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"Perfect love drives out fear." Perfect love drives out anxiety. Perfect love drives out unjust anger. Perfect love drives out unrest. Perfect love drives out strife. Where there is Perfect love, there is only joy. Where there is Perfect love, there is Truth. Where there is Perfect love, there is light. Where there is Perfect love, there is patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, selflessness, and forgiveness. Where there is Perfect love, there is protection, trust, hope, and perseverance. Love will never give up on you. Love never fails. In today's first reading, we hear from Saint John the Beloved Disciple that "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear." What is this perfect love? We, as humans, all love imperfectly. We love half-heartedly, not wanting to make sacrifices or suffer for the sake of another person. We have fear in our love: fear of loving improperly or too much or too little. The truth is, we cannot achieve perfect love here on earth. (There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. - 1 John 4:18) Perfect love is not an action. God is perfect Love- Love without fear, without limits. Without God, we cannot truly love. "I agree that perfect love drives out fear, but then why do I still have fear, anxiety, depression, emotional pain, etc.?" When one knows that Jesus loves them and is with them always, they do not have to feel any of these things. Of course, as humans, we all do anyway, and that is normal- it's human nature. However, our faith allows us to trust in God and to have hope that things will get better and that He is with us, because He is perfect love, and in perfect love, there is no fear. Fear, anxiety, depression, pain, etc., are not from God. He may allow them but He doesn't send them on purpose. He is there to help you get through them and grow as a result. Love (God) is bigger than all those feelings. When you, "let Him into the boat" as is discussed in the Gospel today, He tells you to not be afraid. He says that He is here, and He loves you more than you could ever fathom, and finally, He "makes the wind die down" and brings peace to your heart, even if your problem isn't solved right away. (If you're not understanding where I'm going with this, click here and read verses 45-52. 😉) How do we give Perfect Love to others in this life? Saint John also answers this. He says, "Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us." When we love others- not just our families, friends, boyfriends, or girlfriends, but EVERYONE to the best of our ability, we are loving God, and God is loving others perfectly through us. (God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. - 1 John 4:16-17) We ourselves can experience receiving this Perfect Love by participating in the sacraments, reflecting on the goodness and sacrificial gifts of God, and by recognizing and appreciating the love that others have for you and for God. Ultimately, Love is the path to Heaven: Jesus saved us by Love; We are contributing to our salvation by loving others; and we will be saved when we are judged favorably by our loving Father, who will "judge us on love alone." (St. John of the Cross). And how do we love? We love by being patient, being kind, humble, truthful, selfless, forgiving, and by protecting, trusting, hoping, and never giving up. (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8) Perfect love drives out all fear. Love never fails. God never fails.

A blessed feast of the Holy Family to you all!! The Church is reflecting on the Holy family today. What made them holy was their love, obedience to God, and devotion to one another. Today let's pray for all of our families, past, present, and future, and ask God to make them holy. Prayer for departed loved ones from the lay Cistercian of South FL: God our Father, Your power brings us to birth, Your providence guides our lives, and by Your command, we return to dust. Lord, those who die still live in Your presence, their lives change but do not end. I pray in hope for my family, relatives and friends, and for all the dead known to You alone. In company with Christ, Who died and now lives, may they rejoice in Your kingdom, where all our tears are wiped away. Unite us together again in one family, to sing Your praise forever and ever. Amen. Prayer for my family from @usccb: We bless your name, O Lord, for sending your own incarnate Son, to become part of a family, so that, as he lived its life, he would experience its worries and its joys. We ask you, Lord, to protect and watch over this family, so that in the strength