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Here are this week’s must-reads:

+ “There is a beautiful tradition among Croatian Catholics on their wedding day. In one town, not one single divorce has been recorded among its thirteen thousand Catholics in more than 50 years… Their “secret” to marital happiness: They simply have embraced the true meaning of marriage. (They) know that authentic love comes through the Cross of Christ.

When a couple is preparing for marriage, they go to the church, and they are not told that they have found their soul mate or the person of their dreams. Instead, they’re told: “You have found your lifelong cross. And it’s a cross to be loved, to be carried, a cross not to be thrown away but to be cherished.” In this town, the Cross represents the greatest love known to humankind, and thus the crucifix becomes the treasure of marriage and the heart of the home…” — Three Secrets to Holiness in Marriage by Dan and Amber Dematte

Here’s a look at what’s featured in this week’s newsletter. Everything’s under $60. Sign up for it here – and you’ll also get access to last year’s best-sellers!

+ If The Screwtape Letters were for wives in 2025… Such a fascinating read about what can cause resentment and comparison: “As she compares and contrasts her marriage to those of others, resentment toward her husband will build. You’ll begin here by causing a fixation within her on the way other husbands love their wives. Each of our subjects has unique ways they express love—you’ll find this true for her and her husband, as with all others. They all love differently, some more voluntarily with words, some with actions, some with gifts…Some are more public, some more private. Some husbands are far more expressive than others. Some perform extravagant displays of love; some do not. The subject’s screens will aid you greatly in helping her fixate on this. Whatever strengths other wives publicly display or allude to about their husbands, you must always cause her to see it as a deficiency in her own… You use all this to make her conclude that everything about her life is insufficient—both within her husband and within herself.”

+ “Both biological and spiritual parenthood are desperately needed in this world. Don’t downplay your spiritual motherhood. Don’t downplay your biological motherhood. Both give new life – to the child and to the mother.” — Mary Bruno

+ St. Therese said, “The Rosary is a long chain that links heaven and earth. One end of it is in our hands and the other end is in the hands of (Mary).”

+ “The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering or give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings.” — St. Francis de Sales

+ In the Summertime, while I’m working in the garden, I think about God working in our lives like a gardener working in his garden. When it’s 12 degrees out in January, I think about Him while I’m doing the dishes. I think of Him as someone who is soaking a pan. But it’s not because He’s leaving it for later — He’s working on what’s there in a gentle way. He’s letting it soak — He’s giving it grace. At least that’s what comes to mind when I do the same. Some things need to soak and winter seems like a soaking season. Spring and Summer will come in due time, but there is something good — or restful — for us in this season too. — read here

+ “God is like this crazy farmer, sowing the seed of his word and his love—not only on receptive soil, not only to those who will respond, but also on the path, on the rocks, and among the thorns, lavishly pouring out his love on those who are least likely to respond. God’s love is irrational, extravagant, embarrassing, unreasonable, completely over the top.” — here

+ “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” — Corrie ten Boom

+ “Hope is not vague and dreamy, but confidence in the faithfulness of God who will fulfill his promises — confidence that gives us great strength… when we hope we are not passive: we are acting.” —Fr. Jacques Philippe

+ “It’s hard work, making yourself into someone who goes to God first.” — Ireland Rose Rogers

+ “Strive to be faithful to that which God has called you.” — St. Angela Merici

+ “Ordinary Time can seem unremarkable at first glance. But this liturgical season offers insights into what it means to live as Christians, not in the peaks of celebration or valleys of penance, but in the steady, everyday journey of faith. It is a time to grow in virtue, cultivate habits of prayer, and deepen our relationship with Christ through the quiet constancy of daily life. St. Josemaría Escrivá said that our daily life provides the ordinary material for holiness. Together, let us make the most of this beautiful liturgical season. ” — GCM

+ “I am grateful for the example of Jesus, how He interacted with His disciples in little things. I learned that tiresome tasks I faced day after day, became holy actions as I offered them to Him.” — Sally Clarkson

+ In moments of trial and hardship, we face a big question. “Do I really believe that the Father is good, that He is trustworthy, and that He is working all things for my wellbeing?” — read here

+ “I want to tell you about one of my favorite Bible verses — Matthew 11:28, “Come to me all of you.” I’ve always read this as “Come to me, all of you — all the people of the world, everybody at any age.” But I read this differently this year during my silent retreat as — “Come to me, all of you — all the places of you that are scared, all of those places where you’ve lost hope, places where doubt resides — all of those places that you’re ashamed of… He also wants all of your joys and all of your happiness and all of your excitement that maybe nobody else finds exciting with you — Jesus wants all of it, all of you. I’d like you to join me today in coming to Jesus — all of us — invite him into those parts, invite him into all of your being and I promise you that’s where you’ll find rest and peace.” — Sr. Bethany fsp

+ “Best part about Ordinary Time? Is that there is NOTHING ordinary about it. This season reminds me of the extraordinary ways Jesus shows up in the “everyday” — revealing who He is and what He came to do…” — Pax Valerie

More finds featured in this week’s Collection, which you can read through here.