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Here are this week’s must-reads:
+ One of my favorite reflections on St. Joseph, particularly the part about surrendering his own dreams and plans to do God’s will (something maybe some of us can relate to?):
“Joseph’s prayerful silence was the primacy of his interior life. Scripture doesn’t record a single word of St. Joseph. In a world that is so noisy, St. Joseph reminds us of how important it is to cultivate interior silence. St. Joseph’s prayerful silence enabled him to respond generously to God… He was docile to God’s will. He responded to the demands and needs of the Holy family at every twist and turn. He fulfilled the needs of Mary and Jesus… He didn’t cling to his own dreams or plans, he surrendered entirely to the will of God. He was flexible and always put his freedom at the service of the Divine plan. We should also aim to always respond to the needs of others in the moment.” — Dr. Edward Sri
Every vocation asks this of us, and we can see it so clearly — every day — in marriage. St. Joseph, pray for us! — read here
+ “From Mary, we learn to surrender to God’s Will in all things. From Mary, we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary, we learn to love Christ.” (St. John Paul II)
+ “One of the questions I most frequently get asked is, “How do we ‘offer up’ our sufferings.”… It’s just accepting what we’d rather not accept—heartbreak, stress, exhaustion, fear, worry, hunger, illness, discomfort, or pain—and saying “Here, Lord, take this. Do something beautiful with it.”
“Offering up our sufferings is an act of solidarity with Jesus on the cross. It’s uniting our suffering heart to the heart of the suffering Christ and imitating the attitude of our Lord in Gethsemane when He prayed, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
… The necessary attitude isn’t joy; it’s love. And trust. Offering up our suffering, at its simplest, is carrying whatever cross we presently bear with love and hope, trusting that God lets no sorrow endured in faith go to waste. He joins it, somehow, mysteriously, mystically, to His own sufferings on the cross, and transforms it into saving grace.” — Emily Stimpson-Chapman
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 we really have too much to do, there are some items on the agenda which God did not put there… Let us submit to him and ask him to indicate which items we must delete. There is always time to do the will of God. If we are too busy to do that, we are too busy.” — Elisabeth Elliott
+ “From the belief that I have to earn Your love … Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear that I am unlovable … Deliver me, Jesus. From the false security that I have what it takes … Deliver me, Jesus. From the fear that trusting You will leave me more destitute … Deliver me, Jesus…” — Litany of Trust
+ “We don’t so much need to pray to see the way through -– as much as we need to just pray to see more of the One Who is the Way Himself. So that – God would get all the glory through even this story.” — Ann Voskamp
+ “God walks into your soul with silent step. God comes to you more than you go to Him. Never will his coming be what you expect, and yet never will it disappoint. The more you respond to his gentle pressure, the greater will be your freedom.” – Ven. F. Sheen
+ “Say it every day, and every time that fear comes over you, say it again: ‘Jesus, I trust in You.’ “He’s utterly trustworthy. He’s utterly powerful. He’s utterly wise. The love He has is pure and passionate and never-ending, and He will never abandon us.” — Ralph Martin
+ “We all have places in our hearts that we are tempted to feel are beyond redemption. Hurts that are too deep, hopes that seem too impossible. But our God “gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist” (Romans 4:18). His promises are for you too.” — Elizabeth Blank Show
+ “When we strive to bring beauty into our lives and into our homes, we reflect the nature of the One who made us.” (Sally Clarkson)
+ I love to look at the different depictions of The Annunciation and notice Mary’s posture in them — she’s spending time in prayer, and it looks as though she’s ready and available for the surprising & incoming Word of God. Oh, that we could all be ready & available! 🙏💙 Blessed Mother, please pray for us.
+ “Perhaps the silence of Saint Joseph is his most profound witness… A saint is someone who in their desire to be like Christ is able and willing to disappear into the mission God gives to them.” — Fr. Steve Grunow
+ “So often in marriage, we look at the person we’re promising our lives to and we think we’ll complete one another. We expect we’ll be able to fill any void in their heart or their life. We think we’ve found each other, we made the commitment and the hard part is over. But the thing is: that void in our hearts wasn’t made for a partner to fill… It was made to draw each of us deeper to God.” — Lisa Canning
+ “Nothing ever seems impossible in spring, you know.” (L.M. Montgomery)
+ “Each winter when all appears to be dead or dying, daffodils pop up, as if out of nowhere, daffodils proclaim, there just may be a surprise and delightful life ahead. God masterfully transcribed lessons, insights of life into the very warp and woof of His creation. Spring, summer, winter, and fall cast the pulse of life as we experience it. A time to bloom, to grow full-blown, to harvest. Then all dies, for a season until the cycle of life starts over again. But winter will not have the last word.
“There are winters in our lives—times when it appears that everything is dead or dying… As Jesus said in Matthew, there will be times when the storms will burst against our house… In winter, gloom flows over and the fog of despair rains hard on our hearts. This is not the end of our story. The power of returning spring is unstoppable, as though God’s song refuses to be quieted.” — Sally Clarkson
More Finds in this week’s Newsletter, which you can read through here.
