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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

In past years, I've not posted much specifically about Lent. This year, we're gonna change that!! Do you know what you're doing/ giving up for Lent yet? Join the Catholic Teen Life blog on this Lenten journey of service, sacrifice, and love!! Our Lenten Theme is..... (Drum roll, please...) WASHING FEET! (Are you excited? Maybe? Sort of...?) Yes, I realize that this is typically just a Holy Thursday thing. But I was reading through John 13: 1-20 this week and realized how many ways there are to dive deeper into this scripture passage, and I think Lent is the perfect time to do that. How can we, as Catholic teenagers, wash feet? How can we allow Jesus to wash our own? What is true service? What is true conversion? How can we be joyful in all things? This is what we'll be diving into together during this Lenten season. Want to join me on this journey? Here's the plan. It's super simple, so you can use it by itself or add it to any other program/devotional you're doing during Lent. The Goal: Learn how to practically "wash feet" in everyday life, as well as let Jesus wash yours. How?: Get a suggestion for serving someone through either prayer, fasting, or almsgiving each day... And then try your hardest to complete it, or something similar! (Cause that's sort of the whole point...) & Read CTL posts about conversion, service, and joyful sacrifice. So why should you join the Catholic Teen Life blog on this journey? After all, there are SO MANY other resources out there. Our culture (and sometimes, Church) has become selfish and neglected joyful service and sacrifice. That needs to change. It starts with us. So many other Catholic Lenten programs are made to appeal mainly to adults. This one's different! Just like this blog, it's made for Catholic Teens, by a Catholic Teen. It's simple. Really simple. Like, "you don't even have to decide what to give up for Lent"- simple. (But if you've already decided what you're giving up/ doing for Lent, you can still follow along and do as much as you'd like!) If you follow the blog on Instagram, you can find the daily Lenten activity posted there each day, or refer to the guide that I'll include in a blog post on Ash Wednesday. For now, this is all I'll reveal! But you can look forward to a great Lenten journey together, all for Christ. Have a great week, friends!! - Catholic Teen

"Look to Him that you may be radiant with joy..." ~Psalm 34:5 This amazing verse is found in our responsorial psalm today, the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. It really stood out to me as I read the readings this morning. Christ lives out joy in the fullest possible way. When we look to Him and He fills us with His joy, we are radiant with it, and in turn, shine His light to the nations. There is a distinct difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is fleeting. It is a moment of pleasure, quickly replaced by other feelings. Joy is permanent. Joy is positivity, confidence, trust, and love, even in sad or frightening situations. Joy, true joy, is only possible in Christ. I'm willing to bet that Sts. Peter and Paul were some of the most joyful men to ever live. They knew Jesus, talked to Him, served Him, loved Him. They looked to Him for their every need, trusted him completely, even when faced with some of the most difficult situations one could imagine. How could you not be completely radiant with joy when you are that close to Jesus? What is the difference between us, today, and Sts. Peter and Paul? Why are we not as joyful as they were? We can be with Jesus, in person, in the Holy Eucharist. Though His image is not present to us, He is there, physically present under the form of bread and wine. We can talk to Him, both when sitting with Him in person or in our hearts, wherever we are. We can trust Him, abandoning our lives to the providence and love of God. Why would we not be joyful? We can be just as radiant with joy as the saints if we only look to Him.

Wishing you all a very happy Valentine's day! Today we celebrate love. In English, we have one word for love. In Greek, there were at least four... Let's look at the most common! Philio- The love shared between friends. Storge- The love shared between family. Eros- The mutual physical attraction and love between a man and a woman. All of the types of love are necessary and important, but each should direct us towards the ultimate type of love- agape. This is the total, all-consuming, sacrificial love which God has for us and which we should try to imitate. (Side note: If you'd like some seperate posts about each type of love, comment below and let me know!!) Jesus said, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." Every one of us is called to "lay down our lives" for those we love. True love means sacrifice. True love is a choice- not a feeling. You will not always "like" the people you love. We're all human. We all annoy eachother and have our little quirks. We all mess up and make mistakes. We all sin. But love conquers all of that. Love- true love- is greater than the ups and downs of life. As St. Paul says, "Love never fails." Friends, on this Valentine's day, as the world focuses solely on their romantic relationships (or lack thereof...) I encourage you to Love more deeply and fully; strive to imitate the love of God in each of your relationships: with God, with your family, your friends, your boyfriend or girlfriend. How can you lay down your life for them and love them how God loves? Some Quotes for you this Valentine's Day: “Love is the most beautiful sentiment the Lord has put into the souls of men and women.” ~ St. Gianna Beretta Molla “Let us love, since that is what our hearts were made for.” -Saint Therese of Lisieux “Intense love does not measure it just gives. ” -Saint Theresa of Calcutta “When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.” -Venerable Fulton Sheen “Love is never something ready-made, something merely ‘given’ to man and woman; it is always at the same time a ‘task’ which they are set. Love should be seen as something which in a sense never ‘is’ but is always only ‘becoming’, and what it becomes depends upon the contribution of both persons and the depth of their commitment.” -Saint Pope John Paul II “The things that we love tell us what we are.” -Saint Thomas Aquinas "Spread love everywhere you go... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier." - St. Theresa of Calcutta "You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them." -St. Therese of Lisieux "The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love; It signifies Love, It produces love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life." -Saint Thomas Aquinas And finally.... this one. WOW. "There is no place for selfishness—and no place for fear! Do not be afraid, then, when love makes demands. Do not be afraid when love requires sacrifice" -Pope John Paul II I hope you have a very Valentine's day (And Feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, of course...) and that you know just how loved you are by our amazing Lord!! With love, Catholic Teen

