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Living Hope.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…” 1 Peter 1:3-4 I have grappled long and hard with hope. What is it, really? How do I hope? Why do I even need to hope? Last year felt hopeless and difficult. I felt like my prayers were useless. My sentiment was generally “Why do I even pray if I’m not going to get what I so deeply desire?” In my heart,…
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Run with the Saints
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2 This past summer, I decided I needed to start running again. It was high time to get back in shape. When I lived in Des Moines, I did a fair amount of running, doing some 5k races and even a 20k and half marathon. While running is still not my sport of choice, I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment after…
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O, Death, Where is Thy Sting?
When I was in college, noon mass on Fridays was typically celebrated by Fr. James Albers (now Abbot). At the end of mass, we would always sing The Ultima, a Benedictine prayer asking Mary to intercede for us that we may have a happy death. Fr. James would always remind us to keep death before our eyes, not in a morbid sense, but to remember the hope and glory before us in eternal life with Jesus. Those words have been on my mind a lot lately. Do you keep death before your eyes? Do you keep the end in mind, that you may not forget the goal of this earthly…