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The virtue of trust has been on my mind and heart since I read Fr. Micheal Gaitley's books about Divine Mercy. Jesus told St. Faustina, “'How painfully distrust of My goodness wounds Me! Sins of distrust wound Me most painfully'”. (Diary 1076) Lately, it's been hard for me to trust. Anyone with anxiety, phobias, or who is going through a rough time in life knows what this is like. (That sounds like most of us, am I right??) It can be hard to surrender the things which we are most afraid of losing, or of happening. But the fact is, Jesus wants us to trust Him. Reading what Jesus told St. Faustina is a big wake-up call for me. I've learned that can accomplish nothing useful by worrying or being afraid. He calls us to trust Him. And even if we don't quite think that we can, we can always start with the first step, and ask Jesus to help us to trust Him. That, in itself, is a beautiful prayer. I like to pray this prayer when I am feeling anxious, afraid, or just don't know how or what to pray: "My Jesus, Please help us, heal us, hold us, and save us. Thank you, Lord." I just pray it over and over again, and I know He hears me. Friends, Jesus hears our cries when we feel afraid, anxious, or overwhelmed. He wants us to place our trust in Him, even if we can't see how He's possibly going to help. Trust takes practice. It can start with five simple words: "Jesus, I trust in You." Sometimes you won't totally mean it. Sometimes you will have to cry out the words to our Lord. Sometimes it will terrify you to pray that prayer and give it over. It often is for me! But any little act of trust you can offer to our Lord is one He will take. You console His wounded heart when you trust in Him, and He, in turn, gives you peace and rest for your burdened heart. Don't lose hope, my friends. We need only trust in His goodness, love, and mercy.

(This post was requested by some of the Catholic Teen Life Blog Instagram followers!) If you read the Bible, the lives of the Saints, any Church documents, or even read any blog posts of mine, you'll know that we are all called to love. Love is the key to sanctity. In order to become Saints, we must love God and others. But there are different types of love! We have a disadvantage in the English language: we only have one word for love. The Greeks had many different words for the different types that apply to the different people in our lives. This post will highlight the four types that are emphasized in the Bible and their role in the life of Christ and in our lives. Philio- Philio is the love shared between friends. Jesus showed us the perfect image of this love by the way in which He loved His apostles- His closest friends. Jesus tells us, " My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15: 12,13) In 1 Thessalonians 5: 11 St. Paul tells us: "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up." Friends are there to encourage, support, listen to, and care for one another. They accompany each other on their journies to Heaven. Ecclesiastes 4: 10 says "If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up." Friends help friends get back on the right track when they've fallen down the wrong path. Friends help friends see who they are in God's image. Proverbs 17: 17 says, "A friend loves at all times." A friend, a TRUE friend, will love you at all times, no matter what. They won't be perfect, but they will try. This type of love is so important because it provides us with people who will accompany us on this journey to Heaven, and whom we can accompany. Storge- Storge is the kind of love shared between family members. Jesus exhibits this love in His relationship with His Heavenly Father, and also with Mary, Joseph, and John the Baptist (His cousin!). His total obedience and submissiveness to the will of his loving parents show us how we, as children, should treat our parents. (Of course, there are situations in which parents are NOT loving for one reason or another, and in those cases in which obeying them will cause us to sin, we are not obligated to obey them or do what they say.) Mary and Joseph's devotion to Jesus show us how parents are supposed to love- sacrificially and with the utmost care and devotion, walking with them on their journey to Heaven. John the Baptist loved Jesus with both storge and philio love, but their relationship was stronger and more intimate as a result of their familial connection. Eros- Eros is the mutual physical attraction and romantic love between a man and a woman brought to fulfillment only in marriage. This sort of love is free, total, fruitful, and faithful. A husband and wife give up their lives for one another, accompany one another, and share each other's works, joys, and sufferings, just as Christ does for His bride, The Church (us!). A good marriage involves putting all types of love into practice. Read more about the Catholic view of marriage here! Agape- Agape is the type of love that God has for us. It is the most complete, beautiful, and sacrificial type of love, which we should strive to imitate in all of our relationships. God Himself is Love- Love that gives all it has and expects nothing in return. God loves us in each of the types of love mentioned above, as Friend, Father, and Husband to His Church, but most especially and fully in agape love, in which He gave up everything out of love for us. Within all the types of love, we must remember that Love is a choice, not a feeling. We won't always feel love for others, but we must make the conscious choice each moment to act out of love. In all things, in all of our relationships, let's remember the words of St. John of the Cross, “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” Lord, you have loved us perfectly and will love us to the end- Thank you! We are truly sorry and ask your forgiveness for all the times we have failed to love. Give us the grace to love You more perfectly, as well as, our friends, family, and eventually, spouses. Thank you, Lord, for your love!

