boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel."

Obsessions

2008-08-28T12:30:00.002-04:00

lately I've had a few obsessions...football, coffee (wait that's all the time), getting back to the gym after my accident and one song in particular. It's called Hosanna by Hillsong United. It is AWESOME! The etymology of the word Hosanna comes from the Hebrew word הושיעה־נא, hôšî‘â-nā’. Haha you got that??? I didn't either...Hebrew is like my 40th language that isn't quite fluent yet. :) But I did some research and what the word MEANS is please save or save now. I love that word because it makes me think of SO many things.
One of them being the story of Peter and Jesus walking on water. The story basically is Jesus is walking out to the boat on the water and Peter says something along the lines of "if you're the Son of God let me come out to you." And Jesus tells Peter to come out on the water and Peter actually walks out there but then gets scared and takes his eyes off Jesus and starts to sink. And what does he say? "SAVE ME." And the story goes on to state and IMMEDIATELY Jesus reaches out His hand to save him. What does this mean for us? It means that NO MATTER how far we stray from Christ and NO MATTER how deep we sink in the depths of our sin, when we say "Hosanna" or "Please save me" Jesus will IMMEDIATELY reach out His hand and save us!
So back to this song that I'm obsessed with...Hosanna. The song paints a picture of a God of glory coming on clouds of fire and letting His love and mercy cleanse us of everything! And there is a bridge in the song that is really more of a prayer that I have taken with me into Adoration. It says: "Heal my heart and make it clean, open up my eyes to the things unseen/ show me how to love like you have loved me. / Break my heart from what breaks yours/ everything I am is for Your kingdom's cause." It reminds me that when I do cry out for Him to save me, I have to mean that I want Him to help free me from what breaks His heart and MEAN it. Sometimes we say "save me" and we don't let go of what we need to be saved from. It comes with trust. And He is SO worthy of that trust! Let Him take your hand and save you from sinking...He will never let His hand slip from yours!
Now back to the obsession of coffee... :)

Closing time

2008-08-21T16:17:00.002-04:00

There is this really great song called "closing time" and it is pretty popular for high school graduations because its all about moving on. I have said good bye to a lot of teens heading off to college lately and it's a little sad but I get really excited for them. This is a new chapter of life for them, for all of us really. Fall is a time to harvest what was grown and get fields ready for winter. We should look at it also as a time to become re energized for Christ. It's time to close out the summer and move into a time where we grow in Christ. School's starting, people are getting into the swing of things now. Let's pray that God will give us the energy to seek Him with everything in us!

Feast Days

2008-08-15T16:24:00.003-04:00

Today is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary! Happy Feast Day! I love this feast...my best friend was born on this day, my favorite saint was taken into Heaven on this day and this day reminds me of my humanity. Why? Well, Mary was just a simple girl who loved the Lord. She was completely human in all forms but sin. I think she probably cried every once in a while, she probably would have like to shop (okay maybe they didn't have malls...but maybe open air markets). My point is: we have the same opportunity to become a saint like Mary. Not to the degree that she is a saint...she is actually Queen of saints but she gives us an example of an ordinary life that became extraordinary when she said "yes." Think about if we said "yes" to God all the time...are you thinking? I'm thinking that if the story that I want told about me to be a saintly one...then I need to look to Mary as an example of how to do that. What a beautiful woman of grace! Today's homily by Father Andrew was great...he said "if it's odd, it's God." Which basically means that we can plan our lives and order things the way we think they should be but in all honesty when things go differently then we had hoped it is most assuredly because God's way was more brilliant! Let's be honest...He's God, we can't one up Him! We need to place everything at His feet and just say "yes" like Mary did. Today on this feast of the greatest saint let's remember that we have the opportunity to say "yes"

Time flies

2008-08-13T16:17:00.002-04:00

I wouldn't necessarily say that the time has all been fun...a few days ago I was leaping (gracefully) over a wooden beam and let's just say that the landing wasn't so graceful. I am on crutches for a bit and then have to wear an aircast for a while after that. BUT time has been flying. I can't believe that summer is almost over! School will be kicking back into session soon and with that comes a lot of other responsibilities like sports and extracurricular activities. I say this often but I think it needs to be said over and over. DON'T LET GOD TAKE THE BACKSEAT! There is so much going on but remember who made you and loves you beyond anything else. He deserves to be our first priority! Our God is a consuming fire...and if we let Him, He will be our first desire. Pray. Love like Christ does. Be the example when your friends are taking the low road. Be the bigger person. A long time ago...like back when I was a freshman or something there was this song that was HUGE! It was called the sunscreen song. It gave a lot of advice...it wasn't even really a song...it was just a man talking while music played in the background. But that's besides the point. The song was just reiterating advice that we hear all the time...like "wear sunscreen" and things like that. But I think sometimes we just need to hear those things over and over again. Perhaps if someone had reminded me not to run in wet grass with flip flops on in the dark, I wouldn't be in a cast (I'm not bitter). ANYWAY...there is some advice that I'm sure you've heard before...but maybe you need to hear it again!

Look mom...no arms!

2008-08-03T16:36:00.002-04:00

Just recently at STM we had the privilege of having Tony Melendez come and do a concert for us. It was for our Guppy Fest event and the theme this year was Home DeepHope (kinda like Home depot). The focus was on Spe Salvi which was the Pope's latest encyclical on hope. I cannot think of a better example of hope then Tony. He was born without arms and learned how to play the guitar with his toes! Pretty impressive, I know! I think that we often take for granted things like buttoning up our shirt, or picking up a baby but Tony doesn't let the fact that he doesn't have arms stop him from having a normal life. He drives a car, he picks up his children, he eats just like we do (with his mouth) and he is genuinely happy! That gives me hope! To see someone, who to this world is disabled, live with joy and vigor is such a wonderful example of hope in the Lord. Hope that someday in Heaven Tony will have a perfect, glorified body; hope that we who are imperfect in our thoughts and actions and bodies have the opportunity to turn to God in our struggles and He will hear us and help us! There is so much to hope in when we have a loving God to turn too!
My favorite song that Tony sings is "You are my God" and the lyrics really touch me when I think of hope:

You are my God and the rock on which i stand. I have found my place in your arms of grace. Oh, oh. you are my God. Lord of heaven, king of all the universe, Architect and poet of eternity, Abba father, breath of life. creation s dawn, Ever-living, one who knows and loves me. First forgiver, ever present "God with us", Lamb of love, who died triumphant over sin. Risen savior, brilliant bright and morning star, Shining in me. light of glory lives within.

When we stand with God, we will never stand alone. And we can have hope of meeting our Savior! Thanks Tony for spreading hope throughout the world!

