How to Save a Life

On how a movie can change
your awareness.

The Movie

     Last night I watched the movie To Save a Life.  It has been around since 2009, so nothing new, production-wise.  It had an amazing message, though.
     In freshman year, Jake, the star basketball player, had given up his friendship with Roger, "the social outcast" once the cool crowd picked him up.  Fast forward to senior year and Roger comes to school with a gun and commits suicide.
     Jake feels incredibly guilty about Roger's death and vows to make a difference in the life of other kids who have been rejected.  Amidst Jake's own life falling apart, he is able to make a life changing difference in his school.
     An incredibly good message, yet I have to preface this with the fact that I watched this movie on my clearplay DVD player, and some objectionable things were cut out.  The movie is rated PG-13 and it deals with a lot of heavy topics (to see if it is things you are comfortable watching, read this review .)
    
How do you interact with others?

     After watching this movie, I thought: "Well, I'm OK.  I don't do that stuff.  I'm actually pretty good compared to them."  There in lies the issue.  Because by comparing myself to others, I usually forget to look at myself. 
     Without going into detail, I found some things that I have done and some things I chose not to do.  I found some people that I treated like Christ, and others whom I did not.  I saw my life from the outside, and some things can change. 
     How about you?  Do you interact with people so that they know you are a Christian?  If you go to school, do you make it a point to sit by the kid who is alone every day?  Do you avoid going to parties because it will involve illegal drinking?  Is the way you live your life the proof of God's love to others?We are the light of the world, a city on a hill, the salt of the earth, and God's hands and feet to the world...

.....we have to make sure we are acting like it. 

Thoughtts or comments?
Let me know in the box below.
God bless you all,

Chloe M.   

   Run away, monkey!






I have to share with you the homily I heard at Mass today:

     In India and Africa they have a trick to catching monkeys.  The natives take a coconut and split in half.  After clearing out the coconut meat, they put an orange inside the coconut shell, cut a small hole at the top, and glue the halves together.
     After the preparations of the coconut, they hide it in a bush or a tree and wait.  Soon, a monkey comes along, smells the orange, and sticks it's hand in the coconut.  The monkey is able to get a hold of the orange, and attempts to pull it's hand out - but it's stuck!  The hole cut in the coconut is only big enough for just the monkey's hand.  It is physically impossible to get the orange out. 
     Yet the monkey wants the orange so badly that it won't let go, so the monkey is soon caught by the natives. 
     And if we were watching this on Animal Planet, we are sitting in our chairs and yelling: "Let go of the orange, you idiotic monkey!  Your going to die because your so selfish!  There are tons of oranges on other trees! Run! Run! Nope....too late.  Can't say I didn't warn you." 
Cool Story....what does this have to do with anything?

     In the Gospel this weekend, Jesus is confronted by a good young man.  Really, this kid had it going for him.  He was smart, rich, a good Jewish man, and he wanted to know how to get into Heaven (don't we all?). 
     Jesus says, "Follow the commandments."  The young man replies that he had followed the commandments since he was young enough to learn them.  What else could he do?
     Jesus then tells him to leave his earthly wealth and follow Christ fully.  The young man then turns around and walks away sadly, because he had many earthly possessions.
     This man, like the little monkey, was so set on keeping his hand clenched tightly around his wealth that he wouldn't let it go and be free.  Much like us in our recliners watching Animal Planet, God must be thinking: "Let go of the material goods!  Your selfishness will be your downfall!  Let go! Let go!"
     Yet we'll sit there, clutching our material goods (which we can't take with us either way we go in the end, by the way) and we become so concerned over our earthly goods that thoughts of them take precedence over God in our lives.  And we are trapped by sin and the devil.  All we have to do is let go and give everything up for the glory of God. 

So, the rich can't get into Heaven?
     Then the question arises if our material goods keep us out of Heaven.  Does this mean we have to give up everything and go live on the street? Nope. 
     If our material goods are hindering us from doing God's work, then we have to stop and take a look around us.  Those who are financially sound can do so much good for the kingdom of God.  Like the parable of the talents - the servants who are willing to give their talents away, then find their talents mutliplied.  The servant who hid his talent then found himself trapped. 

