The CHURCH is home.

According to the Weather app on my phone, this morning it was 19 degrees. Awesome. So I was freezing my face off walking back from class, and decided to stop in at St. Lawrence for some prayer time before the rest of my day. I take a step into the chapel, and I instantly start to warm up. My ears are no longer frost-bitten. I forget about all the problems, all the drama, all the stress outside those doors. 

So that got me thinking about how stinkin' awesome our Catholic Church is. It's ALWAYS here for us when we need to escape the craziness, pressure, drama, and lamesauce of the outside world. Jesus offers us peace, warmth (literally when it's FREEZING outside), love, comfort, hope, and a place to call HOME. 

So maybe you're feeling a little down or a little stressed. Maybe just take a couple minutes and go find a chapel to sit in and pray. Super chill. Then you can take that peace you find in the Catholic Church back out into the crazy world we live in. 

#ReasonsilovetheCatholicChurch 

The Church is always open. There's always a place to call home. 

KOINONIA — Just Do It.

Last weekend, I had the amazing opportunity of going on the Koinonia retreat through the St. Lawrence Center at KU. For weeks I had been getting calls from people at St. Lawrence, telling me how stinkin' great it was and how I just HAD to go. So I figured, "what the heck, why not?" And since Koinonia means "community" in Greek, I figured I'd make quite a few new friends form the SLC community, and I mean, who doesn't like making new friends??

So I can't say too much about the retreat or I'll blow all the surprises (and trust me, it'll be way more exciting if you go on SLK17 and don't know the surprises). What I will tell you is that the weekend is full of great talks, prayer time, sacraments, deepening your faith, lots of laughter, singing, dancing, feelin' 22, and so many new friends that you'll spend hours after the retreat trying to friend them all on Facebook. It's pretty fantastic.

The coolest thing that I've noticed about going on retreats is that everybody gets something different out of them. God plans out those retreats like a champ. Everyone is there for a reason. Everyone takes something away from the weekend that might be different from anyone else. Everyone experiences Christ's love in a different way.

Here's what I took away from the amazing Koinonia weekend: That Taylor Swift's music isn't actually that bad... Kidding. This is true, but I took away something a little more deep from the weekend, also. :)

You know that Nike slogan, "Just do it"? THAT is the message that I got from this weekend. After numerous talks from the SLK16 team, God started connecting some things in my head and in my heart that made me realize what I need to do to step up my faith life. And that is that I can't just be a "lukewarm" Catholic. I can't make excuses for not praying, for not showing love to every person I come in contact with, for not putting everything I've got into my faith life.

At some point on SLK16, someone said something along the lines of "YOU are the only thing holding you back from becoming a saint." That definitely hit me. Trying to blame the lukewarmness of my faith on stress, schoolwork, other people, or anything else isn't even worth it because, in the end, it is ME who holding myself back.

Christ is right there. Watching. Waiting. Wanting me to INVITE Him into my life. I can say that I don't have time, that I'm too busy... But He became human to die for me... I think I can give up a few minutes a day to talk with him. This might be a morning where I just want to hit the snooze button one more time, but instead I get up to say Morning Prayer before class. It's the little things. I've gotta just do it.

So if you're thinking about going on SLK17 in the Spring, I STRONGLY encourage you to do so. Christ has an amazing experience and an unique message waiting for YOU.

Invite Him in.

JUST DO IT.

St. Padre Pio, pray for us.

GIVEN UP FOR YOU: Every single day

Tonight at Praise and Worship Adoration night at St Lawrence at KU, we sang this amazing song called "The Stand." There's this part of the song where it says "You stood before MY failures, and carried the cross for MY shame. MY sin weighed upon your shoulders. My soul now to stand." Just think about that for a sec. CHRIST suffered for YOU and ME. When He was up on that cross, what was on His mind? You and me. Crazy.

But here's the craziest part: The death and resurrection of Christ happens EVERY SINGLE DAY in the Eucharist at Mass. So every single day He's thinking of you and me, and giving up His life for OUR failure, shame, and sin. Everyday. 

Once I thought of that, I was thinking... Wow, He does all that for us every single day? So that means that every single day, He should be on our minds, and we should make an effort to praise Him. Yeah, there are days when life seems like it sucks, but Christ is still carrying us on those days, too.

He didn't just suffer for us once, he does it all the time in the Mass. So our constant gift of ourselves to Him can't just be a one-time thing either. We can't just have a cool conversion of heart on Kairos, TEC, Koinonia, at Camp Tekakwitha, Steubenville, etc. and think that that's good enough. We've gotta live out that change of heart every single day, just like Jesus does for us. :)

If you remember one thing from all of this, just remember: Christ shows his love for us every single day, so the least we can do is make an effort everyday to show our love for Him and those around us. 