Homecoming

2008-07-24T14:31:00.002-04:00

No, no it's not football season yet unfortunately. I just returned home from a service trip to the Eastern Plains and upon returning there hasn't been a day of rest. As soon as I got back to Denver I turned around and drove to my parents house so my mom could come back to Denver and help me pack so I could move out of my apartment. And the elevator was a little testy but it got even more testy on Wednesday when my intern, Emily and I went to move out the "big" stuff. The elevator stopped working all together and so Emily and I went up and down 5 flights of stairs over and over and over again. It was a hot day too! But it is finally all done and I am moved...it is a good feeling! So I guess my homecoming was okay because I have a place to call home. At least for now. It made me think about certain times when I complain about the places I live and there are people who are much less fortunate and live with much less. It makes me thankful for the places I have called home and reminded me to pray for those who don't have the same luxuries in the places they live. It also made me think of the BIG homecoming. The time that I will meet my savior face to face in the kingdom of Heaven and I will be judged for my actions. I truly believe that the one question I will be asked by Jesus is "did you love Me?" and by that everything else will be answered. If I loved Jesus then I loved my brothers and sisters in Christ and I took care of them and I sacrificed for them. I hope that my answer is that I did everything I could out of love for Jesus. Then I will have the greatest homecoming ever!! And the elevator won't be broken!

Going without

2008-07-13T16:38:00.003-04:00

In just a couple of days I will be leading a trip out to the Eastern Plains of Colorado with Chris and it will be 5 whole days without showering! I don't want to think about it yet but I have to. I am starting to pack and prepare myself mentally. This is probably the hardest thing, personally, that I do here at STM because I really, really hate being dirty and I LOATH spiders and anything that looks remotely like a spider!
We are going out to the Peace Huts for two of those days and for those of you who don't know, the Peace Huts are four huts dug out of the earth with cinder block walls for the front. There is a "kitchen hut," a "chapel hut," and boys and girls huts. Inside the kitchen with a fire going in the summer is I think something like what hell would feel like! It is so hot! I have to constantly remind myself why we're there. And the reason why we go to the Peace Huts is to grow in gratitude for what we have! There are so many people living in Third World Countries who live in the conditions that we live in for two days for their whole lives. They might never experience what it is like to linger in a shower with hot water pouring over them. They might never know what it is like to walk into a cool, air conditioned house after being outside in the sweltering heat! But they have the joy of not being weighed down by the sin of materialism! They might not know the difference but they surely thank God for what they do have. The people who I have met in Third World Countries are the most generous people I have ever met. They don't think twice about giving what little they have.
Why is it so hard for us to give when we have so much and it is so easy for people who have little to give? I have a hard time with this concept because sometimes I have a hard time giving with a generous heart too. Christ once said to His disciples that the man who walked into the temple and gave generously but gave in a pompous way did not give as much as the widow who came in a gave one small coin. It is so important that we give generously, it is more important to give what we have with love! We tend to take for granted the things we do have so we horde it to make sure we always have it but it is in giving that we receive. So this next week I hope that I am able to constantly remind myself to be thankful for the things I am going without, but more importantly I pray that I will sacrifice those things with a servant's heart! After all...it's just 5 days!

Thorny soil???

2008-07-08T19:07:00.005-04:00

This Sunday we will hear from the gospel of Matthew. We will hear the parable of the sower. In this reading Jesus explains to us the words of Isaiah when he says they will hear and not understand, look but not see, etc. And Jesus explains this to us by using the analogy of a sower planting seeds in different places and unless the seed is well planted it will not take root, or the wind will blow it away or weeds will over take it. But He goes on to say that "the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit" (MT13:23). Jesus uses this parable so we can begin to see how we are called to live and evangelize. When we hear the word of God we can either take it to heart and let it take root there or we can let it go in one ear and out the other. Here's the thing though...if we really desire to let it take root then we have to really consider how we live our lives. Do we listen to bad music, tell dirty jokes or use improper language? Do we dress in a way that tells people we love Christ? Do we honor our parents? This is what Jesus really means when He says the seed must be sown in rich soil. If we hear the word of God and we are living lives that don't reflect Christ we are really letting that seed, that word of God, fall onto dry soil or thorny earth. The seed can't take root because our lives won't let it. So what do we do?
Well, we start by going to confession. We have to take some time to examine why we are living the way we are. Are we looking for someone to accept us? Are we looking for attention? We are blessed to have the Sacraments there for us when we become self obsessed!
What is so great is that by our nature we are not thorny or rocky soil, we have a rich soil that was formed by a wonderful Creator. That rich soil that is in us is our hearts which were made for love and BY LOVE! We have the opportunity to let things grow because we are RICH SOIL! We have the joy of saying that we are made by a God who loves us and wants us to grow! Let's pray that we are open to letting the seeds that are planted in us take root in the rich soil of our hearts!

So many opportunities...

2008-07-02T13:20:00.003-04:00

So little time! These past few weeks have been jam packed with opportunity after opportunity for personal growth. I recently returned from volunteering a weekend for the Steubenville of the Rockies conference and it was so neat to see over 2000 youth from all over the Midwest and western states come together to grow in holiness! I was excited to see some people from my alma mater (Franciscan University of Steubenville) and get caught up on life. After that weekend we moved into Life With A Mission and that too was full of youth experiencing God through the sacraments! It can be draining to always be on the go, but it is invigorating at the same time to watch people be touched by God. My mom always commented on the fact that no matter how old or how sick Pope John Paul II got, whenever he was around the youth his heart just exploded with love for them and love for God. He became youthful himself. I think we should strive for that type of love for Christ. Often times we can get down on ourselves for things we do wrong or sins we commit. We can judge others for sins they commit and lives they live. Or we are simply complacent in our lives when it comes to our faith. We don't do anything proactive in our relationship with God and then we wonder why our lives seem so empty or worse yet joyless.
A relationship with Christ, a personal relationship with Christ is one that, much like a relationship with a best friend, takes time to grow. Are you committed to growing a relationship with Christ? Why or why not? A relationship with Christ will never, NEVER be boring or lifeless...look at the lives of the saints. Did they have boring lives? St. Pio would battle the Devil in his bedroom, St. Lawrence was roasted alive for his faith and still had a sense of humor saying "turn me over I'm done on this side," St. Gregory slew a dragon, and St. Elizabeth was a princess who walked the streets of her city and handed out bread to her people. They didn't lead boring lives, theirs were extraordinary lives! Someday, someone will tell the story of your life. Yes, they will, because you have the opportunity to be a saint! What is the story that you want them to tell? Will it be saintly and heroic? Or will it be one you'd rather not hear at all?

