Enter keywords to search for content in all of our Lenten blogs:
FOLLOW JOY
We might not think we're messengers or movers God has chosen, but Jesus assures us that he will be with and empower us in unexpected ways.
LIVING THE STORY
We all have a story to tell. How we live is how we tell our story. Will it be a story of tragedy or one of hope?
LOVE YOUR MOTHER
We recognize Jesus's sacrifice in giving us His Mother so that she may intercede for us in every step of our lives.
AN INVITATION TO BE PILGRIMS OF HOPE
How different would it be if you let Jesus embrace the parts of you that you want to hide?
A PIECE OF THE WHOLE
May I accept that I cannot see the whole picture and learn to let go of labels.
H.O.P.E.
As we journey closer to Easter, may we remember to be pilgrims of such hope, always singing of Your salvation.
GIVE US THIS DAY, OUR DAILY SALVATION
As we enter the most extraordinary week in our Catholic faith, let us invite God to be with us fully, our light and our salvation in both the grandest and tiniest ways.
REMEMBER ME
Maybe the real invitation is not to fix, prove, or hold it all together. Perhaps it is to let myself be seen in the tenderness of my surrender.
GOD DWELLING AMONG US
I don’t have to wait until Heaven to be with God, because He gives Himself completely to us now in the Eucharist.
THE ROCK IN OUR HANDS
What if we could recognize God's consistent presence and good works, even amidst trials?
OUR PACT WITH GOD
Just as God entrusted us with free will, we must also trust that God will carry us through our most challenging times.
MINISTRY BEGINS AT HOME
Even in the most anxiety-inducing tension, Jesus delivers me as he says he will.
FINDING GOD IN…ELECTRICITY
Lord, help me to see how you meet me where I am today, without making things more complicated than they need to be.
I SECOND THAT MOTION!
There is only one truth that I need to “second” today. That is the truth that Jesus speaks.
CALLED TO NEW LIFE
Jesus stands at the entrance of our darkness, calling us by name to trust in the God of impossible and unimaginable love.
LOVE LIFTS UP AND GRACE COMES DOWN
Let us invite your Love to permeate our lives, your warmth hugging the cracks in our hearts. In giving you all of our pieces, you've made us whole.
LOVE MOVES THROUGH HEARTBREAK
Perhaps God being close to our brokenheartedness means that the opportunity for greater Love is near.
LIFE BY GOD, ET AL.
God, as co-author of our lives, is collaborative, redeeming, and loving.
THE LORD HAS FORGOTTEN ME!!! AND…
Take a moment today to consider any pieces of your life that feel forgotten by God.
WELL, WELL, WELL: WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE
Whenever I feel that the harsh realities are too overwhelming, I need to remind myself of what I do have: God’s healing love for me.
SUPERNATURAL HEALINGS CONVERT HEARTS AND REVEAL THE KINGDOM
Can you dwell, trust, and rest in that God knows your heart and needs?
DESTINED FOR GREATNESS?
No matter who we are, what we accomplish, or what we become, God will always be with us.
THE WAY OF JESUS
He is reminding me that an authentic encounter with him leads me to actively encounter others, not judge them.
“I LOVE YOU, YOU LOVE ME”
One day, I want to say I love myself so confidently that I have to love everyone and God even more.
LISTEN
What prosperity has God brought to you that brings joy and a sense of peace to your life?
IN MARY’S HOUSE
I couldn’t help but feel the overwhelming truth of “God is with us,” even in all our messiness and hurt.
TOUCH HIS WOUNDS AND BELIEVE
On this Divine Mercy Sunday, Jesus doesn't condemn Thomas for his disbelief, but compassionately offers up his wounds because he wants him to believe.
RESURRECTION
Today there is an opportunity to live not just any life, but one that proclaims the Gospel through how we engage with each person that we encounter.
GREETING JESUS AS OURSELVES
As long as we can welcome Him as we are, the Risen Christ will gladly visit and stay with us, giving us warmth and spiritual sustenance.
CONVERSION
Conversion is a delight. God is forever working with and within us to call us to embrace all of creation.
