A Saint For All

I remember going to Sunday Mass and there would be lots of dogs, cats, snakes, birds, fish, and hamsters outside of the church with our priest praying over the pets to bless them.  How cool is it that we have a special day to have our pets blessed?! This was St. Francis' feast day! He was known mostly for his love of animals but had so many other qualities that radiated the love of Christ.  St. Francis was born in 1181 in Assisi and died in 1226.  I used to think it would be impossible to follow in the footsteps of someone not from our time! I mean they had it easier than us right?  They didn't have the distraction of TV, guns, internet, etc...  How can I look up to a guy who wore a brown robe?  It occurred to me that I don't have to put on a brown robe, or give up all of my money to look up to St. Francis and to use him as a model to become like Christ! It is the principal of what he did that I can use as a guide in my life. I am going to go over a couple key qualities of things I love about Saint Francis and why he is one of my favorite saints. I am currently reading a book about him which is listed in my reading list at the bottom of my blog if you are interested.


1. Relatable: St. Francis' story made me realize it is possible for me and anyone else to meet our goal of becoming saints.  Now many people think that to be a saint you have to be canonized, the Church declaring a dead person is in heaven, but that is not true.  There are many saints in heaven whose names may not be known to us.  For instance your Grandma or Grandpa who died could have gone through purgatory or straight to heaven even though the Church has not declared them a saint. St. Francis was a young man who was said, by himself and those around him, to have lived in sin.  He was the leader of a group of young people who stayed up all night to party and would surround himself with people who liked living their lives in sin. Although not everyone stays up all night to party there may be other types of sin in your life where you can relate to St. Francis and his story . I think it is hard for young people to be close to God because they don't know Him and therefore don't have a relationship with Him just like St. Francis in his youth. Just as St. Francis did, you can turn a life of sin into a life of love and holiness. For people that are not so young anymore they can reflect on St. Francis' life and compare it to their own life.

2. Humility: There is a story of St. Francis riding a horse when he came upon a leper.  St. Francis was repulsed by the smell and looks of the leper.  He jumped off of his horse and kissed the lepers hand and when the leper returned the kiss to St. Francis' hand he was immediately filled with happiness. As St. Francis rode off on his horse he turned around and the leper was no longer there.  St. Francis felt this was a test from God. Leprosy was a disease that was not curable at the time. People with this disease were shunned from society because of their looks and smells. Is leprosy still around? Yes.  Are you likely going to see someone with leprosy? Probably not.  But this got me thinking of when I'm driving or walking down the road and I see someone who doesn't look clean, and whose smell takes my stomach for a turn. I thought of all the homeless people in every city and state!  This story isn't saying you should go and kiss every homeless person's hand but it is great way to show how you should treat those around you; with the same love you would give Christ.  This may not be the easiest thing to do but if you see someone with a sign asking for money and you have a dollar or some extra food from the grocery store just think of St. Francis and what he did for the leper. Show love for everyone.

There are so many more lessons from St. Francis that we can use in our daily life! I am sure he will come up in another blog post or I may write about some more of his awesome lessons another week.  As always if you have any suggestions please feel free to email me!

Ad Jesu Per Mariam,

Chris
christopheragarn@gmail.com

Edited by: Natalie Cloney

Jumping In With Both Feet!

I have so many ideas to share for my new blog; this is my third one this week! When I decided to start a blog I knew of the direction I wanted the blog to go but had to think of the specific topics I wanted to discuss.  I couldn't decided if I wanted to talk about how I overcame the struggles with teachings and the wrestling I had to do spiritually to overcome them or if I wanted to tap into my head a pull out experiences of getting serious about my faith and how I did it. After careful thinking and prayers to the Holy Spirit I decided to do both! My previous post about the Eucharist had to do with how I learned about the faith and how I came to believe in the Eucharist; this post is going to share my experience within the Church and how I view young people today starting their journey in the faith!

For the longest time when walking into a church or going to Sunday Mass I would not want to sit near the front, would look around to make sure I didn't see anyone I knew, or whould not want to look as if I was praying to hard or too serious.  I was not ashamed of what I believed in but what other people would think if they found out that I believed in my faith; that I wasn't dragged by my parents but actually wanted to go to Mass and talk to Jesus. I think this relates to how we are outside of church too! How long do you spend picking out your outfit, doing your hair, and spiffing yourself up to go out with friends? Are you afraid that other people will judge how you look if you are not wearing designer clothes or don't have perfect hair, style, swag, etc? If you were kneeling down in church with your eyes looking at Jesus on the Cross and your friend who wasn't Catholic/religious walked in and saw you would you be embarrassed?  You would try and play it off like you don't really "care"?  Because that is exactly what I used to do and what I felt like.  I saw an old friend that I went to school with (last time I saw him was about 10 years ago) at the same Mass as me and immediately felt weird. Not because I haven't seen him in a long time but because I knew he didn't practice his faith and was in town visiting his Mom. I was afraid that he was going to think of me as some crazy Christian would prayed 24/7, was no fun, and wasn't cool anymore!

I feel like this is the reason most young people in the faith have one foot in the Catholic pool water and the other leg not.  I feel like they want to take part in their faith, want to have a relationship with Jesus,

and want to experience the joy that comes along with it, but they don't want leave the "fun" part of them behind so they play an almost doubled sided person! In church when no one they know is around they can pray and be a super Christian but when their friends are around they don't want to talk about Jesus because of what their friends might think of say. You can still be a fun, cool, and loving person by loving Jesus (especially so!). I know because I am super cool :). Well it is time to jump with both feet in! It is like ripping off a Band-Aid and it is the best thing ever!

