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St. Pedro Calungsod ​ The story: St. Pedro was a teenager from the Philippines who was a catechist and missionary on the Island of Guam. He was persecuted for his courageous spreading of the faith and was eventually martyred at the age of 17. You can read more about him here. Feast day: March 27 Patron of: the Philippines, Guam, Cebu, the Filipino youth, altar boys, and overseas Filipino workers ​ ​ St. Pedro, we thank you for your courageous sacrifice and witness to the faith. Please intercede for us and ask our Lord to help us have the courage to share our faith boldly, no matter the consequences. ​

A blessed Ash Wednesday everyone! Today marks the beginning of our Lenten journey of "washing feet." Each day will have an activity or sacrifice that pertains to either prayer, fasting, or almsgiving. (which are the three pillars of Lent), as well as an explanation of who you are serving by completing that day's activity. Each activity can be done in addition to whatever you already have planned for Lent. It's meant specifically for teens, but of course anyone can join in. Comment below if you have questions and feel free to share with fellow teens!

This post is a part of the Catholic Teen Life Lenten Journey . Lent starts tomorrow!! Can you believe it? Are you ready? Lent is a season of conversion and penance. We rid ourselves of the things or attitudes that separate us from God and replace them with new, good habits that lead us closer to God. Just a reminder for anyone who hasn't yet heard about the Catholic Teen Life lenten Journey... Starting tomorrow, we will complete acts of service that include either prayer, fasting, or almsgiving, learn about the pillars of Lent in the context of service, and learn how to practically serve and show mercy in our everyday teenage lives. By ridding ourselves of selfishness and asking our Lord to fill us up to overflowing with His love and mercy, we will truly receive so many graces from God and serve Him and the entire world during this Lenten season. A few important reminders.... 1. I want to emphasize, if you already have something planned to give up or add during Lent, you can still participate!! In my case, along with completing the act of service for the CTL Lenten Journey each day, I'm going to pray the Rosary for peace in the world. This is both an addition AND a sacrifice for me because while I dearly love Mamma Mary, the Rosary is something I have a hard time sticking with. The sacrifices/ things to add are simple. I promise. This will be beneficial, but definitely not too difficult. 2. If you are unable to complete the sacrifice or action for the day, or if you don't feel that it will be beneficial to you, THAT'S OKAY!! The ideas for service I will provide are just that- ideas. 3. To find some more resources and to quickly and easily find the post each day, follow the blog on Instagram. If you don't have Instagram, don't worry, I'll be posting each day's activity here on the blog too. :-) 4. If you are giving up social media or the internet for Lent and would like a printable list of the sacrifices for each day, feel free to comment below and I'll make sure that you get a copy. 5. Please share this post with anyone you think might like to participate!! I'm praying that together, by the end of the Lenten season, we will have grown in our understanding of true, Christ-like service and love, and will be emboldened to continue this lifestyle of service and conversion throughout the rest of the year. Our culture needs a revival of service. Our culture needs love. Our culture needs conversion. Our culture needs to let our Lord wash its feet. We are His hands and feet in the world. By the grace of God, all of that can begin with us.