I’m going to be honest here. My life has been very difficult lately. I haven’t dealt with it in the best way. I’ve used busyness as an excuse to not pray as much. I’ve been irritable and have complained. I’ve allowed the stress, anxiety, and trouble with adjusting to new situations to get the best of me. I think we’ve all been there at some point in our lives. Suffering is a fact of life. I realized this afternoon that, well, God never said that this life would be easy. Yes, we have those “mountain-top” experiences, but in reality, the majority of the time is just a climb- a struggle. I’m not being pessimistic here, just realistic. Think about our Lord. He endured His suffering to give us a model of how to endure our own. He willingly accepted the cross when it was given to Him. He didn’t complain. He didn’t try and stop it. He let what was going to happen, happen. But, notice, He didn’t go looking for the cross. He didn’t look for suffering, but when it was given to Him in the form of a cross, He didn’t fight it. He embraced it. We all have suffering that we can’t avoid and didn’t choose. These are our crosses. Is your cross one that involves another person? Someone who annoys you endlessly or who has caused a major change in your life? Friend, He sees you. Love them as best you can. In doing this, you are loving both them and God and giving purpose to your suffering. Is your cross a health condition? Friend, He sees you. Embrace it. Yes, seek comfort and healing as much as you can, but willingly accept whatever happens to you. Offer it to Christ as an act of love! Is your cross one of an interior nature? Scrupulosity? Anxiety? Depression? Friend, He sees you. Offer it to Him, taking refuge in Him and trusting in His mercy. Is your cross built up of many little crosses? Daily struggles and annoyances? Friend, He sees you. Each moment of suffering is another chance to love. Whatever it is, friend, I encourage you to embrace it. This sounds scary, but I promise you, you can do it. Suffering is going to happen anyway, so you might as well use it for good!! I think of St. Therese of Lisieux as an example of embracing suffering. She offered to Jesus even her littlest sufferings- moments of humiliation and annoyance, for example- and gave them to Him as offerings to His merciful love. Suffering can be turned into an act of love for God, allowing us to grow in virtue and love God and our neighbor. St. Francis of Assisi is said to have gone around crying out, “Love is not loved! Love is not loved!” When we embrace our suffering by abandoning ourselves to the mercy and love of God, we allow ourselves to be loved by Love Himself, and we, in turn, love Him. So many people have rejected His gift of love, the innumerable graces that He wishes to give. How would that make Him feel? How would we feel if the majority of gifts we ever offered were rejected? If those we most deeply and intimately loved chose to be miserable rather than accept our help and love? We would feel unloved, unneeded. Suffering without Love is dead. Suffering with Love is life, is an imitation of Our Lord and a gift to Him. Offering your sufferings to Jesus and asking Him to help you out and give you all the graces that no one else wants, both helps you to patiently endure your suffering and to console His wounded heart. This afternoon, I saw once again that the suffering I’ve been given is yet another opportunity to love. No, we don’t have to be happy all the time, and it's okay to cry, vent, and be upset sometimes, but when we offer our suffering to Christ as an act of love, our suffering is redeemed in our own lives and we show our love for our Lord. Friend, whatever you are going through, I invite you to offer it up. Carry that cross right alongside Jesus for love of Him. St. Francis was right- Love is not loved. When we use our sufferings as acts of love for God and for the world, our trials gain new meaning, and we let Love Himself be loved.

"Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, 'Ephphatha!' (that is, 'Be opened!') And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, 'He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.'" Mk 7:31-37 Friends, today's Gospel reading is a fantastic reminder for us that each day gives us a new opportunity to ask God to help us to be open to His will. In what area of your life do you need to "be opened?" Physically? Mentally? Spiritually? When we are open to God's working in our lives, amazing things can happen. "Open my eyes, Lord Help me to see your face" "Open my ears, Lord Help me to hear your voice" "Open my heart, Lord Help me to love like you" ~From the song "Open My Eyes" by Jesse Manibusan Lord, I ask you to open my heart, my eyes, my ears to Your will and Your working in my life. I trust in You. I trust in Your plan. You do all things well. You make the deaf hear and the mute speak. Your works are marvelous, O Lord. Please help me to be open to your will.

Saint Valentine ​ The story: Saint Valentine was a Roman priest and martyr during the Third Century. He was first arrested for performing marriage ceremonies for young Christian couples during the persecutions. Legend has it that He healed the daughter of his jailer, and before his execution, wrote a note to the girl, signed, "From your Valentine" thus, giving us the tradition of sending Valentines to those we love. If you're sending a Valentine to someone you love this month, think of it as imitating a saint rather than helping the greeting card companies!! ​ Feast day: Feb. 14 ​ Patron of: Engaged couples, Beekeepers, Fainting, Epilepsy, Happy Marriages, Love, Lovers, Young people (!!!) ​ Find the novena here! ​ Saint Valentine, we thank you for giving and living your life in love for Christ and His people. We ask you to intercede for us in our relationships and to watch over the people who we will someday be called to marry. Please pray for the protection of all who are dating or engaged, that they will live their lives in joyful love and service. Take us under your care and help us to love God and our neighbor.

