Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday. If you're like me, it's just another looooong mass-actually, almost twice as long, because bilingual masses are held as one. It may seem unnecessary, or boring. Does it seem like it' s repeating everything you already know? Well....yep, that about sums up how I generally felt about all Easter weekend masses-long, boring, and pointless. But this year, I've grown an unbelievable amount in my faith-and last night, it hit me that I don't know everything about this faith, nor will I ever know. And that is why it's so beautiful. Especially what happened Holy Thursday.

The Eucharist. That's what I want to write about. I've always known it's His body and blood, and that He gave it up for us. I guess I just never really knew what all that entailed. The night before He died, he washed the apostles' feet. The creator of the universe washed the feet of the ones He had created in His image! He invoked the priesthood-something that, to me, is one of the more awesome parts of this faith, and something that should be thought about more and honored by everyone. He washed their feet so that when they carried on His works, they would do it as clean men. Then, He did something none of us can understand completely-nor should we try. While He was still alive, He gave up Himself back to us in the form of His own body and blood. Yes, we know He died a very painful death and suffered greatly on the cross to pay for our sins. But that's preached everywhere-even non-christians know that. What makes this night my new favorite is that He gave HIMSELF. Literally-not giving of Himself in prayer, service, or miracles,but really giving His body back to us each time a priest (with newly cleaned feet) consecrated a measly piece of bread and a cup of wine. He allows Himself to be received by all, and brought into this life again on a daily basis. He suffered through terrifying thoughts of what would happen tommorrow, to prepare a better life for us today. Imagine you've gotten sick, and the doctor says you won't make it past tommorrow night. What would you do? Go home, visit with your family and friends, reflect on the good things in your life, and try to end it peacefully? Because that's what a lot of us would do. But He knew what was going to happen to Him-He even knew that some of those "priests" He had put into place would soon deny Him. Yet He continued to give of Himself-and more importantly, to give of His father-until His very last breath. The one thing that stuck in my mind solid from all of the Holy Thursday readings was this, and I want you to think about it honestly. Consider it, reflect on it, and, next time you chat with Him, say thank you. Because this is what He's asking us daily:

"Do you realize what I've done for you?" John 13:12

Let's show Him we know what He's done for us but he way we live our lives.

When God's Not Looking

This morning, I had a chat with a really great friend of mine. He's been going through a lot with himself, his friends, and his girlfriend lately. He's in the process of transferring schools, and he's getting a little stressed out. But most importantly...he's trying to figure out what God's plan for him is. After talking for a few minutes about the obvious problems, I asked him if there was anything else on his mind. He said, "I just need to forgive myself." Me, a little slow to catch on sometimes, had to take a second to process this. We'd just discussed all of the problems going on in his life, and I thought we'd established that it was NOT anything that he could really control. So what did he need to forgive himself for? After a silent second or two of processing this information, my brain clicked. He had to forgive himself for the way he'd been reacting to all of these things. Not what happened, but what he did because of it, and what had happened with him while it was going on. He had to forgive himself for what had happened behind closed doors when no one was there. For what he did when no one was watching. I just gave him my best understanding smile, and the longest, heartiest hug I could muster up. Here is what he told me "She's forgiven me, God's forgiven me. I can do this."


To me, that's the attitude we should all have. That no matter what kind of curveball gets thrown our way, it IS going to be ok. It may not be the way we want it to turn out-in fact, it probably won't be. But it will be the way it's supposed to if we just put our trust where it belongs, and try to be the best we can be every single day. I know it's not easy, but be who you want to be even when no one's looking. Because there really is someone who loves you very much looking down on you from above all the time. And your actions when you're alone determine whether that relationship-the most important one in your life-is built up to be stronger, or weakened to nothing.

The Good Kind of Engineering

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about change. Now yes, I am a teenage girl, so there is plenty of change going on in my own life. But what's been on my mind lately is the changes going on in the lives of those closest to me. It just seems crazy how God keeps us on this never-ending roller coaster ride of changes. He allows us to be lifted up, hurled down, to laugh, to cry, to love, and to be rejected. Constantly there, but ever-changing. I, for one, find thrill in those moments of change (yes, I am that weird!). Those moments where we are scared to death with no idea of what's to come, and our stomach feels a mile behind our body. Those moments when it doesn't matter who is sitting behind, in front of, or beside you-you're enjoying the ride! But I also know that change can be scary, too. We have no idea what the course of the roller coaster looks like, and sometimes that scary as h-e-double hockey sticks. But think about this: there is a reason that every change happens in our lives. Who knows if we'll see the results as they're happening, or even years later? We may never know what good comes out of a situation-it may seem like none ever does! But there is one person who always knows. I mean, He plans the changes after all! God wrote the love story of life to us, and took special care to add us each in a few personalized changes. Death brings a soul home, a family closer, and brings those involved to see how truly blessed they are. Friends come into our lives and build us up, tear us down, and trample all over us. But they come and go according to His will. Relationships can help us on one leg of our journey, or we may get lucky enough to have a few that stick with us the whole road ;) We may end up at a different college than we wanted, and have the best experience of our lives. We may have to take a detour around the train so that we can meet someone who's having a bad day with a friendly smile and a wave as we come around the corner. Who knows-we may even save a life. All I know is that roller coasters are amazing. They are exhilarating, terrifying, thrilling, breathtaking, scream-inducing rides. We never know when we'll be on top of the hill, or when we'll plunge into the dark valley. We never know what's around the next bend, but one thing is for sure: They have to be engineered perfectly. And He, my friends, is the master engineer.

Moving into the Unknown.

"Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly, knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence." -Pope John II. I love quotes. The cheesier the better. Especially by awesome people. I mean, John Paul II? Come on, doesn't get much more awesome than that. I just wanted to kind of explain why this blog has a crazy name like it does, and what it means to me. This quote inspires me. It reminds me of some great memories I've had the chance to make, some great conversations I've gotten to have, and, most importantly- that it will all be okay in the end. No matter where our lives are going and how they're going to play out, we need to live them in complete faith and confidence. Listen to the pope, he's a pretty smart guy ;) I hope you will find a way to connect with my cheesy inspirational stories, and that as I find my way into the unknown one stepping stone at a time, that you will be right there with me,knowing you're never alone.

Hello's and Intros

I've decided to go ahead and start a blog. What the heck? I love to write, and I do it all the time anyway. May as well give some of the random thoughts I have the opportunity to be read by others. I love reading some of my good friend's blogs, so why not make them happy and start my own? ;) I'm sure I won't be on here too often or have anything too terribly great to say. But I am an extremely cheesy person who loves good quotes and random thoughts. So what the heck-enjoy! Hope at some point my random ramblings make you laugh, smile, and maybe sometimes.....even think :)