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Miracles. I'm not talking about, "oh, the sun came up again, it's a miracle!" type of miracles. I'm talking about real, genuine science-defying miracles. I've experienced three in my short lifetime and heard of many, many more. This semester and last, I've been attending a book study with one of the priests on campus. Last semester's book was Healing: Bringing God's Gift of Mercy to the World by Dr. Mary Healy. This book is absolutely incredible and has opened my eyes to the power of the Holy Spirit. (I could talk about this for hours...) You see, by virtue of our being Children of God, we, too, have the same power in the Holy Spirit as Jesus was given at His Baptism. When the sky opened, and the spirit came upon Jesus in the form of a dove, the sky never closed again- the "dove" never left. The same power of the Spirit of God that Jesus used to perform miracles, heal the sick, bring sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, and even bring the dead to life, is still available to us. I've seen it firsthand. When I was twelve years old, I had already endured almost two years of chronic illness. I had a headache that lasted 1 year and 11 months straight with very, very few pain-free days. With this came migraines on top of my baseline headache, as well as horrible stomach issues, anxiety, and medication side effects galore. It got to be a year and eleven months in. I was in the ER for some extreme pain I was having after having a nerve block done by my PA in Philly. It was Dec. 12- the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe- and my mom and I were praying the Rosary while I tried to rest. The on-call doctor came in and checked on me. They were going to start a more aggressive treatment soon since I wasn't improving. A few minutes later, as we finished up our Rosary, the pain was gone. No pain. Nothing. The doctors had no medical explanation for it. It has never come back since. I give all the credit to Jesus and to Our Lady of Guadalupe. The second instance came just a few months ago. I found a lump on the side of my leg below my knee, and after a few days, it wasn't going away or getting any smaller, and I was ready to make an appointment to get it checked out. I have multiple chronic illnesses (though not the headaches!!), and anything additional that I find needs to be taken care of quickly. I went to the book study on healing that night, and as we wrapped up, I asked the group to please pray for me, that this thing on my leg would go away. Instead of simply interceding for me, they stopped, and prayed over me. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, my priest led us in prayer as we commanded the pain to go away and asked Jesus to take it away. Father asked me, "How do you feel?" I couldn't stop smiling, which was the first thing I noticed. My leg was also warm and sort of tingly. And I reached down and felt the spot on my leg where the lump had been. Gone. No swelling. No pain. Nothing. Our God can make even bodily tissue disappear!! He can heal anything! Everything! It hasn't come back since. The third happened just last Friday. A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to a dislocated knee cap (I have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and my body doesn't like to stick together the way that it's supposed to.) After I popped it back in, I was still in pain, so I wore a brace and stopped going to the gym for a week. After that week, I tried going to the gym again, and my knees were sliding around and very clearly not stable. Fast forward to Friday. I was meeting with my priest, and as we were finishing up our discussion, He offered to pray for the healing of my knee. I, of course, said yes, and he prayed over my knee. The muscles and joints in my leg were spontaneously moving, and my leg was warm and tingly as Father prayed over me, and we prayed that the pain would be gone and all of the bones, joints, etc, would go back to where they were supposed to be. I didn't notice any immediate change, but later that day, and since then, I have been able to run, jump, and dance... today I took a 1.5-mile hike. No knee pain!! I'll try the gym tomorrow, but I know God healed my knee. He healed my leg. He healed my head. And He wants to heal you, too. Just today, after Mass, there was a woman who was healed and was pain-free for the first time in a very long time. He wanted to heal her. He wants to heal you. Friends, God may allow pain and suffering but never WANTS it for us. He wants to heal us and use our sufferings to benefit us and those around us. Even if He does not physically heal us when we want it, how we want it, when we ask for healing, we can be certain and have faith that He is healing us, He is working in, and through us, and even if we are called to suffer in a certain way, He will still heal us in other ways, even if we can't quite see them. If you take nothing else from this, please make it this: God is real. He loves you. He wants to heal you, and He wants to work through you to heal others. The Holy Spirit is alive and well in the Body of Christ- will you let Him be alive and well in you? If you have questions about healing, what I have experienced, or would like prayers for healing, please let me know! I will pray for you (and with you when I can, if you'd like) and find answers to any questions you might have.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to our first Bible study of the semester, and the first question that was asked was, "What is one word you would use to describe the start of the semester so far?" And the word just rolled off of my tongue- "Balanced." I don't know where it came from, but it's true. The start of my semester has been balanced. And I got to thinking about it, normally I would have said something like, "exhausting" or "crazy." I realized that so many of us as young people tend to look at life from a negative point of view. Perhaps it's from all that we've been through in the past few years, or because of the influence of social media, or too much news, or any number of things- but whatever the cause is, pessimism seems to have infected our generation. So, when I said that my semester so far has been balanced, I was surprised. I found myself pondering what the difference is between this and other semesters. Why am I balanced? I think it's been a few things... #1. Taking care of myself I've been eating better, going to the gym every other day, getting enough rest, getting all of my homework done, praying frequently, reading more, and spending more time with my friends. Managing my time has been so incredibly helpful. #2. Focusing on God The days when every day starts and ends with Him are so much more fruitful and beautiful. But the thing I think has changed my mindset the most has been an attitude of gratefulness and surrender. As you'll see from another recent post, my theme for the year is gratefulness. I've found myself pondering the good parts of my day time and time again and being grateful for them instead of only focusing on the negatives. Thanking Him for the good things helps to make the bad things seem less scary- He's got it all under control! That's where surrender comes in. Knowing God is my Father and is continually holding and sustaining me brings so much peace. So if you're feeling out of balance, stressed, tired, overworked, or any number of things, to just look to Jesus. Be grateful for the good things and surrender the bad things. Give Him glory and honor and praise for everything. He alone is where we'll find our balance.

