Lent Is Here!!!!

    Lent is here...and so are meatless Friday's. What genius came up with that rule? That's old school, why should we still do it? Didn't Christ say, "It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth." Matthew 15:11. So why do we abstain from meat on Fridays?

    So have you ever grown apart from a friend? Perhaps a breakup? The week after the breakup you still have the habit of reaching for your phone to text that person, but then you think, "eh, better not." That event causes your normal routine to get a little tilted. That is exactly why we abstain from meat on Fridays. It is also why many people offer something up during Lent.

    The moment you open your lunch and see a PB & J rather than a BLT, it's a chance to unite with Catholics all over the world in a physical form of prayer. Fasting and abstaining is offering up our desires as a prayer for our intentions and for the entire Church. These minor sacrifices helps God prepare us for when we are tempted by the Evil One. "If I can say no to a piece of bacon, I can say no to peaking at the test answers."

    This Friday, don't think of it as not being able to have meat, but as a chance to grow in self control and having the confidence that whatever you pray for that day is more impactful. It is said that prayer without fasting is like boxing with one hand tied behind your back...this Lent, untie that second hand.

It It Your Superpower?

    Dear single people, you are single for a reason. No, it's not because of your bad BO or you have a face only a mother could love. It's because at this moment, you have a better chance at Heaven as a single person than in a relationship.

    We get so caught up with "the good ones are all taken" as if men and women are trophies. In the movie Miracle, the USA hockey coach said "I'm not looking for the best players, I'm looking for the right ones." People are not rated trophies. We all bring something unique into each relationship we're in. Marriage happens when the guy and gal brings gifts to the marriage that pulls them self and their spouse closer to God.

    If you haven't met that person, it's for one of two reasons. Either you need to prepare before you meet your spouse so that you and him/her have the best chance of getting to heaven, or God is calling you to a greater life. 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 reads, "Now to the unmarried and widows, I (Paul) say: it is a good thing for them to remain as they are, as I do, but if they cannot exercise self-control they should marry, for it is better to marry than to be on fire." If you can control your desires, you can do so much more of God's work as a single person than you could as a married person. As a single person, you can support more people than just your spouse. Having that self-control is a gift from God, and don't let anyone tell you different. Remember that marriage is not an end goal. It is a gift from God to help certain people get into heaven.
    A tip for everyone out there, if you aren't comfortable with being single, you're not ready for a relationship. You're simply defining yourself by the guy/girl you're dating.

Let There Be Peace On Earth?

    This week in Advent we're supposed to focus on "Peace." Yes, God has a sense of humor because it seems to be the least peaceful week of the year. We have last minute shopping, cooking, cleaning, preparing for people to come to your house, having two parties in two days with everything closed on Christmas Day! STOP THE MADNESS!!!!
    You know, it was pretty crazy times back when Jesus was born as well. There wasn't peace in the world. The Jewish people were ruled by the Romans. King Herod was so worried that a new king was born that he sent his soldiers out to kill any child under the age of two. He was terrified of being dethroned 20 years down the road. So if there wasn't peace then, and there isn't peace now, what kind of peace should we focus on this last week leading up to celebrating the coming of Jesus?
    Christ brought us a different kind of peace than what we're used to. We see peace as no violence or war, but not God. He brought peace so we could face the violence. Earth is just our temporary home. It may seem long, but compared to eternity, it's a pebble next to a mountain. The peace Christ brings us is the knowledge that if we die for the faith, we'll be in paradise that very day. Christ gives us the strength to face our demons through the Holy Spirit. Peter was completely at peace when he was facing crucifixion for not denying Christ's resurrection, and told his executioner to flip his cross upside-down because he wasn't worthy to die the same way his Savior died for him. I want that peace.
    You are loved by your Creator. He will do anything to have you reunited with him. Most religion is about man's search for God, but as the Bible points out, Christianity is all about God's search for us. He will leave 99 people in a second to find you. If that doesn't give you peace, nothing will.

