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On this episode of  “Talkin’ Faith with Catholic Sis!”Catholic Sis talked  about the three ways that you can find God in your life as a teen, why I love confession, as well as a few more pictures from my week – and some great questions that you seriously aren’t going to want to miss – so stay right where you are.

First Segment: 3 Ways to Find God in Your Life as a Teenager:

I have heard countless young people tell me, “Catholic Sis, I can’t find God” or “I don’t know how to get closer to Him, you know, like connect.” I think that it is an issue that many young people experience at one time or another in their lives. Kent, tonight I’m going to tell everybody three major ways to connect with God on a personal level, but before I do that, are there any specific examples that come to mind for you?
Mass: The first way is Holy Mass. While it seems like such a common thing, and thus might not be thought of very much, Mass is one of the best ways to find and connect with Christ. As we’ve talked about on the show before, when we think about what Mass really is, there is no excuse for it to be boring, and we can see that it can safely be defined as one of the best ways to connect with our Lord. Quick refresher – what is Mass? Well, Mass is the ultimate sacrifice, the celebration of Jesus giving His Body and His Blood for us in order to give us the chance to have eternal life with Him in heaven, and to show us once and for all exactly how much He loves me and you. This hits us on such a personal level, that it is easy, then, to draw a connection between the Mass and ourselves. We can connect with God in Mass, because when you think about it, the Mass is God’s way of saying “I love you.”
Confession: Confession is always one of the most difficult and uncomfortable topics I talk about, but it is also one of my favourites. Why? Because the intimacy of the confessional is the one place that we can completely be ourselves, as we are before Christ who isn’t there to condemn us, rather, He is there to welcome us home. It is therefore, to me, the most personal and powerful way to connect with Christ outside of Mass. It can sometimes be a painful affair for people, which I can agree with, because no body wants to admit their sins. The good news is – ready for this? The priest can’t tell anyone what you said in confession, nor will he remember, because priests pray for that grace. So, although it is hard to do – I look forward to the intimate encounter with Christ every time I go to confession. Because of the personal nature of this sacrament, it is a powerful healing encounter with Christ. In it, He meets you where you are in your life with no strings attached. You must only be sorry.
Prayer: What is prayer? Prayer is speaking by lifting our hearts and minds to God. It is a very personal way to connect with and draw closer to Christ because it is having a personal, one on one conversation with our Lord. We don’t have to speak in old Victorian English; we can speak like we usually would with a friend because, after all, Jesus is our ultimate and best friend. There are so many different types of prayer, in fact I wrote a post on that on my website catholicsis.com (https://catholicsis.com/why-bother-with-prayer-anyway/) You can check out this post to find out some different ways to pray, which include, believe it or not, more than the typical Hail Mary and Our Father. You can pray through nature, Eucharistic adoration, music, as well as written prayers such as the rosary, litanies, and the traditional prayers we were taught as children. Also, there are novenas. Last week, someone asked me if novenas actually work – and the answer is yes! My favourite novena, the “Storm Novena” consists of storming the gates of heaven once an hour for nine hours to plead your case. The post I was talking about earlier on catholicsis.com shows you the link to this no fail prayer. https://catholicsis.com/why-bother-with-prayer-anyway/ If prayed in the usual conditions, in the state of grace, and with sincerity God will grant your request if it is in line with His will for you.

Second Segment: A Week in the Life of Catholic Sis Through Pictures:

Last week I gave you a sneak peek into a week in the life of Catholic Sis, and there was such a great response from you that I decided to do a few more this week. So tonight I have a few snapshots, taken by me, that show you what I’ve been up to in the last week.
Balancing on a Log – I am an outdoorsy gal, to an extent, so last weekend I went to one of my local parks and did some exploring. I took a picture, or rather, made my sister take a picture of me, because it made me think that sometimes it is hard to keep your balance and follow Christ when the world is threatening to pull you off your balance. But then, I got home and noticed that the picture was blurry – kind of like when we are trying to manoeuvre our way through life without God. We need Him to make things clear.
 Swing – While I was at the park, I decided to go sit on the swings. Sometimes it’s nice just to take a break from the chaos and take a moment to enjoy the present.
 Hand Print – Yes, I had a lot of fun on my outdoor adventure. I saw this huge stump left from a fallen tree, and when I put my hand next to it – it makes me look very, very small. Kind of like how big we are in comparison to the love and mercy of God, eh?
Food – I was tweeting about this. On Monday, I spent the whole day cooking with my grandma and a good friend of mine. I was making cabbage rolls and sweet bread meat pies, and muffins. I felt like the woman described in Proverbs 31 who takes care of her family.
Books – People ask me all the time “Catholic Sis, what are you reading?” So I thought I would take a picture and tell you what’s on my book shelf. If you want to pick up any of these books, head over to catholicsis.com https://catholicsis.com/what-im-reading/ and you can see all the books that I’ve been reading, and buy them to add to your collection – and help support me a bit too. I’ll be tweeting the link to this out after the show, and I want to hear what you’re reading, and what your favorite books are.
a. Tweet Inspiration by Mark Hart
b. I Kissed Dating Good Bye by Joshua Harris
c. Matched by Allie Condie
d. The Fullness of Purpose by Ken Yasinski
e. Chastity is For Lovers by Arleen Spencely (Who may or may not be coming on the show sometime in the future.)
f. Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly

Third Segment: Questions to #askcatholicsis

Q & A’s from the Chat Room, FaceBook, and Twitter – @MandarinSays
“If your life was a movie what song would be playing in you life’s scene now?” – I would have to say “More of You” by Colton Dixon, I love that song because it reminds me that every thing I do and every person I help and minister to is for Him, and everything that I get is from Him. It also reminds me that my life isn’t about me at all – it is to make Him greater and known by more people.
“Holiest moment for you?”– Well, heaven knows that I am anything but holy, so I’ve interpreted this to mean “the moment when I felt the holiest.” The answer that I would give is a weekend retreat I went to, which is when I first felt called to youth ministry. I went to confession and Mass, and then Eucharistic adoration. I was overwhelmed by His presence and since then have been on fire to serve Him in any way I can. If you want to read the whole story of my weekend experience, check out this post on my website https://catholicsis.com/a-once-in-a-lifetime-weekend-experience-brought-to-you-by-god/ I’ll be tweeting the link to this out after the show, and I want to hear if you’ve ever had a similar experience.

Closing Segment:

Thank you to everyone who watched and who submitted questions!
Make sure you join us next week when we continue to Talk Faith with Catholic Sis
If you have questions through out the week, make sure you send them to me either via email or Twitter using the hash tag #askcatholicsis, and who knows, they might be on next week’s show? Also, if you have a request for a post on catholicsis.com – just let me know and I’ll see what I can do.