Our friends at RosaryArmy.com have some great instructions for how to make your own rope rosary. Do something meaningful (and super Catholic) with some of your free time and get together with your friends or youth group to make a bunch of rosaries for yourselves, or to give away. You could even make small rosaries that are just one decade and wear it on your wrist as a witness and reminder to pray.

The month of May is dedicated to Mary; so it’s the perfect time to put your fingers to good use and make a rosary.

“The holy rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.” – St. Josemaria Escriva

• Download printable instructions
• Watch an instructional video
• Get supplies to make a rosary

I’m a nanny and every so often the 4-year-old girl I take care of tells me about her future, “I’m gonna be a lizard babysitter… A chef that only makes soup… I’ll be big enough to hug you by your face” (all direct quotes). It seems that from the moment we can talk, we start thinking about the future . . . and wondering about our future too. That future-questioning mentality just grows stronger as we get older.

By the time I was in high school, I was so consumed by decisions and questions about the future. I found myself focusing on it so much that my prayer life turned into a giant mess of questions with no answers. I wanted to know what God desired me to do with my life—a very legitimate thing to be concerned with—however, instead of listening to what God wanted to tell me, I tried to figure His Will out on my own. I ended up focusing on my will, and hoping it just happened to be God’s will too.

Bad idea, my friends.

My Wake Up Call

It wasn’t until I was a summer missionary at Camp Covecrest that I began to realize I was doing the whole discernment thing completely wrong. One weekend, I had the opportunity to sit and talk with a fantastic priest, Fr. Peter, and I told him all about my questions about my future. “Should I be a missionary, a teacher, a youth minister, a wife, a nun, single?!” He sort of laughed at me and then told me, quite bluntly, to stop being so prideful. I was shocked, embarrassed, and super confused; but, then he explained.

Matthew 4:18-20

Fr. Peter led me through a meditation about how Jesus approached Peter, a man whose entire life revolved around fishing, and told him, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Peter immediately left his boat to follow Jesus (Matthew 4:20); there was no worry or question of what he would be doing. At first, I didn’t understand where Fr. Peter was going with this, but I was definitely intrigued.

Father’s point in all of this was simple; the focus of Peter’s first interaction with Jesus was never on what he was leaving, but on what he was going to do. What God desired for Peter’s life needed to come before what Peter thought his life was all about.

Come After Me

The most important part of all of this is in Jesus’ first three words to Peter, “Come after me.” With these words, Jesus is not only saying that Peter must physically follow him, but that Peter’s desires are to come after Jesus’ will. If we focus on doing what Jesus is asking us to do, our lives will change radically. Obviously, not all of us will become Pope, like Peter, but I guarantee that God will do far greater things with your life than you could ever do on your own.

After my conversation with Fr. Peter, my entire outlook of the future changed. Now, before I worry about the million questions and decisions that come through my head, I take a minute to pray. If you struggle with all these questions too, I encourage you to try this. Ask the Lord to show you how to come after Him, to conform your will with His Divine Will. When we stop worrying and simply ask God to show us His will, miracles happen.

Fishermen become fishers of men, students become disciples, and ordinary people become Saints.

I begged and cried and begged more . . . “God fix this. You have to. I know you’re in charge but come on, this can’t be what you want . . . right?”

That’s how my prayers typically went when I prayed for Catherine, my friend’s mom, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2009. Catherine’s health fluctuated in the following years and she never left the top of my prayer list.

Her family said it was time to pray for a miracle when Catherine stopped responding to treatment last fall. So I continued to beg God for a miracle. Every time I was miserable about something – the Arizona heat, a hard workout, the flu, or heartache – I offered up my suffering for Catherine.

“What are you doing God?” I kept asking. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. She was an amazing, holy woman with six children, most of them still in grade school. Hundreds of people were praying for a miracle; I knew I couldn’t give up hoping. Miracles happen all the time.

So why not this time? Catherine died this past January 30th. I felt like God had let me down. I felt like He wasn’t thinking about how many hearts were torn apart. “How could you, God?”

I’ve been Catholic my whole life. I know these answers, but this time my emotions were so strong that I forgot everything I knew about God’s goodness.