of your grace its members may enjoy prosperity, possess the priceless gift of your peace, and, as the Church alive in the home, bear witness in this world to your glory. We ask this thought Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer for my future spouse: O Jesus, I know you have created me to love all people. If I am called to the Vocation of marriage, I ask that you bless my future spouse-the person who you've created for me to love in an exclusive and special way. Allow s/he to know your love and mercy. Assist them in their trials. When we meet, let us know that our relationship is guided by and stands firm in your love. Show us your will, Lord. Help us to draw close to you and in the process to find one another. Saint Ann, Mamma Mary, Saint Joseph, and Saint Gianna, please pray for us! #saints #holyfamily #catholic #catholicteenlifeblog #futurespouse #family #prayforsouls

Wishing you all a very merry and blessed Christmas!! Last year I wrote a post called "A Thrill of Hope". You can read it here. In that post, I wrote: "Jesus Christ, true God, and true man is the only true and everlasting thrill of hope. Despite everything that has happened this year, Jesus is still our hope and gives us reason to rejoice." My message to you this year is ultimately the same. Our hope- the reason for our joy- Jesus Christ, knows what it's like to be in pain, to suffer mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially. He knows what it's like and, He wants to help you. Our Lord desires more than anything else to enter into and be born again into the stable of your heart. But... "I'm such a mess." "My life is going horribly." "I'm not in the Christmas spirit." "I'm sick." "I just lost a loved one." Yes. You are a mess. And so am I. So is your neighbor. So is that very holy lady who goes to daily Mass. And so is the stable that Christ was born in. God, the King, and creator of the universe became man and was born in a barn full of dirty straw, animals, and probably poop. He can most definitely handle you and me and our problems. In fact, that's what He was born to do. Jesus Christ was born in order to die, enter into our places of sin and death, and raise us to new life. This Christmas, would you give Christ the gift of being born again in your heart? That's all He wants. He just wants you. He wants the messed up, broken, beautiful you. When you let Christ in, your circumstances most likely won't change very much. Your life will continue to include suffering. But there will be a difference. You will gain a thrill of hope, and your weary soul will begin to rejoice once again.

I love looking at prayer closets on Pinterest. It's so amazing! An entire little room in your house devoted to prayer. But if you're like me, you can't afford to give up your precious storage space. Fortunately, there are many ways to create a small (but largely effective!) prayer space in your home. This post will take you step by step through setting up your own prayer space and give you some examples from other Catholic Teen Life Readers. Step 1: Find a Spot Some people put their prayer space in a corner with a kneeler. Some have a whole table devoted to it. I've used a shelf on a bookshelf in the past, and am currently using the top of a cabinet that holds my prayer books, journals, and spiritual reading. The ideal spot for your prayer space would be in a quiet area of the house (if possible!) such as your bedroom, and it will probably help if it's at your eye level in a spot where you will frequently see it. My own is positioned where I can sit on my bed when I pray in front of it. The following are some ideas of surfaces you could use: A bookshelf A nightstand The top of a dresser or chest. The corner of a desk If you REALLY don't have a lot of space you could hang pictures up in the corner of your room and sit/kneel in front of it when you make use of your prayer space. An end table near a chair The top of a cabinet It's very helpful to have a comfy chair or kneeler (or in my case, bed) nearby, so you don't have to stand up the whole time you're praying. Step 2: Collect your Materials This is the fun part!! Collect materials that you'll want to use in your prayer space. These could include: Holy cards Pictures of Jesus, Mary, and the Saints Catholic artwork Crosses or Crucifixes Candles (I found mine at Dollar Tree!) Small statues A candle/room spray/essential oil diffuser (if you have a certain scent that you only use during your prayer time, over time your brain will begin to associate that scent with prayer and it will help you to relax and focus on your time with God.) Prayer intentions list