FINDING GOD IN ALL THINGS
Our encounter with the Lord and his accompaniment of us in those ways help open our hearts to see, love, and serve him in others.
THE FIRST PHONE CALL
All of these first hearers and witnesses to the Resurrection could not keep the news to themselves.
FEARFUL AND OVERJOYED
Our commitments to our loved ones enables us to face the challenge, even with the fear, because we have a purpose.
THE WAY OF THE CROSS
The subtle urge to look or turn away from suffering faded as something new took its place.
TOO MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT FEET AND MORE
Jesus kneels at our feet to accept what we hide.
DIVERGING OR CONVERGING PATHS
But perhaps God’s plans are always the right timing, accounting for where we are and helping us move forward.
FOLLOWING IN FAITH
We are asked to follow and then understand along the way; even if the way is paved with challenges.
EMBRACING PARADOXES
In those junctures, I offer myself a chance to pause, calm my mind and heart, and ask God, “Are You saying yes, no, slow, or grow?”
OUR VOICES ARE HEARD
Once I have taken care of any practical issues that contribute to my distress...the avenue left is prayer.
JESUS HID
Even amidst the darkest depths of Lent, we have a spark of joy reminding us of the other side.
A BETTER RECIPE FOR CREAM PUFFS
Jesus isn’t as worried about following the rules, he’s looking at the bigger picture – looking to see how we love.
COURAGE OF OBEDIENCE
Joseph was as human as I am. How difficult it must have been for Joseph after he made his decision.
THE INVITATION TO A GREATER HARVEST
I may not have noticed it at the time when I was in it, but God continues to put points on the scoreboard in my game of life.
SMELLS LIKE JESUS
Sometimes Jesus comes in the “sweetness” of life, but sometimes Jesus comes in the mess of life and challenges us to look beyond ourselves.
ENTRUSTED
In the event that there are people who think ill of us or think less of us, we can lean on God and trust in His image of us as we are.
GOD, I TRUST IN YOU
I've doubted & feared the future because of the stresses of life, but God's gifts remind me that I don't need to be afraid & I can trust in Him.
“DO YOU WANT TO BE HEALED?”
“Do you want to be healed?” is a deceptively simple question. Of course, we want to be healed. Perhaps we just don’t always want to be healed enough.
HAVE NO FEAR
The Church is a place where our desolate souls are consoled through faith and community who believe along with us.
MADE VISIBLE
In a crowded classroom on a random Sunday, I was reminded that the Word continues to be made flesh in my midst.
IT’S (NOT) ALL ABOUT THE OPTICS
God does not play the “optics” game with us, where we would have to tiptoe around Him to get in His good graces.
THE FIRST MOVE OF MERCY
I’m slowly coming to trust that our wounds—like Jesus’—are not removed but revealed to be part of a greater, divine wound of love and solidarity.
FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE RISEN CHRIST
In moments of desolation, I remind myself that Jesus is constantly there working on me – to fulfill his plans.
A NEW SEASON, A NEW CALLING
Perhaps now we are called to carry this life-giving love on for this new season, and a newer generation.
BEYOND GRIEF
Jesus, meet us on our way this Easter. Let your presence warm and console our hearts.
LOVE TRANSFORMS
I wonder, if she had not wept, could she have testified to this great Love?
A FLOWER THAT DOESN’T DIE
As Christians, we have found that Jesus is that flower that will never die, a reminder of our eternal life with Him.
... WITH GOD, IN OUR HOLY SATURDAYS
May we remember our own ‘original goodness’ in the midst of the sometimes slow and painful waits, of our Holy Saturdays.
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO STRUGGLE AND STUMBLE
When we unite our suffering and offer it up, we come to experience the fullness of our humanity and the holiness that can be found in it.
SETTING OUR FACES LIKE FLINT
Let us resolve to be present to Christ, with our utmost focus, in these last few days of Holy Week.
NOTHING IS EVER IN VAIN
We must remember our trust in God and His purpose and plan for our lives.
