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In the summer of 2006, my soon-to-be youth group traveled to a Steubenville youth conference. In September of 2006, God touched my heart at the exact time I opened it to Him, just the tiniest bit. A rush of warmth came over and then, an explosion of sparkles and prettiness all around me (more on that some other time). At that moment, I left my atheistic ways and completely gave my life over to God. The next week that soon-to-be youth group became my church family, my best friends. And all they ever talked about was Zoolander, plans for the upcoming weekend and their amazing experiences at Steubenville. Their stories were about powerful encounters with Jesus and “the best praise and worship ever.” Our youth group would be going on a mission trip to Mexico that upcoming summer, so me being a senior, I knew my chances of a Steubenville experience were long gone. *Sigh* Fast forward 16 years… This summer I spent a weekend at a Steubenville youth conference chaperoning my parish’s youth group. *Yes, dream come true. Thank you, thank you! Pass the Kleenex * When I heard the youth group was in need of another female adult for the trip, I jumped at, no, attacked the chance of experiencing this conference. Now, I’m gonna lay it all out there. Sure, I was happy to hang out with some teens. My passion had been in youth ministry for years, but when baby after baby came, my focus had to shift. So, of course I wanted these kids to like me, but let’s be honest, this was about me getting the Steubenville experience. On an early Friday morning, I stepped out of my car in the church parking lot, saw a bunch of hyped up teenagers, pillows and blankets in hands and; I felt a deep desire to truly know each and every one of them. I couldn’t stand not knowing them. I didn’t even know their names and I felt this crazy need to know their souls! Once our charter bus took off, I forced myself to wait an appropriate amount of time before going total adult-loser on them. When that appropriate time came, we danced in the aisle to High School Musical. As the weekend unfolded, these kids stole my heart. They shared their stories with me and listened while I bothered them with mine. We laughed, cried and praised Jesus whole-heartedly. They expressed their frustrations, worries about life and faith. They broke my heart as I listened to their hurts. We rapped to Christian music and encouraged each other through some awful dining experiences. These kids gave me a weekend in Heaven. To my most grateful surprise, these kids were my Steubenville.  Now, you might be thinking; “That’s all great buuut, what does this have to do with Humanae Vitae?” Well, I’ll be happy to share. All of these kids have a mom, a dad, a grandparent; that said “yes” to life. Because of their “yes,” my life has been blessed beyond belief. Truly. See, Church teaching is hard. And, it can be very easily seen as annoying rules that are thrown at us simply because the Catholic Church is so out of date. But Church teaching isn’t here, just ‘cause. It’s here to save our lives. It exists, thanks be to God, for our own good. Look at this mess we are in, folks. Look at how Pope Paul Vl, through Humanae Vitae, warned us all. When the creation of Life, a Human Person, is looked at as something that must be “dealt with,” we have completely lost sight of who we are as People. Why did God ever begin creating humans? To love! YOU and me. Whether our parents created us out of complete love or not, OUR God made us because He wanted us alive so HE could love on us. All we have to do is allow His love! Those youth group kids, every single one, added so much in their own way to my life. Some were born to loving families, others have had a harder go at life. I hope one day they will understand what a treasure they are, by simply being. I pray that one day soon, all of those kids see themselves as their Father in Heaven sees them. I pray that one day soon, we will all see ourselves as our Father sees us. He doesn’t see a pill as an answer to freedom. He doesn’t see a double line on a pregnancy test as the end of the parents’ lives. He sees a creation of new Love. Whether our parents created us out of complete love or not, OUR God made us because He wanted us alive so HE could love on us. All we have to do is allow His love! What if we started seeing Life for what it is and will be? A heartbeat that will grow into someone’s husband. Tiny fingers that will grow into hands of a surgeon. Little toes that will grow into feet that take her on missionary work to save the nations. A pure, innocent soul that will grow to become someone’s life-long best friend. Humanae Vitae is a reminder of who we are. With this 50th anniversary, I hope we are all reminded. We need that reminder now more than ever.  Image courtesy Steubenville STL Mid-America 
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Do you ever feel the excitement for your Catholic faith fading out a bit? Maybe you’ve noticed you’re beginning to simply go through the motions of your faith life without that zeal you once had. Or, maybe you’re in that dry desert stage of your relationship with God. If you thought, “Yup, that’s me,” don’t be so sad, you’re just in need of some Catholic Caffeine! Here are 10 Catholic treasures that are worth “googling” to help a momma out in her time of need, in no particular order. 1) Surprised by Truth by Patrick Madrid  Girl, I’m tellin’ you. This is a gem. An easy read that’ll have you falling in love all over again with this One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. (PS: This is my go-to gift for people that are curious about the Faith.) 2) “Lord I Need You” by Matt Maher Not only is this song goooood, it’s written by a fellow Catholic! We gotta support those Catholic musicians. All of his albums are wonderful for you and your kids. Check ’em out. 3) The Fourth Cup talk and book by Scott Hahn  Blow yo mind. This will remind you/teach you just how deep and craaaazzzyy awesome our faith is. It’ll have you throwing your hands up in the air ’cause you just don’t care how weird you look ’cause, dang. And, it’s Scott Hahn. What else do you need?! 4) Novena to Our Lady Undoer of Knots Our Lady: all she wants to do is bring you closer to her Son. This novena will do that for you. You’ve got an impossible problem? Hand it on over to her, girl. 5) The Lamb’s Supper by Scott Hahn  Scott Hahn. Mass. Boom. 6) Daily Mass There is something so intimate about Daily Mass. It’s usually a small-ish number of people there and knowing that you don’t “have to be there” makes your presence in front of Jesus so special. 7) Christ is the Answer podcasts, Fr. John Riccardo Ho-ly. Spi-rit. Moment. Every single talk. Listen to while cooking, doing the dishes, laundry, whatever it is; you’ll thank yourself for tuning in to this blessing of a priest. Find his talks all neatly put together by subject. Or on your phone. 8) Theology of the Body by St. John Paul ll  Learn how beautiful the simplicity of being human truly is with TOB. If you don’t have the time to read it all, listen to some talks about it … like Fr. John Riccardo’s. 9) Real Life Catholic video series by Chris Stefanick Perfect thing to watch as a family! This series is wonderfully done. Great quality, entertaining and full of the Truth. 10) “I Shall Not Want” by Audrey Assad Another inspiring Catholic artist. Her voice will transport you to the clouds of Heaven. 11) Any Mother Angelica talk (Oops, I added an extra. Bonus nugg.) Do you know Mother Angelica? Make her your best friend. She’s not only hilarious, but feisty and has a way of delivering God’s message that is just so endearing. Her videos are available on EWTN. 12) One Beautiful Dream by Jennifer Fulwiler  (Dang it, I did it again! I should change the title…but 10 just sounds better.) I love this woman. Real, funny, light and deep all in one. Read this to help you in your discernment of who God made you to be and what only He can do within an already insane life. I hope these treasures bring more Jesus into your life! What’s on your list of Catholic Caffeine?  |
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