Bulletin board (for pinning up your pictures, holy cards, etc.) White or chalkboard (for writing prayer intentions, quotes, etc.) Doily or cloth for underneath your statues. (Some people change the color of their cloth depending on the Liturgical color.) Flowers (I use dried flower petals and put them at the feet of my statue of Our Lady. Basket/ container/ box with a lid to place nearby to put Bibles, journals, spiritual reading, etc. in. Rosaries or chaplets Fairy lights (or at least a lamp) for near or on your prayer space surface if you function better with as much light as possible. Holy water or oil Pictures of people or circumstances that you want to pray for A speaker or earbuds for listening to worship music or meditations Whatever else you use to pray! It may be helpful to have a separate drawer or container where you store all of your materials that are not in use. You don't want to make your prayer space so cluttered that it's distracting, so an alternate space for some of your items may be useful. It's also very fun when you get to switch it up once in a while! Want to make your own prayer space but aren't sure where to find some items for it? Check with your parish office. They will most likely have a table (or even just a box) where people have discarded their own or a loved one's no-longer-used religious items. You can find some pretty neat stuff!! You can also shop online or in bookstores for Catholic artwork, books, candles, and more. Step 3: Use it! Since you've put all that effort into creating a beautiful prayer space, you should use it! It can be helpful if you commit to praying for a certain amount of time each day or at a certain time in the day. You could have a priest come and bless your prayer space and invite your family to come and pray with you (or on their own) in your space. Maybe they'll be inspired to create their own! One Last Note: If you REALLY don't have enough empty space for a dedicated space for prayer, then make it a mobile space! Fill a container with your rosary, Bible, and whatever other books you need, and a crucifix, and voila! You've got your own prayer space. Just sit the crucifix in front of you (wherever you are) and spend some time with the Lord. :-) Some examples from CTL readers: (if you have your own and would like a picture of it to be added to this post, feel free to subscribe and reply to the confirmation email with a picture of your prayer space.) Here's my own prayer cabinet:

What are you waiting for? We're all waiting for something from God. I know for me, most recently, it's been waiting for Him to show me His plan for my life. But maybe for you, it's waiting to be restored to health. Perhaps you're waiting for God to lead you to the person who you're supposed to marry or the Vocation you're supposed to be in. Waiting can bring up so many emotions, sometimes more negative than positive. It's hard not knowing what's coming next. Waiting seems so monotonous. So boring. So pointless. But, guess what?! It doesn't have to be!! How can you, in whatever your situation is, give your waiting to God? God takes every situation we give Him and redeems it. He has a bigger plan. If you're like me and you were discerning God's path for your life, don't just say "I'm discerning" and then do nothing about it... pray for God's guidance! Explore your options! Speak about your options with people from different backgrounds! God DOES have a plan, and He WILL reveal it to you. But you do have to cooperate. When we give our season of waiting to God, He can use it for good. Just because you seem to be stuck in a holding pattern, not quite knowing what the next step is, doesn't mean that God can't use you. Think of the Israelites. It's easy to imagine how they felt since we are currently in the Advent season and waiting to celebrate Christ's coming. They spent thousands of years waiting for this Messiah that they had heard about for so long! There must've been times that the Israelites were so discouraged because everything was such a mess that it didn't seem like God could possibly be working in their lives. We can get the same way. It's hard to see God in the waiting. It's hard not knowing what's coming next or how God will work it all out. But those Israelites, all along, when they tried to stay faithful to God (even though they frequently failed, as do we), God was using them to bring about the coming of their Messiah. When we give our waiting to God and ask Him to use it, to use us, and to be in that time of waiting with us, we can rest assured that He will and that eventually, the waiting will be over, and His plan will be revealed.

