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Here are this week’s must-reads:
+ “Someone once told me self-sufficiency is not canonizable. And it’s been sitting on my heart again lately. I don’t know where you’re striving to do it all on your own, to gather all the strength by yourself, to unconsciously or consciously make yourself the source of your salvation and restoration. So I wanted to remind you that you can’t and won’t restore your own heart. It is your King, your Father, your Beloved who desires to restore you instead. Only He can and only He will. “Come to *me* all you who are weary.” Not: “Get it together and figure yourself out all you who are exhausted and at your wits end.” My heart is so with you in this. Today I am praying you have the grace to begin to let go of that self-reliance.” — Big Apple Catholic
+ “He gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty.” — St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
+ “The wonderful thing about praying is that you leave a world of not being able to do something, and enter God’s realm where everything is possible. He specializes in the impossible. Nothing is too great for His almighty power. Nothing is too small for His love.” — Corrie Ten Boom
+ 5 prayer tips for your every day // 6 steps to start loving prayer time
+ “If I go to Mass and I leave the same way I walked in, it’s because I didn’t offer anything. I didn’t give him anything. What do you mean, give him? I didn’t give him what I was afraid of. I didn’t give him what I love. I didn’t give God access to my hopes. I didn’t give God access to my weaknesses. I didn’t give God anything. I just showed up and watched. Jesus Christ didn’t come to this earth so you can show up and watch.
He didn’t give us the gift of the Eucharist so that you can show up and watch. He didn’t die and rise from the dead and send his holy spirit into your life and my life so we could show up to Mass and watch. He did those things so we could be part of the sacrifice, so that we could unite our lives and our sacrifices to His life and to His sacrifice.” — Fr. Mike Schmitz
+ “God is strong enough to bless monotony”
+ “Jesus does not speak about a change of activities, a change of contacts, or even a change of pace. He speaks about a change of heart. This change of heart makes everything different, even while everything appears to remain the same. This is the meaning of “Set your hearts on his kingdom first . . . and all these other things will be given you as well.” What counts is where our hearts are. When we worry, we have our hearts in the wrong place. Jesus asks us to move our hearts to the center, where all other things fall into place.” — Henri Nouwen
+ “As the first manifestation of our Lord’s divinity, Cana fills our hearts with joy and hope. We have a mother who has vigilant and kind eyes like her Son. Her heart is compassionate like His. Her hands are open to help others like His – the hands that broke bread for hungry people and touched the sick to heal them. We can really rejoice in Mary’s example of attentive service.
“At Cana, we receive a profound gift from Mary: that is, the call to resemble her by bringing others simple joy and comforting them in their needs and afflictions. It is God who comforts us through Jesus Christ. In Mary, we see an example of how to comfort the afflicted. If we follow her in this way, we will see the affliction, grief, and problems of our neighbor, and we will respond with Christlike help. Lord, I pray that we can walk on this Marian way of attentive service and love.
“Finally, the mystery of Cana challenges us to greater faith in God. Mary believed in Christ without signs and miracles, while the disciples believed after the sign. Let us ask: Grant me, dear Jesus, the faith and the joy I truly desire. My mother, Mary Most Holy, help me to really believe and make me an apostle of heavenly joy.” — Fr. Leszek Czelusniak, MIC
+ A prayer before starting work for the day:
+ “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” — Viktor Frankl
+ “The feast of the Epiphany commemorates the occasion when the Three Wise Men found the baby Jesus after following a bright star shining in the darkness. We all have areas of darkness in our lives, and we all need Light. Just as the Wise Men did, we can look to the light of Christ to illuminate the darkness in our hearts and in our world. “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” He comes to tell us that all will be well. He is the light for those who believe in Him. Consider reflecting today on the areas in your life that feel darkened by sin or past wounds or anxiety. How can you open those areas to the light of Christ?” — Catholic Psych
Five Simple Rules for a Healthy Marriage: 1) Be loyal to your spouse. 2) Respect your spouse. 3) Love for your spouse. 4) Forgive your spouse. 5) Treat your spouse like you’re still wanting to win them.” — Trey & Lea, Stronger Marriages
+ “Never let your spouse carry a burden alone. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2) // Few things in life can wreck a person’s self-esteem faster than a critical spouse… …and on the flip side, few things can build up a person’s self-esteem like an encouraging spouse can.” — Stronger Marriages
+ The St. Peregrine Novena for Cancer Patients started on Monday! You can still join us here.
Here’s what’s featured in this week’s Catholic Wife, Catholic Life Collection.
I share these every Monday and they always include: two gluten-free recipes, a reflection & prayer based on Sunday’s Mass readings, and links to budget-friendly fashion & Catholic home decor. When I’m creating them, I always look up the upcoming feast days and find pieces to complement them so that you can have some examples of how to decorate for the different feasts & Liturgical seasons!
Those who sign up for the newsletter now also get:
+ a 25% off promo code to use with The Catholic Company!
+ a 15% off promo code with House of Joppa
+ a 15% off promo code with The Little Rose Shop
+ a 15% off promo code off $40 purchases with Telos Art.
+ a 15% off promo code with The Little Catholic
+ a 15% off promo code with West Coast Catholic
+ a 15% off promo code with January Jane Shop
+ a 15% off promo code with Annunciation Designs.
+ A free download of this black & white Our Lady of Czestachowa image.
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