Do You Know Jesus Christ?

They are all full-fledged Genin!

Boruto: Next Generations! Let me start by saying that while this show is not perfect, I am really starting to enjoy it. I do have some minor gripes with the show such as, how overpowered everyone is pre-Genin, or how light and bubbly the narrative has been thus far. But the series is just beginning and I am sure that those minor problems I have with it will clear up along the way. Also, how could you not like the show with all the homage it has paid to its predecessor: Sarada wants to be the next Hokage, the new team 7, and my favourite of all, the Sarada-Boruto kiss (be ready for them to be shipped hard!).

But all that aside, the past few episodes (the preparations for the final exam, the exam itself, and the graduation) have been my favourite so far. Up to this point Boruto has been living in its own bubble of niceness and the good guy always wins without any real troubles, but leave it to Kakashi-san to give Boruto a wake up call.

In my own life, graduation has also been on my mind because I intend to graduate this school year (June 2018). And one line from Kakashi really stood out to me (watch the video!).

I believe that upon graduating from a post-secondary school many students (or I guess ex-students) don't have or struggle to come up with a clear direction for their lives. One of my favourite questions to receive from people is, "what is the plan after school?" The reason I like this question so much is because it forces me to reaffirm my plans moving forward. It is almost as if in telling others, I am psychologically being held accountable to my plans. So if you are studying/graduating soon, I urge you to think about "what is the plan after school?"

In addition to graduating school this year, I will be "graduating" from CFC-Youth. So adios amigos! From here on, I will be moving into SFC completely and I am so excited for it!

Slowly with each graduation in our lives we start to take our lives more and more into our own hands; the way we live our lives is more about our choices than living underneath someone else's. So it is important that we start thinking about what we will do with what is for most students, the last "technical" graduation of their lives. 

For myself, I intend to work towards becoming a full time teacher in a high school. This means cleaning up resumes, writing cover letters, creating portfolios, and applying to boards. At first, I'll be supply teaching, so I'll probably keep my part-time job at Kumon. Over time I hope to move up the supply list, get onto the long term occasional list, and then get a full time position. This is a brief overview of my plan moving forward. There aren't too many details listed out here because I don't want to bore you with my life (well actually, lol I don't have too many more details beyond this haha). But if you're a graduating student, please start thinking about what comes next!

But I think this idea of thinking about what comes next is a thought process we must apply to more than just milestones in our lives: graduating school, moving on from youth ministry, etc. I think we need to approach life with this mind set: "what comes after life?" For Catholics the answer is simple, eternal life (or maybe for most of us, purgatory then eternal life) (note, the answer is simple, but the execution is terribly hard). But do we take the time daily to consider what this answer means; how it affects our daily lives; what are the implications and consequences of having such a dream to aspire towards. I think in this regard, most of us fall way short of the mark. 

The dream of being Hokage is alive and well

To say that after life, we will have eternal life means that God has welcomed us, with arms spread wide, into heaven, and that in response to that welcome, we have come to fully embrace him. If this is the goal, then I want to encourage you all to consider one of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite speakers (lol I've actually only listened to one of his talks):

"Do you know Jesus Christ? That's the most important thing you'll ever answer because to know Jesus Christ is to have everlasting life. There's nothing more important than to know Jesus Christ" 
-Father Larry Richards

So I ask you now, do you know Jesus Christ? And if you do know Him, what does that mean? Does it mean that in knowing Him, you have come to love Him? If you love Jesus, can you prove it by the people whom you love? "And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also." (1 John 4: 21)

Essentially what it comes down to is, what we do here on earth is important; "it decides our eternity" (Father Larry Richards). "So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (James 2:17). Our faith and knowing and loving who Jesus is moves us; it compels us to action. 

A new year is beginning and as has become tradition for many, it is a time to make new resolutions: to become more healthy, to pray more, to study harder, etc. This time as, the year winds down and new one begins, I urge you to re-examine your faith life and consider how you will act on your faith this year. Let your relationship with Jesus Christ shine through to all those you meet:

"By this they will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." -John 13:35

...And with that, may God be praised!

P.S. Bonus comic strip 'cause it was pretty funny