Hi everyone! I apologize for my infrequent posts. I'd ask that you please pray for the soul of my aunt, who passed away unexpectedly this week at the age of 47. Please also keep in your prayers my uncle and 9 year old cousin, as well as the rest of our family. Thank you all for your prayers!! I will try to post again soon. God bless you all!! ~ Catholic Teen Advent Reminders: - Make your heart a manger for Christ to dwell! - Pray the Rosary. Especially the joyful mysteries. -Go to confession -Pray a novena with a friend! (There are so many good ones happening right now!) -Love everyone. No matter what. Saint Gertrude Prayer Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen. Read more at: https://www.praymorenovenas.com/prayer-st-gertrude-great-souls-purgatory

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.” Lk 21:1-4 The above passage is the Gospel reading for today, the Feast of Saint Cecelia. Do you know what's amazing about the poor widow in the Gospel today? She got God's attention. Notice, Jesus didn't comment on how effective the large sums of money given by the wealthy would be for the treasury supply, He commented on a small act of love, a small gift made by a widow, that turned out to be so large. This woman gave all she had to God by offering all her money to the Temple where He was worshipped. This got God's attention. What can we learn from this? When you do little things for others-and consequently for God- YOU get God's attention. When you are kind to someone who you don't usually talk with, YOU get God's attention. When you help your mom out with dinner (even though you would rather be playing video games), YOU get God's attention. When you give up your Sunday morning breakfast with friends because you know you should fast before Mass, YOU get God's attention. See, God doesn't expect all of us to do great things or give to Him in large ways. Sure, some of us may be called to holiness by serving the Chruch in a big way, becoming a priest or a nun, or traveling to foreign countries to be missionaries, but most of us will probably not be called to give everything for God by being martyred for our faith or by giving all of our money to the Church. However, all of us will be called to ordinary holiness. We're all given the opportunity each day to give God our "two coins" and offer Him all we have: the little and insignificant things we do or talents we have, and He uses them to build up the Kingdom. We are called to do small things with great love, as the widow in the Gospel did. Do you want God's attention? Do you want to feel closer to Him? Do you want to follow His will for your life? Do small things with great love, and all will fall into place. When we offer all we have for the Kingdom of Heaven, we get His attention, and God takes what little we have given and helps us become the saints we were created to be.

CALLING ALL CATHOLIC BOOK WORMS!!! Earlier in the year Ms. Julie Ash contacted me through this blog and asked if I would read and review her new book, In the Palace of the Great King: a Catholic Novel. In the Palace of the Great King is an engaging, prayer-provoking, and truly beautiful read for the young Church. I thoroughly enjoyed every word of it. I would see it as an especially good book for young women discerning a Vocation to the Religious Life, although I'm sure it will be loved by all who read it. The book details the lives of two young women on their search for truth, meaning, and happiness. Their paths intersect in an unexpected way, and it alters their lives forever. (read more in the description below from Amazon) You can see the official website page for the book here. Please leave Ms.Ash a review, if you'd like! The novel is currently available in E-book format through Amazon at this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FXBTC8V?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420 Hard copies of the novel are available now wherever books are sold! If you read this beautiful novel, please let me know what you thought of it in the comments section below (You're going to have to scroll down quite a bit to find the comments section. Long post. Sorry!) and I will share your praise for the book with Ms. Ash. Please share this post with your friends so we can spread the word about this beautiful Catholic literary work. *Note: I am not monetarily profiting in any way from writing this blog post or providing these links, however, this book was a wonderful use of my time, and I greatly profited from it in that sense of things :-) Here is the synopsis of the book (along with some reviews, including mine!) from Amazon: The devil doesn’t care how much money your parents make. All that matters is that you keep your mind on anything and everything but God. In the Palace of the Great King (348 pages) by debut author Julie Ash reveals how two teens from totally different backgrounds respond to the call to conversion and contemplative religious life in the midst of an often hostile secular culture and a Church in crisis. “Julie Ash crafts an iconic tale of demons, angels, beliefs, and the reality of what it means to give one's life to God.” D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review “What if Heaven is everything they say it is? What if it’s this wonderful place where you can have everything you ever wanted and be happy forever? And nobody told us?” Lonely 14-year-old Char Fisher isn’t as popular as her beautiful younger sister, Kayla. Jealously they bicker and argue. Then a family trip to Cleveland changes everything when their mother has a major meltdown over a pro-life protester. After her beloved Abuelita Isabel dies, 17-year-old Tia Esperanza gets uprooted from her childhood home in San Antonio when her mother decides to move them all to Cleveland. Now, they’re closer to Tia’s father, but things aren’t exactly working out. She’ll be graduating soon, and then what? She’s so busy working and helping take care of her special needs brother while her mother works nights that she doesn’t have time to think about anything else. Char and Tia come from totally different worlds, but when a chance bus ride in a terrifying storm throws them all together in Holy Angels Monastery, something beautiful emerges that even Tia with her Catholic upbringing couldn’t have expected. This true-to-life young adult novel by Julie Ash is packed with gripping adventure, heartwarming humor, and a stunning conclusion that you won’t see coming! "In the Palace of the Great King is an engaging, prayer-provoking, and truly beautiful read... I thoroughly enjoyed every word of it." “Catholic Teen,” Catholic Teen Life "I was astounded by how well-written and enthralling this book was, and it is now one of my favorites." Grace Donahue, A Catholic Girl Reads Again, I encourage you to purchase and read this wonderful novel for Catholic Teens! I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Thank you to Ms. Julie Ash for writing such beautiful work of literature!