For a purpose

2008-06-23T17:14:00.002-04:00

I was created for something more. So were you. "More than what?" you might ask yourself...more then what you think is important right now...I sometimes think that I was created to be really good at sports, or maybe to make other people laugh with my wonderful sense of humor :) or maybe I am supposed to help teach others about Jesus. But even more so, I am created for the purpose of being a child of God. This week is our Life with a Mission and our theme is "A Call to Holiness." All week we will have the opportunity to embrace our Lord through the sacraments, through adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, through testimonies of people's lives and through fellowship with each other.
We can often forget what our purpose is and this week is a gentle reminder that we are created and fashioned by a wonderfully loving God. That He runs through us at every moment and that He desires to see us thrive, not just survive! Come join us this week if you have the time. I pray that this summer, you can rediscover the purpose of your life in Christ!

Be Still

2008-06-17T14:22:00.003-04:00

How many times a day are we still? I get up and get going as soon as that wonderful black coffee kicks in! I don't usually stop until I get into bed at night unless I make a conscience effort to do so. When I was in high school I started to struggle with anxiety a lot, and I always had to be doing something to keep myself busy. I finally sat down with a priest friend of mine when I was in college and he said "you need a mantra to settle yourself into prayer." A mantra in simply a commonly repeated prayer or phrase, and the mantra that he said might help me to settle down when I walked into Adoration was "Be still and know that I am God." I would simply repeat it, starting with the entire phrase and then cutting it back, like this: "Be still and know that I am God." "Be still and know that I am." "Be still and know." "Be still." "Be." I would repeat this over and over until I was "being" with God. This helped me so much in my walk with Christ. It made my relationship with God so much stronger because suddenly I wasn't the only one talking, God was talking too!
During summer we like to say that we kick back and relax, but how many of us are going to camps for sports and band, or maybe summer school and tutoring, or we get jobs and work like crazy to make some spending money for whatever suits our fancy. Basically our summers aren't always all that relaxing are they?
I like coming into an Adoration Chapel and sitting for just a few minutes in silence. In a world that is so full of chaos and noise, walking into a chapel that is filled with silence is a wonderful change of pace. But it takes some getting used to before it is comfortable. I would encourage you to take a little time out of your busy summer to be still! I'll even let you borrow my mantra!

Salt, salt, salt!

2008-06-10T15:53:00.002-04:00

I love salt! Not actually putting salt on food, but eating salty food. I will always choose salty over sweet. I actually just had a nice salty snack! That is why today's gospel reading is one of my favorites!

"Jesus said to his disciples:
'You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.'”

Not all that long ago there was a World Youth Day and this was the theme. I remember understanding then that as being the salt of the earth I personally am called to continue to push myself to learn and grow. It is hard to do that sometimes because we have a hard time seeing our gifts. That is why we have to surround ourselves with solid people in out lives so that they affirm us when we forget. You are the salt of the earth! Be that flavor that the world so desperately needs you to be!!! Shine so that your heavenly Father can look down on you and say "well done my good and faithful servant!"

Confirmation..not Graduation!

2008-06-08T16:04:00.005-04:00

Just recently I ran a parents meeting in a Confirmation workshop and it is always a little intimidating to stand up in front of parents when you're not one and talk about raising children. So I had to write up a summary of what I had to say so it could go in a make-up packet. This is what it said:

Q: Why is it so important for my child to be involved in youth ministry?

A: There are so many answers to this question. When you had your child baptized the deacon or priest that baptized your child asked you the following:

You have asked to have your child baptized. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training them in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring them up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?

You answered “yes” to this question because otherwise your child would not have been baptized. In today’s society there are so many things being thrown at our youth in an attempt to draw them away from the Truth which is Jesus Christ.

Youth Ministry at St. Thomas More is a vibrant program dedicated to the formation of faith in adolescent years. Because confirmation happens so early here, it is crucial that your child continue to learn and grow not only in faith but also in the community of the Church. Some staggering statistics say that 80% of students go off to college and stop practicing their faith. We as a faith community need to do something about this statistic in the coming generations.

As a Youth staff here at St. Thomas More, we are dedicated to this formation in faith not only through catechesis, but also in the socialization of relational ministry. We encourage youth to bring friends (Christian or not) and grow into a community where they feel safe to come and be themselves. We also hope to help form adolescents into becoming the best version of themselves; which is our essential purpose as human beings. God created each of us to be unlike any other and as Catholic Christians we need to embrace our different gifts that the Spirit gives us and foster in the youth a sense of pride in their own unique spiritual gifts.

Lastly, as parents, it may seem a daunting task to be the primary educator in the faith of your child. Youth Ministry is supplemental to that task and if you have questions about anything, please feel free to ask anyone on the Youth or R.E. staff. St. Paul calls us all to be ministers in the work of God. We are called to plant seeds, and it will be God who will bring those seeds to fruit. St. Paul also says that we will be held responsible for the foundations we lay, so let’s work together to lay solid foundations for our children so that on the day we meet our God face to face, we can say that we did everything we could to win souls for Christ!

quick updates for youth group

2008-06-06T14:04:00.002-04:00

So there might not be any depth to this...but I want you all to know what's going on in youth group coming up:

Elitches on June 11 from noon to 10pm meet at Dry Creek Light rail
Urban Plunge June 13 &14 from noon on Friday thru 3pm on Saturday
POOL PARTY on June 18 at Pirate's Cove from 11am - 2pm meet there and bring $7 for admission and money for lunch

There will be a lot more going on but for now, check these things out and I hope to see you there. It is so important not to let your faith take a summer vacation too okay? So come chill with the STM youth group!

Hot days

2008-06-03T16:21:00.003-04:00

Okay...so all winter I can't wait until I can lay out by the pool and soak up the rays! But now it is SO hot I feel like I might have died and not gotten into Heaven (God forbid!). I might never be satisfied with the weather here in Colorado but the one thing I can say is that it is nowhere near as humid as the East Coast. It doesn't matter what you do there, you will always feel a little "sticky." And I never really had to worry about getting sunburned but lately there have been so many reports of skin cancer that I'm almost paranoid to go out without sunscreen. Basically there is a lot to complain about in this world...but stepping back I remember what an old college professor once asked the class to do: Go one whole day and not complain at all! That seemed really easy but when we walked into class the next day he had us show a report of how many times we had complained and we found that we complained about very silly things. So we tried the assignment again and then next class we had fewer complaints to report. When we make a conscience effort to find the good in things it is easier to be happy. We can sit and dwell on things that aren't going well or we can find out how to turn those bad things into good things. We tend to be restless about our lives, always finding things that could be better. St. Augustine said that "our hearts are restless until they rest in [God]" Sooooo...embrace the heat and turn to God when times get hard and we start to complain!!!

Church Hopping...

