“I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received...” Ephesians 4:1

Have you ever gotten a bad grade on a test that you had to show your parents? When you showed it to them, and they got angry, did you ever say, “But mom/dad, everyone else in the class did bad. In fact, I actually did better than most.”

I sure did. For me, it was in math. In elementary school, I’d get Ds and Fs on tests that had to be signed by my parents and returned to the teacher. And it sucked! I would’ve loved to just crumple that notebook paper up and Air-Jordan that sucker into the trash bin. But, if I did that, then my teacher would call my parents and tell them about the test and about how I tried to conceal it. No good could come of failing and lying.

What about in your faith life? Have you ever been down in the dumps spiritually, sinning and being unholy in your own special way? And, when you examined your state of holiness, have you ever found yourself saying “Well, I am not living up to my potential. But I’m a good kid—I go to Church, I do well in school, I don’t do any of the ‘major’ sins. I’m actually much better than some of the people at school. Heck, I’m more holy than some of the people at my Church!”

That, right there, is the time that the devil rejoices. You see, the devil is a slippery-fiend. Not only does he tempt us with the forbidden fruit that we are most hungry for, but he also whispers these lies into our ears. He sneaks up from behind us and tries to make us believe that we are “holy enough,” or that it’s okay for us to sin because others do it, too. “After all,” he says. “You’ve been through so much in your life. You’re not perfect so why try to be?”

But, to put it bluntly, the devil is full of crap. Jesus refers to him as “the father of lies” (John 8:44) and Beelzebul (which can be translated to mean “lord of the flies”). If we focus on the former title, we will realize that nothing the devil speaks is the truth. He twists, contorts, and manipulates the truth into something that can only bring us away from his greatest enemy—Jesus.

So, am I saying that comparing yourself to another person is evil? Not quite.

I’m saying that we, as Christians, are called to live a life of holiness. We are called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Those terms are not mere analogies: they are life-our-death commands. Think about what salt and light do. If you walked into a room that was pitch-black and silent, you’d probably feel anxious. But if you found the light switch, you’d feel a lot better. What about the salt? Well, that one is a little more difficult to relate. In Jesus’ time, they didn’t have refrigerators, nor did they have the chemicals we now call “preservatives” to keep their food clean and edible. Therefore, they would put salt on it and the salt would keep the meats safe for eating later on. So Jesus is saying that we should be that light that delivers people from the perilous darkness and the salt that protects people from the effects of sin.

Imagine the effect we could have on the world if we all decided to die to our personal wants and desires in exchange for the ones God has for us. There would be nothing we couldn’t do. People would come to know Jesus through us, and that, my brothers and sisters, is the reason we are here. Our purpose in this world is to love God and to reflect God. All others pursuits are secondary.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, wants us to live like He lived. He wants us to live a life of holiness, but He understands that, no matter how hard we try, we cannot be sinless. That is why He gave us the saints. They’re not just meant to be statues that are placed at the corners of the Church for us to look at. No, they are intended to serve us examples of holiness for us to aspire to. The saints are not perfect—but they’re people just like us who loved God and tried their best to live in a manner that would please Him. And that’s all God wants of us: our very best. After all, He gave us every drop of His blood that day on the cross.

So, in the footsteps of Jesus, the prophets, the apostles and countless ministers of God’s grace throughout eternity, I ask you to raise the bar. Never be content with the current state of things. Seek God more today than yesterday. Live your life in a holy way, a way that tells the devil to go to hell! Amen.

“…Peter said to him in reply, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how (strong) the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ After they got into the boat, the wind died down.” Matthew 14:29-32

So, you just get off of a retreat. You’re fired up! You’ve got the love of Christ in your heart. You’ve made lots of new friends. Maybe you’ve also met a member of the opposite sex that you are interested in. Bottom line: you feel GREAT!