Catholic Teen Life is joining forces with Ignatius Press to bring you even more faith-filled content you'll love! Get ready for: Exclusive book reviews & recommendations Be the first to know about discounts and the latest and greatest Catholic media Deeper dives into relevant topics Some of the incredible books you can get from Ignatius Press... Youcat- Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church A must-have for any Catholic teen's, parent's, youth minister's, priest's library... Youcat presents the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a way that is easy and enjoyable for young people to read. It's a great resource to have- something you could either pick up and read or use to look up answers to questions you have about the faith. Rome Sweet Home by Scott Hahn One of the most incredible conversion stories in the Christian world. Rome Sweet Home is a great read for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Summa of the Summa by Peter Kreeft Kreeft presents a summary of Aquinas' classic Summa Theologica, a fantastic read for students or anyone who wants to read more of Aquinas' work in a more digestible format. And finally... the Ignatius Press Clearance Page 😍 Enough Said. Feel free to contact me with any questions!

Themed Rosaries The Rosary is a prayer that was revealed to Saint Dominic by our Blessed Mother. It is prayed by millions of Catholics around the world and is very powerful. Unlike the traditional rosary which is prayed primarily while reflecting on the life of Christ, these Rosaries have a specific intention attached to each Hail Mary prayer. New Themed Rosaries coming soon! Subscribers will be notified with a blog post when a new Rosary comes out. Click the button corresponding with the Rosary you would like to pray to access the prayer. Prayers of the Rosary Rosary for America Rosary for the End of COVID-19 Rosary for the 2020 School Year

Rosary for the 2020 School Year The themed rosary uses the same exact prayers as a traditional Rosary, but has prayer intentions for each Hail Mary prayer. You can follow the chart above which demonstrates which prayer is on which bead. All prayers used in the Rosary can be found by going to the "Themed Rosary" tab, and clicking on the button titled, "Rosary Prayers". Feel free to copy and paste the Rosary into a document to print it out for your own personal use. The Sign of the Cross Apostles Creed Our Father: For the intentions of the Holy Father Hail Mary: For an increase in faith Hail Mary: For an increase in hope Hail Mary: For an increase in love Glory Be 1st Decade Our Father Hail Mary: For the health and safety of all students and their families Hail Mary: For the health and safety of all staff members and their families Hail Mary: That students and teachers will adjust easily to their new ways of learning Hail Mary: That St. Thomas Aquinas, patron saint of students, will intercede for all students and educators Hail Mary: That all schools will allow prayer on their grounds Hail Mary: For the fair treatment of all students, according to their needs Hail Mary: For all Christian teachers who witness to Christ through their daily interactions Hail Mary: For all Christian students working to spread the Good News to their peers and teachers Hail Mary: For all students and teachers who feel alone when at school or home Hail Mary: For all students and teachers who are anxious about the upcoming academic year Glory Be Oh my Jesus... 2nd Decade Our Father Hail Mary: For all English teachers Hail Mary: For all math teachers Hail Mary: For all social studies and history teachers Hail Mary: For all science teachers Hail Mary: For all gym and health teachers Hail Mary: For all technology teachers Hail Mary: For all teachers who specialize in helping to prepare students for their careers and future lives Hail Mary: For all music teachers Hail Mary: For all special education teachers Hail Mary: For all homeschooling parents and cyberschool instructors Glory Be Oh My Jesus... 3rd Decade Our Father Hail Mary: For all graduate school students Hail Mary: For all college students Hail Mary: For all high school students Hail Mary: For all middle school students Hail Mary: For all elementary school students Hail Mary: For all preschool students Hail Mary: For all homeschooled students Hail Mary: For all cyber schooled students Hail Mary: For all public school students Hail Mary: For all Catholic and private school students Glory Be Oh My Jesus... 4th Decade Our Father Hail Mary: For all school principals Hail Mary: For all school district superintendents Hail Mary: For all secretaries and school office workers Hail Mary: For all teachers aids and classroom helpers Hail Mary: For all school counselors Hail Mary: For all school nurses Hail Mary: For all school librarians Hail Mary: For all cafeteria workers Hail Mary: For all school mantinence workers Hail Mary: For all school district workers, bus drivers, and those who help keep the schools up and running Glory Be Oh My Jesus... 5th Decade Our Father Hail Mary: For all children who do not have the privilege to go to school Hail Mary: That all students may be able to learn and grow in a safe and healthy environment Hail Mary: That all students will stand up for the Truth when confronted by those who do not agree with them Hail Mary: That teachers will not be afraid to teach the Truth Hail Mary: That students will learn and grow in amazing ways this year Hail Mary: That Jesus Christ will be present in every school in the entire world to protect and guide it Hail Mary: That St. John the Apostle, patron saint of friends, will guide students to form good friendships Hail Mary: For all students who go to school each day hungry for both physical food and for the love of God Hail Mary: That all students will be safe and healthy and happy when they go home each afternoon Hail Mary: For everyone who plays a role, even a minor one, in the education of students Glory Be Oh My Jesus... Hail Holy Queen Closing Prayer ​ Lord Jesus, Mother Mary, we offer these intentions to you this day. Guide and protect all students and teachers this year and always, and use this school year to form them further into the saints that they are called to be. Father, we thank you for hearing our prayers. Saint Thomas Aquinas, Our Lady of Studies, PRAY FOR US!! Amen.