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Our God works in the little things. He uses little signs, little gifts in our everyday lives just to say, "Hey. I'm here. You're not alone." I've been noticing this a lot more lately, particularly in nature. God gave us so many beautiful things that reflect His love for us! Last night the sunset was so beautiful, and all I was thinking was "Wow. That must be what Heaven looks like." I love this time of year because flowers are blooming and with them, dandelions! I love dandelions. They're so simple, and so disliked by many, but at the same time so beautiful! They spread quickly, bringing their delicate beauty everywhere they land, and they just won't give up. There are so many lessons and gifts that God gives to us through these little flowers/ weeds and through all of His creation! It's these little "God moments" that are so powerful. God is so involved in our everyday lives. Yes, He waits for us in the tabernacle for us to visit and receive Him, but He also meets us where we are. We are given so many gifts. Some of them are amazing coincidences that let us know, without a shadow of a doubt, that God was with us. I recently experienced one of these amazing coincidences. I mentioned in my last post that I was going on a come and see retreat weekend. During the retreat, we were talking about this blog and one of the other young ladies (who'd I'd never met before) mentioned that she is a subscriber! What a coincidence that we both happened to be on the retreat at the same time! God is so good, and He gives us so many gifts, even in the little things :-) There were many other Divine coincidences during the retreat, and I received so many graces. Thank you to all who were praying for me! I encourage you to look for God in the little things. He is so good to us, and signs of His precious love surround us. He is so interwoven in our lives, and He wants us to talk to Him about them! God cares. He knows our hopes and dreams, joys, and struggles. It's the signs of His love, both the little and big, that give us a glimpse of our Heavenly home.

How is God calling you to love? Who are you meant to be? Where are you being called to serve? These are all things to pray about on this day, the World Day of Prayer for Vocations (and every day!) God has a plan for each one of us. He does not make us do exactly what He wants- we're not robots- but He does guide us and lead us to what is best for us, just as any good father and friend would. Even if at this time we have absolutely no idea what His plan is, we can trust Him. God's got it all under control. I encourage you to pray for all discerning vocations to marriage, the priesthood, or consecrated life, that we may go where God is calling us. I also ask for your prayers, as I will be on a "Come and See" retreat when this post is published! To get more vocation resources, as well as read some interviews with those living out their vocations to the fullest, please go back to my posts from National Vocation Awareness Week 2020 and check out the thousands of Catholic Vocation resources online! Please be assured of my prayers for you this weekend! Do not be afraid to follow where God is leading. Be joyful! He will lead us on this journey and He loves us immensley. :-)

Jesus is amazing. There’s no other way that I can describe it. He is amazing, and He is gracious. I read the Gospel today and all I can think is “Wow.” Here, you can read it for yourself: "Jesus said to the crowds: 'No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.'” Jn 6:44-51 God gave His body for us. He gave us His flesh as food and His blood as drink. And He is so explicitly clear about it that it’s impossible to deny it without denying Christ Himself. Yes, it is a hard saying. Yes, it is difficult to believe. But if we truly trust that what Jesus said is true, we will believe that He gave us His body and blood under the form of food and drink so that He might be with us forever, and we with Him. He could not have possibly been more clear about this in both John 6, and in the Last Supper narratives, as well as in other places where He alludes to His being the Bread of Life. As is touched on in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles today, we need someone to instruct us in order to even begin to comprehend these mysteries. Thankfully, we have the magisterium of the Church to help with that. Along with leaving His apostles the ability to turn bread and wine into His own body and blood by the power of God, He also left them with evangelization skills and knowledge that could not be achieved without divine intervention. These things are still passed down even to this day by the Sacrament of Holy Orders (ordination)! Jesus meant what He said. It’s undeniable. He continues to give Himself to the Church in the sacraments to this very day. He is here and He is constantly waiting for you and me to come to Him. We must never be afraid to approach Jesus in the sacraments. He is our one, true King, and He has established His Kingdom on earth in the form of a united, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, which remains strong even 2000 years after being established. Yes, it’s confusing. God is so beyond what our tiny human brains can even begin to fathom, But thankfully he’s given us a church to help to explain these concepts! Come to Him. He is waiting specifically for you! He is here, physically present to us in the most blessed sacrament in Catholic churches around the world. Our God is alive! Go and be with Him in Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, receive Him at Mass. Meet Him in the confessional and have your sins washed away. He is waiting for you and loves you so much! *If you have any specific questions regarding the Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, please feel free to contact me using the contact form on the home page of this blog. I will try the best I can to answer your question or give you some resources. God bless you! -Catholic Teen

