Hey! This book is full of some advice for some teens (like myself) who are aspiring to become a better Catholic/Christian and stuff. Or if you're thinking of coming into the Church. Feel free to ask any questions, and I'm also here to talk with you...
A/N : Welcome to day 2! Props to you if you're still reading. Again, I'll have a chapter in Proverbs and a saint for you guys. Enjoy! Oh, yeah, and remember; Jesus is a friend of mine! *cue that totally awesome song*
...
Proverbs - Chapter 2
My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him.
Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.
For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted.
These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.
Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman. She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God.
Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave.
The man who visits her is doomed.
He will never reach the paths of life.
So follow the steps of the good, and stay on the paths of the righteous. For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it. But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.
...
(By the way, I've decided to do a bit of a reflection on why I'm choosing my saints. They're going to be a collection of younger saints. This is probably because I can relate to them best, especially since these people are around our age.
Bl. Laura Vicuña - 12 years
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
^^^ Image of Laura Vicuña above ^^^
Laura was born on April 5, 1891— three months after a civil war broke out in Chile. Her father, Jose Domingo Vicuña, was a soldier during this time, and decided to flee the country in order to protect their family. They moved to Las Lajas, Argentina.
However, Señor Vicuña was killed soon after, leaving Laura Vicuña in the hands of her mother.
Her mother carried on to become a common-law wife to Manuel Mora. This man payed for Laura and her sister, Julia Amanda, to attend a boarding school taught by the Salesian Sisters. Here, not only was she a friend to everyone, but while she attended the school she had discovered God, in which she allowed herself to be surrounded by His love.
She also thought about joining the Salesian sisterhood, although the Bishop recommended that she waited instead. She was later able to join the Sodality of the Children of Mary on December 8, 1901.
When she came home during the Holidays (this was around Christmas time), however, Señor Mora made amorous advances on the girl, which eventually resulted in her fleeing the house so that she could avoid him.
Throughout this time, Laura prayed for her mother. She wanted her to lead a more faithful life. In fact, she had offered her own life in exchange for God to spare her mother's.
This ended up being the case.
In 1903, Laura became extremely ill with and was able to return to her mother. In January 14 of the next year, Señor Mora had beaten the girl unconscious in a drunken fit of range.
Eight days later, she died from both disease (Pulmonary Tuberculosis) and the beating.
Her last words were astonishing.
In her final moments, she said "Mamma, I'm dying, but I'm happy to offer my life for you. I asked Our Lord for this".
Her mother was appalled, and immediately burst into a fit of sobs. She very quickly converted to a more faithful life.
As soon as her mother offered up her life to God, Laura was now in Heaven.
To me, this was an astonishing story. Seriously. As teens, I get that we're all hormonal and have our "I hate you" and "no one understands me" moments, but the fact that this brave young girl gave her own life for her mother is breathtakingly beautiful. Not only did she give her life to help her mother, but she had also faced abuse from her step-father. I was surprised that she still had love to give at that point.
And also. Joining the convent at such a young age is amazing. I, myself, have recently been considering becoming a religious sister, but in a way I feel like I'd be missing out on what everyone else experiences in life. But also, come on! Who wants to turn down a life fully committed with Jesus? There isn't a more perfect spouse.
This saint has a personal meaning to me, and hopefully you all can relate in some way, too.
