Michelle Maes
20 years old - Georgia, E.E.U.U.

What is your name?
My name is Michelle Anne Gabriel Maes

How old are you?
I am 20 years old.

What most attracts you about God?
His patience with man who constantly sins and disobeys Him and who, in spite of it all, never tires of loving and forgiving us.

Do you think about death?
Yes, everyday. Many times this thought is what keeps me on the good path.

How would you like to see yourself before God?
Clean and pure of heart, soul, mind and body.

Do you believe in coincidences or do you think rather in God’s providence?
I believe that what some consider coincidence is actually providence.

What do you think life is?
Life is a pure mystery, but a gift from God. At the same time it is a grave responsibility which consists of doing the will of God in order to reach eternal life.

Do you fight to live or do you live to fight?
I fight to live.

What is your favorite prayer?
The Act of Contrition.

What virtue do you consider to be most necessary?
Humility.

What defect do you consider to be worst?
Pride.

What virtue would you say stands out the most in you?
Sincertiy with God.

What defect would you like to get rid of in yourself?
The tendency to judge and criticize.

What is love?
Sacrifice and generosity.

Where is love found?
Where God is and God in all of creation.

What is faith?
Believing what God has revealed to us. But it is not enough just to believe. My conscience, at least, is restless unless I exercise faith by doing the will of God.

How would you exlain this sentence, “The pure of heart shall see the face of God?”
If we live according to God’s will, we do not have to wait to die in order to see God’s face.

Is faith a refuge?
Yes, in a way, faith can be called a refuge because the one who lives by faith knows that He is walking in the truth, and this truth leads to eternal life.

Is life lived or represented?
Many people represent who they want to be, but very few actually live how they are meant to be.

Is it necessary to think? Why?
Of course it is necessary to think, even though a lot of people avoid doing it. This is what distinguishes us from the rest of the animals.

What would you change in the world?
The indifference towards God and His Church.

What do you like about the world?
I actually don’t really like it, but I have to say that what I like most about it is the Church and the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

What is the most important lesson that you have learned in life?
God does not want the death of the sinner but that he repents and lives.

It is said that the opposite of a saint is a failure. Why?
Quite fankly the ones who fail go to hell. But they do not fail because they have had no chance, but because they rejected the thousands of chances that God was giving them to repent. It is important to realize that God does not condemn the sinners to hell. Only those who die in mortal sin, having refused His love and forgiveness, can go there.

How does a person mature?
The best way to mature is to exercise the virtues.

Is it necessary to mature as a person?
Yes. If we don’t mature as persons, spiritual maturity will be much more difficult to achieve.

Who is the Virgin Mary for you?
The Virgin Mary is for me what She is for the Church.

What is the best way to live?
In sanctifying grace and in a tension of sanctity.

What would you say to a young person who is tired of living?
You are too young to be tired of life. Selfishness if what makes us tired, so be generous with God and give Him what he is asking of you. And once you have done so, you can rest in the heart of Christ.

Father: Abba.
Mother: Understanding.
God: Love.
Mary: Immaculate.
Heart: Eucharist.
Vocation: Election.
Holiness: Vocation.
Walk: Run.
Study: Sanctifiying
Work: Necessary.
Nature: God.
Goal: Heaven
End: Relief.
Rest: Jesus

It’s foolish to… think of oneself all the time.
Friends are… there to help, support and accompany.
It depresses me… to think about how little I love God.
I frankly say that… I owe my life to Christ.
My final thought… should always be about God.
When I make a mistake… its difficult to get back up.
I find it violent… to refuse to use ones gifts and talents for the glory of God and salvation of men.
Each day that begins… should be offered up to God.
When I open my eyes and...breathe, I know that I am still alive.
Before speaking... I make an attempt to think.

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