-
When Easter Doesn’t Feel like Easter
I have spent far too much of my time lately lamenting many things – no mass, no confession, no perpetual adoration. I feel, like many others, spiritually parched and wishing for some sense of normality again. I wish it would feel like Holy Week. I wish Easter would feel like Easter with celebrating at mass, with family, fun and good food. But this has left me thinking and praying a lot. What do we do when Easter doesn’t feel like Easter? When the holiest week of the year feels anything but the holiest week of the year? Do we “skip” it? Pretend it didn’t happen this year and chalk it…
-
Rest and Receive
One week into social distancing and I got the bright idea to potty train the two year old. I figured, hey, if we can’t leave the house, we may as well get her out of diapers, right? Now we are one week into potty training and we have realized that the gratification of being out of diapers is not instantaneous. It’s a lot of work and rather exhausting getting there. But it is important to note the power of one chocolate chip. It is enough to lure a toddler to do almost anything, including pee on a potty. Two chocolate chips still isn’t enough to lure this toddler to do…
-
Beauty from the Ashes
This time last year I was reeling from a miscarriage, still actively grieving. I was also struggling to come to terms with the loss of my job in youth ministry. Lent felt very much like the desert last year. Time can be a beautiful thing though. It offers some distance, healing, and much needed perspective. Standing here, a full year later offers many glimmers of hope and beauty. I have settled into the rhythm of being a stay at home mom with Lucy, who truly is a light. And now we are expecting again, after nearly a year of trying. Beauty from the ashes. But then life throws a wrench…
-
The Temptations of Jesus
Before we dive into the temptations of Jesus, please take a minute to read the 1st reading and Gospel from the 1st Sunday of Lent. I am forever amazed by the scriptures. The way the New Testament fulfills the Old Testament, the ways that the Old Testament is a shadow of all that is to come in the new. Our Lenten observance is no different. It is steeped in scripture, and has its roots in the garden with the fall of man. The temptations of Jesus don’t come out of nowhere, we see where they come from when we look closely at the account of the fall. Now, I’m skipping…
-
Learning to Pray: Eucharistic Adoration
When I was 14, my heart was touched in a totally new way by an encounter with Jesus. It was night two of the Steubenville Conference. There were 2,000 teens kneeling and in awe of Jesus at Eucharistic Adoration. Despite the crowd and the music, I experienced his personal love for me. It was as though everything else around me fell away for a moment. I suddenly became aware that Jesus’ love for me was real. His presence, the freedom I experienced, the weight that lifted from my shoulders was real. It changed everything. I went home and saw the world with new eyes. I loved going to mass, I…
-
Unmet Expectations
Let’s get real for a moment and talk about unmet expectations. We all have hopes and dreams for how our life should be, but if you’re a normal human being, from time to time what you think your life should be and what it is simply don’t match up. A solution to this problem could be to live without expectations. But it’s hard to live without expectations, though one could argue this brings a level of peace and contentment to our lives. When we drop the expectations, we can be open to receive whatever happens, good or bad. In my experience though, this is very hard to do. I find myself…
-
Learning to Pray with Scripture: Ignatian Prayer
Here’s post three in a series that will include instructions, tips, and ideas on how to pray in different ways. If you didn’t read the intro post, check it out here. Today, the name of the game is Ignatian Prayer. This is an imaginative type of prayer established by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Before I dive into how to pray in this manner with scriptures, I want to share a bit about St. Ignatius and how his spirituality came about. St. Ignatius and the Imagination St. Ignatius, in his earlier days, had a severe leg injury from his days in the military. The ensuing days and months left him laid…
-
Learning to Pray with Scripture: Lectio Divina
Here’s post two in a series that will include instructions, tips, and ideas on how to pray in different ways. If you didn’t read the intro post, check it out here! If you are seeking a fuller, richer, more abundant life in Christ, prayer is essential to you. And one of the absolute best tools for prayer is the Sacred Scriptures. Why? Because the Sacred Scriptures are God’s love letter written to us. It is the inspired word of God. The wisdom of the Church tells us that “in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them” (Dei Verbum,…
-
Learning to Pray
“He who does not pray deprives himself of what is indispensable for life.” St. John Vianney Tis the season of reflection, renewal, resolutions, and the like. It also seems to me a great time to consider your prayer life. Why prayer? Because this is one of the most essential (if not the essential) component when trying to live a life fully alive in Christ. Why? Because prayer is our source of connection to God. It puts us into communication with him and allows our hearts to be in a disposition of openness and listening. Prayer allows our hearts to be held and loved by the one whom we were created…
-
Mary’s Poverty
We all have areas of poverty in our lives. These are areas where we seem to lack something. Areas of deep emptiness and deep suffering. If you need help identifying these areas in your life, consider one where you feel as though you have no control. If you feel out of control, you are likely suffering deeply in this area. This is an area of poverty for you. This is also an area of great promise and potential. Why? Because God works most fully in and through our nothingness. Being in a position of need reminds us of who we are before God – beggars. It reminds me of a…