"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.'" - Matthew 16:24

I would just like to focus on the "take up your cross" portion of this verse today. We hear this phrase frequently as Christians, but how often do we really take a moment to think about what this means? First, we need to look at the cross that Christ carried. Think about a crucifix. Sometimes, because we see crucifixes so often, it is easy to forget what really happened upon that cross.. Jesus Christ not only carried that cross when He was physically incredibly weak, but He was nailed to it, bled upon it, and died upon it for our sake. He completely emptied Himself. It was not an easy death, but He did it out of love for us. That is how much Jesus Christ loves YOU. He would have gone through all the pain and suffering if you had been the only one who needed saving. It blows me away that we have a God who loves us that much! In this verse, Jesus says if we want to be His follower, we have to take up our crosses. Our cross will most likely not be a cross of the same degree of physical suffering that Jesus went through for us, but we do all have crosses that we are being asked to carry. Every person's cross is different and unique to them. It could be a sickness, a hard time in your family, a difficulty with work, school, or friends. Whatever it is, we have an opportunity through our suffering to take up our cross and share in the sacrifice of Christ. As He emptied Himself upon the cross, we can empty ourselves for Him as we carry our crosses with joy. Suffering and pain is a part of our life as humans. But when suffering comes our way, we have a choice to make. This week I challenge you to take up your cross and follow Him, for He loves you and He is love. Let us unite our trials to the passion of Christ, who loved us unto death. 

"From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised." - Psalm 113:3

I think this verse serves as a really great reminder to me. When we take a step back to think about it, God is truly SO good to us! Not only did He create us completely out of love, He gives us the gift of each new day, family and friends, everything we need throughout our day, each beautiful sunset or sunrise, He created nature for our enjoyment, and He allows us to receive His very self into ourselves in the Eucharist every day if we wish! God is SO good to us! Praise Him! But all too often, I think we all get caught up in our every day lives. I know I am guilty of this much too often. We forget to thank the One who gave us the reason to live and the reason to laugh. But as this verse says, we should be praising the Lord all the day long! Some days I'm lucky if I remember to even spend time in prayer! But one thing I strive for in my every day life is to keep an attitude of gratitude. It sounds somewhat cheesy, but there is some truth to it, in that when we are constantly striving to praise God for His goodness and to see the gifts and love He is lavishing upon us, we will have thankful hearts. This week I challenge you to have a thankful heart! Praise the Lord all the day long! At the end of the day, make a list of things you are thankful for from that day. All praise be to God! :)

"We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." - Romans 6:4

I feel like it is easy to forget sometimes that we are not only baptized into Christ's glorious Resurrection, but also into His death. This is no easy thing. In order to reach the "newness of life," we really have to die to ourselves and to the ways of this world. I have been doing some thinking lately about the end of the semester and where I have come this past school year. It made me think back to last year, when I was in quite a different place, as a senior in high school. I was looking at the face of the unknown, college. I knew I was going to have to pass on from the stage of life that I had grown comfortable with, high school. By this point, high school was what I knew and was comfortable with. But in order for the next stage of my life to begin, I had to say goodbye to this stage. And that was painful, but I never would have experienced all the things that I have experienced this freshman year and I never would have met the friends and people who have become a huge part of my life this year if I had not let go. I had to let go in order to receive the next blessing Christ was giving me. In the same way, we have to let go of our life of sin and attachment to the world in order to receive the life of Christ. Although we may have already undergone a conversion where we initially decide to follow Christ, I would argue that this detachment and death to self is something that we have to do every single day of our life, in the small everyday choices. Although living a life for Christ is difficult now, we will one day be raised to eternal life with God in heaven. Persevere! 

I hope you have a wonderful week! You are in my prayers. May God bless you abundantly. :) 

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.'" - Matthew 16:24

I think this is a really great verse to reflect upon during holy week, when we are really attempting to enter into the passion, death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This verse says that we must take up our cross if we wish to follow Him. It should be apparent this week more than any other week, that the cross isn't easy. Christ's cross involved Him completely emptying Himself for us. On Calvary's pain, there was real pain and sacrifice and even though it was the most incredible act of love ever to be done, it looked to the observer like a failure. In the same way, we must empty ourselves for Christ. Granted, this does not mean we will literally be crucified in a physical sense, but this does mean that we might be crucified in another sense, crucified to ourselves. And sometimes, this will make us look like a failure in the eyes of the world. But He has already conquered the world. He invites us to respond to His love with love. What sins or failures in your life are you going to allow to be conquered at Calvary this week? 

Have a blessed Holy Week! :) 

"You are the light of the world - like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden." - Matthew 5:14

With being on mission in Honduras, the idea of mission work has been on my mind and heart a lot lately. I have been thinking about what it means to a missionary, which led me to think about the call that each and every one of us have to be missionaries. Although it can, being a missionary doesn't necessarily mean going to far-off places to witness and be a light to people. I think many times we think of missionaries as someone who leaves everything and goes to a foreign land to preach Christ. Instead, each of us are being invited to be missionaries, to be a light and to bring love, in our every day life. Our mission field is our every day life. The people we pass on the way to class, the waitress at the restaurant, the people who are in the elevator with us, our co-workers, or the random stranger we pass on the street. We are called to bring light to each person we come in contact with, which is something we can do right where we are. And it doesn't take much. A simple smile or a "how are you?" can be enough. Small acts of kindness are sometimes the most important. In fact, I think being a missionary in every day life comes before other mission work. With the mission trip last week, it really hit me that how can I even begin to love a child in Honduras who I just met when I am not being loving towards my roommate or my friends. How can I go to Central America to pray with strangers when I don't even invite my friends to pray with me. This week, I am inviting you to enter the mission field. Make your life a mission, and see how Christ can love through you. 

I hope you have a wonderful week!

"How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!" - Psalm 139: 17-18

When I take a step back to think about it, I find it incredible how much God loves us. And I think this verse is just another beautiful way of showing that love to us. As the verse says, God thinks about us constantly out of love. I would just like to invite you to take this verse to prayer this week. Really contemplate on the love of the Father. For He loves you, SO much. 

Have a wonderful week! God bless! :) 

"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." - 2 Timothy 1:7

Sometimes, it can be really hard, or scary, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. It's not always what is the most popular thing to do, and sometimes it really takes humility to stand up for what you believe. But in this verse, St. Paul is telling us that God has not made us to be afraid, He has made us to have power, love, and discipline in Him! I know whenever I hear this verse I am comforted, because there are just situations where I just wouldn't be able to stand true on my own. But with Christ's power within us, a power that conquered and triumphed over death itself, there is truly nothing to be afraid of. This week, I challenge you to be not afraid, for you have Christ within you! 

I hope you have a wonderful week! God bless you always! :)