I love writing about Vocations. A Vocation is literally a call from God. How could anything get better than that?? We all are called by God to do different things at different times throughout our lives. We are called when we are young to be sons and daughters, students, and friends. When we get a bit older we are called to a mission in some sort of career, or by serving our families or the Church. This is the kind of Vocation that we, as the Church of the United States, discuss this week, specifically Vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, though we encourage and celebrate all Vocations. The important thing to remember is that no matter how Jesus calls you to love in this life, ultimately, the Vocation of every single person is to know, love, and serve God in this life so that we can be happy with Him in the next. If you feel God tugging on your heartstrings in one direction or another, GO, FOLLOW HIM! Or maybe you're not sure. If all you've had is a strong desire and peace when you think about which state of life you will enter, that's a sign of where God is leading you. GO, FOLLOW HIM! Maybe you've never even considered that God has a magnificent plan for your life. It's amazing. GO, FOLLOW HIM, and He will lead you on a beautiful journey that you never could've imagined!! I speak this from personal experience. Long story short, for a long time, I felt called to religious life. I thought I was supposed to become a Sister and serve the Church in that way. Over time though, I realized that I was only focusing on my own desires- not asking God to reveal to me what HIS plan was. Now, after lots of prayer and tons of confirmation from God, I have found that He is calling me to be a wife and mother someday. : ) There are tons of resources out there for people of all ages discerning their vocations. The USCCB website has some great resources, and any website for a religious community will too. The best piece of advice about discerning my Vocation was given to me in confession by a priest at a Steubenville conference. I don't even know who he was, but I am SO grateful that he told me this. He said that in discernment, we don't need to know the path right away. Our job is to have an open and receptive posture to whatever God wants, and God will work out the rest. It's okay to not have it all figured out. Our God is a God of love and a God of surprises. He has a plan for your life and for mine that is greater and more beautiful than we can even imagine, and in His time, He will reveal it. Last year for National Vocations Awareness Week I posted some resources along with interviews with a few people who are boldly living out their Vocations. Here are the links to those posts: Vocations Resources Post- https://catholicteenlife.wixsite.com/mysite/post/vocations-resources An Interview with a Religious Sister-https://catholicteenlife.wixsite.com/mysite/post/an-interview-with-a-religious-sister An Interview with a Seminarian https://catholicteenlife.wixsite.com/mysite/post/an-interview-with-a-seminarian An Interview with a Priest: https://catholicteenlife.wixsite.com/mysite/post/an-interview-with-a-priest Please share them (or any other Catholic Teen Life posts) with anyone you think could benefit from reading them! Prayer to Know My Vocation from a prayer card that I have: Lord, I want to be happy with you in this life and spend eternity with you in the life to come. From the first moment of my existence, you knew my Vocation. Please help me discover your plan for my life. Help me to know myself. Help me to overcome my fears. Help me to want what you want. Help me to trust You completely. Send your Holy Spirit into my mind and hearts so that I can see the gifts you've given me and hear Your call to serve the Church. Increase my desire to bring others to you and to help them reach Heaven. Mary Most Holy, Mother of God, pray for me, that I can discover my Vocation and have the courage to respond in faith. Let's pray for one another that God will show us how He desires for us to love in this life so that we can be happy with Him in the next : ) God bless you!!