Thoughts or comments?  Let me know in the comment below!

God bless you all,

Chloe M. 

Whose cross do you carry?
Picking up our cross with Christ










We all carry crosses.  Some of them might be pretty obvious.  Other crosses may be hidden from everyone except God and you.  But the big question to ask about your cross is: Whose is it?


Whose cross do you carry?  Do you carry a cross made from your own hands?  A cross fashioned from the guilt of your unconfessed sin an nailed together with sorrow?  Or do you carry the cross of Christ?  A cross that binds you to Our Lord when you pick it up daily?

What does your cross do?  Do you carry a cross that with every step of the journey, it brings you closer to Christ?  Or do you carry a cross alone so that every step leaves you wondering where Christ is?  Christ tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  If you give your sorrows to Him, He can turn them into joy - and your cross will leave you praising God.


How do you carry your cross?  Do you carry it sacrificially, as Our Lord once did?  Do you look to His example of love and obedience to the Father as He struggled up Calvary?  Or do you use your cross as a source of frustration and complaint?  Even the way you carry your cross and bring others back to Christ.

How do you talk about your cross?  When someone asks you about your cross, do you smile and tell them about the way you offer your sacrifice up with the Lord and how it brings you closer to Him?  Or do you take it as an opportunity to vent frustration and the cross you have?
What are your thoughts on crosses?  Let me know in the comments below!

God Bless,

Chloe M. 

















 

Someone is obsessed with you.





     Psssst....His name is Jesus.  And I know this sounds really awkward, but let me explain.

     Jesus. loves. you.  And this isn't just a sentiment from a children's Sunday school song.  It's not like Christ is just sort of interested and may fall in love with you if He find time for you in His insane schedule.  Not only is He in love with you now, He's been in love with you forever.

   What's sad is the fact that we don't love God nearly as much as He loves us.  Because we can say that we love God, doesn't mean that we love Him with our lives.  We can say we love God, but does our movie choice say we love God?  Does our friend choice say we love God?  As a Christian, we should be living in the world, but not of it.  Do our life choices make people wonder what we have that's better?  Or are they shocked when you tell them your a Christian, only because you act just like everyone else?

     Jesus is literally thinking about you all the time.  How often do you think about Christ?  Once a day, when you are in your scheduled prayer time?  Three times a day when you pray before meals?  None, because you don't have time?  We are told to pray without ceasing.  We then must love God all the time - and think of Him all the time, by letting our actions show our adoration.
     "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39


God bless you all,

Chloe M.

Be Not Afraid
Conquering Fear Concerning the Future


 


Jesus said, "And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

Matthew 10:28-31


     I have talked to many young adults who are my age about being afraid of the future.  Some of us are trying to discern a religious vocation.  Some of us are up to major college choice decisions.  Some of us are having to give up what we love in exchange for our busy schedule.
    
     Pope John Paul II had one piece of advice for all of us: "Be not afraid."  To not be afraid means to simply be courageous.  Yet being courageous is incredibly challenging when we are frozen by indecision and fear.

     Every person who has fear needs to understand that God holds everything in His hands.  Including every one's future.  God has made our very soul.  We would be remissed if we didn't recognize the fact that the very creator of our souls would have a plan for each soul. 

     To live courageously is to live without worry.  This doesn't mean to live without a care for anything.  It means to live without a care in the world.  Similar to the last post about being a witness, we shouldn't care what the world's opinion of us is.  When we stand before God at our judgement, it will just be us and God.  Not the kid at school who made fun of you for being pure.  Not the friends who laughed at you because you wouldn't go to a immoral movie with them.  Listen...where will the laughter be when God turns to you, beckons, and says "Well done my good and faithful servant." 

     In the parable of the talents, we see three servants treat God's gifts very differently.  The servant that reminds me of my own actions is the one who buries the talents he was given.  We cannot move closer to God when we are frozen solid in fear of losing something.  We will lose things.  We might lose popularity, approval, the "good things of this world."  But what we gain by being courageous is worth so much more.

     BE NOT AFRAID!

God bless you all,

Chloe M.