Struggling because of unanswered prayers is bound to happen in any person’s faith life. God will always give us grace to see His heart again though. Staring intently at the Eucharist in adoration I saw a God who loves us so much He took on our human nature and remains with us in the Eucharist. I had to admit that He does know what’s best. He loves us so much that He has our best interest, Heaven, constantly on His mind.

Praying for a miracle is not wrong or a waste of time because God hears and responds (Psalm 34: 17 – 20). He wants us to ask for what we need. We have free will so He doesn’t force Himself on us, even though He cares intimately about our daily lives.

We need to learn from Mary and echo her words “Let it be done according to your will.” That miracle wasn’t God’s will; He had something better in mind.

Catherine “fought the good fight and finished the race” (2 Timothy 4:7). She’s home and enjoying eternal happiness. And now we have another amazing woman praying for us the way we prayed for her. While it’s still sad, I have found a lot of peace in trusting God. Sometimes we get earthly miracles. However, at the end of life the true miracle is our resurrection and the eternity we spend with God and the saints in heaven. That’s the greatest miracle we can pray for.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Icon

Listen

“Oh, Great Love of God” by David Crowder

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Reflect

Our Lord is not primarily a teacher, He is a Savior. That’s the meaning of the word “Jesus”: He will save us from our sins.

Suppose we took a chalice as an example of what He did for us. Suppose the chalice were taken from the altar and made into a beer mug and delivered over to unholy uses, its shape and contour completely changed. Then it was found. How could it ever be restored again to the altar?

Well first of all, we would have to put it into a furnace, burn off the old shape and form, and hammer it again into the pattern of a chalice. Them we would bless it and restore it to the altar.

That is what God did with the human nature. He took this chalice of humanity, threw it into the fires of Calvary, where He was scourged and beaten, and then He was restored to a new shape on Easter and became the new creation. This is what He did with the pattern of human nature.

Fulton Sheen, an excerpt from “Through the Year with Fulton Sheen“

Pray

God, You came, You died, and You rose from the dead – all to save my soul. Your resurrection means I do not have to experience death; my last breath in this world is my entrance into the next. With this knowledge, I ask for the grace to live my life looking forward to eternity. Help me to make every decision with You in mind. Thank you for making me a new creation. I am changed, I am yours, and I am grateful. Amen.

Do

Today on Easter, thank God for all the things you’re grateful for. Make every decision today (and everyday) with the knowledge that you will rise on the last day because Christ conquered death – He is risen.

Just celebrate today. This is our day as Christians and Catholics.

Share

The Crucifixion 3 by Matthias Grunewald

Listen

“Nothing but the Blood” by Hillsong

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Reflect

The new meaning that Christ gave to suffering was not so much made manifest in his death but rather in his victory over death, that is, the Resurrection. He “was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25): the two events are inseparable in the thought of Paul and of the Church.

It is a universal human experience: in this life pleasure and pain follow one another with the same regularity with which, when a wave swells in the ocean, a trough follows a crest and sucks in the shipwrecked sailor. “Full from the fount of Joy’s delicious springs, some bitter o’er the flowers its bubbling venom springs”, the pagan poet Lucretius wrote [4]. Drug use, the abuse of sex, and homicidal violence all provide momentary intoxicating pleasure but lead to the person’s moral dissolution and often also to his physical ruin.

Christ, with his Passion and death, inverted the relationship between pleasure and pain: “for the joy that was set before Him [He] endured the Cross” (Hebrews 12:2). No longer is it pleasure which ends in suffering, but suffering that leads to life and joy. It is not only a different order of events; in this way it is joy, not suffering, that has the last word, a joy that will last for eternity. “Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him” (Romans 6:9). Nor will it have any power over us.

Homily of Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., Good Friday, April 10, 2009

Pray

God, I believe you destroyed death with your death on the cross. Thank you for all you suffered so that we could on day be united in heaven; I am so grateful for your sacrifice. Teach me to accept the crosses that are in my life because I know they will help me grow in virtue. Be close to me as I carry my cross and help me to always look ahead with hope to the joy that you promised would come after suffering. Amen.

Do

A lot of Churches will be praying the Stations of the Cross today. If you’re not able to participate, pray them by yourself. Spend some time praying before a crucifix. Get out a journal and write a letter to God, telling Him why you’re grateful to Him, and what crosses in your life you want to offer up.

