Summers during your college years can be great. For many students, it’s a long anticipated break from the rigor of classes while having time to spend with significant others, family and old high school friends. One thing that is guaranteed though, regardless of whether you will be working 40+ hours a week or if you are vacationing for months at a time, the schedule and routine you had during the school year will change.

Hey everyone,

It’s me, LG.

This is a rough time of year, huh? Lots of tests, lots of stress, very little sleep.

And for you twenty-somethings making big time decisions, you might also be experiencing the most widespread phenomenon of our generation.

“I don’t even know why I’m praying for this anymore,” I told my spiritual director between sobs on a cold winter morning. “It seems like every time I pray for something really big, God says ‘Thank you for your prayers, but that’s not My will; please accept this.’” I sat there perplexed, not angry or hurt, just perplexed, wanting to understand what was so difficult to grasp.

At Florida Atlantic University, a professor was trying to teach a lesson on the power of symbols. The task she gave the class was to write the name of Jesus on a piece of paper, put it on the floor, and then asked them to step on the paper. One student, Ryan Rotelas, refused.

WWJD? I found myself reflecting on this very question down in Panama City Beach, FL a couple weeks ago. It was literally a 24/7 wild party for the entire week.

There is a legend from the Orient about a traveler making his way to a large city. One night he met two other travelers along the road: Fear and Plague. Plague explained to the traveler that, once they arrived, they expected to kill 10,000 people in the city. The traveler asked Plague if Plague would do all the killing. “Oh, no. I 'm only going to kill only a few hundred. My friend Fear will kill the others.”

Like bishops, each pope has a coat of arms and a motto. Benedict XVI’s motto was “Co-laborers in Truth,” Bl. John Paul II’s was “Totally Yours.” Pope Francis’ motto is Miserando atque Eligendo, “Lowly but Chosen.”

What was it like to be right in the center of everything during the papal election? Read an account from Fr. Jim Chern, a FOCUS blogger, who was leading a pilgrimage in the midst of it all!

Now that I've caught my breath a bit - it's still somewhat unreal that 16 hours ago we met the new Pope - or rather, our new Holy Father Francis.

Every man longs to leave a legacy, to make a difference in the lives of others. What legacy has Pope Benedict left behind? What message has he left for us?

Eight years ago, the world cast him off as a shy, uptight rule enforcer. It doubted that young people could connect with a rapidly aging, theological conservative. It probably could’ve picked a dozen popes better for our liberal-minded, freethinking society than the 5’7” white-haired Cardinal Ratzinger. Well, needless to say, the world was wrong.