When I was a little kid, I HATED Ash Wednesday. Christmas was always fun, feast days were nice too, but Ash Wednesday? It marked the beginning of giving something up and taking out all the nice “Alleluias” and goodness, it was already the dead middle of winter.

Now, though, I really love Ash Wednesday. It’s a time to look forward.

We look forward to the period of temptation that is before us. I don’t know about ya’ll, but spiritual warfare seems to go up by about 110% during Lent. Ash Wednesday is this refreshing day to see the battlefield in front of us. Luckily, though, it’s the reminder that we already know the outcome.

Christ conquered sin and death. Like, HOW AMAZING DOES IT EVEN GET?!

Our Lord, our Savior, our King, our Creator, He conquered death out of LOVE.

Ash Wednesday is a time to prepare for 40 days of sacrifice, and it’s a time to begin reflection towards Easter. It’s also a time, however, to look forward to what we get to celebrate: life, fully with Christ.

So this Lent, whatever you’re doing, remember that we already know the end. This isn’t about looking Holy or becoming a better or healthier person, this is about a total and humble recognition of what He has done out of Love.

Don’t get wrapped up in the externals of Lent. Get wrapped up in His crazy, infinite love.

Peace,

Avery

(P.S. A lot of people have been asking about good meat-free recipes for Lent. I happen to be vegetarian, so I’ll compile some to post later!)

Hey guys! Here’s a review and promotion for the book “Holier Than Thou” from Lifeteen. It’s written by Mr. Mark Hart and Mr. Greg Iwinski and it is AWESOME.

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about Saints, check it out

www.livewtl.com
www.lifeteen.com

Peace,
Avery

Keep on sending in questions, and check out our new Ask Catholics blog!

Peace,

Avery

It’s been forever, but here’s what’s going on for Live Out Loud in 2012:

We’re starting something new called “Scripturally Speaking”. It’s an initiative to give us as Catholic teens a better understaning for the Bible

A lot of Catholic teens are really lacking when it comes to knowledge and appreciation for the Scriptures. So what we’re doing is coming together to provide Biblical history, insight, ideas on Lectio Divina, etc. to explain some of the greatest stories in the Bible.

In this, we’re hoping to encourage Catholics to dive into the Word, and experience the Word of God in a new way.

Feel free to send in your favorite passage or one you want explained either on here or on Ask Catholics.

So excited about where the Lord will take this, and I love you all!

Peace,

Avery

-1 Corinthians 9:19, 22-23

This comes from this week’s second reading.

Becoming a slave to all….what does that mean?

Our society and our culture presents this image to us that it’s all about “ME, ME, ME”. It’s all about, “Who am I?” “Who do I want to be?” “What do I want to do?” “How will this help me?” College, clothes, jobs, it’s all about how I feel and how this is going to affect ME.

It’s easy to get caught up in the little things in life. We get frustrated about a test at school and forget how blessed we are. We don’t feel like talking to a friend who needs someone and we don’t reach out to them. We bring others down by a negative perspective. We see someone struggling and we don’t offer to help. We forget the dignity of another person and put them down. Anything, really.

It’s where that part of the Confiteor we  often forget, “for what I have done, and what I have failed to do…” comes in. We make the excuse that something was inconvenient, that we didn’t have time, or just that we realllllllly didn’t want to.

Not to make this whole post some kind of turn-or-burn guilt trip…..I just want to challenge you to go deeper. We’re called to be slaves to all….to empty ourselves and be full of Christ.

The readings this week talk about doing everything for the sake of the Gospel.

That is, to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world and work towards the Heavenly Kingdom. That’s not “part” of why we’re here. That’s not “something to think about.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, Christ did not institute the Church as an occasion for us to get all high and mighty and dress up pretty and sing as loud as we can and then go get coffee and have a nice family afternoon. That’s dandy, but Christ came with a message.

And it is our SOLE duty, our SOLE responsibility as Christians to share that message.

So going back to the me, me, me thing. A lot of times people complain about being used. They’re “overworked, overtired, burned-out”. Read any self-help book and you’ll be delighted with the idea that we should all just learn to say no more often and then we’ll have time for what’s really important…ourselves.

That’s why self help books make millions. That’s why Christians are persecuted.

Christianity is about emptying oneself out and being full with Christ. It’s about working tirelessly for the Kingdom. It’s literally about going to the ends of the earth to spread the Good News to all nations and all people.

John 3:30 puts it nicely. “He must increase, I must decrease.” And yes, it may burn us out and make us exhausted. That’s holy suffering. And no, on our own that’s not possible. But with His grace, and as Luke 1:37 and Phillipians 4:13 both state, there’s nothing we can’t do through God, and all things are possible through Him.

Jesus came as our Lord and our Savior to empty himself in love for us. He poured out his blood, and literally gave EVERYTHING. The message of Christianity isn’t to see what kind of volunteer positions will nicely fit in your schedule and add to your college resume to be a well rounded individual. The message of Christ was to live in humble obedience and service to the Lord.

Keeping our eyes on His Kingdom, that’s the only important thing.

So today, make your faith more than something to “think about”. Live it.

Peace,

Avery

Greater things are yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city.

I normally am not a fan of statistics since I feel like they de-value a human life, but take a look at this number:

163,000 Christians die every year because of their faith.

In America, we’re kind of jaded and in this bubble where this doesn’t particularly affect us. We don’t see it happening. We get a mean comment on our Bible verse tumblr post or facebook status or someone questions our beliefs about Mary and we freak out and say it’s persecution. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people in Tennesse say, ” I suffer so much for my faith, and people just don’t understand”. Honey, it’s time for a perspective change. That’s not persecution.