NOT ME, LORD…
The problems are too big, the pain too complex. Surely it is not me who might look with love?
A ONENESS WITH OUR BELOVED
Comfort, peace, and love washed over me, mixing with the grief of reality.
PROMISES, PROMISES
Whether we are the best promise keeper in the world or the weakest, let us offer up our most sincere efforts to keep a promise with God.
GLORY AND PRAISE
Let us remember that even amidst the darkest of times, we are called to be in relationship with God.
ENDURING THE STENCH
I entrust my life and heart to God and yet I am hesitant to roll back the stone to see what lies behind it.
AND THE ANGEL(S) APPEAR
Trust in the slow, good work of the Lord–even during the deserts, but especially during the deserts.
BEAUTIFUL SUMMONS
Lovingly, I felt the Lord reveal to my heart, that I could not get rid of Him so easily.
UNEDITED
Where God continues to invite me to is being more gentle and patient with myself.
FORGOTTEN TENDERNESS
Jesus, please help me to trust in your tenderness to find my way to a deeper joy in You and one another.
A GREAT TIME FOR RAIN
And then I forage beneath the judgmental surface of my life and think, “well, isn’t this God.”
BELIEVING IS SEEING
As I’m continually taught to accept my limitations and weaknesses, to embrace my blindness, my mind and heart shift to God’s love and God’s grace.
FROM HEAD TO HEART
My hope is to put down my shield, let go of needing to know why certain life events happen, and let God’s love take deeper root once more.
PEACE BE WITH YOU, AGAIN and AGAIN …
The image of Jesus going through locked doors is a most consoling image of faith for me.
REAL OR FAKE?
Everything fell into place as they recognized their own truth as disciples and believers in the Resurrected Christ.
Let It Go
In the moments in which I am able to respond to God's invitations, I am met with an abundance of grace.
QUIET COURAGE
Everything in the world is presented to us as a way of knowing God because God's presence can mostly be found in the everyday activities of ordinary life.
THE JOURNEY
Jesus was right there the whole time guiding us and helping us on this new journey.
Why Are You Weeping?
Mary Magdelene's hope arrived in a way that she never thought possible. May our hope also come unexpectedly and joyfully.
A THANKFUL HOME
I am entering the Easter season filled with gratitude and some brief reprieve in peace.
SHARING THROUGH, WITH, & IN GOD
In putting my guard down and being more open to the expansiveness of God’s tender mercy, I’m able to repeat the mantra of goodness.
WHAT DO YOU THIRST FOR?
Through the desolation, through the longing, through the thirst, we can receive the living waters that Jesus promises.
SUBTLE SHIFTS
May we trust that God is at work in our lives and our hearts and remain open to His love.
TO BE HUMAN
In the middle of everyday life, when things feel chaotic and overwhelming, how can I center myself on Jesus?
THE LORD HEARS YOUR VOICE
Do not pray for the pain to go away, pray for the strength to get through it.
SPIRITUALLY SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL
Can we abandon our will and trust Him? I have learned that in hopeless moments, it is the only way to move forward.
Passages to Something New
The question is not how to avoid loss and make it not happen, but how to choose it as a passage, as an exodus to greater life and freedom.
LETTING MYSELF BE WEAK
It is in my weakness that I find Christ, especially during this Lenten season. I want to take refuge in the Lord.
CHOOSING TO BE SAVED
I realized that the desire to give into shame was strong, but the invitation to choose love is stronger.
SCORCHING WIND AND SUN
No matter how dry my prayer feels, God continues to offer the water of everlasting life.
An Acknowledgement and Invitation
My hope is to live beyond my own limited imagination, and into God’s dream for me.
*Photo credit: Tory Hallenburg
THE POWER OF TRUST
Help me to gather the strength to let go of that control and put my trust in you more and more each day.
Coming Home
Our homecoming involves allowing the inner voice of mercy and love to take hold of us and move us beyond self-rejection to live as God’s beloved children.
MY CURSILLO SMALL FAITH SHARING GROUP
Simply put, I was homeless professionally and spiritually.