2008-05-27T13:24:00.004-04:00

Now, normally I don't do this often, but lately I seem to be all over the state on Sundays; so this past weekend I happened to be in North Denver and so decided to attend Mass at St. Dominic's. I walked in and was immediately surrounded by Dominicans. I felt so welcomed and it was so neat to be such a part of the community even though I had never been there before. I had said in my last blog that there are hundreds of thousands of Masses said around the world everyday and as I was sitting in St. Dominic's this past weekend reflecting on that it hit me that I LOVE the faith that was instilled in me! What history behind it!
I think so often we go through the motions of Mass but we just go through motions and we don't stop to think of the purpose behind it. Have you ever stopped in the middle of doing something during Mass and thought to yourself "why do we do that?" I have! I still do! But do you go look for the answer? Or do you just let the question slide and continue to go through motions? We are called to so much more then just motions. We are called to believe and KNOW why we believe! It isn't easy to be a Christian but we are called to something higher. G.K Chesterton said once that "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." I'm up for the challenge...are you???

Ahhh Summer

2008-05-19T12:26:00.002-04:00

Well, it's almost here: SUMMER!!! There is a ton going on right now, people getting ready for graduation, planning vacations, etc! Well, here in the STM youth office we are gearing up for an amazingly fun summer! mission trips, fun days at the pool, retreats, and more! It gets a little overwhelming when I am sitting in my office thinking of everything I have to do, plus the things I have committed to that aren't work related. Summer is one of the busiest times considering it's supposed to be the most relaxing. So it's important to make sure that God stays number one! That's easier said than done.
We are so blessed in our faith as Catholic Christians to be able to partake in the sacraments on a daily basis. But do we take those opportunities or do we just pass them by? Did you know that on any given day there are over 300,000 Masses celebrated all over the world? In America we are able to openly celebrate our faith, some people aren't able to be open in their faith. St. Juan Diego who brought us the vision of Our Lady of Guadalupe would walk 15 miles to go to Mass! 15 MILES!!!! We complain that we have to drive more than 10 minutes to get places. our late, great Pope JP II used to go to confession EVERYDAY!!! And we think we're doing a good job if we go once a month. I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad here, I just want to provoke some thought in the direction of spirituality. If these holy, holy people saw something that was worth walking 15 miles to encounter, or confessing sins everyday in order to be drawn closer to God; maybe we should check out what is so worth the sacrifice! What's the worst that can happen? You might just find your story among the lives of the great saints!

God or no?

2008-05-13T11:48:00.001-04:00

Lately, I've had some interesting conversations with someone who doesn't believe that there is a God. It has forced me to study more into why I believe what I believe. It has also forced me to use other avenues to evangelize to this person. I studied Philosophy (the study of wisdom) while I was in college and the wonderful thing about Philosophy is that you can use reason without bringing God into the conversation. But this person is REALLY smart! And so I have to step back and make sure that my belief is my own, not something that is just "instilled" in me.

It's okay to say that we are given our faith by our parents and ancestors but at some point we need to make that faith our OWN belief. Being able to support what I believe, as my own, makes the question of whether or not there IS a God a lot stronger! Being able to solidly say that I believe that there is a God who created the universe and everything in it and that He created me and created me VERY good is nice; but being able to explain why I believe that is even better!

That is why the Church gives us something called "Apologetics." This is a tool that we have to defend ourselves against verbal attack and is a theological science which has for its purpose the explanation and defense of the Christian faith.

In my conversations with this person, one thing has become abundantly clear: (In the words of Brennan Manning; an author, friar, priest, contemplative and speaker) "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." We as Christians have an OBLIGATION to live our lives in a fashion that screams out who we are and what we believe. St. John the Baptist didn't live a life that was comfortable or normal but he lived a life that was radically Christ centered! He went out and made ready the way of the Lord. And I believe that the Lord WILL come again...who will make ready the way for Him this time if it's not us?

Your name

2008-05-06T11:54:00.003-04:00

The past couple of weeks I have been completely obsessed with the Rich Mullins song "Calling out Your name." It is this song that talks about all of these natural wonders that speak of God and His holy name! It got me thinking about the name of God and the first time it was revealed to Moses and He simply said that His name was "I AM." The story actually goes something like this from the book of Exodus:

13 "Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

A name is so important to our identity! It makes us who we are and makes us have to respond if someone calls out our name. There are very few times I ever am in a grocery store and I hear my name being called out and it's not for me. But the other day I was walking through the store and heard my name and I turned around expecting to see someone I knew, but it was for someone else! But that made me think even more about my name and the power of it. When I heard it I HAD to respond in someway, whether that was turning around or ignoring it. So to with God, He HAS to respond in some way when we call His name and He loves us to much to ignore us, so He will respond. That's why it was such a big deal when He told Moses what he was to call Him. We have a God who loves us so much that we can call Him Father, I AM, Author of Creation! This song by Rich Mullins talks about our God having His name written in the thunder in the sky and the wide open prairies calling out His name, and in that ability to call out His name, there is a verse that speaks of God taking "by its corners this old world and shaking us forward and shaking us free. To run wild with the hope." And in that freedom of Hims shaking us forth we can call out God's name and it gives us hope! My prayer is that we always have that hope! That we always have that name to call out when we need our Father!

Hip Hop

2008-04-29T12:42:00.002-04:00

So yesterday I went to a hip hop dance class with my roommate...it was quite an experience let me tell you! We were just a little late and so I suggested that maybe we shouldn't go in, but my roommate insisted that we go in. The man teaching the class was the most energetic man I have ever seen; and he had me using muscles that I have never used before! I looked a little ridiculous but it was fine because I was in the back. BUT then he had everyone turn around and face the back...so all of a sudden I was in the front! It was so nerve racking and I messed up more cause I couldn't use everyone in front of me as a buffer. But it taught me a lesson:
Sometimes we are supposed to be up front and helping teach everyone else, but sometimes we are supposed to be in the back learning...and this is for everyone, there will be a period in your life where you will be in the back learning and then there will be a point where you are up front. And it takes a humble person to be able to step back and let someone else be up front, because we live in a culture where we like to know it all! I was in the back because I didn't know what I was doing and it was a good place to be. When I was in the front it was tough because I didn't know what to do because I didn't have someone to follow. It reminded me that it is always good to surround yourself with good teachers to follow in life, and that there is a time and place to be up front!

Why God? Why?