The people we celebrate today are Mothers, Fathers, Husbands, Wives, Nuns, Monks, Priests, Deacons, Children, Teenagers, Babies, and hopefully, someday, YOU!! (basically, we're celebrating everyone who is in Heaven, canonized saint or not.) A few of my go-to saints are Saint Gianna Molla, Saint Anne, Blessed Carlo Acutis, Saint Therese, and, of course, Mamma Mary. Feel free to comment below and tell me who your favorite saint is! Do you know of an obscure saint with an amazing story that I should check out? Are you doing anything to celebrate All Saints Day? I'd love to hear all about it! “Believe me, don’t wait until tomorrow to begin becoming a saint.” ~St. Therese of Lisieux Let's never forget that God desires for us to become Saints! Aim high! Aim for eternal glory! The path to sainthood begins NOW! And if Heaven is your goal, God will make sure that you'll succeed. Have a blessed and happy All Saints day!

Dear Catholic Teen Life Readers, As part of my history text for the school year, I have to choose a project to complete each month. This month I chose the following prompt: Read the Gospel Accounts of the Resurrection and write a narrative explaining the events beginning Holy Saturday night and going up to Christ’s first appearance to all His apostles in the upper room on Easter Sunday morning. I chose to write the narrative from the perspective of Saint Mary Magdalene. This narrative is entirely fictional, although based on the information about the Ressurection contained in the Gospels, and I've used my creativity to come up with the details. Mary is the subject of a great amount of speculation, and so for the sake of simplicity I've based her character only on Biblical descriptions. I had a lot of fun with this project and wanted to share it with you all :-) I'm considering adding on to this short story so that it includes a (fictional) account of all the events that took place from Holy Thursday to Good Friday. If you enjoy this type of writing and think I should continue, please let me know in the comments section below (Or through the contact form on the home page)! I'd love to hear your thoughts. ~Catholic Teen How It Began- A short story from the perspective of Mary Magdalene Saturday Evening “What do we do now, Peter? We can’t intrude on these poor people’s lives forever!” “I know, Mary. But it’s safer this way for now. We don’t know what’s going on out there.” “Fine.” He turned and walked away, apparently satisfied by my response. “That’s all he’ll get.” I thought. I walked back to the corner of the room where Joanna, Salome, and Mary, James’ mother, were sitting. “It’s no use. He won’t make a decision.” I sighed as I slumped down against the rocky wall behind us. We’d been hiding in the upper room since Jesus died on Friday. The child in the family downstairs had been healed by Christ on Wednesday, and the family had been kind enough to let us stay in their attic for a while so we could be together while we grieved and figured out what to do next. But we had to do something. We couldn’t hide forever. “Pray for them, Mary.” Joanna said softly, always the rational, supportive one of the bunch. “They have a big decision to make.” “Yeah. I know. But we must do something. We can’t just sit here forever.” I glanced around at the other people in the room. Peter and James sat in the opposite corner, discussing what to do next. John sat with Mary in the other corner by the fire that Matthew had built, holding her hand while she cried softly. The rest of the men sat in groups throughout the room, talking in hushed voices. Andrew had already laid his cloak on the floor and was ready to sleep after a long day of doing, well, nothing. “Let’s go to the tomb in the morning and take the spices with us. You’re absolutely right, Mary, we must do something.” Salome said after a moment. “Yes. That’s something we can hopefully do without making too much of a disturbance. I still can’t believe they actually killed Him. They said they would, but I just can’t believe it." A while later the four of us removed our cloaks and laid down on them on the floor as we’d done the night before. John stood up from the corner of the room where he was with Mary. He brought her over to us and gave her his cloak to lay on, as hers was soaked with tears. “Goodnight, Imma!” John said, kissing her on the cheek. While He was hanging on the cross, Jesus told John to take her into his home, and Mary that John was now her son. The two had developed a bond before then, so it was a beautiful privilege that Jesus had given to the two of them. I think it’s so sweet how he already calls her Imma. (Imma means mamma in Hebrew) As the room slowly became quieter except for Andrew’s quiet snores, I felt tears dripping down my cheeks. This happens sometimes. I become numb with pain, not even letting myself feel it until late at night when I’m sure no one else will know. When I was young and my parents still allowed me into their home, I had to keep my feelings inside of me. My father was a cruel man. Then