You can find out about this incredible day in the Church here. Our Lord's mercy is so unfathomable and amazing, especially on this beautiful day! Jesus told Saint Faustina, "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." *(Please read my note on private revelation at the bottom of the post) God desired to be so closely reunited with us that He will restore our soul back to us back to the state it was in at the moment we were baptized, and all we have to do is trust in Him, be merciful to others, and go to confession** and receive the Holy Eucharist. That is so incredible!! No matter what you've done, no matter who you are, Jesus loves you. He wants to forgive you even more than you want to be forgiven. Do not be afraid of your past sins, entrust them to our Lord, and trust in His unfathomable mercy! He loves you immensely. He wants you to trust in Him. He wants to envelop you in His grace and love and wants you to belong to Him forever. Our God's greatest attribute is mercy. He will not turn souls away if they are truly contrite for their sins. Please pray for mercy for our world, that all may experience God's inexhaustible mercy and love. God bless you, and may you have a very happy and blessed Divine Mercy Sunday, filled with the unfathomable grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! *I am hoping to do a series on Private revelations in the upcoming months, including the revelations of Jesus to St.Faustina as well as numerous other revelations. Though the belief in Jesus' revelations to St. Faustina is not a requirement for belonging to the Church, the Church has supported and celebrated them for many years, and they have been deemed worthy of belief. ** It is not necessary to go to confession on Divine Mercy Sunday, just in a time that is relatively close to the day. So if you went to confession during Lent, that is just fine according to the Divine Mercy website.

Happy Easter!! Catholic Teen Life has also been resurrected on this marvelous Easter Sunday, but that's not the big deal, Jesus is! Our Jesus, our lover, and Lord, our all-powerful God, rose from the dead, and in doing so, saved us from our sins. There is nothing that could possibly be more amazing than that! One thing that I realized for the first time this Lent was how many people went to Heaven on Easter Sunday. Just think about it, when Jesus died, he opened the gates of the Sheol (the place of the dead, not hell, as is commonly mistaken), and all the people who'd ever lived who were not in a state of mortal sin went to Heaven. That's crazy. Millions of people went to Heaven on that first Easter Sunday. Millions of people saw God as He is, in the Beatific Vision, for the first time. God's promise was fulfilled. The son of David saved His people from their sins. In resurrecting He redeemed us, He redeemed death. Death is not the end. This world is not the end. "In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” -John 16:33 This is our God. This is the only being who loves us completely and totally, without reserve. He died for our sake, and then rose from the dead and won dominion over life and death. He has conquered the world, and even death itself. Love has won. We must rejoice!

Hello Catholic Teen Life Readers! After some thought and prayer, I've decided to take a break from blogging for personal reasons. I will continue to write about our beautiful faith for future blog posts. Please continue to pray for a culture of life, for our country, and for the Church. Now is a crucial time for we as young people to boldly live out our faith. Our world needs a miracle. Prayer works miracles, evangelizing works miracles, but God is the one who makes all of those miracles happen. You are a miracle. Your life is a miracle, and so is that of every single person in this world. You matter and you are loved. So, in the words of Pope Saint John Paul the Great, "Be not afraid!" Even though our world is a mess right now, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to share your faith, but most importantly to live it. God is on our side, and with Him, everything is possible. May our Lord bless and keep you, and may His love and mercy give you peace. I will be praying for you! Joyfully in Christ, Catholic Teen “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” ~ Matthew 19:26