2008-04-23T12:10:00.003-04:00

I seem to have been sick a lot lately...which is why I haven't had time to blog a lot...well, maybe I had time, and just didn't feel like sitting at the computer. BUT here I am back in action! As I was sitting on the couch and wishing there was a couch in the bathroom so I didn't have to move far I kept thinking, "Why God? WHY ME?" And God just very gently hit me upside the head and said "Silly Girl, why can't you suffer graciously?" It reminded me of the life of JPII and how full of sorrow his life was.
Death hovered over his family, making itself felt first when an infant sister died before Lolek was born. It struck again in 1929 when his mother died of heart and kidney problems, just a month before Karol Jozef Wojtyla's (his nickname was Lolek) 9th birthday. And when he was 12, Lolek's 26-year-old brother Edmund, a physician in the town of Bielsko, died of scarlet fever. February of 1941, Wojtyla's 61-year-old father died, leaving his dream of seeing his son commit to the priesthood unfulfilled. He was ordained in 1946 in Krakow, and spent much of the next few years studying -- he earned two masters degrees and a doctorate -- before taking up priestly duties as an assistant pastor in Krakow in 1949.
Obviously, later when he became pope, when a man tried to assassinate him and he barley survived. While being rushed to the hospital he kept murmuring, "Mary, my Mother." He even went to the prison where his would be assassin was being held and forgave him personally. And in all of his suffering he never lost his faith in God or Mary his mother.
He was quoted saying "Although I have lived through much darkness, under harsh totalitarian regimes, I have seen enough evidence to be unshakably convinced that no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal in the hearts of the young.Do not let that hope die! Stake your lives on it! We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son."
At the end of his life, as he lay dying, even still he was a teacher. Teaching us how to die with dignity. In his pain and suffering, he continued to pray for his flock and finally at the end of his life, he breathed the word "Amen" and left us for his heavenly Father. His life was a prayer!
So it helped to put into perspective that when I am sick and sad, even though it may be legit, I should still be willing to offer up my suffering for something greater, just like JPII taught us!

Papa in America

2008-04-17T13:18:00.006-04:00

On Tuesday, April 15th Pope Benedict XVI arrived in America for a 5 day visit which included President Bush picking him up from the airport, meeting with the Catholic Bishops at Catholic U, and celebrating Mass this morning for over 40,000 people in Nationals stadium in D.C. He celebrated his 81st birthday and was given a birthday cake at the White House. How cool that the president of our country would go to pick up the Pope from the airport. I think this shows that Il Papa is pretty important in the eyes of the world. I just wanted to take a little while and go into his history because unfortunately I think that many Catholics don't see him and marvel at his role. I think many Catholics haven't been educated about him at all. So in closing, I just wanted to give you a taste of a truly amazing man of God!

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, was born at Marktl am Inn, Diocese of Passau (Germany) on 16 April 1927 (Holy Saturday) and was baptised on the same day. His father, a policeman, belonged to an old family of farmers from Lower Bavaria of modest economic resources. His mother was the daughter of artisans from Rimsting on the shore of Lake Chiem, and before marrying she worked as a cook in a number of hotels.

He spent his childhood and adolescence in Traunstein, a small village near the Austrian border, thirty kilometres from Salzburg. In this environment, which he himself has defined as "Mozartian", he received his Christian, cultural and human formation.

His youthful years were not easy. His faith and the education received at home prepared him for the harsh experience of those years during which the Nazi regime pursued a hostile attitude towards the Catholic Church. The young Joseph saw how some Nazis beat the Parish Priest before the celebration of Mass.

It was precisely during that complex situation that he discovered the beauty and truth of faith in Christ; fundamental for this was his family’s attitude, who always gave a clear witness of goodness and hope, rooted in a convinced attachment to the Church.

During the last months of the war he was enrolled in an auxiliary anti-aircraft corps.

He received his priestly ordination on 29 June 1951.

In 1953 he obtained his doctorate in theology with a thesis entitled "People and House of God in St Augustine’s Doctrine of the Church".

John Paul II named him Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and of the International Theological Commission on 25 November 1981. On 15 February 1982 he resigned the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. The Holy Father elevated him to the Order of Bishops assigning to him the Suburbicarian See of Velletri-Segni on 5 April 1993."

You can find all this and more on the Vatican Website (www.vatican.va).

Sibs...

2008-04-14T22:54:00.004-04:00

Lately, I seem to be abbreviating EVERYTHING! It's kinda fun. Let's think for a moment of everything we can abbreviate: Evs (for everything), whatevs (for whatever), nugs (for chicken nuggets, I must admit I stole that one), and I believe the list goes on and on....That has nothing to do with this blog other than the fact that the title of it is abbreviated!

Tonight as I was sitting in my parents home I started thinking about how much I loved growing up in this place with my brother. Things were always more fun with two. So my dad and I pulled out the old scrapbook and flipped through some old pics. There were pictures starting from when I was born (which was a glorious day for everyone) throughout my childhood; and it provoked many memories. The picture above is my brother, Emil, and myself "gardening" in my mom's vegetable garden. We spent a lot of time outside, even though I hated bugs (and still do to this day)! My brother was the one who really loved the outdoors; he would sit outside and watch ants! I kid you not...and he would think out loud for the ants...so I could hear what they were doing. One day when he was watching the ants, I walked up and said very loudly "EWW" and stepped on the ant hill. He was crushed and so was the ant hill. Later in life, as we got older we would jam out to the hottest bands (of the time) together, bands like Ace of Base and NKOTB (new kids on the block) and now I consider him to be my very closest friend who will be there for me no matter what happens.

This is my point: Sometimes sibs and/or family can be hard to cope with...they get on our nerves, we scream and yell, but they will never cease to be our siblings or family members. We don't choose our family members, God does. Can't we all agree that God is smarter then us? I think we can. And I believe that our families are given to us as opportunities to help us get into heaven, and I hope that we are helping them get into heaven too! On the Cross, the last thing that Jesus did was make sure His mom was taken care of by John, the Beloved Disciple. I think that means we should take care of our family too! I'll leave you with a little message from the O. T. (that's Old Testament abbreviated :)) "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." (Exodus 20:12)

Retreat! Retreat!!

2008-04-12T19:07:00.006-04:00

These words are often associated with battle. Soldiers retreat from the enemy and go back the base to recuperate or refocus their strategy . This is what I just did with 35 8th grade students from a local parish in Colorado. We retreated from the battles of the world and we spent some time recuperating with the Holy Spirit! As we (a few of the team members and myself) were driving up the mountain to the camp we were staying at, the snow was coming down pretty hard. This made driving a little stressful, but we were able to talk about what we were planning to do with these kids and how we hoped the Holy Spirit would really empower them! So by the time we got up there, I was ready to role! I was kicking off the retreat with a teaching on Basic Salvation History...hmmm...starting off a retreat with 8th graders with a teaching on Salvation History. It was a little tough but God is amazing and as the two days progressed the Holy Spirit really came down and rested with the group. It turned out to be such a wonderful retreat!

So many times in our lives we just need to get away! But the world tells us that we are just to busy or too loaded down with commitments. But we need to remember we are IN this world not OF this world; and when the world tells us that we are too busy to get away we need to know that nothing in this world will ever be as important as spending time re-connecting with God. But I know that's hard, really hard. I am a workaholic and I get lost in the amount of work I do but whenever I start to neglect my time with God, I never have enough time to accomplish my daily tasks. When I turn to God and give Him priority I always seem to get things done. Whenever I forget I turn to Pope JPII's wisdom when he said:

"It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness, he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fulness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal."