Many young saints from the past couple of centuries are famous for their prayer journals. St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Faustina Kowalska, and Bl. Chiara Badano are just a few that come to mind! Obviously, prayer journaling is a great tool that can help you to grow your prayer life and grow closer to God. It's also a great way to keep track of your life, times of desolation and consolation, and see how far you've come spiritually. Personally, I have had an AMAZING experience with prayer journaling. I've had a prayer journal for about three years now, and I fill up about one journal every 9-ish months because I journal SO MUCH!! Even if you don't like writing or don't already keep a journal, THAT'S OKAY! I encourage you to just give it a try. There are so many ways to do this, and it's totally between you and God. He'll guide you and I promise, you'll receive so many graces through it. Letters to God: I primarily do this type of journaling! Basically, it's just a regular journal. You can write about your day, what's going on in your life, things that are worrying you, but you make it into a prayer. This type of journaling has helped me so much in growing my prayer life and I am so grateful for the graces I've received! It helps me to be more aware of the Lord in my everyday life. It's also so beneficial to look back and see where and how much I've grown spiritually since I began journaling. An example from my own journal looks like this: (This is just in my own words, how I talk to God. Yours will probably look totally different, and that's completely great! God loves whichever way you speak to Him.) Lord, I'm overwhelmed this morning. And why? I mean, I'm nervous about drama, but other than that I think I'm okay. Please give me peace and help it all to go well... I praise You, Lord, my Jesus. It's amazing to think that You walked this Earth. You were here. You are here in the Eucharist! But it's amazing to think that you were here. There is a stone your body was laid on; rooms you were in. The Bible is real! I think I'm somehow just now realizing the reality of it all. I want to learn more so I can live and love like you, Jesus. Bible Journaling: Bible journaling is such a beautiful way to dive deeper into God's Word! This has been such a big help to me. Bible Journaling is useful for so many people because it allows them to interact with the text in a very tangible way. It's fun to (reverently and respectfully) mark up the pages of your Bible with notes, highlighted passages, drawings, and prayers. You can take notes in the margins or in a separate journal about how God is speaking to you through Scripture. There is so much inspiration online and it's a great way to use your creativity (or for some of us, organizational skills...) to glorify God and dive deeper into Scripture. I have the Our Sunday Visitor Catholic Notetaking Bible. But I've also seen and like the looks of the Blessed is She Journaling Bible. You can find some of my Bible journaling examples in my Instagram story highlights or just google "bible journaling" to see some examples. Intention Journal: A prayer intention journal is a great way to keep a prayer journal if you're not someone who particularly enjoys writing. You can make it your own, but what I do is write an intention, the date I wrote it down, and then once the prayer is answered I write down how it was answered and the date it was answered. It's a great exercise in trusting in God, His mercy, and His plan for our lives! A prayer intention entry of mine might look like this: That mom's sore throat will be better by the morning - 2/23/22 Yes, she's feeling better! Thank you, Lord!- 2/24/22 Gratitude Journal: This is exactly what it sounds like! A gratitude journal is a journal in which you keep a list of things you want to thank God for. And there are so many ways to use this for prayer! You could write down what you're grateful for at the end of each day; go through your list daily or weekly and thank God for each thing on your list; or just use it as a way to reflect on and pray with your blessings, thanking God for all He's given you. As St. Gianna said, “The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day.” Journaling is a beautiful form of prayer, and I am confident that it will have a great impact on your spiritual journey if you give it a try! Do you have a prayer journal or a style of journaling that I haven't mentioned? I'd love to hear about it! Feel free to shoot me an email or comment below! God bless!