when he tossed me out, leaving me to fend for myself once I became possessed, I had no one to talk to in my clear moments. I kept all of my emotions bottled up inside, like a grape, overripened and needing to burst forth. Once Jesus healed me I became a new person. I was so emotional for a long time, overwhelmed by the love with which He had treated me. But then He was gone. And I felt like I needed to be strong for everyone else, so I only allowed myself to feel the pain late at night or when I knew they couldn't see. This was no exception. The first person in this world to treat me with dignity had died. I had to grieve but didn’t quite know how. Even now, five years later, living out in the desert, alone, I still need to mourn what happened even though I know how the story ends. Or shall I say, begins? Sunday Morning It was so early that the sun had only just begun to lighten the room. Only the four of us were awake. Joanna began gathering the spices that she’d hidden in the folds of her cloak after we left the tomb on Friday. As quietly as we could, only stopping to tell Peter where we were going, (at which he looked me straight in the eyes and said “be careful.” Before rolling over to go back to sleep.) we slipped down the stairs from the room, pulling our veils closer to our faces as we stepped onto the road. The sun dawned in the sky, more beautiful than I’d ever seen it before. About two miles later, as we climbed the hill leading to the garden where the tomb was, I ran up ahead of the other women. They are older and slower than I, and Joanna, though younger, stayed by their side. I was only twenty at the time. I crested the hill, seemingly walking into the sunrise. At the bottom was the garden where the tomb was in which they’d buried Jesus. The tears began to fall, and for once, I allowed them to. I shivered as I crossed the threshold into the garden. As I turned the corner to enter the gate where the tomb was, I stopped in my tracks. The stone had been rolled back. I peered inside. Nothing. I sank to my knees, sobbing. “All of that and now they’ve stolen His body. How could anyone be so cruel?” I heard footsteps behind me. Thinking it was the other women, I did not turn around. A man’s voice came from behind me. He must’ve been standing about five feet away. “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid Him.” I gasped out between sobs. “He must be the gardener.” I thought. “Maybe he knows what happened.” “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take Him.” “Mary!” The man’s voice changed as he spoke my name with the utmost tenderness. My heart stopped. It was the voice of my Lord. “Rabbouni!” I cried out, turning and throwing myself at His feet. His face was radiant with love as it had been, even bloodied and bruised as he hung on the cross. He leaned down and embraced me, allowing me to cry in his arms. After a moment He stood, drawing me up along with Him. He looked directly into my eyes and said with a small smile, “Mary, stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘ I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” “Yes, Rabbi! I said, tears filling my eyes yet again, “I will go!” I turned and ran to the gate, glancing behind me as I did. The other women were just arriving. “He’s there!” I cried out through my tears, now of joy. I ran back to the upper room and told Peter and John what I’d seen. They didn’t seem to believe me. I could still sometimes tell that Peter still saw me as that crazy girl who’d been possessed and then healed by the Messiah. Jesus became my life. My everything. And on top of that, I am a woman. Who would listen to me? Nevertheless, the men ran off to the tomb, doubting my testimony but yet with a spark of hope in their hearts. 11 a.m. Sunday The other women gathered around me, their tongues alight with happy speech and giggles of disbelief for the first time in a while. “An angel was there! And oh, Mary, it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen!” “He said that Jesus is risen and to come and tell Peter!” I relayed to the rest of the men all that had happened. They also were skeptical of what we had seen. Just then we heard the thunder of footsteps as Peter and John raced up the stairs. “Well, Mary," Peter said as they burst into the room, “There were no angels or visions or anything of the sort, but something strange is happening. The stone is rolled away, as you said, and the burial cloth was folded neatly. Not something robbers would do.” John said softly, “The Jews will think we stole His body and staged this to cause trouble. We must hide. The family downstairs says we may stay as long as necessary.” He locked the door behind him as he said this. The men began to murmur among themselves, only adding to their worry as they discussed possibilities of what may have happened. We women sat in the corner further discussing what we had seen. We all knew in our hearts that it was true and were not afraid. Jesus was alive! He would certainly do something to let us know what to do next. Later in the afternoon, Jesus’ mother remarked, “He said this would happen, did He not? If they only believe they will be at peace.” 