This was said to the youth around the world in Toronto in 2000. And it never fails to make me think that in this world we can fill our minds and houses and cars and very selves with anything and everything money can buy; but one thing this world will never bring us is the joy of Jesus Christ. THAT is why we need to retreat from this world. Just like a soldier in battle, we need to get to our home base and get refocused on our path to Heaven! Seek Him and you will find Him!

April Showers...

2008-04-09T15:00:00.007-04:00

Talk about some beautiful weather lately. Baseball, sunshine, flowers. I think I have gotten a little too used to this "spring like" weather.
I was watching the news this morning and the weatherman got on and said that possible snow showers were going to be hitting the Front Range today and tomorrow; but right now the sun is shining and people are out in shorts. OH Colorado! How is it that one minute it is wonderful out and the next minute it is snowing out? And what, please tell me, is a "snow shower"? I mean honestly! Let's just call it for what it is...snow!
However, moving on...I was out enjoying the weather the other day by going for a little jog around the neighborhood and as I was running I began to think about spirituality. This stemmed from a conversation I had about different spiritualities earlier in the week. What does the word spirituality mean? Spirituality is the way a person is attracted to the Lord and how he or she develops this attraction into a discipline of life. As Catholic Christians we are blessed to be a "universal" Church which encompasses many parts to make up the body. Sometimes though we are closed off to people who are different then us. But Christ tells us that "we are many parts but one body," and that every part is necessary for the body to function under the umbrella of the Catholic Church. We are called closer to Christ through different ways of prayer and I would encourage you to pray that God can make clear for you what way draws you closest to Him. Let's talk about this more sometime soon! For now, I need to plan some games for tonight!

The Doctor's Office...is it like Purgatory?

2008-04-03T19:53:00.003-04:00

I submit that it is!
I had to go in for a physical this past week and I HATE going to the doctor. So I was sitting in the waiting room reading People Magazine (it keeps us informed of the going ons of Hollywood) having a good time, when the nurse came out and called my name. I put down the magazine, got up and followed her back into examine room. She took my temperature, etc, etc, and then said, "the doctor will be with you soon." And left. So there I was sitting in this sterile room all alone (with no one but my guardian angel to keep me company) nervously going over what all I needed to ask the doctor when she came in. I didn't want to forget anything because we all know that I'm not going back voluntarily any time soon! And it hit me! I felt like I was in purgatory. Waiting and waiting to see the doctor. Okay maybe this is a stretch but that's how I felt...like I was alone with my sickness...maybe, just maybe this is what purgatory will be like. Waiting to see the "Doctor" aka God and thinking of everything you would ask Him and being really anxious about Him getting there. No one wants to wait in that doctor's room for very long by themselves, and I think that it would be this way in purgatory. So that's my random thought for the day.

“God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners.” Soren Kierkegaard

This is a God who loves us so much that He made us to love Him, in order to be saints with Him in heaven some of us will undergo some time in purgatory, but the beauty of purgatory is that God will reach down and scoop us out of purgatory someday and hold us to Himself.

True Passion

2008-03-28T17:37:00.004-04:00

Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, and in part of this prayer we ask God "for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." His passion, is something that I think many of us take for granted. Now, I don't want to get us all down on Christ's suffering in this beautiful Easter season, but I want us to take a moment to think of why Pope John Paul II would declare this second Sunday after Easter Divine Mercy Sunday. I think that Pope John Paul II saw this particular Sunday and this particular devotion going hand in hand. On the second Sunday after Easter we are still thinking on the miracle of Christ raising from the dead and this is a perfect time to realize that Christ's Passion, His sufferings on the cross, is the reason we are able to benefit from His mercy. His Divine Mercy.
In the Spring of 2005, I was in my last year at Franciscan U and I was studying abroad in Austria. I had some amazing experiences; on a trip to Poland I was able to go to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at the 3:00 hour at the Basilica of Divine Mercy. Just a few months later as we were at campus it was a Saturday night, the Eve of Divine Mercy Sunday. I was getting ready to go down to the chapel for my holy hour when one of my professors came down the hallway and said "the Pope has died." I sat there stunned, I had never known any other pope in my life, I truly was a Pope John Paul II generation Catholic. My professor bent down and looked at me and said, "let's go pray." I got up and walked with him down to the church and sat there for a little while...I was flipping through my Bible listening to what the priest was saying when someone stood up and said, "what time did you say the pope died?" "9:37pm" was the answer. In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 9 vs. 36 and 37 it says "and they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.'" Coincidence?? I think not! That's what I felt like...a sheep without my shepherd, we were all without a shepherd. As I sat there and people began to leave one by one, I knew I needed to stay for a little while longer, I sat until midnight thinking about the series of events.
Pope JPII proclaimed in 2000 that Divine Mercy was to celebrated on the second Sunday of Easter, and held this very reverently. He died on the eve of this blessed day when mercy is poured out in an abundant way, and his last word was "Amen." I remember sitting in that dark church thinking of one of the greatest leaders of our time and seeing him being welcomed into Heaven, into the arms of his Mother Mary, the arms of St. Faustina, and the arms of his God and knowing that we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday for that same reason, so that one day we might say "Amen" and be welcomed into Heaven, into the arms of our God, our Father!

Tumbleweeds

2008-03-26T15:44:00.004-04:00

When I was little I used to think that tumbleweeds had feelings...yes, I used to think a lot of things had feelings (like my stuffed animals). I would see those tumbleweeds rolling, rolling, rolling across the highway and fields by my house. I knew in my heart of hearts I HAD to do something about this problem...those poor little tumbleweeds must be soo tired! I started to collect them, and let them "rest" in my parents garden. My mom, being the nice lady that she is, tolerated this...she even would stop the car every once in awhile and let me pick one up off the side of the road. Then, when they had rested sufficiently they were set free. My dad didn't understand this so he would come home and see a whole mass of tumbleweeds in the garden and would throw them out in the ally. I would run out screaming "NO, leave them!" Then I would proceed to run to the ally and salvage what little I could.
I think I can relate this to our lives. We tend to be like tumbleweeds...always going, going, going...and we seldom stop to rest in Christ. He would like to gather us up and put us in His garden to rest but we like to throw ourselves back out in the world and keep right on rolling. I admit this in my own life that I work a lot! I come in early and leave late...I seem to thrive that way...but I need to learn to thrive in Christ. Our society is so saturated with working all the time in order to get the latest and greatest, whether it is in fashion, technology, vacations, etc we always want more. Let's take a step back, let Christ put us in His garden to rest. Don't be like those poor tumbleweeds, always rolling...