Today in the United States we celebrate and remember the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, a remarkable man who worked tirelessly to fight injustice. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail (April 16, 1963), King says, "To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." In our world today, so many things are unjust. Of course, this has typically been the case throughout human history, but in the last century, popular culture has lowered itself so far as to say that life itself is replaceable and easily removable. Of all the injustices that have ever existed, the idea that life is not a God-given, unalienable right and can just be thrown away is the greatest injustice of all. Without acknowledgment of this right, all other injustices are excusable. If life itself does not matter, why would anything else? On this Friday, January 22nd, we mourn the 48th anniversary of a United States court case that legalized the murder of millions upon millions of children. Martin Luther King Jr. says, "We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was 'legal' and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was 'illegal.' It was 'illegal' to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany." The violent murder of the most vulnerable, innocent members of our society is tolerated and promoted in today's society. Everything that the Nazis did was largely tolerated. Slavery and segregation were largely tolerated. Evil will not cease to be tolerated until a group of people decides to stand up to the horrible injustice and not be afraid of the consequences. In this day and age, we cannot afford to be bashful about good and true beliefs. We need to be faithful and strong in our defense of Truth and Goodness. Martin Luther King Jr. was a great example of this. Of course, not all of his beliefs were in line with Catholic teaching, but he certainly was influential and a good example of fighting for the Truth. He was placed in jail numerous times during his fight against racism and segregation, and would not deny his beliefs in exchange for his freedom. We, as Christians and members of the pro-life movement, need to be prepared to do the same. We need to be prepared for persecution because of our belief in the Truth, and we can not give up or back down. Many of the world's most influential people are against us and against the Truth. We need to remember that no matter who is against us, God is for us, and He is infinitely more influential than any political leader, businessman, or movie star that has ever or will ever exist. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "I have a dream." I, along with millions of other rational human beings, have a dream that someday the right to life for all people will be upheld and respected throughout the entire world, and I believe with all of my heart that with God on our side, our dream will come true.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8-9 Sometimes things don't go our way. And sometimes things don't go the way that we know they should go. Sometimes no matter how much we plead with the Lord to give us justice in our time, to send us peace and comfort, things only get worse. It can be easy to say "Oh, God didn't answer my prayer, He must not care." God understands our suffering, He knows our pain, and He wants to heal us even more than we want to be healed. Our plans, thoughts, and ways are not the same as God's. The things going on in the United States of America right now are incredibly wrong. No, violence is not the answer, but people have a right to be heard. The cheating, stealing, and deception that the majority of the world knows is going on right now are not okay and will never be okay. But despite all of this, despite how much we beg the Lord to reveal the Truth in our time, things may not go the way that we know they ought to go in. And that's okay. He has promised that all will be revealed someday, and we will all know the Truth. Yes, we keep working for justice, Truth, beauty and freedom, but we let God handle things in His time. God is not at fault for the sins of people, people are, but He is always there to welcome them home with open arms. He has a plan for our nation and a plan for the world. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. God sees the big picture, and we can't. He will make everything known in His time. In the meantime, we just need to trust Him.

Saint Agnes ​​ The Story: Saint Agnes was a beautiful, late 4th-century girl and a devout Christian. When Agnes was old enough to marry, she repeatedly refused to marry, saying "Jesus Christ is my only spouse." She was eventually reported to the authorities as a Christian and was martyred because she refused to deny Christ and His authority over her life. She died in January of 304 at the age of 12 or 13. ​ You can read more about Saint Agnes and her life at https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=106 ​ Patron of: young girls, chastity, rape survivors, and the Children of Mary ​ Feast Day: Jan. 21 ​ Quotes: "Jesus Christ is my only Spouse." "I am already promised to the Lord of the Universe. He is more splendid than the sun and the stars, and He has said He will never leave me!" “He chose me first and He shall have me.” St. Agnes is a shining example of sacrificial love and both emotional and physical virginity, all of which are lacking in our world today. Let's ask St. Agnes in this month of January to help us, the young Church, to live out the virtues that she exemplified in her short earthly life so that we can someday meet her in eternal life. ​ Saint Agnes, please PRAY FOR US!! ​ ​ ​ Sources for information, quotes, and picture: https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=106 http://catholicfaithpatronsaints.com/prayers-quips-and-quotes-st-agnes-of-rome-feast-day-january-21/

