What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared
to what lies within Us

My little sister is 16. She's pretty typically 16, you know? All about how she looks, who her friends are, how wonderful her boyfriend is, and whether or not she has my parents car today.

From my oh-so-elevated status at 19, I shouldn't really talk, but there's a world of difference between my sister's experience and my own. I live on my own, I'm experienceing adult relationships, I'm happy in sweatpants without any make-up, and I walk everywhere, 'cause my parents and their cars live an hour away.

We're both Christians, but she hates to talk about it. Whenever I mention the time I spent or the work I do at church, she rolls her eyes or tries to shut me up by telling me that since I didn't go with them to mass this Sunday that I have no right to talk about it. I happen to highly disagree. What about attending or not makes someone have more of a right to talk about their faith? What is embarassing about loving God?

I usually go to church during the week. But lately, I haven't been attending at all. Now, hold your comments about how it's Advent and I really should be doing double duty - I know, I know. But my life has taken a bit of an interesting turn of late and the mid-week service I was attending started to leave a bad taste in my mouth. And let's face it, I'm 19. I HATE mornings. So does my lack of attendence, my lack of reception make me less of a Christian, less "allowed" to talk about what I believe and how I precieve my contribution to the Body of the Church? I don't think so.

My work, the Holy Sacrament is something that is exceedingly important to me, and something which I hold in the highest esteem, and I feel like my respect for it is insulted when my lack of attendance at Sunday mass is brought into question. There's no reason for it.

Generally, I think it's important for all Christians to come out and recieve Jesus in the Sacrament, physically, as they recieve Him into their hearts. But as I learn frequently, there are other ways of 'getting Jesus.' What does it for you? Serving a soup kitchen? Is it, working on your lessons plans for school or basketball practice? Is it... rocking out to music that you really, really like? Is it sitting in the quiet just taking a moment to think? I do think church is important - the community, the ritual, the prayers, the reception of the Holy Sacrament of communion. That is important to me, and central to my life as a Christian, but it is not the ENTRIRETY of my life as a Christian.

Christ in the Eucharist is the motivating factor behind work and play and love and life. Sometimes, it can tide you over for a while, but I know that when my heart is heavy, Jesus is there for a pick-me-up. Of of this, I am SO proud, and SO very willing to tell anyone who will listen.