Taking off...

2008-03-20T14:07:00.003-04:00

This could mean a lot of things...I could be taking off on a jet plane, or taking off my hoodie (cause I always have one with me) or it could mean I'm taking off to go somewhere in my car...today it happens to be the last...soon I will be taking off to head up North to see the parental units. Off to the land of cows and flatness. Have you ever been to No CO? Oh let me tell you about it...growing up in a town of about 2,000 people there was nothing around us but farms...oh and the biggest beef packing plant in Colorado...I don't know if that's saying much...but to me...it's big.
So on a good day you'll be driving by the beef packing plant and the lot is full of cows...at the end of the day, the lot is empty. Hmm...I wonder where all those cows went? "Hey mom, what's for dinner?" BEEF...that's a no brainer.
I digress, anyway so I'll be heading up that way and my mom is going to make a huge dinner and we will spend some quality time as a family...probably watch season 2 of LOST which is basically the coolest flipping show out there...yes, it flips! But the most important thing we will do is we will spend time reflecting on the fact that Christ, Son of the Living God gave His life so that we could have time to spend with family.
I'm taking off...see ya all after Sunday!

Ahhh Holy Week

2008-03-16T10:52:00.000-04:00

The end is in sight...or should I say the beginning? Well, I think it is both. Holy week is such an amazing time in the church! In Latin the translation Hebdomada Sancta or Maior Hebdomada, means "Greater Week." It lasts from Palm Sunday until (but not through) Easter Sunday. Within Holy Week is the shortest of all of the seasons of the Church the Easter Triduum which means the three days starting the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. Isn't that cool that the Church thinks that THREE days can make up a season of the Church's liturgical year? This is because those three days are the most sacred days of the year. In some areas of the world the Church calls these three days "the still days" indicating that there is something very special happening in the Church and that something needs to be reverenced!
When I was little my mom would make my brother and me be completely silent from the hours of 12pm through 3pm on Good Friday...I remember thinking how torturous those three hours were because I wasn't allowed to talk...then one year in college (because it had been drilled into me) as I was observing the silence, I picked up a book by a woman named Anne Catherine Emmerich who received visions of Christ's Passion and her book (The Dolorous Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ) recounts a part of Jesus suffering on the cross. This book later became a movie, directed by Mel Gibson, called the Passion of the Christ.
I started to cry, thinking that I was upset because I couldn't talk for three hours and I wasn't even thinking of Christ suffering on that cross for three hours. It put my mind into perspective and ever since then I look forward to being silent for those three hours. So, I encourage you to take this Holy Week seriously, spend some time in silence. Christ took your pain to Himself...what a gift you and I have been given! Look at the love He has for you!

Why don't we all just chillax about it...

2008-03-12T16:46:00.000-04:00

Chill...relax...get it? Chillax! Good, I'm glad we're all clear. So, why don't we? As a culture we tend to get all up in arms about things like "going green" or "save the whales," etc. And yet we are so tolerant of so many other matters...all moral. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with any of those things, I personally like whales...but what I am saying is we need to chill about some of these things and focus on more important issues.
When I was a little girl growing up in Northern Colorado, we would always have summer tornado warnings. So every summer I would get an emergency bag ready to take down to the basement at a moments notice. The things that would go into that bag were: every single one of my dolls and stuffed animals (because they have feelings too), my blankie, my collection of the Box Car Children books, and a couple of other things. All of the "important" things in life! Now looking back on those days, I see a few different things that are necessary to put into my "emergency" kit. Oh I still put in that favorite stuffed animal (with pride) and some books, but other things that go in there are water, food, batteries and flashlights.
Do you see how differently we look at things as we get older? Even if you're just in 6th grade you can still see that there are necessary items and unnecessary items that are just nice to have sometimes.
Let's think for a minute about things in this world that are necessary and unnecessary. The most important issue: preserving the DIGNITY of human life is necessary. This means that life from natural conception to natural death is not ours to play with. This also includes preserving the dignity of the human person by not objectifying people (i.e. porn, modesty in dress, etc). As Catholic Christians a necessary thing in our life is making sure we are frequenting the Sacraments; this is necessary for our salvation. There are more...I'll let you think of some.
Some things that are not so necessary but would be nice would be saving the whales. Why, please tell me, do we put so much energy into saving the whales and saving our earth if we are killing babies at a rate of 3,562 a day? That is how many abortions are preformed on average a day in the United States alone. That is shocking! So instead of freaking out about a soda can not being recycled, or the fact that whales are going to be extinct in however many years, let's chillax about that...and let's put the importance where it needs to be...on us! And when I say us, I mean humanity!

I still think my stuffed animals have feelings...

Pure by Force???

2008-03-12T11:46:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday (yesterday) we all attended Pure by Choice, which was attended by about 1,000 people...good turn out? I think not! What is so wrong with the world that only 1,000 people turned out for a day on purity? Is it guilt? Fear? Disinterest? I think it might be all of these things...After listening to some frightening talks about STD's and the stress of premarital sex, I had a sick fear in my stomach for young America. I felt like screaming "let's lock them all up and FORCE them to be pure until they're married!" Obviously, I did not scream that...you guys might have been a little embarrassed by me if I would have; though it sounded like a good idea at the time. So instead, I listened some more and like the God He is, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
Chris Stefanick got up and began to speak of God's mercy and His love. No matter how bleak the world's outlook on our sexuality is, God sees the real deal. God COULD force us to be pure, does He want to? No. One of the band members of Foolish Things, (I believe his name is Isaac, is that correct Ashley?) hit the nail on the head when he said that God wants us to love Him without force, by free will. It's not real love if it is forced. How true that is! Our world looks at all of us as objects that are to be used and discarded when we are no longer young and fun and _______, whatever, fill in the blank. We have ignored the dignity that God has given us as free will human beings, and we have started to look at others as objects, thinking, "what can they DO for me?" Rather than, "what can I DO for others?" That's not love!
Love is looking at someone who is sick, or imprisoned, or homeless, or dirty and saying "I see Christ." That's love! Love is when you say "no" to what you want and "yes" to what is best for others. I have never seen someone who has denied themselves for another say "man, I wish I wouldn't have helped that person." I look at Blessed Mother Teresa, who denied herself daily for others, who gave up her desires for another and lived a life that was respected my all people no matter what their race, religion or social standing. Yes, God could force us to love Him, force us to live PURE lives for Him. But what He wants more is for US to CHOOSE those things.
There are a lot of people in this church (I use a little "c" here because I mean THIS church, even though the Church which is ALL Catholic churches need our prayers as well) who need our prayers for purity. There are people in this community who don't see their sexuality as a gift but rather as a tool. They have bought into the idea of the world that they won't find love without sex, even sex outside of marriage. They have lost the view of their Heavenly Father who sees them as glorious creations He holds in the palm of His hand. They have blinded themselves to the tears that God cries when they fall away from Him. We need to make it a point that no matter where people are in their faith walk, that we are praying for them and loving them. We need to take on the role of Mother Teresa who said "we deliberately renounce all desires to see the fruit of our labor, doing all we can as best we can, leaving the rest in the hands of God."
I know, I know I talk a lot...I have a lot to say! One last thing...we are getting ready to enter into the most special season of the Church...Holy Week. Palm Sunday is THIS coming Sunday...STM is going to be processing through the streets of our neighborhood carrying a cross. It starts at 2pm and ends in time for Mass at 5:30 with our families, I encourage you to come and participate in this. As you walk with Christ, think what He is calling you to be, think about the pureness of your hearts and minds. What is the story you are telling with your life?