We, Not Me

    Humility is putting others before yourself...but who would want to do that? Once or twice maybe, but always putting others before yourself means you're destined to be living in a van down by the river!!! Not exactly. When someone tells us to put others first, we hear that we need to drop ourselves to the bottom of our priorities. But what if rather than lowering ourselves, we raised everyone up?
    Humility isn't thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. For example, rather than having that last piece of pizza, saving it for your friend who couldn't get to the party early enough. Or asking someone if they'd like a drink when entering your house. In basketball, if your teammate falls, you run over to pick him up. When someone is speaking, you actually listen to them rather than talking over them or playing on your phone. These are all examples of putting others before you without lowering yourself.
    Putting other's first isn't exactly rocket science...but there is some science to it. "Feel good" chemicals like dopamine and endorphins are release into your brain when you care for another person. Yeah, God gives us rewards when helping others. God's pretty awesome like that. So the more you help others, the happier you will become. It doesn't mean doing sinful things for others, but simply seeing and caring for others as a child of God. 

Your Personalized Path To Heaven

    Us Catholics believe that Christ died for us and that we have the goal of getting to Heaven. But when it comes to Heaven, the path to get there is a little bit different for each of us. For some people it's as if they just pop up there without any struggles, for others it seems their entire life is one tragedy after the next. Where's the consistency, God?!?!?!
    The consistency is that God knows you, loves you, and wants you in Heaven with him. But we all struggle with certain virtues in our lives. Whether it's patience, prudence, justice, fortitude, or courage, the lack of any of these shows that we are not ready for Heaven. So God, wants to change that. He wants us to be as "Heaven Ready" as possible as we near the end of our earthly life. So he gives us opportunities to work on them. An example of this is when you receive bad grades, then your parents ground you from TV and friends for two weeks. It takes away those distractions allowing you to focus on homework (prudence).
    In short, each of us has a different path to get to Heaven. And each one is filled with different challenges allowing us to grow in virtue. Just because there are many paths does not mean the road is easy. It means that God personalized your road to best fit your abilities.

Beyond The Statistics

    "What's my purpose in life?" Have you ever asked yourself that? It sounds like a tough question, but It's not. The answer is extremely simple. The purpose of your life is to know, love, and serve the Lord. Easier said than done.

    Everyone knows Jesus, right? Not really. People know Jesus like I know Steve Yzerman. He played for the Wings, scored 692 goals, won 3 stanley cups, and wore number 19. But I couldn't honestly say that I know Stevie. Most of us know Christ in the same way. He was born of a virgin, healed a few blind people, and died on a cross...oh, and rose from the dead. Christ wants you to be as comfortable with him and share your successes, struggles, and everything in between.
    Think of one of your closest friends. How did you become so close? It didn't happen right away, but over months or perhaps years of confining in each other, a trust grew. A relationship with God is no different. Start small by sharing a few things. Then as time goes on, give God more. Eventually you realize that the more you give to God, the more rewarding life becomes. Conversion happens when you realize that God does a better job at controlling your life than you do and you sign your life over to God. When this is done, that's when your life gets exciting. Just look at past Saints who gave their life to God. Just look at the amazing lives of John Paul the Great, Mother Teresa, Maximilian Kolbe, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Catherine, St. Nick, etc. All these men and women had legendary lives as they served the Lord.
    Are you ready to have a personal relationship with Christ?

The God Shaped Hole

    We all have a hole in our hearts that we try to fill. We try to fill it with events, food, gossip, lies, TV, YouTube, money, etc, but it never gets filled. And that causes us to have anxiety and go into freakout mode. "Maybe if I was as pretty as her, or as popular as him. Or I wish more exciting things happened to me!" These thoughts puts us into a heavy tailspin headed right towards Depressionville.

    We try to fill our hearts with these superficial things that gives us happiness for a moment, but ultimately leaves us empty inside. But wait, there's good news!!! The thing that can fill the hole in our hearts doesn't cost a thing and can be found everywhere. That one thing is God. How could it be anything else? God designed you with a specific purpose. When you allow God into your life, you are able to hear his plans for you. This level of connection between Creator and creation is like playing a video game with all the cheat codes and secrete passages given to you at the right times.

    What we struggle with is listening to God. God has a tendency to give directions like "turn here" with very little warning. If you're like me, you like to have a little warning. We want God to tell us after every little step "yup, keep going." That is why we fill this God shaped whole with superficial things, because we get nervous. If you pray regularly and strive to live a Christian life, when something different is supposed to happen in your life, God will tell you. It could be like a tap on the shoulder or a 2 by 4 across the face, but God will definitely get that message to you.