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Here are this week’s must-reads:
+ We’re starting the St. Peregrine Novena today over at Pray More Novenas! We’re praying for those who are suffering from cancer and other chronic or debilitating illnesses, for those who love and care for them, and for all physicians and scientists working towards a cure.
+ “God’s “yes” to them isn’t a “no” to you.”… “God is not holding out on you. His âyesâ to someone else is a big and beautiful âyes,â but the LAST thing it is is a ânoâ to you. Itâs not who He is. So lift up your eyes and keep those palms open. Something good is coming. I promise. And if youâre having a hard time believing that, we will hold hope together.” — read more here
+ “You see the lives of other people from the outside in, or honestly- thanks to social media, just the outside. Your own life you know from the inside out, with all the grimy slimy heart details included. Who do you think itâs easier to assume is âkillingâ it in that scenario? Eh? So, youâre not failing. Youâre not behind. You probably arenât killing it either, but welcome to being human. Nobody is.
“We arenât in charge, and thank God (literally) for that- amen!? Living with even an inkling of the idea (which is a lie) that we can âwake and slayâ will leave us discouraged, defeated, and depressed. You werenât born to âmeasure up.â You were born to rely on the One who made you.Your job is to greet the day trusting that thereâs enough mercies in it from God to keep you moving forward as faithfully as you are able.So, take a breath. Release your assumptions about everyone elseâs life and do what God is asking YOU to do. Keep repenting and believing. Keep cheering each other on, confident that thereâs enough room at the table for all of us. Keep running the race YOU have been called to run. Lift your eyes out of your own belly button. Killing it? Nah. But doing the next faithful and beautiful thing? Yeah. That, by Godâs grace, we can do. Thatâs the good stuff.” — Revelation Wellness
+ “In baptism, every Christian has been “sanctified,” and God calls every Christian to persevere in holiness. Yet God calls no one to go it alone. We draw strength from one another, and we are, all at the same time, drawing strength from God. St. Paul emphasizes that we are “called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — Scott Hahn
+ “If we stand with Christ, we will stand for life.” — Sr. Alicia Torres, March for Life Chicago (you can see her speech at 8:47)
+ “John the Baptist understood something about Jesus before many others did. He lets us in on this when Jesus approaches John to be baptized. Johnâs response is, âI need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?â (Matthew 3:14). He reluctantly agrees to baptize Jesus, and when he does, something profound happens. The sky opens and a dove descends over Jesusâ head, and a voice says, âYou are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.â (Mark 1: 11).â â Note that God is not telling people around him that Jesus is his beloved son, as he will do later at the Transfiguration (âThis is my son, listen to him!â), but he is speaking directly to Jesus. âYou are my beloved Son.â God is affirming Jesus and Jesusâ mission.â â
“Doesnât this provide you some relief? That Jesus, Godâs son, was told these words. Maybe, just maybe, Jesus needed the same reminder of Godâs love for him that we need. He was fully human and grew into his call, just as we grow into our holiness. Those words spoken directly to Jesus strengthened his belief that he was fully loved by Godâjust as he was. Perhaps Jesus needed that same reminder to accept who he was: Godâs beloved Son. Perhaps Jesus needed a clear moment of consolation to help him accept who he was and what he was called to do.â â Take time today to name events or moments that have opened your capacity to accept Godâs love for you. Moments that provided a brief glimpse of us as people loved just as we are.â ” — Becky Eldredge
+ Vatican reveals Pope John Paul II’s last words
+ “Going to weddings when you are already married is different. Because you see the wedding day through the lens of marriage, instead of just wedding as an event. In our case, through the lens of 10 years of marriage.There is a knowing, and a wisdom. I notice their innocence, their ânot-knowingâ. And it isnât an ignorance. A bride and groom on their wedding day, in many ways, sign a blank check. They do not know how much this marriage will âcostâ. And the remarkable thing about marriage is that they sign it anyway. They place their whole selves, vulnerable, before the other and vow their lives together come what may.Itâs inspiring to witness this no matter if youâre single or married 60 years.
“As I looked at them, I couldnât help but wonder at the life before these newlyweds: the adventures, joys and sorrows. At the same time, the 10 years of my own marriage were before me, just as I remember who I was standing in that place of innocence and ânot knowingâ a decade before.To witness an exchange of vows, and not just remember our own vows but KNOW in a new way what those vows meant and still mean. Seeing now part of what it âcostâ, I felt a new and deeper gratitude for our own marriage, and for my spouse.Because through all our adventures, 2 kids, moving abroad, adopting 1 more, moving back, job changes, joys, challenges and carrying now a new life- I am so utterly grateful that we chose each other. And still choose each other.Van and I both still say, âMarriage is best. We highly recommend it.â — Erin Van de Voorde
+ “Think porn is no big deal? Think again. Even sexy romance novels can desensitize you to real love and make you less satisfied with your spouse.” — Stronger Marriages
+ We all want someone to call us theirs — for them to love us so much that we, in a sense, “belong” to them. That our place is within their embrace and in their hearts. Well, I imagine, the Lord wants this as well — from us. He wants us to call Him ours.
+ âMy only ambition is to serve God in the most humble tasks.â — St. Andre Bessette // “Put yourself in God’s hands. He abandons no one.” — St. Andre Bessette
+ “Our challenge is to never overlook his presence and to always trust that he has us right where he wants us. When we ignore, deny, or reject God due to the storms we encounter in our lives, we are following in the spirit of the sin of Adam and Eve. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it, âMan, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed Godâs command. This is what manâs first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodnessâ (CCC 397; emphasis added). Adam and Eve failed to trust God and his goodness. We begin to think that God has deserted us; we no longer see him present in the midst of our suffering.Â
“The temptation to despair is real. Jesus did not call his disciplesâ faith âlittleâ simply because they were afraid of the storm; he did so to challenge them to a deeper faith in him, a faith that trusts he is still at the helm of the ship when all seems lost. Love must rule the day rather than fear. Entering into the trust that love demands is a risk that we are all asked to take.
“This week, let us allow our vision to see Jesusâ presence with us on our journey. Let us enter the school of trust with a deeply rooted knowledge that he walks with us, even when he seems asleep. Because Jesusâ love defines his motives, he is with us and he is trustworthy, no matter what it looks like out on the stormy seas.” — Fr. Mike Schmitz
+ One of my favorite lines of Scripture was in last week’s Gospel: âHe got into the boat with them and the wind died down.â (Mark 6:51) // He does this for us too. đđ He doesnât pass us by when weâre scared and when the winds are raging around us. Instead, He comes closer. And He enters the storm with us. We can have comfort in this, we are never alone.
+ If you’ve been thinking about buyige one of the Word on Fire Bibles (they’re just releasing Volume II now!), check out this video I made of the Volume II. Volume I, which covers the Gospels, is very similar đ
+ Lastly, hereâs whatâs featured in this weekâs Catholic Wife, Catholic Life Newsletter. I share these every Monday and they always include: two gluten-free recipes, a reflection & prayer based on Sundayâs Mass readings, and links to budget-friendly fashion & home decor.
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