Wait, He did ALL of that for US? Yep.

IT'S HOLY WEEK 2013. OH YES.

So as you might know, my roommate and I are the Youth Ministers for the 6th graders at St. John's parish in Lawrence, KS, and last night we did a super cool activity with our kiddos.

We went through the stations of the cross, from Jesus's point of view — all the torture, all the sorrow, all the emotions, all the details. After every station we had them write down on a sticky note how Jesus must have felt, or what was going through his head. Their understanding of it was so much deeper than I ever thought it would be. Some of their answers to what was going through Jesus's mind absolutely blew me away: "Why me, Father?" ... "I want to give up, but I must press on." ... "I'm trying to make others feel good, Lord, but I can't." ... "I'm done trying." ... "Embarrassed." ... "What did I do to deserve this?"... "Abandoned."

Then we read them the Easter Gospel of the women returning to the tomb to find that Jesus was not there because he had risen from the dead. They wrote down how they would have felt if they were one of the women. Again, their answers were excellent: "God, how can this be?" ... "Joy and happiness." ... "In awe of the sight." ... "Confused but joyful."

When we looked at the two poster boards, one was flooded with sticky notes — everything Jesus went through for us — and the other had just a few — our joy and happiness.

This is just a simple representation of how much Christ endured, so that we wouldn't have to. He took on the burden of the cross — all of our sins — and he went through embarrassment, betrayal, torture, ridicule, sheer pain, and the ultimate sacrifice, death. He did all of that so that we wouldn't have to. Yes, every once in a while we have to go through some of these things, and take part in the suffering of Christ, but we never have to go through the agony of what Jesus went through for us.

That is love.

So this Holy Week, go through the stations and really dive into the beauty of what Christ did for YOU. He was thinking of you when he picked up that cross. He was thinking of you when he had the strength to get up from his falls. He was thinking of you as the centurions pounded nails through his palms. And he was thinking of you as he bowed his head and died on that wooden cross.

Will you accept this rose?

I guess I should start this by admitting something: I do watch the Bachelor. Every week. And I get pretty into it. My roommates and I yell at the TV when we think Sean sent the wrong girl home. That's how we roll. You can judge me, you can agree with you, you can laugh at me — whatever you'd like. But this is how it is. Okay, now that I've established that, I can move on. 

I love The Bachelor. It's entertaining to watch. It's cool to see all the interesting, extravagant destinations they visit. I always get a good laugh watching the girl drama in the house. It's interesting to see how different all of their relationships with Sean are. Watching Tierra do anything she could to get Sean's attention was pretty hilarious for a while. And I definitely won't complain about the fact that God blessed Sean with a very attractive body either. :)

I don't think there's anything wrong with watching the Bachelor, but I think the most important thing about watching it is this: recognizing that the show is fake fake fake fake fake. It's fun to watch, but I definitely don't believe this show is what REAL LOVE is all about. We all have a desire to love and be loved — it's human. But this show is not how we should learn to really love. 

Real love doesn't mean going on ridiculous extravagant dates in Thailand or somewhere else across the planet. Real love doesn't mean kissing every five seconds (especially on camera... weird). Real love doesn't mean seriously pursuing like seven women at the same time. Real love doesn't mean talking all about how much you're "in love" in front of the camera to millions of people watching on TV... That's Hollywood love.

Real love is about loving someone as Christ loves us. Real love is about doing the little everyday things with love. Real love is about sacrificing for one another. Real love is about committing to ONE person's heart, and being their best friend FOREVER. 

At St. Lawrence classes last week, John-Mark was talking about what we have to do to change our culture that confuses sex for love. What he said is that men have to learn to WIN, CHERISH, and COMMIT to a woman's heart. That's something that sets real love apart from "Bachelor love." Sean might be "crazy about" four different girls (considering he uses that line about 29 times every week), but has he actually won, cherished, or seriously committed to any ONE of these women?

But there is one guy who will win, cherish, and commit to every single one of our hearts. JESUS. You knew that one was comin' didn't you? But it's true. He's the Man. 

In the Sacred Liturgies class at St. Lawrence, Fr. Steve said something I will NEVER forget. He said "The readings at mass are more than just a letter from St. Paul to the Philippians or whoever... They're a letter from JESUS to YOU." Mind blown. So at the end of the second reading last Sunday, it said "You, brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown..." That wasn't just St. Paul talking to those Philippians. It was Jesus talking to you and me. Telling us He loves us. Telling us that He longs for us. That we are His joy. That means a lot.

So the next time Sean is passing out those red roses at the Rose Ceremony and you can feel your emotional chastity levels tanking because you wish your life was like that... Don't worry. We don't want those roses anyway. Jesus' garden of roses that He has for us is full of REAL love. He's our Man. :) 

Open my eyes, Lord.

It's no secret: I have some serious vision problems. 

Through my eyes, anything that's more than 5 feet away from my face is blurry. It's a bit of a problem. So I wear contacts. But right now, I'm working on getting a new pair of glasses. They're kind of important.

