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Hi everyone! Big news! The Catholic Teen Life Blog now has a forum section on the website. This is a place for Catholic Teens to give advice, share prayer intentions and stories, ask questions, and more! I'd love it if you'd check it out and send me your feedback. Just comment below to let me know what you think!! You can find the forum here. Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy! ~ Catholic Teen

Who are you? Who am I? Who is that girl that sits across from you in math class? Who is that popular athletic kid who everyone seems to love? Who is that nun at your church who seems to pray constantly? Who is that guy at school who deals drugs from his locker? Who is that person with differing political views who always gets on your nerves? Who is the barista that serves you each day when you grab coffee before school? Who is that pastor at the Protestant church down the street? Who is that baby in the womb of his mamma who is contemplating having an abortion? Who is that mamma? Who is that politician that you can't stand hearing about? Who is that woman who's been in jail for as long as you can remember? Who is that man, laying in a hospital bed, close to death? Who is that sweet older man who you see walking to daily Mass? Who is that girl at school who is struggling with same-sex attraction? Who is that toddler at the park who smiled at you so sweetly? Who is your priest? Who was every person who lives, ever lived, and will ever live? Who is Jesus Christ? Who a person is according to the world is irrelevant and does not change how they deserve to be treated. Who are they? Who are you? You both are chosen from all creation and made in the image and likeness of God Himself. When you recognize that, there is hope. No matter who you are, no matter what you've done, you are still good in the eyes of God. In fact, you are VERY good! (Gen. 1:31) You both are loved so much that God Himself, 2000 years ago, died for you. You both are chosen. You both are cherished. You both have dignity simply because you are human beings and you exist. Our identities come not from ourselves, not from who others perceive us to be, but from God Himself, our Father and King. The next time someone asks you "who are you?", the next time you look at someone and think "who's that?!" think of this post. Think of God. It is in Him alone that we find our identity.

The Church recognizes this coming Sunday, The Second Sunday of Easter, as Divine Mercy Sunday. The Church first celebrated this glorious day on April 22, 2001, during the papacy of Pope Saint John Paul II. On Divine Mercy Sunday, we celebrate and take advantage of the graces that Jesus promised St. Faustina Kowalska, the recipient of the visions in which Jesus revealed His message of mercy to the world. Once, when Jesus appeared to St. Faustina, He said to her, My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the First Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. Diary 699 Basically, what this means is that Jesus told St. Faustina that on the Second Sunday of Easter, anyone who goes to confession (or goes soon before or after that Sunday) and receives the Eucharist will be completely forgiven of all their sins and all temporal punishment will be taken away. Wow. As Jesus said, "My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity." He is so totally right. When I hear about the graces and mercy that Jesus is offering to the entire world, particularly on this Sunday, my mind is absolutely blown!! His mercy is endless, friends. I encourage you, if you take nothing else from this website, if it inspires you to do nothing else, I pray that you will go to Jesus and receive the sacraments and graces He offers on this Divine Mercy Sunday. You will never regret it. Jesus' mercy is His greatest attribute. When we receive His mercy we console His wounded heart, and He, in return, heals our own. No sin is too great, no person is too broken for God's mercy. _________________________________________________________________________________________ If you have questions about the Divine Mercy Devotion, visit thedivinemercy.org, leave a comment below this post with your question, or email me using the "contact" form on the home page of this website. I'll do my best to find you an answer! If you participate in Divine Mercy Sunday this year (or have in previous years), I'd love to hear about your experience! Read a great post by Jimmy Akin about Divine Mercy Sunday! Read more of my posts about Divine Mercy: Divine Mercy Sunday 2020 Divine Mercy Sunday 2021 Mercy and Service 101 Jesus, I Trust in You. (Note: Catholics are not required to believe in the visions of St. Faustina as they are private revelations)

Dear Catholic Teen Life Readers, Wishing you all a very blessed and happy Easter!! Our Lord is alive! He died for you! He rose for you! And because of that, we can hope to someday rise with Him. ❤️️ It has been a joy journeying through the Lenten season with you all. Thank you for your joy and dedication to serving Christ. Please comment any prayer intentions you have and I'll include them in an Easter prayer intentions blog post. Once again, congratulations to our newest Catholics!! Have a beautiful Easter day everyone! God bless you all! ~Catholic Teen

Dear Candidates and Catechumen, Welcome home!! You are making the best decision of your life today. Christ loves you immensely and is overjoyed that you've chosen to follow Him. He is choosing You. You are His! And consequently, you are ours. Tonight you will gain millions of Brothers and Sisters on this earth, and also those in Purgatory and Heaven who have already run this race of life. We are praying for you. We love you! You are so courageous to be taking this next step in your journey of faith. Our Church is not perfect. But Christ is, and we place our trust in Him. Whatever your journey has been, after tonight, you are a different person. This is the beginning of a whole new way of life. You are home. You are where you are supposed to be. Your new life is only beginning! Your joy, excitement, and love for Christ will inspire countless people. Tonight, whether you know it or not, the Holy Spirit radiates from deep within you. Christ is alive, both in our world and within your soul! The Church around the world welcomes and embraces you, dear friend. We love you! Love, Your fellow Catholics

What a wild few days. On the past 48 hours we have witnessed the agony, death, and life-giving love of God. As Catholics we are mystically there, right alongside Christ, participating in His passion. The Institution of the Eucharist? You're right there, spiritually. The Agony in the Garden? Though your parish may only have two pots of flowers by the tabernacle so it doesn't actually FEEL like a garden, you're right there with Him, spiritually. Though it may have been sixty degrees and sunny from 12-3 PM yesterday, and not at all Good-Friday-ish, you were still right there, watching your savior suffer and die in the eyes of your soul. It seems so unfair. Why did He have to die? Why did they do that to Him? By now, most of us have heard and can recognize that it was our sins that did this to our God. But if we recognize that, what can we do about it? Though we cannot go back and undo the sins of the whole world and thus prevent our Lord's sufferings, and we couldn't have stopped Him from allowing Himself to be given as the sacrifice for the world our of love for us, as He was doing the will of His Father, we CAN console Him in His agony. Every time you love someone else, you console Christ. Every time you remain with Him, spiritually, when the world ignores Him, you console Him. Each time you enter into His suffering, you console Him because you are with Him. Each time you trust in His mercy and goodness and love, you console Him. No, we cannot change what has happened. All we can do is thank our dearest Lord for His love! But we can remain beside Him in His agony, and accompany Him on His journey to the cross, and soon, find the tomb empty and discover His Resurrection.