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Here are this week’s must-reads:
+ I read a few short excerpts of love letters St. Gianna and her husband Pietro exchanged before they were married, and it was so moving and inspiring. They both shared the desire to love their future spouse well — to be worthy of the other. You can tell how much they respected one another, held each other in such high regard, and wanted to live up to the potential of love. A goal for all of us. 💕💕💕 Here’s an excerpt:
Gianna: “You are the man I had wished for, but I often ask myself, ‘Will I be worthy of him?’ Yes, worthy of you, because I want so much to make you happy, but I fear not being able to do so. … When this happens, I ask God, ‘Lord, you see my desire and my good will. Supply what is lacking.’”
Pietro: “I already feel that you are the worthy spouse I hoped for and the incomparable mother of the children with whom God will bless us. I pray that the Lord will make me always worthy of you.”
Another little note about their beautiful desires to be worthy of one another; they realized that they couldn’t do it of their own merit — they need (we need) the Lord to love well.
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!


+ “The vocations of religious life and marriage are more similar than they are different. Either way, it’s bride and mother. Either way it’s love, either way it’s the cross, either way it’s conversion… The mystery of brideship and motherhood (is) played out in the heart of every woman.” — Sr. M Karolyn Nunes
I came across this excerpt a while ago and thought it was such a powerful reflection about how God has created each woman to be a bride — and to be a mother. And in which way? It’s a mystery that He reveals, little by little. But every vocation will have its share of joys and sorrows. Of fulfillments — and disappointments. Consolations and desolations. These are just the rhythms of our lives, but grace is always intertwined there and we never walk these paths alone. We have a Mother who knows it all and intercedes for us, and a Father who promised we would never be alone.
+ “When I start to feel some resentment towards all the work that I’m doing – especially in the kitchen, feeding so many people, I’ve found that I need to just ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of wisdom. Wisdom is the gift that allows us to see things as God sees them. Meaning we see ourselves as God sees us. And we see our husbands and our families as God sees them. And the corresponding virtue that we get to work on when we ask for wisdom is charity, and charity helps us to start doing actions out of love instead of resentment or frustration.” — The Little Rose Shop
+ “When you sign up for marriage, you sign up to serve.” — Lisa Bevere
+ “Marriage is to help married people sanctify themselves and others. For this reason they receive a special grace in the sacrament… Those who are called to marriage, with the grace of God, will find within their state everything they need to be holy.” (St. Josemaria Escriva)
+ St. John Paul II prayed the “Veni Creator Spiritus” hymn every day. His dad taught it to him when he was young. He said his dad told him, “Pray this and you’ll see that He’ll help you to understand…” (it was math that he was having trouble understanding 🥹). JP II said he prayed this hymn every day for more than 40 years.
+ “Weakness, if we accept it, is the door to deeper communion with Christ. Surrender any attempt to “save yourself” for the sake of the Savior who comes to you. Do not be afraid of your weakness… Jesus waits to meet you there. There, where you feel most weak and needy, Christ, your Strength, stands and knocks.
Will you welcome Jesus in your weakness? Will you open to Him who is ready to hear, help, and heal you? “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9)” — Focus
+ “It is not for the flock of sheep to know the pasture the Shepherd has in mind. It is for them simply to follow Him.” Elisabeth Elliot
+ “Pray even when you feel nothing, see nothing. For when you are dry, empty, sick or weak, at such a time is your prayer most pleasing to God, even though you may find little joy in it.” — St. Julian of Norwich
+ Have you ever asked the Lord to speak to you through art? God uses Beauty to speak to us if we listen (look). Next time you’re in front of Sacred Art, ask: What do you want to say to me?” — Kate Capato
+ “As believers, how do we refuse the temptation to simply grow resigned to our set of circumstances and instead sink down deeper into our faith? How do we not just *get* through our hard times but actually *grow* through them? I believe the answer is simply this—we surrender to God through the faith-building act of giving him thanks. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 reminds us to ‘give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.’ When we can’t see a way through our crushed hopes, we can praise him in advance, trusting that through it all we really do have a God who is faithful and good.” — Allison Brost
More finds featured in this week’s Collection, which you can read through here.