I asked readers and some of my friends and family to submit questions for this Q&A post. Thank you to all who helped out with this!! 😊 If anyone has anymore questions feel free to comment or send me an email. Enjoy! Q. What inspired you to have a blog for Catholic Teens? A. You. You inspired me to start this blog. You are a beloved Child of God and He loves you so much and has a plan for you. That's why I'm doing this- so you know you're not alone in this. Being a Catholic teen is definitely not easy in our world today, but if we stick together we'll find that there are so many of us all going through similar things. And.... also because I love Jesus and like to write about Him 🤭 Q. How can I focus on prayer and not let any distractions get to me during prayer? A. This is a hard one! I struggle with this all the time. I think the best thing to do is just to keep trying. When you find your mind wandering, just go back to God. Ask Him to help you overcome the distraction. All God asks is that you try. Distractions are not sins; they're an opportunity to grow in patience with yourself and in fortitude. Don't give up! Pray for and about whatever's on your mind. Use the distraction for good. If you're getting distracted by outside things it can be helpful to put your phone on silent during your prayer time and to dedicate a specific spot in your house to prayer. This can help you to focus and eliminate distractions from your environment. Read about how to do that here! Q. Why do Catholics believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist? A. We believe that Christ is present in the Eucharist, because, well, He said that He is! At the Last Supper, Christ instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist, giving His apostles bread and wine and telling them that it was His Body and Blood. We believe that Jesus meant what He said- that the consecrated bread and wine truly become His body and blood and not mere symbols. (Read more about this here.) After the consecration during Mass, only the form of the bread and wine remain (how they look, taste, feel, etc.) but their true matter is that of the Body and Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. (Think of it this way: If I have a statue of Abraham Lincoln, the form of the statue might be stone, but the matter of the statue, that which makes it a statue rather than a hunk of rock, is Abraham Lincoln.) The USCCB explains it clearly on this page. The Catechism of the Catholic Church's section on the Eucharistic beliefs of the Church can be found here. Yes, the Eucharist is a difficult teaching to accept, but if one reads the biblical and historical evidence and simply has faith that Christ's words are true, they will come to believe. 😊 Q. One of my friends is Catholic. Why do I see her "cross herself"? A. Great question! What you are referring to is called the sign of the cross. Each of us is marked with the sign of the cross at our Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When someone blesses themselves in this way (typically before or after praying) they are reminding themselves that they belong to God and of the nature of the Trinity. This is why they say "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." These words also dedicate the prayer to God. There are numerous graces associated with making the sign of the cross, but these are the two main ones. This is a simple article that goes into some more detail. Q. What Catholic Apps do you like using and recommend? A. My personal favorite is Catholify! Along with providing the daily readings, the Bible, Catechism, Virtual Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet, numerous prayers, live adoration, Mass times, Pope Tweets, confession guides, and much more, they also have prayer groups with people from all around the world. It is amazing to be able to connect and pray with other Catholics from all over the country and world. I also really like Augustine Institute's Amen app. It's just like another popular Catholic app that does audio meditations (which I will not name here...) but is completely free! I have an entire post covering this topic. You can read it here: Catholic Apps Q. Why do Catholics fast during Lent? A. Catholics view Lent as a penitential season, meaning that it is a time of penance and sacrifice. We use the forty days before Easter to pray and fast, preparing our hearts and minds for Easter and contemplating Christ's sacrifice for us. We abstain from eating eat on Fridays, and fast (eating two small meals that, when combined, do not equal the third large meal) on Ash Wednesday, and Good Friday. Fasting is a historical practice that reaches all the way back to the Biblical Jews. Lessening the amount of food that you eat for spiritual purposes is a mild but effective form of mortification and a small way to participate in Christ's passion by offering up your own sacrifices for souls. Q. What are some Catholic books that you'd recommend? A. Read my posts on this topic for some awesome book recommendations: Book Reviews- Catholic Answers Book Reviews- Stories Book reviews- Devotionals and Prayer Books One of my favorite novels is In the Palace of the Great King: a Catholic Novel. by Julie Ash. You can read my review for it here. Q. How does one start a Catholic blog? A. I Love this question!! I use Wix to update my website and write my post. It's taken a while to get used to but overall the free version is very easy to use... No coding involved!! (It can be used for any sort of website, not just one that's Catholic 😉) You'll also need to figure out which topic you're going to blog about. My blog began as one for resources such as apps and book recommendations, but I've grown to enjoy writing scripture reflections and providing practical ways to live out our faith as Catholic teenagers, so that's what I write about! Find what you like and use it for God's glory. Q. How do we know that the Catholic Church is the one to go to? A. You can know that the Catholic Church is THE ONE because it's the one that Christ Himself established. Why would anyone need or want to go anywhere else? The Church can trace Her roots all the way back to when Christ said "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,* and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18) The Church has existed since the moment that Christ established it, and because of Christ's promise in this verse, we know that it will endure until the end of time. Jesus also prayed, "And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one" (John 17:22). He wished that His Church, His community of believers, would be unified in all things, including theological beliefs, and He has preserved this unity in His Church. I strongly encourage you to read more about this topic in a post I wrote here Q. Are you saved? A. Well, yes and no. As Catholics, we believe that we are saved through Christ's death and resurrection; we believe that we are being saved by our cooperation with grace as we journey through this life on the way to Heaven; we believe that we will be saved when Christ takes us to Heaven after our particular judgment. So yes, we believe and hope that we will be going to Heaven, but we do not believe that you have to pray a certain prayer one time in your life, and then you will be saved forever. That view, though accepted by many Christian protestant denominations, is not biblically accurate. Q. Are Catholics cannibals? A. Great question!! Short answer: NOPE. Long answer, you can read here because Catholic Answers can say it better than I ever could 😂 Q. Why do we kneel so much in church? A. Kneeling is an act of reverence and humility before God. We kneel before the Blessed Sacrament because God is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. When we are at Mass we kneel at the most sacred moments in the liturgy, physically demonstrating reverence towards God. Q. Do priests have to go to confession? A. Yes!! All priests, just like any other Catholic, are required to go to confession at least one time per year. All priests have a confessor: another priest who regularly hears their confession. Q . How old do you have to be to become a priest? A. It varies from diocese to diocese, but typically you must be at least 17 years old and a high school graduate to apply for candidacy in your diocese. After this, you would have at least 6-9 years of preparation and discernment before you're ordained. The youngest ordained priests (currently) are probably ordained at around age 25. Q. What is a Vocation and how do you know which Vocation God has picked for you? A. You can read all about this in my Vocations posts! Vocations Resources An Interview with a Priest An Interview with a Religious Sister Some Vocation Tips... An Interview with a Seminarian World Day of Prayer for Vocations Called for a Purpose, Called to Love Q. Why do Catholics have a Pope? A. The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church. He has spiritual authority over all of the faithful and leads and guides the Church. The first pope was St. Peter. Jesus names Peter as the head over all the apostles when he renames him from "Simon" to "Cephas" which translates to Peter and means "rock". He also gives him the "keys to the kingdom" which gives him the authority to "bind and loose" (this is explained here.). He also has primacy over the other apostles. When Peter died, the Church did not just fizzle out and die too! A successor was elected, and to this day, each Pope (and consequently bishop and priest) has direct apostolic succession all the way back to Christ. Q. Can Catholics believe in ghosts? A. The word "ghost" literally means spirit. So yes, we believe in spirits. God can allow any spirit to appear to anyone at any time, whether the soul is in Heaven (as in an apparition of a saint), hell, or Purgatory. So yes, ghosts could be real if God permitted them to be, but it doesn't seem likely that a random one would come and "haunt" an abandoned house.... Jimmy Akin explains it well in this article.