Murder mysteries abound these days, but how many are modeled on the parable of the Prodigal Son? In a Far-Off Land by Stephanie Landsem is a captivating piece of historical fiction and a book that takes its inspiration from Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son. The book is a tale of Hollywood glamor, murder, family, and forgiveness, all set in Los Angeles during the Great Depression. Entertainment that Also Feeds Our Minds While I’m a sucker for classic literature and believe that everyone should read greats such as Jane Austen and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, I also love contemporary fiction. I get particularly excited whenever I discover a new Christian or Catholic novelist who isn’t C.S. Lewis or Evelyn Waugh (much as I love them). Unfortunately, it’s rough world out there in terms of modern-day fiction. I have lost count of the number of books I’ve picked up, intrigued by dust jacket descriptions or rave reviews, only to throw them away after discovering one-too-many explicit scenes. Even contemporary fiction with no objectionable content often has little in the way of substance. Sure, beach reads are fun, but they’re like candy. They don’t make us stop and ponder deeper realities. They don’t feed our souls. That’s why I was so pleased to discover In a Far-Off Land. This novel manages to pull off a perfect balancing act of exciting, page-turning plot with beautiful themes and plenty of fodder for discussion and reflection. And not only that, but Stephanie Landsem is a gifted writer—her prose is strong and descriptive, not overly wordy, but full of small period details that make the story’s setting come to life. An Exciting Exploration of the Human Heart The story opens with Minerva Sinclaire, a twenty-something aspiring actress who’s trying to make it big on the silver screen in LA during the Great Depression. She attends the party of a famous Hollywood actor in the hopes that it will lead to the break she’s been waiting for, but everything goes wrong when the star is discovered murdered the morning after the party and Minerva becomes the prime suspect. She is forced to rely on the help of her agent, Max, and a Mexican gardener, Oscar, to stay one step ahead of the law and discover the real killer. In the meantime, the reader discovers that Minerva has a checkered past of her own and that Max and Oscar are both wrestling with demons even as they try to help her. Fans of historical fiction—and anyone who is intrigued by old Hollywood—will love the careful attention to detail that Landsem put into this book. She sets scenes carefully, from her descriptions of Minerva’s outfits to details of the colonia where Oscar and his family live, to incorporating side characters who were real-life Hollywood stars such as Charlie Chaplin and John Barrymore. It’s a rich and eventful period of history to draw from. Not only was the Great Depression in full swing, but Hollywood was also making the transition from silent films to talking ones. Multi-Faceted Storylines Landsem also does a masterful job weaving in another important event that was happening in Los Angeles during that time—the Mexican Repatriation. Between 300,000 and 2 million people of Mexican descent who were living in Los Angeles in the 1930s were forcibly removed from their homes and taken across the border to Mexico. An estimated forty to sixty percent of these people were actually citizens of the United States, and many children were included in the roundup. In the novel, Oscar’s family lives in constant fear of deportation and must deal with the effects of the Repatriation. Landsem paints a truly striking contrast between the stunning wealth of Hollywood stars with the poverty of the hired help. At the same time, it is clear that the rich and famous are often the ones to be pitied, while family’s like Oscar’s are rich in what actually matters—faith, family, and a community rooted in honor, hard work, and love. For Mature Readers In a Far-Off Land touches on difficult subjects such as sexual assault and abortion, so it is definitely a book for mature readers. However, Landsem treats these sensitive topics with care and avoids graphic descriptions. This novel looks unflinchingly at its characters’ woundedness and ultimately offers the hope that healing and forgiveness are always possible. Unsurprisingly for a book that models itself after the Prodigal Son story, mercy and forgiveness show up as major themes of In A Far-Off Land. All of the main characters struggle either to give or receive mercy and love. There are those who think they are too far gone to deserve these things, those who struggle with anger and a consuming thirst for justice, and those who simply want to forget their past, bury it deep down, and hide in the darkness of past sins. The book’s ending is a moving reminder of the reality of God’s desire to bring all His children home. After closing the book, the reader is struck by Landsem’s main message: no one is ever too far gone to experience God’s redeeming love. Have you read this book yet? What did you think?!   Maria Bonvissuto works in marketing for a Catholic all-girls school in Northern Virginia. She is always reading at least two books at a time, loves playing classical guitar and writing, and is a major Saint Augustine fangirl.   [bctt tweet="BIS Reads // In a Far-Off Land #BISblog //" via="no"]   This post contains affiliate links. Thanks so much for supporting the ministry of Blessed is She!

