Good Friday

The Cross is so powerful. 

Often as Christians we tend to sort of belittle the Cross. It’s been an image for us since we were young and we get used to it. We stop acknowledging the power and the trust and the love behind Christ’s death. 

This Good Friday, realize again the intensity of God’s love for you through the Crucifix. Realize His passion for you, realize that if you were the only person that would be saved by His death, He would still endure the entire Passion and death for you alone. 

Realize that the Cross is the answer to every question you could ever have. We always ask God how he could dare allow this pain in our lives. But the Cross is the answer. The Cross is how God wins our trust, our love, our souls.

Look to the Cross, not just today, but every day for the rest of you life. Hold onto it. 

If You Can Hear Me

Can you hear me? 

It's okay if you can't. 

I'm told I'm quiet. 

And you're busy. 

It's fine. 

I know you're there. 

I'll just talk, okay? 

The devil likes to talk 

He likes to whisper lies

And sometimes I believe him

Because he's the only one I can hear. 

Sometimes I can't hear you

And I lose sight of what's true. 

It makes me sad. 

It makes me feel like there's no light anymore.

I can't breathe.

I'm struggling. 

It's hard to trust someone who feels so far away. 

Do you have this? 

Is this under control? 

Because I'm confused.

I know you're there. 

I just want to know if you can hear me. 

It'd be nice if you could hold my hand. 

Hold my heart instead.




I’m not depressed guys. I just know that people go through difficult trials in their lives and sometimes it’s hard to remember that God is there. Keep your chin up, because He is listening. :)

The Emotion vs The Reality

I've had a lot of time to sit and think about what my goals are, what I'm headed towards. Rainy SoCal days tend to do that to a person.

That tends to be what people focus on. Once you're a teenager, people begin to judge you based on where you are headed. So what do you want to do? What do you want to be? 

This morning I found a bookmark on my desk (hidden under a multitude of papers and books and homework hi there) with a quote on it by St. Teresa of Avila: Do whatever most kindles love in you. And at first I was struck by the thought that maybe St. Teresa was lining up with this whole movement going on today that tells us all to follow our hearts, an idea I believe has become twisted in modern society. I was confused by what she might mean. 

But I don't think St. Teresa was trying to tell us to just go with our feelings. She's telling us to do whatever kindles love in us. 

We shouldn't do whatever we want, which is what I think this new phrase "follow your heart" is twisted to mean nowadays. This idea that has been the message of so many movies and songs and movements these days is that we should love ourselves first, above all else, and do whatever we think will make us happy, regardless of what anyone else feels or thinks. We should just follow whatever our emotions tell us. 

Love is an outward thing, not an inward one. Love is wanting the good of the other. Love is sacrifice and patience and so very, very unselfish. If we do anything, it should be something that kindles this kind of love in us. Another great saint, Mother Teresa, said, do little things with great love. This should be our motto. We cannot have this selfish, "me-first", "follow-my-heart" mentality. We should always have this goal that no matter what we end up doing with out lives, true, good, unselfish love results. Not only results, but is engrained in our every little action.