When I don't have my glasses on or contacts in, I'm totally out of it. Putting on a pair of glasses gives a me a new perspective. It makes everything more clear. It gets me in the zone.

But do you know my favorite zone to be in? The spiritual zone. I flippin' love this zone. I wish we were in the spiritual zone all the time. And the best news is... WE CAN BE. 

Fr. Curtis gave a homily yesterday that was all about that — those spiritual zones or "spiritual peaks." He was saying how in the gospel, we saw Jesus's transfiguration... from the ordinary to the extraordinary. And that's exactly how our lives can be too. If we put ourselves in a Christ-filled atmosphere (setting aside time for prayer, attending a retreat, going to daily mass, going to a great Catholic camp, etc), God can transform the ordinary in our lives into the extraordinary, where we can experience "spiritual peaks." 

Getting in these spiritual zones or peaks is all about our preparation, and God's grace. We have to meet Him half way by putting ourselves in a place to receive the grace, mercy and love God has for us. It's just like putting on a pair of glasses. Once you put them on, you can see so much more. 

It makes me think of that praise and worship song: "Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see Your face. Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see." 

Unfortunately, my glasses aren't really going to help me see Christ. We have to open our HEARTS to see our Lord, and experience all of the extraordinary things He has in store for us.

Open our eyes, Lord. Help us to see Your face.  

MASS and KU Basketball

As KU students, Jayhawk basketball is a good portion of what we live for this time of year. The tradition, the suspense, the excitement... We're all in.

One of the craziest traditions we have at KU is camping at Allen Fieldhouse for basketball games. Every day leading up to basketball games, we all get in our camping groups, sign up for time slots on big Google Calendar spreadsheets, and devote hours and hours everyday to camping out in Allen Fieldhouse just so we can get in and get a good seat. We'd do just about anything to get into the building.

When game-day finally arrives,  everyone is ready to go. We're all decked out in our KU gear — sporting our basketball jerseys, reppin' our crimson and blue necklaces, many girls have a sunflower in their hair, and dozens of "punny"basketball signs are lifted enthusiastically into the air, trying to catch the camera's attention. Everyone is fully engaged.

Of course, our favorite parts of the games are when Ben McLemore slams in a crazy dunk or when Jeff Withey pulls out a huge block. The crowd goes CRAZY with emotion. Jumping up in excitement, stomping our feet, sitting down and standing back up to distract the other team's free throw shooter, and eventually waving the wheat. Everything we do has a purpose, and we do it all with insane enthusiasm.

Kansas basketball games are a huge deal here. We love 'em, we get prepared for 'em, and we thrive in the CRAZY atmosphere of Allen Fieldhouse.

But there's an event that's even more FANTASTIC, more exciting, more meaningful, and more important than KU basketball games... The holy sacrifice of the Mass.

What if we prepared for mass and were as enthusiastic about mass as we are for Kansas basketball games? Let's take a look at this...

If we all truly understood just how beautiful, precious, and amazing the Mass is, we would be camping out in front of the church days in advance, just to get inside to be with our Lord. We would be dressed in our nicest clothes to show our love and respect for our Savior who's waiting inside for us. We would actually mean everything that we say and do during the Mass. And we would be SO prepared, mentally and spiritually, by the time we got in there to be with and receive Jesus.

Wouldn't that be crazy awesome??? I'm gonna answer my own question: Yeah, it would.

We might not go at it quite like that, but there are definitely a few ways that we can focus on changing our approach about Mass. Here are a few things we can all work on so we can get the most out of the Mass:

1. Check out the readings BEFORE going to Mass.
If we know what's going to be read, we'll be more like to pay attention, instead of dozing off.

2. Do some kind of studying about the Gospel before Mass. 
Mark Hart's "Beyond Words" videos on LifeTeen.com are super helpful in better understanding the Gospel reading and learning how exactly it relates to our lives today.

3. Bring your joys, intentions, and sacrifices to the altar at Mass with you. 
There's that part of the Mass when the priest says, "Pray, my brothers and sisters, that OUR sacrifice may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father." OUR sacrifice. Not just the priest's. All of our sacrifices. Christ wants us to bring all our joys, all our sorrows, all our everyyyything up to the altar, and turn it over to Him.

4. Dress to impress (Jesus).

I know that I'm terrible at this, and really need to work on it... Jesus is a King, in fact, He's THE King. And we should definitely try to look our best for our King. Classy and modest (because modesty is hottesty).

5. Understand and actually mean what we say and do.
There is SO much awesomeness packed into the mass, and there are so many things we say and do. All of these things have meaning — even every time we stand up, sit down, kneel, or anything... It's all for a reason. We can all work on being enthusiastic about everything we say and do, and actually meaning the prayers we say and the songs we sing.

Hopefully, if we all put some of these things into practice, we can turn our parishes and campus centers into places full of teenagers who are FIRED UP about going to mass and getting involved. And if you really wanted to camp out all week for a spot at mass, you'd be my hero.

FIRED UP FOR OUR GOD >>> BEWARE OF THE PHOG.
(Wouldya look at that, it even rhymes... sort of.)