I run into many people who can’t believe I have “so many” kids. Whether at the grocery store, at the library, at church, or at public gatherings or parties, people have been impressed, confused, and shocked about the fact that I have eight kids. I realize we don’t come across large families very often. Of course, it depends on where you live and who you socialize with; but in general, the number of children per immediate family has decreased significantly. But for most of human history, most parents had quite a lot of kids. People have done it. People have done it for much longer than we haven’t done it. In the 1800s, families had, on average, seven or eight kids. Today, average families tend to have one or two kids. But, if you look around, you can still find big families. You can find them in your neighborhood, your city, and your state. In other countries and in other cultures, having a lot of children is still seen as a blessing and is even still the norm. The Difficulty of New Parenthood One reason people think they can't have a lot of kids is they envision having a newborn. And having a newborn might be one of the hardest things you’ll ever do in life. Or maybe it was your pregnancy. Maybe that was extremely uncomfortable and painful. Or maybe, right now, you have a teenager and it seems like there isn’t anything more exhausting that that. We extrapolate and assume. Our brains tell us we will feel that same difficulty again with 100% of the same problems recurring. But that’s not really what is going to happen. Having a newborn and only a newborn can be isolating, tiring, and almost impossible. That’s why we make meals, clean the house, have baby showers, and much more to help a first-time mom. That’s why some first-time moms hire doulas or have their mothers stay at their home for weeks at a time to help. Being a first-time parent is all-consuming and there isn’t much to prepare you other than books. But reading about it isn’t living it. Even watching others isn’t living it. Think of any other life experience, wouldn’t you say the first time was the hardest? The second time is always easier. There is a learning curve. There is a lack of confidence and experience. The Beauty of Family and Community Support With the second baby, all the adjustments you made as first time parents have already been made. You aren’t sacrificing your kid-free life anymore. All those activities you do and those things you spend money on when you don’t have kids are already gone, or maybe just adjusted. You have given them up or modified them. The baby equipment is probably in your house. You probably figured out breastfeeding and bottle feeding already. You most likely have baby sheets, blankets and clothes, and a car seat. You still have to grow that baby, deliver that baby, and take care of that baby. But it’s often significantly easier in terms of experience. My third pregnancy was twins, so that was harder. But, at the same time, I had three times the help. Everyone I had ever met and people I had never met just showed up at my house to help me and my husband. So, in a way, having the twins wasn’t as hard. With help, it was maybe 40% of the work that the first-time baby was. Although breastfeeding two babies and making sure they had their premie formula in the milk, pumping, and feeding constantly was a challenge. But people came and held them and helped with laundry, cooking, and cleaning. It Comes Down to Trust This idea isn't just applicable to the newborn stage. The same goes for the toddler stage, preschool stage, etc. Even teenagers. Once you’ve had a teenager and have gone through those murky waters, you already have somewhat of an idea what to expect. You are more prepared, more aware, and more competent. If you change your thinking about this topic and remind yourself everything is easier every time you do it, you’ll feel better, calmer, and more confident in having another kid. Whether it’s time, love, patience, money, or something else, you probably think there is something of which you don’t have enough. We all fall into that trap! In various areas of life we can tell ourselves that we don’t have enough of something. If you feel called to bringing another life into this world, my main advice is to trust. Trust you will have enough of all that is needed. Trust that you will be enough. And when you fall short, trust that our Lord will be enough for your children.   Lauren is a wife, mom and life coach from Northeast Ohio. Her hope is to show all women a better and healthier way to think and feel about themselves, the world and our Lord. You can read from her here.   [bctt tweet="Having Another Kid Without Losing It #BISblog //" via="no"]

Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble. // Psalm 91:1 Love this from today's readings. Let His word dwell in us richly, sisters. Download your F R E E wallpapers right here --->>> Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper

At the imposition of ashes, I looked everywhere for signs and symbols. Big ones, that might say something loud. I talked to the cross, the person hanging there. Asked questions, asked for favors. Later, behind the monstrance, light through the cracked door was soft blue. Door said Cloister. Top of the door was not straight, but arched like the sky. I thought it might be nice to slide through, receive, ascend. Then I thought of how some things endure longer than the sun, the moon. The Familiarity of Ash Wednesday As I looked at the manger scene this past Christmas season, I remember feeling astounded that the sweet baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes is the same Person hanging on the Cross. Likewise, with Ash Wednesday. This is a holy day grounded in the Truth of life, death, and the journeying of Lent. Essentially, there is dirt on our foreheads in the shape of a cross, symbolic of so much meaning. As a Catholic revert, coming back into the Church from a Protestant tradition started with sitting in churches. Specifically, sitting in Adoration at a cloistered monastery. I was encouraged by my writing teacher at the time to find a third place—somewhere to go, reflect, and write. She was not Catholic, but had chosen a monastery for her place. I decided that would be my place, too. I didn’t fully know then what I now know about the Faith, particularly hidden gems like the role of Mary and who she is. What I did know was that Ash Wednesday was familiar to me and I wanted to sit with that idea. I was learning to look in detail and use language to express things so easily unseen with just a passing glance. Drawing Me Closer I remember noting the color of soft blue as the sun fell through the window and illuminated the space, the monstrance, the arch of the doorway, and the cross. This led me to consider things that endure and last. Essentially, to consider eternity in bite size chunks I could understand. Also the concrete and tangible that I need to hold, see, and smell to grasp harder concepts. Ash Wednesday, I thought. How strange, how lovely, how much more I want to know. The echoes of the above poem ring with such ordinary things but invite me to go deeper: ashes - eternity - cross - enduring - monstrance - receive - door - ascend. And so with you this Lent. What are the ordinary things you notice that allow your heart to leap to something more Jesus wants to show you? You don’t have to write a poem to note it but maybe a prayer or a few sentences on your impression of the moment. He gladly meets us where we are. May Ash Wednesday be invitational to you in this Lenten season.   Jenny Richeson is a Catholic writer who is a lover of language and its mysteries. By day she provides speech pathology and cognitive intervention services to kids. Her main goal in life is to be a speaking stargazer caught up in wonder whenever possible. She makes her home in Kentucky with her husband, Matt. Together they find God in gardening and all manner of outdoor activities whenever they can. Stargazing is a favorite pastime too. You can find out more about her here.   [bctt tweet="A Poem for Ash Wednesday #BISblog #lent //" via="no"]

…all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. // Psalm 139:16 God is the ultimate Author—the most romantic and creative. He is also the ultimate planner: precise, detailed, and organized. God is behind everything truly beautiful that causes us to marvel. The unexpected shooting star, the cliffs of Moher, the elderly married couple slow dancing at their 50th wedding anniversary. When we see something truly good and beautiful we know that the Lord has orchestrated it. Trusting in a Good Plan It’s in the moments of suffering where we tend to forget where beauty comes from and are left to wonder if God’s plan is actually good for us. More practically, this is often the case for single Christians who desire authentic love but only see a world that marvels at sin. I’ve seen it time and time again: Christians begin to doubt, hearing the whispers of society: “It’s just not practical in this day and age to be chaste... Men only want sex, and if you can’t give it to them they will find it from someone else… loosen up don’t be a prude.” We start to question. Maybe they’re right? Wrangling to Write Our Own Story This is