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The Last Supper by Philippe de Champaigne

Listen

“Remembrance” by Matt Maher

• Listen on iTunes
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Reflect

“Rabbi, where are you staying?” Each day the Church responds: Christ is present in the Eucharist, in the sacrament of His death and resurrection. In and through the Eucharist, you acknowledge the dwelling-place of the Living God in human history.

For the Eucharist is the Sacrament of the Love which conquers death.

It is the Sacrament of the Covenant, pure Gift of Love for the reconciliation of all humanity. It is the gift of the Real Presence of Jesus The Redeemer, in the bread which is His Body given up for us, in the wine which is His Blood poured out for all.

Thanks to the Eucharist, constantly renewed among all peoples of the world, Christ continues to build His church: He brings us together in praise and thanksgiving for salvation, in the communion which only infinite love can forge. Our worldwide gathering now takes on its fullest meaning, through the celebration of the Mass.

Dear young friends, may your presence here mean a true commitment in faith! For Christ is now answering your own question and the questions of all those who seek the Living God. He answers by offering an invitation: This is My Body, take It and eat. To the Father He entrusts His supreme desire: that all those whom He loves may be one in the same communion.

Pope John Paul II’s World Youth Day homily on Sunday, August 24, 1997 in Paris, France

Pray

Jesus, give me the grace to appreciate the Eucharist more in my life. Since it is your Body and Blood, I never want to take this sacred gift for granted. Give me faith when I doubt the real presence, and reverence when I’m tempted to be indifferent. Thank you for loving me so much that you want to be one with me in the Eucharist. Help me to share that love with everyone around me so that it’s not me they see, but You, Jesus, in me. Amen.

Do

Today we commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist and also the institution of the Priesthood. If you can, read and pray with John chapter 6, also known as the “Bread of Life discourse.” Say an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be for all priests and an increase in vocations.

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(On January 15, 2012, I completed my first marathon. This series breaks down the lessons I learned on my journey to the finish line.)

I remember one of my first retreats in high school. I came home Sunday night on fire and ready to be a new person. It was time to change. I was going to go to Confession every week, get to mass everyday, pray the rosary every night, and read my Bible every morning. I was going to be holy. No more making fun of people, bad language, or laziness. I knew I could do it. I was inspired.

And that lasted until Tuesday. Yep. Tuesday. I had so much to learn. You see, I was trying to run a sprint, and life is more like a marathon.

For those who don’t know, a marathon is 26.2 miles, and the best way to describe that is with the following words: very, very, VERY LONG. If you try to sprint it there’s a pretty good chance you’ll burnout early, like I did after my retreat. I had good intentions, and the things I was trying to do were holy, but I hadn’t set a foundation.

The Importance of the First Mile

As I trained for and ran in my first marathon, I came to realize the importance of the first mile. It’s in the first mile when you set a steady pace, allowing yourself to grow gradually as you continue the race. If you start too fast, you’ll exhaust yourself. If you start too slow, you’ll lose interest. But, the key is to get into a rhythm that allows you to focus and persevere until the end.

Along with that, in the first mile, your body is still adapting. There are little pains in your legs, feet, and muscles that can make you want to quit. But if you get into a rhythm and set a solid pace, do you know what happens? Those pains don’t bother you any more, and you continue on.

Endurance

In Hebrews 10:36 we hear, “You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.”

And what is that promise? Salvation of our souls. But so often, we get those little moments of motivation and feel the urge to sprint towards that promise, forgetting a key word in the beginning of this verse: endurance. Growing in holiness takes time. It takes effort each and every day, and we build up endurance through foundation of prayer, which allows us to continue on that path to salvation.

Take a look at your own life. What is it that you want to achieve? What long-term goals do you have? How are you growing toward the ultimate goal of salvation (1 Peter 1:9)?

I was disappointed in myself after that first retreat experience because I fell so soon, but I didn’t have to. I learned that I needed to build up some endurance in my prayer life to get to that finish line. And you do too. Now, go hit that “starting line” and focus on that first mile. Find that steady pace, work through those pains, and build your endurance. The finish line is waiting for you.