The reality is other people really don't care. They don't care how you dress on a daily basis, if you take your faith seriously, especially if they don't (although I would hope they would support you!).  The person you should be worried about is Jesus.  How would he want you to dress, how would he want you to pray, and how would he like it if you were embarrassed of him? I always think that I am going to meet him face to face one day and I don't want him to be embarrassed by me!

Love Jesus, love your friends, love your family, and don't be afraid to share your love of Jesus and his Church with the world!!!

"...and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:22)


Ad Jesu Per Mariam,

Chris
christopheragarn@gmail.com


"Why are we more concerned with being socially accepted than with saving souls?"

The Eucharist

The Eucharist

This evening I was putting tabs together for my new Bible I received for Christmas (thanks Mom!) and was flipping through some apologetic pages.  One section caught my eye and brought me back to the first couple of months I started to really pay attention and participate at Mass. I remember how boring and long it seemed to go on! I felt like I was going to the gym with all the kneeling, standing, sitting, etc... The more I was attentive the more I saw the joy and reverence surrounding the consecration (bread and wine becomes the Body and Blood of Christ) of the Holy Eucharist.  Why is it important?  Is it really Jesus? 

In Catholic elementary school I remember learning about the Eucharist being the Body and Blood of Jesus. At the time that registered in my brain as no big deal.  The priest says things and it becomes Jesus. So in my head it wasn't anything big or spectacular that peaked my interest but I knew it was important because it was the "center of our faith" whatever that means. So I decided to do a little digging to try and grasp something about the Eucharist that would connect with me; something to stick in my head to believe it.
I found the book "7 Secrets of the Eucharist" and could not put it down! (http://www.ignatius.com/Products/SSE-P/7-secrets-of-the-eucharist.aspx) So many facts in the book that I have heard people say but never explain helped me understand at least what the Eucharist is and why it is so important! It is the actual Body of Christ that doesn't look, taste, sound, smell, or feel like him.  Mysterious! So I figured out what the Eucharist is and it led me to thinking about why do we need to receive the Eucharist and how do I know it is really Jesus. Well the Bible is a good place to start and hopefully the internet can tell me more if need be.
So I found where Jesus says "Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." (Matthew 26:26); "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19); What sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you?...He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world. They said to him, Lord, give us this bread always. Jesus said to them I am the bread of life..." (John 6:30-36); Partaking of the Supper Unworthily (1 Corinthians 11:27-34); "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." (John 6:53) WOW! He said it is his body.  That is easy for me to understand! Jesus said it is his body, it is his body. To put the cherry on top in John 6:54, the very next verse, the original language is the word trogo which means "to gnaw". Okay well I don't think if Jesus wanted use to talk symbolically about his body he would say to gnaw it when doing it in remembrance of him!
Alright Jesus I know what the Eucharist is, why it is important, and that is it truly the Body and Blood of Christ! Well why do we have to receive him?  He said we will not have life within us! Physical life we will, but spiritual and eternal life? When we receive Jesus we are united with his Body.  He is truly present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity!  Much more meaning to me now that I know it is truly Jesus! But why do we need to go to Mass every Sunday?  Short answer?  Why wouldn't you want to receive him as often as possible!!!

I hoped this short blog showed my struggle and journey into The Eucharist.  It is still a struggle when worldly views come in and I just have to remind myself of the word to gnaw.  Also in most churches there is Eucharist Adoration, where Jesus is exposed 24/7 to talk to.  He is waiting for you to go and visit him!

As always feel free to email me with any topics you would like me to talk about!

In Christ through Mary,

Chris

christopheragarn@gmail.com

My First Post!

My First Post!

Yay! This is my first blog and my first post! My name is Chris...nice to meet you!  A little about me; I am a 23-year-old from Sacramento, CA and a practicing Catholic.  I was brought up Catholic, attended Catholic elementary school, public high school, and public college.

After elementary school I stopped going to church, didn't practice my faith, and didn't even have a clue of who God really was and why I was put on this earth (still trying to figure that one out)!  To make a long story short, after being wrapped up in the world and totally trying to hide from God's love I had an experience that would bring me back to my Catholic faith and, God willing, won't let me leave.  When I first experienced God's love it was the best "high" I have ever had.  It was better than anything artificial I had used/taken in my life to get that feeling.  I felt like nothing mattered in this world and the after effects of this "high" lasted 2 days.  At the point I wanted to learn everything I could about the Catholic faith and I was not disappointed with the rich history! It gave me strength to know of all the Saints and Angels that I could turn to and relate to while struggling to understand and accept the teachings of my faith.

So that is a little about me and my background.  I wanted to make this blog to relate to the young Catholics that may being having the same struggles I do on a daily basis and the strengths I have found through Christ to help me through them.  When I read blogs from others and listen to podcast from some awesome people, (catholicstuffpodcast.com/) check them out they are awesome, I never get to hear or read what other young Catholics in the church experience is like so I decided to make my own! I feel like this blog can still relate to anyone who wants to tap into what a young adult struggles with on a weekly basis and how I can rely on Christ and all my friends to help me.

I figure I will just start posting weekly (or a few times a week depending on how busy I am) with my struggle for the weeks. If any wants to email me with some topics they would like to read about my experience you can find my email below.

I hope this note finds you all well and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


In Christ through Mary,

Chris
christopheragarn@gmail.com