Tag Archives: prayer

LifeTeen.com Blog

Immersed in the Word

By | May 16, 2013

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I bring this up because I have recently realized how important this “remembering” is in my relationship with God’s word. If I do not immerse myself in God’s word like I immerse myself in music, TV, etc., then it will never affect my speech or habits and I will quickly find myself forgetful and ignorant of Scripture. And, as St. Jerome reminds us, “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

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How to be Happy

By | February 27, 2013

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I want a lot of things out of life. I want to be happy. I want to feel like I have purpose. I want to be loved. I want to make a difference. I want to live a life I’m proud of. I want to be a saint. I want chocolate and tacos but not at the same time.

But I don’t know where to find those vague and lofty desires. Are they only talked about in poems and songs? Because so many people around me aren’t happy with their lives, or haven’t found their purpose, or are settling for counterfeit love and a bottle of booze.

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God’s Heartbeat: Are You Listening?

By | February 21, 2013

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Instead of going into the chapel and pouring out my thoughts or trying really hard to hear Him, I’m just sitting in the silence. His calm, gentle, strong voice always comes to me if I submit to the sacred silence in the chapel.

If I can’t make it to the chapel, I can sit in silence with God in my room. My reflection this week on my silent time has flowed nicely with my reflections on not speeding.

What I’ve learned this week is this: I don’t always have to set the pace. Whether it be in the car, in the hallway, or in the chapel – I can take my time. I can slow down. I can breathe. I can listen to His heartbeat, and strive to live my life to the rhythm of that heart beat. Let God set the rhythm, and experience the freedom that it offers.

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Praying for My Future Pope

By | February 20, 2013

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I’ve been to hundreds of youth conferences, camps, and retreats. And rarely one goes by that I don’t hear a men’s or women’s talk that encourage those who are single to spend time waiting, trusting, and praying for their future spouse. Now I know the analogy can get a little weird if we push it too far, so let’s be careful there. But in the same way that a single person who is waiting for a future spouse makes it a good practice to pray for their future spouse, we as a Church should pray for the future pope. We should ask the Lord to protect him, bless him, and make him ready. We should ask the Lord to give us strength, to encourage us in the interregnum (the time between popes), and to make us a more loving and faithful Church under the care of the next pope.

For me, it took my mind wondering and asking what my next pope would be like to realize how important it was to be praying for him every day.

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Welcome to the Desert: Lent 2013

By | February 11, 2013

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So here we are. Lent 2013. Another 40 days of no caffeine, cookies, soda, candy, the snooze button, Facebook/Twitter, gossip, video games, complaining, showing up late, secular music, texting, TV, or homework (just kidding . . . don’t try it, it doesn’t work).

There could be a lot of different motivations behind those sacrifices – like a desire to lose weight, or to get attention . . . but that’s not exactly what Lent is about.

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What to Give Up for Lent: 25 Creative Ideas

By | February 6, 2013

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Are you looking for something unconventional to offer up for Lent? We asked Life Teen missionaries and our friends on Facebook for cool stuff they’ve done in the past. This is what they shared.

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Why Do Catholics Make the Sign of the Cross?

By | July 12, 2012

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Catholics make the sign of the cross because it is a brief profession of the Christian faith, which we received from the Apostles. “Through the Sign of the Cross we place ourselves under the protection of the Triune God.” (CCC 2157)

As often as we make the sign of the cross in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we are saying that we believe in God, a Trinity of three persons, and the Redemption of the Cross.

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How to Pray: 6 Tips for a Better Prayer Life

By | June 27, 2012

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Be yourself. So many people think that holiness is unattainable, and that to pray we need to look like a statue of St. Francis with our hands folded piously. The reality is that we were created to be in communion with God, and He desires to be in a relationship with us. He doesn’t want you to be a carbon copy of a past saint. He created you with your own gifts and passions, and wants to shine through you uniquely in them. Come to him as you are and let Him transform you into the saint He wants you to be!

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Worship Fail: My Most Embarrassing Moment

By | June 19, 2012

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Adoration continued and I began to let go little by little. As I dove into prayer with the other 500 teens, Matt Maher encouraged us to vocalize our prayer and praises to God. Everyone around me was praying aloud and I wanted so badly to have the courage to shout out my love for God too, but I was so consumed by the idea that I would do it wrong or that people would think I was weird.

I stayed silent at first and continued to pray in my heart. I begged God for the courage to pray aloud and to help me get over my pride, self-doubt and fear. He definitely heard my prayers.

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God Doesn’t Text

By | May 30, 2012

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That was a tough question, but the next one worried me:

“Was I afraid to talk with God, to be honest with Him, and listen to Him even if I didn’t like it?”

I had to think about it for a while. I realized that while I trusted God with most things, there was still one thing that I avoided – Confession. I would go to Mass every Sunday and pray throughout the day asking for help or thanking Him, but I didn’t like sharing my weaknesses with Him.

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The Rosary is the Greatest Prayer for Peace

By | May 28, 2012

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Far from offering an escape from the problems of the world, the Rosary obliges us to see them with responsible and generous eyes, and obtains for us the strength to face them with the certainty of God’s help and the firm intention of bearing witness in every situation to “love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14).

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Why Do Catholics Pray the Rosary?

By | May 25, 2012

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Catholics pray the rosary because it’s a powerful prayer to God, through His mother, Mary.

Praying the rosary has been a tradition in the Church for a long time. It’s a bit fuzzy who made it more formal; some say it was St. Dominic and others say it wasn’t. What really matters is that this prayer is super powerful.

Throughout Church history, many popes and saints have highly recommended that we pray the rosary. St. Louis de Montfort said, “When the Holy Rosary is said well, it gives Jesus and Mary more glory and is more meritorious than any other prayer.”

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How to Stay Balanced During Finals

By | May 22, 2012

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Breathing doesn’t become less important as our physical tasks get more difficult; it becomes more important. It’s the same with prayer. It will most likely seem impossible to find time for a lot of prayer during finals week. I urge you to make it work . . .

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Who Was Mary?: A Reflection on the Mother of God

By | May 21, 2012

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This month of May – dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary – offers us a unique opportunity to deepen our contemplative prayer life.

Just as Mary pondered all the early events surrounding Jesus in her heart (Luke 2:19), we are invited to contemplate what the Holy Spirit chose to inspire and share with us regarding Mary – not only as Christ’s mother – but as our own (John 19:27). Below is part of a reflection I wrote some time ago that I recently rediscovered. Perhaps it will bless your own contemplative prayer life . . .

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Memorare Prayer Card

By | May 21, 2012

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Mary is always ready to help us and take our prayers to her Son, Jesus. Pray this beautiful prayer to ask Mary for assistance in whatever you need. She is our mother and longs to pour out graces on us, her children.

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Dating, Happiness, and Jesus

By | April 30, 2012

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In this particular relationship after my parent’s divorce, the girl I was dating became everything to me. I drew my worth from her compliments and her attention. I drew my joy from her company. I wasn’t simply finding joy in her and recognizing Christ in her, I was putting her first in my life before Christ.

She was the one I would go to with all my problems. I went to church to see her, not Jesus. And Jesus loved me through it all. When that relationship fell apart, so did I . . .

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How to Pray About Your Future

By | April 26, 2012

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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 His as well. 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.

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Praying for a Miracle

By | April 23, 2012

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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.

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Holy Thursday Devotional

By | April 5, 2012

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Listen “Remembrance” by Matt Maher Listen on iTunes Listen on YouTube 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 Read more [...]

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Catholic Advice for Every Girl

By | February 28, 2012

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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.

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