"The Stand" by Hillsong

You stood before creation
Eternity in your hand
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand

You stood before my failure
And carried the cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon your shoulders
My soul now to stand

So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart, Oh God
Completely to you

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your spirit alive in me
This life to declare your promise
My soul now to stand

So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart, Oh God
Completely to you

I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
I'll stand
My soul Lord to you surrendered
All I am is yours

Guardian Angels: Better than any other security guards

I was just on LifeTeen.com, reading a pretty stinkin' great blog by Mark Hart about Guardian Angels. And since today (Oct. 2) is the Catholic Church's Feast Day in honor of Guardian Angels, I totally got to thinking... What does my guardian angel look like? What does he do for me? 

So from that point, my mind went into small-child imagination mode. And here are a few characteristics I've come up with for the angel who's always got my back:

1. Football pads —I like to think that my guardian angel is like my crazy awesome protector, sent down from God. So it makes sense to me for him to have some serious armor for all that business. "Therefore, put on the armor of GOd, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground" (Ephesians 6:13). Football pads seems like the perfect answer. Lookin' legit and holding down the fort.

2. Rainbow-colored wings (and lots of them) — All angels should have wings, right? So why not have tons of them and make them colorful? Remember that show Dragon Tales from back in the day? I've gotta give them props for their colorful wings. And as for how many wings... The more the merrier. "How precious is your love, O God! We take refuge in the shadow of your wings" (Psalm 36:8). I'm thinking that more wings means more shelter. Yes, please.

3. A shield like Captain America's — I'm picturing a sweet shield that blocks out ANYTHING. A shield that relies on the power of God. A shield of FAITH. "In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16). But instead of a big star in the middle of the shield, he'll have a huge Kairos cross on his. My guardian angel is a champ.

4. A Rosary — Finally, I was thinking about all the crazy weapons he could have to fight off anybody who tries to come at me... I'd thought of swords, baseball bats, nun chucks, and all of those things... But I don't want to underestimate the power of prayer here. Instead of attacking my enemies, my guardian angel can "kill 'em with kindness." The Rosary is the perfect weapon. It calls upon our Heavenly Mother, who NEVER loses a fight. As we hear in The Memorare, "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy PROTECTION, implored thy HELP, or sought thine INTERCESSION was left unaided." Mary can totally help my guardian angel show people who's boss. The Rosary packs a powerful punch.

So how do you picture your guardian angel?

However it is, just know that he or she ALWAYS has your back, and is ALWAYS protecting you and helping you carry out the will of God.

Guardian Angels, PRAY FOR US.

Judgement. It's rough.

It’s official — I’ve been a college student for three full weeks. It might seem like a short time, but in those three weeks, I was exposed to more than I ever had been in my previous 18 ½ years on this planet. Partying. Drama. All the stereotypical college-life stuff you would expect.

But not participating in these shenanigans wasn’t the hard part — I’ve made some amazing friends at the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center who love to have fun in unique, hilarious ways like playing sand volleyball, ultimate Frisbee, or going to Dairy Queen. So avoiding the craziness of the college life isn’t extremely difficult. Where things get tough is fighting the temptation to judge people who don’t make the best decisions.

I’m being real here — it’s not easy. 

Judging is something we all do. It just happens. At least for me, it’s usually because I want to feel like I’m superior to others. I’m working with Mary on trying to become more humble. But we all judge for different reasons.

I had really been struggling with judging many, many people around me at school. And the Big Man Upstairs decided to throw me help me out, like He always does somehow.

A few days ago, I was looking for a Mother Teresa quote to put in my English paper. I was on some quote website, and the first thing I saw at the top of the screen was this: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Thanks for that one, God.

Next, we had our first night of catechetical classes at the St. Lawrence Center yesterday. John-Mark Miravalle (“Teaching Fellow in the St Lawrence Institute for Faith and Culture,” what a sweet title) taught a class about Virtue and the origins of happiness. I learned that every single action we commit, good or bad, has some root of good intentions. Even if I went and stole a necklace from Macy’s (which I don’t plan on doing, by the way), I could justify that I had good intentions by saying that I wanted to look beautiful, because beauty is a good thing and a cause of happiness. So you see how every action is rooted in a desire to be happy.  Therefore, we have no right to judge anyone, because we all look for happiness in different but similar ways.

Finally, today, I was just scrolling down my News Feed on Facebook, right? Here’s what comes up this time — a picture that said, “Don’t judge people someone because they sin differently than you.” Everything came together. And that’s when it really hit me. I have absolutely no right to judge. Because there are numerous things that I too could be judged for — they’re just different things that I judge others for.

When it comes down to it, we don’t know everyone else’s lives. We don’t know their struggles. We don’t know their desires. We don’t know their story.