6 p.m. Sunday Thomas had gone out to beg for some bread in the marketplace, spreading ashes over his face from our fire to make himself seem dirty like a beggar. The men continued to worry while we waited for him to come back with whatever morsels he could find. They were so afraid of what might happen to them. They looked at us as if we were crazy when we laughed, and once, we even began singing as Joanna tried to recall the song the angels had sung as they'd praised God! As the men talked among themselves, and John sat with Mary, there was suddenly a flash of light. We all sat up straight, startled. “Peace be with you.” A voice came from the far corner of the room where the family’s old table and chairs sat. We all turned and looked. “Jesus” voices breathed from all around the room. The room filled with light and laughter as everyone tried to comprehend what they were seeing. Peter began to sob uncontrollably. Mary ran to her son. He embraced her and sat her down on one of the chairs. He wordlessly displayed his hands and feet with the nail marks in them. When they’d taken Him down from the cross we had not had time to clean His wounds before the sun went down and the Sabbath began, so He had been dirty and bloodied. Now all that remained were the holes in his flesh where the nails had been and the wound in His side where he had been pierced. He walked to each of us, embracing us one by one and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” before He moved to the next person. Everyone gathered was either crying or laughing uncontrollably by the time Jesus got to each of us. He then turned to the men and, looking Peter directly in the eyes, said, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven. Whose sins you retain are retained.” Jesus remained with us a while longer, about half of an hour, before He disappeared out the door. We peered out the window to see which direction He went, but we did not even see Him leave the house. I was overjoyed. I did not even try to comprehend what had happened. All that mattered was that He was alive. The Messiah, the man whom our people waited for thousands of years, had been killed. But now He was alive. Thomas returned to the room with a small amount of food, startled by all we told him had occurred, and refused to believe, saying, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” He became annoyed with all of our babbling and tears of joy and retired to his cloak on the floor hours earlier than the rest of us. About a week later, Jesus appeared to us all and Thomas came to believe, but that is a story for another time. As I lay on my cloak that night, too excited to sleep, I realized that what happened to Jesus had happened to me, too. I was dead. Broken, lost, abandoned, and then He raised me up. He pulled me out of the darkness into the light and life of His love. To this day, five years later, I continue to receive notes from Peter telling stories of how Jesus continues to raise people out of the darkness of this world and into the light of His Truth, though He ascended to His Father. The Holy Spirit that Jesus gave to us that night is alive and working. Though the community is still small, it is growing, and I am confident that someday all will know what occurred on that glorious morning and come to believe and find new life in Christ as I, and so many others, have.

Blessed Chiara "Luce" Badano ​ Her story: Blessed Chiara was born in 1971 in Sasello, Italy. Chiara was a popular, fun-loving, ordinary girl. She had a heart for others and evangelized more through her deeds than through her words. She is- quite literally- an ordinary saint. She did nothing remarkable other than love her Lord! When she was 17, she was diagnosed with bone cancer. She offered up her sufferings, continuing to stay positive and spread the light of Christ to everyone around her, and remained active in the faith despite being so sick. She once said that if she had to choose between walking again and going to Heaven, she'd choose Heaven. She had chosen Jesus as her spouse and was excited to be with Him. One of her more famous quotes is "At this point I have nothing left, but I still have my heart, and with that I can always love." She died in 1990, and within 9 years her diocese pursued canonization for this amazing young woman. She was beatified in 2010. ​ Born: 1971 Died:1990 Feast Day: October 29 ​Quotes: “I discovered that Forsaken Jesus is the key to unity with God and I want to choose Him as my first Spouse and be prepared for when He comes.” “I have nothing left but I still have my heart and with that, I can always love.” And my personal favorite... “For you Jesus. If you want it, I want it, too!” Blessed Chiara, pray for us that we may live out our teenage lives in service to our Lord just as you did. Help us to be a light for the world!! ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​