Today on this feast day of the Church we remember and celebrate the lives of the holy and innocent children who were slaughtered in King Herod's search to kill Jesus when He was just a baby. You can read the whole story in today's gospel. The direct killing of children may seem like a thing of the past. After all, humans are more humane now, right? Sadly, that thinking is wrong. Millions of children are brutally killed every single day of our lives. A lot of our government leaders are not trying to stop this from happening, and some of them even promote it. Some people think there's nothing morally objectionable about it and work for their right to be able to do it. What is this awful massacre? What is this thing that is taking so many precious and innocent lives from our world? Abortion. Abortion is the evil act that is killing so many beautiful little people. It is said that history repeats itself. Abortion is not the exception to this. By allowing and even promoting this obvious evil, our societal leaders are allowing Herod's horrid act to take place day after day and year after year. We have the power to change that. We have the power to convince our leaders to change their minds about the killing of the unborn and show them the Truth! All it takes is a little courage to stand up for life. One really good and effective way to do this is to contact your state's governmental leaders. You can do this either individually by emailing, writing to, or calling or contacting them directly by sending them a message through Students for Life Action, the sister organization of Students for Life of America which is the largest student-led pro-life organization in the nation. On this feast day of the Holy Innocents, let's remember all of the souls of those precious babies killed by King Herod, as well as those of the millions of children killed by abortion. I firmly believe that these little saints of the Church are resting in the arms of their Father and Heavenly Mother and can be powerful intercessors for us. All of the Holy Innocents, please pray for us as we work with all of our strength to protect the beauty and dignity of every human life! “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

In the popular Christmas song, "O Holy Night", right before the climax of the song are the words "a thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices..." What is your thrill of hope? What makes you believe that there is more than the sadness that our world seems to be living in a state of? What makes you believe that everything will be okay, even if it's not okay right now? What is the reason that you keep going, keep believing, even when the going gets tough? There is one answer to this question. Other things or people may give us hope, but they themselves are not that hope, no matter how amazing they may be. 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. This thrill of hope, He didn't come as a king, filled with glory and power, he didn't come bearing a sword, he didn't come with a political agenda, He came in a cave, born to a peasant girl and her loving husband. He came as a baby, sweet and gentle. And He came as a thrill of hope for a weary world that was in need of joy. Even though modern celebrations of the birth of the Christ Child only seem to be about flashy lights and sparkles, we always need to remember that our true hope, Jesus Christ, was born in a dirty stable, His parents were unsure of the path ahead, but all throughout their journey with Jesus they just trusted God. God has a plan for them and He has a plan for you. He has a plan for me and He has a plan for this country and for our world. He will not let us down. Our Lord is faithful and He keeps His promises. As we embark on our journey through the Christmas season, let us not forget who it is that we celebrate, who is the cause of our joy, our thrill of hope, Jesus Christ. May God bless you and your families always. Have a very merry Christmas and a blessed new year!

And Jehoshaphat. And Rehoboam. And Amminadab. And Hezron. And Asaph. And all of the other people with awesome names that are found in today's Gospel reading from the book of Matthew. Today's Gospel details the lineage of Jesus Christ and tells of the generations before Him all the way back to Abraham. Traditionally genealogies such as these, when used in Biblical texts, are there to show a jump in time. This one, however, is different, as it details the family of the Son of God rather than simply illustrating that a long period of time has passed. This genealogy just goes to show that every single person that has ever lived on this earth matters and is loved and cared for. All those people were part of a greater plan, and most of them probably had no idea that they would be the family that would bring the son of God into the world, but they were. God has a bigger plan for you and for me than we can even imagine. He is in control and He has an amazing plan of which we are vital players. Just like all those people didn't know that God was going to make their nation and family one that would never fade into history, sometimes we don't know where God is leading us. Sometimes we have absolutely no idea why we are going through what we are going through in our lives. Sometimes we can't see where God is leading us. The path ahead might be bumpy and maybe you've taken so many turns that you're not even sure how you got to where you are. Even though it's uncertain, even though we don't understand, even though nothing seems to be going right, that's okay. God is in control. Just as He was for all of those people in Jesus' genealogy, He has always been there and He always will be there for His people. So even though Biblical genealogies can seem monotonous and we may be tempted to rush through them, let's always remember that each and every person mentioned, and those not mentioned, matter in the eyes of God and are loved immensely and part of a larger plan. And so are we. Fun fact: We too are part of the lineage of Jesus! Even though Christ never married, the line of Christ's family continues on through the Church (Us!)