Peanut Butter

2008-03-12T11:45:00.001-04:00

Smooth or Chunky? I was thinking the other day as I was strolling through the store about how many different kinds of peanut butter there are. Natural, smooth, chunky, honey roasted, and the list goes on and on...I hate the kind that you have to stir because all the oil rises to the top...its just nasty. HOWEVER...as I was walking through the aisles discerning my peanut butter dilemma, all of a sudden, there in front of me was a machine that MAKES peanut butter right there at the push of a button!! Not just any old peanut butter, but things like almond butter, cashew butter, chocolate chip peanut butter...oh my goodness!!! So now I am a peanut butter snob of sorts, because I am a peanut butter creator!
How does this relate to faith, you may ask yourself? Well, we'll get there...
As Catholic Christians (we're all Christians, a Christian is simply someone who follows Christ) we are a pretty diverse community. It makes sense since the word Catholic means "universal." Just look at the person sitting next to you in Mass...are they like you (okay okay they might be your family member) but are they the exact same as you? No, or at least I should hope not. God made us all unique and different. Sometimes we try to fit ourselves into a mold, either a mold at school, or a mold in our families or a mold in our faith. But God DESIRES us to be different, He doesn't want the same old, same old. I look at how much we try to fit ourselves into something that doesn't fit and we are always uncomfortable...no I'm not talking about clothing necessarily but if that analogy works, run with it. I am talking about the fact that we might deny things we believe in, in order to fit into "that" crowd. When we deny what we believe in we deny ourselves and our God.
I think that like peanut butter, we are all different and we should embrace that. Some people like smooth peanut butter, some like chunky...and some, yes some, even like the mix-it-yourself natural peanut butter. No peanut butter is bad...we all just have different taste...and so it's the same with us; we are all good, we're all just have a different flare for life. Let's work, for the rest of Lent, on loving ourselves just the way God made us. And I will work on making peanut butter at Whole Foods...that's where you'll find me when I'm not at work...I think I'll go there now...

Is Tuesday the worst day of the week?

2008-03-12T11:44:00.001-04:00

Everyone knows that Monday is going to be tough so you prepare yourself for it; Wednesday is the half-way point to the weekend, Thursday = the next day is Friday and Friday, you're done. So Tuesday is really a day that has no meaning. Okay, enough of that...
This past Sunday was our Pure Pizza night in preparation for the Pure by Choice Rally, and I was thinking about the beauty of God's creation and that when He created us, He made us each so uniquely different and that is so neat. We might all be at different places in our lives, but we all share one thing in common and that is that we are made in the image and likeness of a God who deemed us as "very good." All of the rest of creation was "good" but we are "very" good and when God had created us, He knew He had finished creating.
This then gives us a certain kind of responsibility when we are living our lives in accordance to His will. We have the responsibility to not only treat our bodies as temples of the holy Spirit, but to also treat others with that same kind of respect. I know, I know sometimes it is hard to treat the person who talks badly about you with respect, and sometimes it's even harder to love someone who has hurt you. But God didn't say that only some of His creation was "very good" He said HUMANITY was very good. This means that sometimes God calls us to a higher level of holiness, to turn the other cheek and to love, even when it hurts.
Living a life of purity is so much more than just not having sex, it involves how we dress, how we speak, and especially how we treat others around us. G. K. Chesterton once said, "The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people." Let's work on loving the person that is hardest to love!

Pure Pizza

2008-03-12T11:42:00.000-04:00

About 4 years ago my dad went out and bought me a purity ring to symbolize my commitment to wait for my husband. I wore that ring everywhere, I was so proud to have something that showed the world my commitment. One beautiful summer day I was driving down the highway with the windows down and blasting my music when a bee flew into my car, panicked I started to swat at it in order to get it out the window...as I flung my hand out my window the bee flew out...so did my purity ring. I was racing down the highway at 70MPH and the ring was gone. Horrified I went home and told my dad that my purity ring had been flung out the window...my dad sat there stunned. "What does this mean?" He asked me, thinking the worst. I looked at him and said, "it means just that...my ring FLEW out the window." Falling over and laughing hysterically he told me he thought I meant I had thrown my purity out the window. He now tells everyone that story and says that I "threw my purity ring out the window."
It's a funny story to tell, but looking back on it I think about how many girls "throw" their purity out the window. It's a sad story to think that there are girls in this world who don't realize that they are "precious and glorious" to their Father in heaven. He has payed the supreme price so that we might live our lives for His greater glory. The problem is, we live our lives for OUR greater glory. We think that the laws God gives us suppress our freedom. So we give of ourselves and somewhere along the line we lose ourselves in this world and we become of this world. The old saying "Be in this world, not of this world" is such a true statement if we want to live pure lives.
Tonight, we will be talking about saving ourselves for marriage in preparation for the Pure by Choice Rally next Sunday, my prayer for the rest of this Lent is that we, as young men and women of God, make that pledge and work as hard as we can against Satan to keep ourselves pure in this world. Let's not throw our purity out the window!

Feet, Feet, Feet...

2008-03-11T13:23:00.000-04:00

Oh, look at those feet...pretty nice to look at for sure. This is the first of many entries that will start off without meaning. But the meaning will always come out in the end.
I was looking through my pictures the other day and found this picture (those are my feet by the way) in my old Austria pictures from my semester abroad. I was thinking about how far my feet have traveled since I've been alive. All over my home state of Colorado, all over the East Coast, all over Europe. But thinking back, I hope that my feet have also gone where Christ has called me to go. In 2005 I graduated from Franciscan and moved back home, even though I didn't want to, but I know for a fact that God called me back home. I fought it for a while, and God has tested me in many ways to make sure that I always fall back on the fact that He is God and I am not. This is something that I think many of us struggle with in our lives, letting go of our control and letting God take control. My life is pretty busy here and now, but I hope I never get so busy that I forget to walk where God wants me to. What is the story I want to tell with my journey? What is the story that I want to tell with my life?