Look back to the Roman Empire if you want to see persecution. That’s when some of our greatest apologists in the faith come from… Martyrs are some of our most incredible saints because they provide the testimony that they are so in love with Jesus Christ that they’re fully willing to give up their lives to show that.

Let me rephrase. “Give up their lives” sounds too poetic.

They were willing to be crucified upside down, roasted alive on a stake, stoned, cut into pieces, and have their heads chopped upfor the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

It goes back to 1 Corinthians 9:23 where Paul says, “I do all this for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share in it’s blessings.”

We’re blessed to live in a place where we CAN live our faith and we DO have the freedom to express it.

We can stand up to the mandate the government is passing right now. We can pray at abortion clinics and save lives and share testimony. We can talk to the person next to us on a plane about the Lord and His mercy. Heck, we can read our Bible in Starbucks, if you want to get really basic.

But many times, even with this incredible blessing of freedom in our faith, we fall back into the shadows and just blow off the things God puts on our hearts as “good ideas”. We never move. 

We procrastinate and wait for other people to do things, calling it discernment. We don’t have the courage to truly MOVE and live for the Lord.

See, being Christ’s disciple doesn’t mean waiting until another volunteer meeting comes up so we can sign up to bring spaghetti to church. (Obviously being involved in pastoral things is super awesome…just keep reading though) Being a disciple of Christ though means building up His Church without having it handed to you as a task.

It means being so fully enveloped in God that you’re inspired tomove for His kingdom….just don’t let it stop there. 

Don’t stop with the warm and tingly feeling of God’s love. Allow Him to take control and use you to accomplish what it is that He leads you to! As servants and slaves of Christ, we work for Him with joy.

We have such a blessing to be in a place where we can live our faith.

So let’s.

Stop being lukewarm, and let’s allow Jesus of Nazareth to lead our lives anew.

The martyrs were willing to die for Christ. So let’s go to step one…Are we at least willing to serve Him?

Peace,

Avery

Question: Hello, I came across your blog I am a Christian, without a real denomination. I am huge on the body of Christ unifying and not diving themselves. Even if we have certain practices, like praying to Mary for Catholics, it should not divide us as a whole. We follow Christ first above our churches. Do you consider other denominations just as important as yours? Would Catholics have a problem serving with other Christians as one under Christ? Just curious, I don’t know too much about the beliefs(:

Answer: 

Awesome question, and thanks for sending it in

Alright, let’s talk about the first part. YES. We are all part of the body of Christ. We all belong to the same God. And….we’re all going to the same Heaven. He loves each and every one of us unconditionally, no matter what religion we profess. Romans 12:5 clearly states that “in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Also, in Galatians, Paul writes that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

So in that respect, I totally agree with you. Christians were meant to be unified.
So as Catholics, do we consider other denominations as important as our own? Absolutely. And would we ever have a problem serving with other Christians under Christ? Absolutely not.

But what do Catholics believe about other Christians?
We do believe that the Catholic Church has the fullness of truth. We do have beliefs such as purgatory, the Pope, Mary, the Saints, etc. that set us apart. However, the word Catholic literally means “universal”.

That’s the basics. We’re different, but we’re all Christians and it comes down less to the denomination, rather than the denominator. (Christ)

I really appreciate the question and thanks for reading! I know this wasn’t super direct because a lot of questions can come from this, but I definitely want to encourage you to keep on sending them in.

Peace,
Avery

This is part of our new Ask Catholics ministry! Check it out

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Here are a couple of  links that may be of interest to you: Franciscan Friars of the Renewal  and   Catholic Underground

Peace,

- Joe

I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the lives of the Saints, our holy brothers and sisters in Christ lately. I’ve been reading St. Louis de Montfort’s book on the consecration to Mary, and I’ve just been thinking.

It’s time to go deeper.

I came across the quote from Luke above and it really hit home for me. We’re either with Christ, or we’re against him. A middle ground doesn’t really exist.

As C.S. Lewis said, he’s either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. And if we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, we need to follow the disciple’s example, take up our nets, and follow him.

Now I’m not a fisherman. I’ve maybe caught two fish in my entire life and it happened to be at one of those tacky off-the-interstate fun family activity kind of ponds. So when I’m saying that I need to take up my net and follow the Lord, that’s not what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about abandoning it all to Him. My struggles with school, ministry work, modesty, chastity, humility, trust, spiritual warfare, friends, family, fear, frustration. All of that.

If I’m either for Christ or against Him, I need to be willing to be COMPLETELY open to His will.

But I’m not going to lie. That kind of scares me.

Reading the book on the consecration to Mary made me sick to my stomach. Not because I don’t think it’s a beautiful thing to do, because I’m scared to death that it will take me to a place I’m not ready to go. It involves not just the trust in God that you hear about in country songs. It requires the trust in God that you hear about in Abraham. And St. Miguel Pro. And people like that.

Pouring my life out to God isn’t nearly as comfortable as just dressing up pretty and going to church on sunday and following the rules and being a “Good Catholic”.

So to be completely honest, it’s frightening.

Abandoning my heart, my life, my soul to the Lord scares me.

But the Bible tells us time and time again, be not afraid. (365 times, actually!)

Cause here’s the thing: I’m not strong enough alone. I can’t do it by myself.

But Luke 1:37 beautifully shows…nothing is impossible with God. 

With the faith of a mustard seed, we can move mountains.

Only with God, only through God, and only for God.

So faith and trust is an all or nothing thing.

Be not afraid