Fast-forward to about month after the retreat. Still fired up? Still talking to those fifty friends you met on your retreat? Still going to mass and adoration every week, praising God with your hands raised high and your voice even higher? How about that person you met that you were attracted to: are you and that person dating, or are has that relationship fizzled, too?

I hate to break it to you, but a lot of what happened to you on that retreat had a lot to do with your feelings. And, you know what? To a certain degree, that is a good thing. Retreats are times where you can go away from your busy life and spend some time with God and with other people as well. And, naturally, when you are confined in a small space with forty or fifty people, you form emotional attachments to some of those people. Thus, all of the spirituality and Jesus-moments that go on during the retreat get paired up with the elation of meeting new people and having an awesome time. It’s a natural occurrence, one that has happened to me on more than one occasion.

But here’s the problem: more often than not, we associate what God reveals to us during these spiritual-retreats with the feelings of fellowship and fun that we experienced during the retreat. The danger is that feelings and emotions change like the tide. Think about it: if I came up to you right now and told you that you were a horrible person and that I think you will fail at everything you do in your life, your mood would change. Furthermore, if I approached you right now and told you that I loved you and that you were the most talented, wonderful, caring person I’ve ever met, your mood would probably change, too.

Peter and the other disciples experienced the same thing in today’s passage. They had just seen Jesus feed more than 5000 men, women and children with just 5 loaves and 2 fish. They were astounded at His power. Then, when they saw Jesus walking on, they felt even more awe and wonder. After all, have you ever met anyone who can feed thousands of people and then take a stroll on top of the nearby lake afterwards?

And then there was Peter. Oh, how I identify myself with Peter. In more ways than one, I see myself as a mirror-image of Peter. But I’m not talking about him being the first Pope or the leader of the disciples. I’m talking about some of his less-desirable attributes:

He had a big mouth (Mark 8:29-30)
He was overzealous (Matthew 16:22-23)
He overreacts (John 18:10)
He denies Jesus, despite saying he never would (Luke 14:66-72)

But, of all Peter’s mishaps, this one hits me the most. He feels so excited about seeing Jesus’ amazing power that he thinks he can walk on water, too. And, when he focuses completely on Jesus, he can. But, eventually, his eyes start to wander to what is around him—the thunder, the lightning, the crashing waves. Consequently, he falls into the water. Can you relate to that feeling of invincibility? If I’m not mistaken, it’s exactly what you feel after a retreat. My point here is that what you experience on retreat weekends is far beyond your mercurial-emotions. Jesus Christ, the Person who knew you from before you were even conceived in your mother’s womb, reveals Himself to us in some way or another on these weekends. In a very holy, true-sense, He comes down from heaven, looks us in the eyes and tells you that He loves you more than we can possibly imagine. And we respond in the only way we can: we lift our hands and raise our voices in praise and worship of the One who created us.

So, to wrap things up, what you are feeling right now is good. It is what sustains you, and what makes you enjoy God, Jesus and going to Church right now. But it’s only the surface. God’s love is deeper than the deepest-oceans and higher than the highest-mountains. And what you’ve experienced is just an inkling, just the beginning of what God’s amazing grace is all about. God put you on that retreat for a reason. And, I promise you that the reason involves you diving deeper into the love that you felt this weekend. We must dive so deep into God’s grace and love that it surpasses mere “feelings.” If you dive deep enough, what you once “felt” will transform into knowledge. You will KNOW that Jesus loves you; you will KNOW that He is all-powerful; and you will KNOW that, while feelings will inevitably fade, your faith in God will never diminish.

Matt Maher said it best in his song You Are My Everything—“so lead me past emotions/because they change with the wind/I want to be a true disciple/to daily choose Your hand.” Amen to that, brother.

Hey guys. This is not necessarily a "Randumb Thought;" however, it is something I put together and something I find very interesting. Hope ya'll enjoy it, too...