Short quotes... BIG IDEAS.

During the month of January, I've been keeping a list of some fantastic quotes I've come across. Some are hilarious, some are super deep, but they're all inspiring and can teach us a lot. So here's the list I've compiled. Enjoy them, share them, live them. :)


"The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness."
— Therese of Lisieux

"Want to see a miracle? Plant a world of love heartdeep in a person's life. Nurture it with a smile and a prayer, and watch what happens." — Max Lucado

"Don't love people the way that Hallmark says to love people; love them linebacker style, in a full contact way." — Bob Goff, Love Does

"We are reminded that love does things. It writes letters and gets on a plane. It orders pizza and jumps in a lake. It hugs and prays and cries and sings." — Bob Goff, Love Does

"Feel your heart being moved and do something about it." — Fr. Scott at Mass at SJA

"Saints are not freaks or exceptions. They are the standard operating model for human beings." —Dr. Peter Kreeft

"Transforming people one at a time is at the heart of God's plan for the world." —Matthew Kelly, The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic

"Every family needs a cornerstone of prayer to pray for the family, now and in the future... In each generation, each family needs at least one of these men and women of faithful prayer to guide and protect it." —Matthew Kelly, The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic

"To love another person is to see the face of God." —Les Miserables

"God loves us too much to compromise on our happiness." —Leah Darrow

"Let my life be the proof, the proof of your love. How you lived, how you died. Love and sacrifice." — for KING & COUNTRY

"The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness." —Pope Benedict XVI

PRAY for LIFE

If you're reading this right now, chances are that you're wishing you were in D.C. at the March for Life right now. I know that's what I'm doing. I keep seeing everyone's tweets, Facebook posts, and photos on Instagram of the beautiful masses, the huge crowds of pro-lifers, and inspiring quotes. It definitely makes me wish that I was there.

But. There's always a but... You and I — the people sitting at home, at school, at work, or anywhere — play a HUGE part in the March for Life, too.

Nothing great is ever achieved without prayer. Lots and lots of prayer. And that is our job — to just COVER those wonderful people at the March with our prayers. Especially today, they need our prayers more than ever. But along with the March for Lifers, there are quite a few other people we need to pray for:

-For women who are considering having an abortion, that they can see the beauty in the precious life they hold within them.

-For those babies, that they will have the chance to live extraordinary lives.

-For our country's leaders, that they might have a conversion of heart, leading them to respect and protect all forms of life.

They need our prayers in this fight for life. And we have to remember that conversion of hearts happens on a personal level. Our country can't change right at once. It will take us reaching out to individuals, showing them that we care about them, showing them that every life is worth fighting for. And prayer is the first way that we can do that.

I'd like to leave you with this wonderful quote from Jared Cheek:
"I think God chooses a few people to support the rest, and it is a mystery to me how the whole prayer things works, all I know is that it does. I would be NOWHERE if people hadn't prayed for me."

Somehow, the whole prayer thing works. And that's why everything works. Because nothing great is ever achieved without prayer.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Unborn, PRAY FOR US. 

Pushing on a Pull Door

The Christian band of two Australian brothers, for KING & COUNTRY, sings this amazing song called "Pushing on a Pull Door." If you haven't heard it, you're missing out big time. So check it out on youtube real quick. This song recently changed my life in a big way.

The refrain to this song goes like this:


"Upside down, then you see it all.
Everything's the wrong way around, but clearer than before.
When you're upside down, then you see it all.
That you spend all your time pushing on a pull door."

Those words could not be any more accurate. Everything we do in this life, whether we realize it or not, we do to make us happy. How many times do we try to change our lives, to make us happier, and totally go about it in wrong way... We look for love in places and people that won't satisfy our ultimate thirst for God's love. We try to better our prayer lives with methods of prayer that might work for others but don't work for us. We try to PUSH our way through, when what we should do is PULL.

Sometimes it takes us doing the wrong thing to find out what the right move is. It's like those times when you don't realize that it's a pull door so you push it. Then you have that awkward moment when you look left and look right, and hope that nobody saw you struggle with the door... Guess what? Christ knows when we try to push the pull door. But He's the one whispering to us, "Pssssst, try the other way..." He's on our side. Thank goodness.

God uses different ways to point out to us that we need to try it a different way. Sometimes He tells us through other people. Sometimes it's through something we read. Sometimes it's in a song. And that's why the song "Pushing on a Pull Door"means so much to me. Hearing for KING & COUNTRY sing that song live hit me hard. There's a line in the song that says, "Don't you hear me coming? I'm your wake up call." That right there, hearing them sing those words, was my wake up call. It made me realize that I've been trying to strengthen my relationship with Christ is the wrong ways. And that for KING & COUNTRY concert was the first step in starting to pull this door open instead of push it.

Maybe that song will do the same for you. Maybe reading this is your wake up call. Maybe you've already heard your wake up call. Wherever you're at, just remember, sometimes that door that we've always tried to push might actually need to be pulled open instead.

Push or pull, Christ is whispering which way to open that next door in your life.