So all in all, judging is not cool. And Mary can totally help us. She’s a rock star with humility.

Mary, Star of the Prairie, pray for us. 

Thank you, youth ministry: A tribute to St. Michael's youth group.

Oh youth ministry, what would I have done without you? But really. I have no idea where in this crazy world I would be if it weren't for years and years of GIFT, Flock, AP Flock, Camp Tekakwitha, Prayer and Action, Kairos, etc.

This particular post is a tribute to the place that got me started with making faith a priority in my life: St. Michael the Archangel.

I met Sara at GET REAL going into 5th grade and to this day I can call her one of my greatest role models. So what am I walking away with from eight years of fantastic SMA youth ministry? Here's just a few things:

1. I've learned that dodgeball is not just a fun game. It's basically like a friendly war, that isn't always so friendly... St. Michael, defend us in battle. Please.

2. I've learned that the more ridiculous you look, the better. I mean, how can you not just laugh in amazement of these fantastic shirts??

3. I've learned that everyone looks way tougher when wearing a "fire-fightering" suit. Watch out world.  "If you are who God made you to be, you'll set the world on fire." - St. Catherine of Siena. 

4. I've learned that it's imperative to have a good fake laugh. They make situations so much more awkward. ETA. Embrace the awkward.

5. I've learned that if you bring a dozen high schoolers to work at Harvesters, they'll actually get a lot done, despite the craziness (i.e. hiding in giant boxes, looking ridiculous in hair nets, etc).

6. I've learned that rocking up is WAY cooler than holding hands during prayer. Pretty soon everybody will be doing it. Total hipster move, St. Michaels.

7. I've learned that if Sara and Michael let Evelyn, Olivia, Annelise, and I design their house, it would be the coolest living space in history. And it would include a nice moat, with Aaron floating around in there with a nice sea monster. 

8. I've learned that yoga is definitely the best way to de-stress... Or the best way to break your back... Thank you, "Yoga with Tara Stiles." 

9. I've learned that Chris and Sara get ABSOLUTELY NO work done when I'm in town... I mean, how can you actually work when there are so many cups that are just perrrrfect for cup stacking? Cup pyramids > work.

10. And finally, I've learned that despite our absolute ridiculousness, everything we do is for the Big Man upstairs. Everything relates back to the cross and to His love for each of us.  

LIVIN' FOR THE STORY — Camp Tekakwitha 2012

It was the end of my senior year in high school. Everybody was hugging at graduation, saying, "Let's hang out this summer!" or "I'll see you up at the pool, right?" Right. Actually, not.

Five days after graduation, I, along with 60 some other college kids, made the drive down to Williamsburg, Kansas to begin the best summer of my life. That summer would consist of days jam packed with action. Praying, singing, building, dancing, talking, climbing, riding, canoeing, swimming, jumping, laughing — we did it all. 

The theme for camp this summer was "Open the Door to Faith," and that's what Camp Tekakwitha is all about. God, our King and Creator, is always passing by the door of each of our hearts, knocking, waiting for us to let Him in. All we have to do is Trust — trust in our God that He has everything under control, that He has a plan for us, and that He wants to walk through this whole journey right by our side. 

But opening the door to faith isn't just a personal challenge for each of us, it's a world-wide mission. Once we know that Christ is knocking at the doors of our hearts, it's our duty to go out into the world — into our schools, families, parishes, and sports teams — and let everyone know that Jesus is waiting outside the doors of their hearts, too. 

One of my favorite praise and worship songs that we sing at camp is "Overcome" by Jeremy Camp. There's one line that gets me every time: "We will overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our testimony." This means that if we wish to truly change the world and carry out God's will, we must share our testimonies, tell our stories. Each of us has a story, there's no doubt about that. And each of our stories is a witness to Christ's love, and each of our stories can touch others in such a profound way because we carry similar crosses in life. So I'm telling you, yes YOU, that your story is important. 

We're all livin' for the story. Because our stories intertwine. Our stories are related. Our stories all make up a huge "tapestry" (as Debbie Nearmyer would say) that makes us who we are as the people of God. All of our stories lead back to the cross. 

So all of the crazy stories I have from camp this summer relate back to Jesus, because it's all for Him. The day when some other sweepers and I worked through the 107 degree heat to rebuilt the amphitheater stage for the Mikey Needleman concert — just livin' for the story... The day when we sang "Old McDonald" over and over on a hayride with VBS kids for family camp — just livin' for the story... The day hundreds of past and present campers and staffers reunited at PSR for the 15th anniversary of Camp Tekakwitha — just livin' for the story. 

Someday when we're all saints up in Heaven (because we're ALL called to be saints), we can look back on these beautiful memories that brought us closer to Christ and closer to each other, and we'll realize that this whole time we were just LIVIN' FOR THE STORY.