1. Lesson 1: You’re Capable of More Than You Think
2. Lesson 2: You’ve Got to Have a Plan

This is an excerpt from “Come Clean: A Teen Guide to Reconciliation“

I stepped into the confessional and kneeled down at the kneeler. The priest opened the partition and I froze. I could not for the life of me remember what to say to the priest. Luckily he sensed my nervousness and walked me through the whole thing.

Because I know that sometimes we forget what to say I’ve provided a basic structure of what you should say at the beginning of your confession. I hope it helps!

YOU: Forgive me father, for I have sinned. It has been ___ long since my last confession and these are my sins: (here you will confess your sins to the priest).

After this (and possibly a short time of counsel and advice from the priest), he will ask you pray the Act of Contrition (you will find two different ones below that you can use). The priest will then give you your penance and absolve you of all your sins.

Act of Contrition

O my God, I am sorry for having offended you. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have offended you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In His name, my God, have mercy.
Amen.

Or

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

I love making commitments. It really excites me to set new goals and challenges for myself. So the challenge of giving up something for the 40 days of Lent is perfect for me! However, following up on those commitments is another story.

Just last week a tub of cookie dough stared me in the face for 10 minutes without blinking. I struggle to not eat sweets every day. Often times when we are struggling with our suffering, we can look to the cross and see what Christ has done for us. It helps encourage us to stay faithful to our Lenten promises.

I’ve Heard that Before

Every once in a while a new “catch phrase” comes up that everyone likes to say. You know, words like “legit” or “epic.” We have these in the Christian realm as well. Take “offer it up” for example. I could complain about wanting sweets but I’m sure someone would tell me to just “offer it up.” Some of these commonly known phrases used to bug me because I thought they were over used.

The phrase that bugged me the most was “God is faithful.”

I couldn’t really say it. It’s not that I didn’t believe it, I just didn’t see it. When people talked about God being faithful, I got uncomfortable because I struggled to see God’s faithfulness in my life.

I didn’t see God’s faithfulness because I wasn’t giving Him anything to be faithful in. I believed in the power of prayer but didn’t use it very much. I believed in miracles but never prayed for them. I believed in God but relied on myself. God is faithful. At any moment when we feel fear, anxiety, sadness, or anything else, God waits there to show us His faithfulness. He is good and faithful to all who call on His name. (Ps 100:5) Love demands a response.

This is far too great a love to leave us still and complacent.

Why Do We Do It?

When this truth hit me, I began to slowly let go of things I was clutching on to. I decided it was the only proper response to such a great God. I wanted to respond to His great faithful promises with a gift of my own: my trust and every inch of my heart.

Being faithful to our Lenten promises is important because it’s an opportunity to say, “Jesus, I love you more than this ice cream I’m giving up.”

But mostly, it’s an opportunity for prayer, fasting, and alms-giving. We learn discipline and realize that there are hungers inside of us that earthly things cannot satisfy. We were made for Heaven and we will always feel slightly “incomplete” until we get there.

C.S. Lewis said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

Called to Action

Lent is not a season for comfort. It’s a season for sacrifice and growth. It calls us to move. And this is the great question I’ve been asking myself: What makes me move? Yes, techno music makes me move. But this is different. What makes me move, what drives me?

It’s been said that the two greatest motivators in life are fear and love. A good way to tell what moves you is to figure out if you are running away from something or running towards something. As Jesus said over and over in the Gospels, “Be not afraid.” Fear is not for us.

As Christians, we live in freedom, not fear. If I’m making a decision or change, I try to make sure I’m doing it because I’m running towards Jesus, not running away from something else.

I have refused sweets many times already this Lent. I don’t refuse them because I’m scared of breaking a promise or afraid God will triple the calories for disobeying my Lenten commitment. I refuse the sweets because it’s one of the things I decided to do for Lent. I’d rather take the seemingly sad situation as a chance to run to Jesus and unite my (puny) sufferings with His. I prefer to be moved and driven by love, not fear. Remember that we are the beloved. Notice that we word beloved breaks up into be-loved.

A Challenge

So as we move forward this Lent, we will be challenged to keep our ‘promises to God’. But this is our opportunity to respond to God’s great love and sacrifice with some love and sacrifice of our own. We unite our sufferings to His, we offer them up, and we let who we love decide what we do. We recognize what draws us closer to God and we choose to pursue those things. We choose to be faithful to Love.

My prayer for each of you is that Love moves you and drives you in all that you do.

