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Five years ago today, at the height of the pandemic, I started a blog. That blog, Catholic Teen Life, was meant to reach other Catholic teens and help them in their journey with Christ while navigating a tumultuous world. A few months later, I was journaling and told Jesus, "I have had so many dreams lately. But my biggest desire is to bring young people to You so that they may find the joy that I have found in living with and for You! I wish I could speak to every single teen... I want to keep up my blog. That's going to be my 'little way' of doing that for now." Now, five years, hundreds of posts, hours of research, a small business, a degree, countless twists and turns, new friends, incredible opportunities, and a life that looks drastically different from what I imagined—here we are. My mission and this "Little Way" has shifted to apologetics as He continues shaping me into who He’s calling me to be- but God's will and my desire to reach as many people as possible with the Love and Truth of Christ has remained the same. The Little Apologist is, first and foremost, a labor of love. If even just one person benefits from anything Jesus allows me to do, then these years of writing and designing have been totally worth it. A few years ago, I was on retreat with some religious sisters near my home. Over the weekend, I discovered that one of the other young women there—someone I had never met and had no connection to at the time—was subscribed to and reading and benefiting from the posts I published! It was a total God-moment and such an encouragement. Stories like this remind me why I keep saying "yes." When I first started writing, I was part of a prayer group on the Catholify app. The connections I made there, along with the prayer and encouragement I received, were invaluable. And there have been so many other people who have made a huge impact on this journey, too. 🤍 So, THANK YOU. Thank you for being here, for reading this. The friendships and connections I’ve made as a result of this apostolate are an incredible gift, and I'm so grateful for your prayers😊

Now, you should go to confession all throughout the year, but, especially if it's been a while, Lent is the perfect time to go! Here's why... #1 . The Precepts of the Church The Precepts of the Church (the basic things one needs to do to be a practicing Catholic) state that all Catholics must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once per year. Lent is the perfect time to do that, as many parishes have more options for hearing confessions during Lent! #2 . Focus on Repentance One of the "themes" of Lent is Repentance and conversion. Part of repentance from our sins and conversion (turning back to God) is confessing out sins and accepting God's mercy. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the way that Jesus gave us a way to do this and be reconciled with God. What better way to prepare your heart for the joy of Easter than by turning back to God?! #3 . Prepare for Heaven His Resurrection offers us freedom from sin and death and opened the gates of Heaven- confession helps us to accept and live in that freedom that we, God Willing, will one day experience in Heaven! If you haven't been to confession for a while- even if it's been years- it's never too late. Lent is a perfect time to go. Jesus is waiting for you with open arms. He wants to heal the wounds that sin has caused and welcome you back. His Love has never abandoned you. Just turn around, friend. Turn back to Him. He's waiting with incomprehensible mercy and love to forgive you. (Originally posted on The Little Apologist Instagram on 3/19/25)

💜"Why is purple the Liturgical color of Lent?"💜 Mark 15:17-18, one account of Jesus' Passion, reads: "They clothed him in purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. They began to salute him with, 'Hail, King of the Jews!'" In 1st century Jewish and Roman culture, the dye used for the cloak that was placed on Jesus would have been called Tyrian Purple (similar to the color of the graphic of this post!) This dye was created by crushing certain types of sea snails and was quite costly, usually only worn by people of power and prestige. That being said, historians and theologians aren't quite certain how or why such an expensive cloak was used for Jesus. The soldiers most likely would have had to steal it from someone of a higher power simply for the purpose of mocking Jesus, as the cloth had a similar value to precious metals and was only worn by Kings and government officials In addition to being the color of the cloak Jesus wore, purple also represents repentance and penance, because we remember it as the color Jesus wore as He carried His cross. It reminds us that, through even the most excruciating experience possible was not enough to keep down the King of the Universe. He's King even over death and sin itself, and thus, gives us the strength to turn away from sin and towards Him. Fun fact: It was also referred to as "Tyrian Scarlet"... giving reason for the seemingly conflicting gospel accounts that the cloak was either purple or scarlet! (Originally posted on The Little Apologist Instagram on 3/17/25)

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