SEEK A New Year With New Beginnings

"And he that sat upon the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' And he said unto me, 'Write: for these words are true and faithful.'" - Revelation 21:5

Hello my dear friends in Christ! Today we celebrate the feast day of the Holy Family. As we approach a new year let us continue to bless our own families with constant love and support. At times we may hurt the ones we love most just because they are part of our family. With that being said, we need to begin again and renew the love of Christ between our family members or at least ignite the fire of love for them in a more passionate and selfless way.

Speaking of a new year with new beginnings I've decided to go to the SEEK conference in January held by FOCUS (The Fellowship of Catholic University Students). It's amazing how fast time flies. I registered for this event in October and the new year is almost here! Just a few more days before I'm off to visit with over 6,000 other Catholics from around the nation! I'm so excited to engage with my fellow peers in Jesus Christ. This should be a wonderful opportunity to make new friendships and foster old ones. It is a time for us to celebrate the presence of the living God in Holy Communion and Adoration. There will also be some wonderful speakers there, including Matthew Kelly, Leah Darrow, and Jason Evert. As you can tell, I'm really excited!

But in all honesty, I had no idea how this would all come together. In October I had registered without knowing if any of my friends were going. I had asked a bunch of people if they wanted to come with me, but unfortunately they were all going to be busy at the time. However, I was determined to go. So I signed up anyways. Since my school does not have a FOCUS group on campus I was worried that I would go and not know anyone! But God truly makes things work out for the best. After some time I heard that more and more of my friends were going to come too. So just by trusting in Him I signed up for something that seems like it's going to be a very enjoyable experience with some of my friends—even though I didn't know it at the time.

Besides hanging out with my fellow Catholic friends, this is an opportunity for me to discern my future in a more intimate way in the presence of God. For a while I have been constantly discerning what God's future plan is for me when I graduate college. I have some thoughts in mind, but every time I consider what I might want to do I become even more confused. I think going to an event like this will hopefully make my paths clearer in my discernment. So while I'm at this event I will be going to seek Him and keep you in my prayers. I greatly appreciate you for reading my blog. Thanks for your support. Please pray for me too as I embark on this journey soon!!! God bless you in the New Year of 2013. *Note: Also if you are going to SEEK hope to see you there!* ;)

SEEK2013 : what moves you from FOCUSNational on Vimeo.

To Jesus Through Mary

"And Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?' And the angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.'" - Luke 1:34-35

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a splendid holiday with family and friends. This is a joyous season because even after Christmas day we still celebrate our Savior's birth until the Epiphany in January. The Nativity of Jesus is so beautiful to meditate on. As we reflect on this we recognize how Jesus was brought into the world, through the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the flesh. God became human, which no one had expected at the time, to save humankind from sin and lead us to salvation. Without Mary, His mother, this could have never happened! This is what Christmas is all about. Christmas itself entirely revolves around the fact that Mary gave birth to the Christ Child.

Recently, I spoke with a friend of mine who was a convert to Catholicism. Over the years she has become closer and closer to the Blessed Mother. From her conversion she realized that not only did Mary bring Jesus into the world for us, but she is also the way for us to get to Jesus. Mary is the link between humankind and God. Although she was human too, the Madonna was born immaculate and divine. She is sinless and pure. She is the Queen of Heaven and the Holy Mother of the living God...making her our own mother too.

In this time, as we continue to celebrate the Christmas season, let us honor Mary for her humble and obedient "yes" to conceive and bear the Son of God. Let us praise the little baby Jesus as He comes to us lying in a manger of a lowly stable. Let us be like the shepherds who heard the angels and came flocking to surround the newborn Messiah. So the next time you go to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament put yourself in their shoes. Picture yourself in the Nativity scene and meditate on what it would be like to see Him on the very day of His holy birth.

          

Finding the Joy of Christmas in a Time of Sorrow

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." 
- Psalm 34:18

Hello dear friends in Christ! Today is the Third Sunday of Advent. I'm so sorry I haven't posted anything for a while. I have been so busy with final exams and finishing off the end of this semester. But I'm happy to say I did very well and I'm so glad it's over! Praise the Lord! As I was saying, this day commemorates the anticipation of Christmas and the joy of the Christ's coming by lighting a pink candle on the Advent wreath. However, with the recent events that occurred in Connecticut, it is hard for people to embrace this joy in a time of grief and sorrow.

I am still in shock that a young man would just barge into an elementary school and shoot up 20 little kids and 6 adults. This is America—a country where children should be safe. First graders shouldn't need to be worried that someone is going to shoot them in their own school. This is a very sad tragedy. Many parents, families, and friends of those little children are hurting so much now. And of course, as evil would have it, this shooting just happened to take place right around Christmas. This goes to show when people start turning to God, like most do around Christmastime, the devil tries to steal their joy away from them.

Reflecting on this incident, it seems to be reminiscent of the story How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Like the Grinch, this young man, filled with hatred in his soul, stole the greatest joy away from the parents of these little children. Of course this causes a great amount of sorrow. But the question is, how can we find joy during Christmas when we experience a terrible loss like this? The answer is, Jesus...who is the reason for the season. But like any natural human being, finding joy at this time will not be easy. I, myself, lost a grandparent this year. This will be my first Christmas without my grandmother. But looking into the light of hope and salvation, this is where we can find real joy through Jesus' birth. Christ came to save the whole world! I'm sure that all of those beautiful little children are living a wonderful life with Him, in heavenly glory, right now.

If we hang on to this hope, this love of Christ, and this joy...it is possible to experience a Christmas filled with merriment. Being together with loved ones, friends and family, is always the best solution. Just the closeness of someone who cares can bring a smile to a mourning family member. As the grim feeling starts to fade, light will soon emerge from the darkness and being to softly warm the heart again with a glimmer of joy—the joy of Jesus' presence.

As my priest at church announced this morning, eight families will be holding funeral Masses for the children at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown, CT. Let us continue to pray for those families, our Catholic brothers and sisters, along with the others who are suffering at this moment. Let us pray that they can and will find Christ's joy in the Christmas season and during the new year. God bless those little children and God bless America.