Be God’s.

It’s such an honor to be able to write just for you girls this time. I love being able to share with you some of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the past couple years about being a woman and being a Catholic. It took me a long time to learn these things! I hope you can put this advice to good use in your own life.

I’m Emotional

Emotions are not bad, but don’t let them control you. If you’re sad, cry. If you’re angry, let it out in a healthy way (like exercise, or venting on paper). If you’re happy and you know it shout “hurray.” That idea is not original, actually.

The point is, don’t bottle up your emotions inside because later they’ll explode. Trust me, I did it all the time – both the bottling and the exploding part. Being a woman means feeling a lot of different emotions. We get kind of a bad rap for that. But we don’t have too!

You have the power to use your emotions for good. When you’re upset about something, ask God to comfort you and heal the wound. In the future you’ll be a more compassionate and empathetic person because you know what it’s like to hurt. Instead of acting out against someone when they make you angry, take just 10 seconds to cool off before you say something you’ll regret.

Don’t let your emotions control you – there’s a strong woman beneath that emotion and a wiser woman after that emotion.

Did You Hear?

Don’t gossip and try not to listen to gossip. Every time I do, I feel terrible afterwards.

Picture this:
What if I spill some nasty rumor I heard about a guy named Phil to my friend Emma. Before, Emma never thought badly of Phil or questioned his motive for something. Now though, every time she sees him, she thinks of what I told her and can’t help but think of Phil in an uncharitable way. And who’s fault is that? It’s my fault for introducing those mean thoughts.

There are so many people hurt by gossip. You hurt yourself, those you gossip to, and those you’re talking about. Once a priest told me, “Don’t talk about other people’s issues or problems unless you have a serious reason or need to do something constructive about it.”

What Do I Do?

Spiritual direction – get it. There are usually about 56 things going on in my heart – on a good day. Who doesn’t need objective, drama-free advice once in a while? I was totally scared of spiritual direction. And now that I think about it . . . I can’t really remember why.

You can share whatever you’re comfortable with and in exchange get free, Catholic advice. This has been a huge blessing in my life and one of the reasons I’m the person I am today. Find someone you can trust. It’s great to have a priest or nun because they have special graces from God. However, if you ask your diocesan office, they probably have some lay spiritual directors too!

Help Me Feel Better

Don’t lean on anything or anyone but Jesus when you’re low. Chocolate, boys, spending money . . . whatever it is you rely on to help you feel better, how long does it work? How long until you need more chocolate, a different guy’s attention, more clothes and shoes?

There’s a Jesus sized hole in your heart and until you let Him be the one to fill it, everything else won’t satisfy. Sit with Jesus in prayer, journal and tell Him how you feel, what’s upset you. Open up Scripture and let Him love you through His words. It’s great to have other people to support you but ultimately, you have to let Jesus have that #1 spot in your heart.

Get Off the Scale

Do you care if you best friend gains a couple pounds on her hips? She’s your best friend for a lot of reasons and the size of her hips is not one of them. (At least it shouldn’t be!) People feel the same way about you – no one cares if you have a little gut.

You’re not going to be happier by obsessing over your weight and feeling guilty about every little thing you eat. Let it go. Of course, you have to be healthy and a good diet and regular exercise are part of what makes you a well rounded, balanced person. All I’m saying is don’t go overboard, don’t stress about it.

If it matters to the people you hang around – go hang around new people. You are beautiful because you are a woman, not because you’ve achieved a size 2 at Hollister.

Wait For It

So I can’t finish this advice without talking about boys. If I could tell you girls one thing, it would be this – wait for the man who God intended for you.

Try not to just date so that you won’t be lonely. Date someone who respects you. Dating can be a great way to understand guys better – how they think, how to communicate with them . . . etc. When you meet your future husband do you want to tell him about all the guys you’ve screwed around with, or tell him about the guys who’ve helped you become a better person? There’s a big difference.

Don’t forget though that it’s never too late to recommit to purity. When we’re forgiven by God, the past is forgotten. He said, “Behold, I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)

Last Thing . . .

Being a woman is an incredible blessing. Look to our mamma Mary as a model and pray to her to help you understand what kind of woman God wants you to be. I hope you can take all this advice to heart because it came from mine.

Last thing – just one word girls: pinterest.