Jesus, The Lamb of God

I. Introduction
There are thousands of names for Jesus—Lord, God, Savior, Messiah, King, Priest, Prophet.
But there is one title that may be above all of the others: that is that Jesus is the Lamb of God.
Now, you might be thinking, “A lamb? Why would Jesus, God-incarnate, stoop so low as to be such a menial creature?” The problem is that you (like me) are thinking in 20th century America terms. In Jesus’ time, lambs were viewed much differently

II. The Passover
Lambs were used as an offering, as atonement for sins. On Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), some 2.5 million pilgrims would travel to Jerusalem to sacrifice animals, lambs among them (in fact, in the year 70 AD, the Jewish historian Josephus recorded that 256,500 almbs were sacrificed at the Temple's altar!). But the most striking use of the lamb occurs during the Passover celebration. The Passover service required an unblemished lamb—The lamb also had to be without any broken bones. The lamb was then killed and the blood was sprinkled on the doorpost using a hyssop branch. Finally, the family would consume the lamb, thus completing the ritual. The penalty for not doing this—death to the first born son (Exodus 12). Thus, the sacrificial lamb died as a ransom, in place of the firstborn son.

III. The New Lamb
All of this was good and pleasing to God; however, it was not enough. “But in those sacrifices there is only a yearly remembrance of sins, for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sin” (Hebrews 10:3-4). To atone for our offense, we needed a perfect sacrifice, a sacrifice as perfect as God Himself.Jesus, then, was the One that could redeem us. His sacrifice would accomplish what the blood of millions of sheep and bulls and goats could never accomplish. Jesus truly is the New Paschal Lamb:

• A. Jesus was without sin (1 John 3:5).
• B. Jesus was slaughtered and killed (Matthew 27:33-50)
• C. Yet his bones were never broken (John 19:36).
• D. While on the cross, he was offered a sponge soaked with wine on a hyssop branch (John 19:29)
• E. His death served as the atonement for our sins (1 John 2:2)

IV. In Conclusion
With all of this in mind, we become more fully aware of the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Just as the Jewish believer had to eat the lamb in order to renew his covenant with God, we Catholics must eat the paschal lamb, Jesus, in order to renew our covenant.Why? Because He said so: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:54)

“…but among you it shall not be so. Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant. For who is greater: the one seated at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one seated at table? I am among you as the one who serves.” Luke 22:26-27

I've been on a movie-thon the past few days, watching The Godfather trilogy. So, I'm watching the 3rd movie now and there's a beautiful scene involving Don Corleone (the "Godfather," so to speak) and a priest.

Overcome with grief for his countless sins (including one that he feels is unforgivable), he finds himself conversing with a cardinal. In the middle of the conversation, the Cardinal asks the Don if he would like to confess his sins, to which he obliges and does so. Through tears and sobs, he lays it all out for the Cardinal. The Cardinal then says, "Michael, your life can be redeemed...but I know you don't believe that, because you will not change, will you?" He then absolves him of his sins, and sends him on his way.

Why does this strike me so? Well, it's because I find the priests honesty to be beautiful. He doesn't speak in an accusatory-tone, nor does he pass judgment on the penitent; rather, he speaks his mind and tries to encourage Michael to redeem himself. This is just an example of the way 99% of the clergy in our Church are. They are loving, caring, compassionate, holy-men whose only goal in life is to faithfully-serve God, their Church, and their community. Yet, turn on the TV, flip on a movie, or listen to the radio and you'll find none of this; however, you will undoubtedly come in contact with disparaging, hateful, mocking-remarks made by people who aim to destroy the Catholic Church.

Sadly, there are priests who are exactly what these "pundits" say they are. But they are in the vast minority. Just like any group of people in this world, gathered for whatever reason: 99% of them will be good, 1% will be bad. I am not a scientist, nor do I have the research or statistics to prove my claim. I am just a Roman Catholic teenager who has been served by or come in contact with a hundred priests in his lifetime and have found them all to be nothing but wonderful men of God.