This post is a part of the Catholic Teen Life Lenten Journey . We'll look at the passage that the theme "Washing Feet" is based on. I've modeled the first part of this post after the Mini Bible Study- Proverbs 31 post from a few months ago, and the last part gives some more details about our upcoming Lenten journey. Mini Bible Study: John 13:1 - "Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end." This verse sets the stage for the scene. We are at the Last Supper. Jesus knows that His time is coming, and He spends His last hours of freedom loving His disciples to the fullest. John 13:2-4- "The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist." At this point, the disciples are in the middle of supper. The plan to capture and kill Jesus has already been set in motion, and Judas is under the control of the devil. Despite all of that, and knowing that Judas will betray him, Jesus prepares Himself to serve His disciples by washing their feet. Jesus knew He came from God and that He was God- and yet He took on the form of a slave in order to teach us what true service looks like. John 13:5- "Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist." Washing feet was the role of a servant in Jesus' time. Mostly everyone wore sandals, and feet were dirty and often bloodied from walking everywhere. The servants of a household, as a gesture of hospitality, would wash the feet of those who entered their master's household. In washing His disciple's feet- even the feet of the one who would betray Him- He shows to His disciples how they are to serve the world. John 13:6-8- "He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Master, are you going to wash my feet?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.' Peter said to him, 'You will never wash my feet.' Jesus answered him, 'Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.'” Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet because he knew He should be the one serving Jesus- not the other way around, and presumably because he knew how dirty his feet were. Peter did not yet know that the ultimate act of love and service- Christ laying down His life- was still to come. Jesus tells Him that unless He allows Him to wash his feet, He will not have any inheritance with Him. THIS ALLUDES TO CONFESSION... John13:9-11-"Simon Peter said to him, 'Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.' Jesus said to him, 'Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.' For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, 'Not all of you are clean.'” ..... Peter hears this and immediately wants to be completely made clean. Jesus says that whoever has bathed (Baptism) has no need except to have His feet washed (which the Lord does for us when we receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation!) Even though the Lord has washed us in Baptism our souls still take on the dirt and dust of the world because of our sins. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) Jesus comes to us and washes our "feet" and purifies our souls of the dirt and dust that remain! St. Ambrose and St. Bernard believe that the washing of the feet came before the Institution of the Eucharist (which is not mentioned in John's Gospel) to show that great purity is expected of those who receive the Eucharist. This attributed to the Church's teaching that no one who is in a state of mortal sin should receive the Holy Eucharist. (Read more about this here.) However, since Jesus purifies a soul of venial sins when He enters it upon the reception of the Eucharist, we are not required to confess all of our venial sins before receiving communion. (CCC 1393) John 13: 12-13- "So when he had washed their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, 'Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.'" After Jesus washes His disciples' feet, He affirms that, yes, He is their teacher and master.... John 13: 14-16- "'If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.'" ... but that does not excuse Him from serving them. In fact, He shows them that the entire point of leadership is servitude. Love is self-giving. Love is an action. When we love someone, we are to serve them joyfully and selflessly. Our Lord did this practically by washing His disciple's feet, and then supernaturally in His sacrifice of Himself on the cross. All of us- no matter our role in society- are called to serve. The Christian life is one of love, and therefore one of service. John 13:17- "'If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.'" If we understand that we, as Christians, are all called to serve and love our neighbor as Christ loves and serves us, the Lord calls us blessed if we put it into practice, which.... ...IS OUR GOAL IN THIS LENTEN SEASON!!! We are going to try as best we can to serve others selflessly and totally, just as Christ did in washing His disciples' feet and later in His sacrifice on Love on the Cross... As we do these things for others each day, we serve Christ. Together, we will serve by practicing the Lenten pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and by offering the things that we do for specific intentions. Though not all the things we do will have a direct impact on others (because we are teenagers and many of us have little time, money, resources, or ways to do this on our own) we will offer what we do to Our Lord for the intentions of others and serve them through our prayers and sacrifices in that way. In all that we do, we will be serving Christ; giving back to Him by putting into action what He taught us by washing His disciples' feet. I hope that this (brief) study of the passage that our Lenten Journey is based on will get you even more excited to jump into this journey of love and service! We're less than a week away! Sources I used to write this post: https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/hcc/john-13.html https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/13

"I know that I am under Your special gaze, O Lord. I do not examine with fear Your plans regarding me: my task is to accept everything from Your hand. I do not fear anything, although the storm is raging, and frightful bolts strike all around me, and I then feel quite alone. Yet, my heart senses You, and my trust grows, and I see all Your omnipotence which upholds me. With You, Jesus, I go through life, amid storms and rainbows, with a cry of joy, singing the song of Your mercy. I will not stop singing my song of love until the choir of Angels picks it up. There is no power that can stop me in my flight toward God." From Fr. Michael Gaitley's book "Consoling the Heart of Jesus." Quoted from St. Faustina's diary, 761. Amidst the turmoil of this world, we must remember that no matter what comes, good or bad, we do not have to be afraid. Love has already won the victory. Our job is to trust in His mercy! ❤️🤍 " With You, Jesus, I go through life, amid storms and rainbows, with a cry of joy, singing the song of your mercy." (Originally posted on Instagram.)

Hi! Welcome to the Catholic Teen Life Blog. This blog is meant to be a resource for teens trying to live out their beautiful Catholic faith in our ever more secularized world. My goal is to provide scripture reflections, stories of saints, media recommendations, vocations resources, and tools for living out your faith. It is difficult to live an authentically Catholic life as a teenager in our world. Trust me, I understand - I'm living it! I hope this blog will help and encourage you to persevere in the faith, even when our world makes it so difficult. Please join me in praying for fellow teens and brothers and sisters in Christ. May God bless you on your journey towards living your life totally for Him and with Him! -Catholic Teen