Defend Life....

Love to be real, must cost, must hurt. It must empty us of self. Hungry for love, he looks at you. Thirsty for kindness, he begs of you. Naked for loyalty, he hopes in you. Homeless for shelter in your heart, he asks of you. Will you be that one to Him?

I walk down the pot hole, muddy street corners of Nicaragua. As I look across the street with my brother, we find 2 homeless brothers flagging us down as to get our attention. We approach the two brothers, and they greet us with a smile and laughter.I look over the youngest ones shoulder, (here in the pic, the one on the left with the sweet JO JO curls) and he looks over to his Mother, and his Mother looked like a walking skeleton. Her face was dirty, she was barefoot, she lived in a hut, she obviously did not have any money. She paused and looked dead into my eyes........ and smiled.

Why did she have these kids? they are poor, prob. without a father, impoverished, dirty, their life doesn't mean anything..... With the high rape crimes in NIcaragua she was prob. raped,They are going to live here forever and they will never get out. They will never be someone or contribute to this world. She should have aborted these kids. Why didn't she?

Hmmm maybe the same reason why Mary did not abort Jesus. Mary knew she wasn't going to have the fanciest camel in Bethlehem, or not the nicest manger. The same reason this mother knew she was destined for a lifetime of poverty. But they put their selfishness aside and knew that Life is up to the hands of the Creator. That life is the most precious gift from God. Trust me, i know all the opposing arguments and i can answer the pro-life positions with ease, but it comes down to Life and the Potential.

You see, it wasnt a mistake that those poor brothers encountered me and my brother. God was sending a message to both of us, that we are precious and honored, in his eyes and he loves us Is 40:3.How did God talk to us? through the smile and laughter of this poor family...

Here in America over 4,000 babies are slaughtered in their mothers womb, they never get that chance to smile and make others laugh. Having encountered many teens and kids in my ministry, i have been able to see the beauty in every single one of them, yes including my lil sis holding a fake baby in this picture(crystal). I have been able to see the extraordinary love that God has for them. The gift of Life. That is why we have to stand up for our brothers and sisters being murdered daily. We may never know, that brother could have been my brother or sister who is giving the smile, better yet receiving the smile.

Well those two poor brothers turned to me and with a smile from Jesus, clutched their fist and embraced it with my fist. Jesus looking at me and saying," Good Job you recognized me".

My Last Talk at Youth Group....

The Last Lesson This was my last lesson at Youth Group and the message is simple, the only thing we need is, To Know, Love and Serve God.

Well Youth Group has come to an end and it was a Beautiful Struggle

"If you are what you should be, then you will set the world on fire."
- St. Catherine of Siena

7 Long years in the Youth Group Ministry at St. John Vianney and it has finally come to an end. If i can sum up this remarkable experience it would be "WHOA". These past 7 years of my life have been the most precious and life altering. I have to admit, Jesus ruined my life. He ruined my life so much he left a scar of God's love in my heart. I have been privileged to work with some amazing young people, who are striving for a better and closer relationship with the Lord. I could not even fathom to count the day to day blessings I encountered with these amazing people.

As for myself, being a leader has opened up my eyes to experience the Youth of this society in a new light. In the midst of losing my self in this service of others, i was able to find myself in the midst of the teens. I would lose myself in the service of the poor, the homeless, the forgotten, the empty, the anorexic, the abused child, the kid who lost his mother, the teen who got pregnant, the son who has to watch his father beat his mother, the daughter who just wants her mother to get off drugs and alcohol, and the worst of all, the unloved. You see by being in the midst of the struggle, I had to join the struggle. By joining the struggle, I joined Jesus on the Cross. It was being crucified that meant, first i was facing one direction, second i am not going back and third i have no further plans of my own.

Its simple, i would have never experienced the true meaning of joy if i did not join people in their struggles. Besides, a life of J.O.Y is JESUS FIRST, OTHERS SECOND AND YOURSELF THIRD. It was in the struggles that i was able to touch the wounds of Jesus and become a believer. In conclusion, I would like to thank all the teens i have met throughout these 7 years of my life and thank you for showing me the way to the Cross. I would also like to thank my fellow leaders for keeping me on my feet and joining me in my struggles. It was in the midst of all this that I found Jesus, our Eucharistic Love. Please pray for me and my commitment to God, because the devil knows, if he can get the Shepard he can get the sheep, if he can get the leaders, he can get the followers.