Think of the great things our former-pope, John Paul II, did in his life. Not only did he serve as the spiritual-leader of the 1 billion Catholics in the world, but he stood for right in the midst of the wrong. He stood up to the communist regime in his native-Poland. He advocated change and remained resolute in moral and social issues such as capital punishment, abortion, stem-cell research, communism and socialism. After being shot in the 1980s, he unequivocally-forgave his would-be assassin. This was a man to be respected, to be loved and to be idolized; yet, through it all, he remained a humble servant of God. And, on his death-bed, he served as an example to the whole world on the proper-way to die, in the shadow of the Terry Schiavo controversy. Would you accuse this man of being a conniving, murderous, abusive, rapist?

So, where does this leave us? Well, as Catholics, we are called to pray for the world, to pray for our families, and to pray for the shepherds of our flock. Even more so than that, we can support them with our evangelization and defend them with our actions and words. Don't let the media imbue our spiritual-fathers with this evil image. Don't let comedians make jokes at their expense. And don't let society cast these men out into the desert because of the sins of other men. I am in no way advocating or defending the priests or clergy who have done horrible things; rather, I am standing up for the ones who have come to the aid of the sick...the ones who have offered kind words to those in need of them...the ones who have delivered the sacraments to us at a moment's notice...the ones who have donated their time, their talents and (sometimes) their treasures all so that they can please God and serve us. This is the image of the priest that should be seen on TV. And, with our help and with our prayers, maybe, someday, it will be.

I WROTE THIS ONE ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE I LEFT CORAL SPRINGS “And He said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” Matthew 22:37-39.

Catholicism.

Wow, just look at that word. Doesn’t just sound…awesome? Doesn’t it just make you wanna jump out of your skin?

When I went to Covecrest this past summer, I was informed that there was a waterfall on site. Now, being a New Yorker/Florida boy, I was flabbergasted to hear this and was immediately intrigued. About ten minutes later, I found myself hiking down a hill, sidestepping mud piles, ducking underneath branches, and navigating rain-soaked ground. I remember thinking, “You know what? This isn’t that bad. I can do this.” We got to the waterfall and I was amazed. “Wow, look at how powerful God is! Look at His creation!” I looked at the waterfall and said what every guy says when he sees something vertical and bigger than he is: “I’m gonna climb this thing!” So I climbed about halfway up, followed closely by my fellow St. Andrew LIFE TEEN people. We got a great picture and then decided that we needed to make our way back to our cabin. So I start climbing down this waterfall and lost my balance. I fell down into the water, with my foot landing on a rock. The damage: a nasty gash on my pinky toe. Walking back up the mountain was not quite so easy. I needed help. I needed my brothers and sisters in Christ. A lesson was learned.

So often, we get ourselves into a mindset that we are meant to endure life alone. I know: I have struggled with this my whole life. But this solitary life is not what God has planned for us.

He gave us the Eucharist.
He gave us Mass.
He gave us the rosary.
He gave us a family.
He gave us friends.

All of these things are designed to draw us close to God, and to draw us close to our brothers and sisters in Christ. If He wanted us to go through this life alone, do you think He would’ve given us a planet, filled it with plants, animals and 6 billion people? No way. The world is big, but not that big.

As I leave for college, I am forced to do something I have never had to do: I am forced to look my friends and family in the eye and say goodbye. The notion that I will not be around you guys anymore has not registered yet. The fact that I will not be doing XLT with you guys every Wednesday is not real yet. And the reality that I will not see some of you for months is completely unreal.

On the eve of my departure, I have one thing to say: love God. I have spent the past 4 years of my life doing every conceivable thing for this youth group. Whether it was serving on retreats, waking up at unholy hours to sit outside the Church, or listening to songs over and over in order to catch every word the singer said, I worked my tail off. But I don’t think I did everything I could have. Further, I don’t think I always did it for the right reason. I think I got caught up in the functionality of it all. Instead of focusing on serving Christ, I think that I developed the mindset that it was what I was supposed to do because my youth minister, my CORE members or my parents told me I should be doing. And, looking back, I think that that mindset altered the quality of my service.

