Ways To Love

    Love isn't a feeling like joy, sadness, or anger; it is an action. In fact, there are 5 different ways to give and receive love. Acts of service, quality time, words of affirmation, physical touch, and gifts. Every act can be categorized into at least one of these groups (or languages). Each of us respond differently to these types of love languages. Typically, the way we give love is the way we like to receive it. So if I like when people affirm me, I'm going to compliment others to express my love. But why is this useful?
    We enjoy receiving many types of love, but some are more effective than others. For example, my mom's love language is acts of service. When I want to show her love, the most affective way is to do an act of service like wash the dishes, get her oil changed, check her tire pressure, etc. She receives this act of love better than if I gave her a gift or complimented her. That doesn't mean that she doesn't feel loved when receiving gifts or compliments, just that acts of service is the most effective.
    If you want to date someone, find out their love language. If it's physical touch, you can pat them on the back, nudge, high five, or hug him/her and as long as they're not repulsed by you, they will enjoy your presence because they experience love around you. If they like words of affirmation, compliment their attire, hair, ideas, smile, etc.
    Knowing your love language and those around you can really assist you when building relationships. It's like having a cheat code in life. Even Christ has primary love languages...what do you think they are? Read the Gospels to find the answer.

Made For Mission

    You are not an accident. God created you for a purpose. “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment,” Matthew 22:37-38. The Catholic Church interchanges the words “love” and “charity.” So what does doing charity for God mean? It means taking part in the Catholic Church…what does that entail you ask?

    It means feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, visiting those in prison, caring for those society has tossed in the gutter, and showing mercy to those who don’t deserve it. Don’t believe me that the Church is so giving? We (the Catholic Church) started the first Aids clinic in the 80s, we started the university system so people could get educated, we are the largest social service provider by giving food, clothes, and shelter to more people on the planet than any other organization. This is the Church’s mission. To treat every human life with dignity from conception to death.

    Thousands of people have helped this mission with such passion that they have been canonized Saints. These were not wildly successful people…Mother Teresa summed up how to do the Church’s mission by saying that “there are no great things to accomplish in this world, only small things done with great love.”

    Sometimes we have a tendency to get overwhelmed with all that must be done. It starts with you and me right now. It starts with paying attention in class, getting homework done on time, respecting others, and doing our chores just to name a few. Doing the little things each day will have a profound impact on those around you.



So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

5 Tips To Amplify Your Prayer

1. Confidence: You ever go up to a friend and say "Hey, I doubt you will, but could you loan me $20?" Chances are, you're not going to get the $20 because you showed no faith in your friend. At the wedding feast of Cana Mother Mary told Jesus "They have no wine" and that was it. Mary knew he wouldn't disobey his mother.
2. Ask Mary for help: Ask Mary to intercede on your behalf. Just like the wedding feast at Cana, Mary has that persuasion.
3. Pester God: If you go over to a friend's house at midnight asking for food, if he doesn't give it to you out of friendship, he'll give it to you because of your persistence (Luke 11:5-8).
4. Show God it's importance: I remember asking my parents for Kinex when I had a bunch of Legos. They told me that if I would play with the Legos more, it would show that I would also play with the Kinex. I realized that after a few days of playing Legos, it wasn't worth it to continue to get the Kinex. God will ask the same thing. For example, if you really want to date that cutie in math class you tell God, "I'm going to wake up early, go for a run everyday this month as a prayer for the cutie to notice me." Or "I'm not going to play video games for a month." It shows that you have the discipline to see a goal through, and if not, you didn't want it as bad as you thought.
5. Have Patience: Let God work. We all want an instant answer, but that's not how God works. Jacob worked seven years for a wife. Then on the wedding day realized it was Leah when he asked for Rachel. He then worked another seven years for Rachel. That is the epitome of patience.

One Way To Hear God

    So you know you need to pray, but you're sick of just saying the "Our Father," "Hail Mary," and "Glory Be..." over and over again...but you don't know how to pray on your own. Don't worry, I've got a personalized prayer for you whenever you need it.

    First, Grab a Bible (Bible apps work). Then I need you to ask God to give you a number, 1-150. Once you have that number, turn to that Psalm and read it as a prayer (slowly).

    God wants to tell us things, but hearing God's voice often takes patience. And if his voice is not familiar to us, it gets lost in the noise. In seminary I would pray with the Psalms. I called it Bible Roulette. You can also open Bible Roulette to books such as Sirach, Proverbs, Wisdom, and the New Testament.

    Bible Roulette has gotten me through many challenges in my life. One night a few years ago, my parents were getting on my nerves (more than usual). That night, I went to a quiet place to pray. I asked God to give me something to help me with my parents. He put Sirach 7:27-28 on my heart. 
    "With your whole heart honor your father; your mother's birth pangs forget not. Remember, of these parents you were born; what can you give them for all they gave you?" I had a good laugh and was good with my parents ever since...because God reminded me that I owe them my life. God has things that he wants to tell you, if you can't hear what he's telling you, you can read it.

Listening to God

    One of the most important parts of a relationship is communication. More specifically, the ability to listen. Do you listen to God? You might be thinking "Jason, I can't even hear God. How do I know if he's even saying anything?" In order to hear God you need two things, inner silence and familiarity. If inner silence is missing there's a lot of other voices and you can lose God's in the craziness, especially if you can't even recognize his voice.
    Let's start with quieting our minds. In order for this to happen, we need to be comfortable with silence. A way to do this is to find a quiet place and just sit (or walk) for 10 minutes without saying or thinking of anything. Just try to listen. Okay, listen to what? God speaks to us in different ways. Sometimes it is a scripture verse, a vision, a word/phrase, or a really strong feeling that brings comfort.
    Now the big question, how can you know God's voice? That's simple, the Bible. It is the living word of God. That means you can read it over and over again, but it will pull at a different part of your heart depending on what you're going through that day. When reading the Bible, start with the Gospels. The more scripture you read, the more you can detect God's voice. God isn't trying to hide his voice from you. It takes discipline and sacrifice to be able to recognize it. God never said your life would be easy and filled with things that bring short term happiness. He promised that if you followed Christ, your life would be like his...eternally celebrating your self-sacrifice for God and his people.

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.