I beseech you—do not make the mistake I did. In all that you do, keep Christ in the center. Wake up every morning and thank Him for all that He is given to you. Read the Bible. Learn the Catechism. Pray the rosary. And, whenever possible, get to a mass or adoration other than the ones put on by LIFE TEEN. These things will make you a better Catholic and a better person.

And, finally, I beg of you to reach out to your peers. I spent too much time on my wants and my needs. This does nothing but cloud your mind. If you focus on your peers, God will take care of the rest. Create holy relationships with those in this group. And bring your friends in. It will be the best thing you do in your life.

I pray that you spend the next years of your life in Christ, in love and in LIFE TEEN. God bless you and keep you safe in all that you do. Amen.

"No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.” Luke 8:16

Have you ever been completely blinded by the sun? I have. In July, I went to the eye doctor because I felt like my vision wasn’t so good. So they gave me an eye exam. And part of that eye exam was examining the inside of my eye. And, in order to do that, they need to get my pupils dilated (for those who don’t know, your pupil is the black dot in the middle of your eye. The more open that hole is, the more light enters into your eye). So they put the drops in there and slowly my pupils opened up until they were completely dilated. Then the doctor took me into a room and blew puffs of smoke into my eyes and shone a bright light into them, looking for any defects. They found none and sent me on my way.

(Here’s where the sunlight comes into play)

I drove to this exam. And my pupils are now completely dilated, so much so that even the thought of light makes me squint. I get outside of the dim-doctor’s office and am inundated in the light, color and brightness of a summer day in Florida. Usually I would welcome such beautiful driving conditions; however, I am unable to even open my eyes the slightest bit because they hurt so bad. But, being the stubborn-Catholic that I am, I get into my car, say a prayer and start driving. I thank God that I didn’t get into an accident because my eyes were definitely not focus on the road.

I’ve experienced that same thing in my spiritual life, too. I’ve gone on retreats and seminars and felt God’s presence penetrate my life. I’ve come off of those encounters with God with my eyes wide open to His glory and splendor, only to return home and close my eyes. You see, when God shows us a glimpse of Himself, we can’t help but we blown away. And when we go on these retreats, we’re just inundated with love and support and grace and glory; however, when we return to the “real world,” we are shocked that those same things aren’t as evident as they were when we were locked in a ballroom with 2,000 other teenagers for 3 days. It’s a scary thing to hop of that bus or plane and realize that you are no longer in the retreat zone.

But it doesn’t have to feel like that. If we develop a different attitude regarding retreats and seminars, then we may be able to continue the retreat experience when it’s all over. Jesus gives us an alternative view on things in today’s verse. He uses a parable to convey the message that, when we receive a glimpse of God’s, we have the responsibility to display that glory and manifest it in our lives. To take a line from one of my least-favorite songs, “this little light of mine/I’m gonna let it shine.”

We are commissioned by God to be the “light of the world” and the “salt of the earth.” That is not a figure of speech and it is not a metaphor. We are called to be mirror-reflections of Christ. And, as John tells us in his epistle, “…God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). In the same way, we are called to cleanse ourselves of all sin and darkness and BE the light that can only be from God. We are called to go out into the world in be Christ to everyone that we meet. We all know that the world is dark and in need of His love—His light.

I get down on myself a lot because, in hindsight, I realize that I have failed God in so many ways. I look at my day and can pin-point the moments where God wanted me to be “the light” to someone or to show His love; however, I can also pin-point the times where I failed to do that. But, being the merciful, loving Father that He is, God accepts that we are not going to be perfect and that we are not going to measure up. He takes that into account and allows us to try again. He forgives us but expects us to do better next time.

So, next time God puts a situation in front of you that is dripping with love-and-light potential, remember this one thing: if somewhere, sometime, some place, someone had not been “the light” to you, would you be reading my blog right now? If someone didn’t show you God’s love, where would you be?