when the devil waltzes in, as he did with Eve in the Garden. Suddenly the lies of the world seem slightly more manageable and a life of faith a little far-fetched. As a response—if our faith isn’t strong enough—we fall into desperation and attempt to “take the pen.” As God is writing our story according to His divine will and plan for our lives, we are anxiously tempted to rip the pen out of His hand and manically try to write our own story on our own terms and timeline. Forgetting God and prayer, we try to take matters into our own hands. We decide on shortcuts instead of following the path God sets for us. Instead of entrusting ourselves to God in our singleness, instead of looking for a compatible partner who is faithful and virtuous, we take the pen and grasp for any relationship. In our pursuit of love, we lower our standards and allow others to treat us badly. Then we continually allow the people who have hurt us to re-enter our lives with no consequences, all because we are afraid to be alone. We subtly start to justify our sins and our changes in character. We begin to live with a dreaded, pitted feeling in our gut. Something within us tells us, “This isn’t right, this isn’t what God wants.” But we learn how to brush off the feeling through another act of self-sabotage. There is No Fear in Love This process of taking the pen is slow and hard to realize. It’s a series of one small compromise after another as we teach ourselves how to believe our own lies. This is not the will of God. We forget is that when we run from the will of God we run from ourselves. We are running from our heart’s true desires and running from eternal life with Christ. We grasp for the pen like Eve grasped for the fruit. Maybe Eve let herself believe that her taking matters into her own hands was an act of independence, but it was really an act of fear. And there is no fear in love (see 1 John 4:18). Ways to Increase Trust in the Author What if we lived fearlessly in our singleness instead of settling for the standards of the world or settling for the wrong person? What if we learned to trust that God is currently doing something beautiful with our lives? How does this work? How do we live in God’s grace and get what we want from life? 1. Accept Your Individual Story First, we have to accept that our story is going to be unique and incomparable to anyone else. We have to stop falling into the sinkholes of comparison. What are the obstacles that cause your foot to slip? Have you seen one too many Instagram proposal posts? Are you finding yourself comparing your timeline to your siblings or friends? Be vigilant about these feelings. Don’t brush them off like they mean nothing. Listen to your longings, but remind yourself that God hasn’t stopped working. 2. Watch the Company You Keep Second, don’t entertain bad company. When we feel desperate, our defenses let down and our fortress is left vulnerable. Your heart is that fortress. Bad company can comprise of: the "friends" who make those not-so-subtle snide remarks those who are fun to be around but don’t support your path to Christ the date that made you second guess yourself and your values the date who has you on a roster as if you’re not a person, but a number. Bad company and a vulnerable disposition can confuse you into thinking you deserve nothing but the worse. 3. Draw Close to Him Finally, pray more. This can be one of the points we want to brush off. I’m not suggesting that if you pray more rosaries your spouse will show up sooner. When we pray, we are close to the Lord, when we are close to the Lord we receive grace. We can’t see grace, we can’t touch it, we can’t measure it, but grace is the fuel of our faith. God especially gives His grace when we are at our lowest so we can overcome the hurdles of this life. This grace gives us patience in our singleness, discernment in confusion, joy in the present, trust in the Lord’s process, and, finally, peace in whatever comes out of your story. Have have you learned to let God remain the Author of your life throughout your single years?   Madeleine Hamm was born and raised in Northern Virginia. After leaving home to become a missionary in Rome, she spent six years living in several countries throughout Europe. The experience fostered a deep love for culture, language, and storytelling. Madeleine is also the kind of girl who is not afraid to express her undying love for pop culture, her rescue puppy, Dorothy, and Taylor Swift. LITURGICAL PLANNERS Our Liturgical Planners are based on the Litany of Humility. Enter into prayer every day alongside this beautiful Litany. Order your days in His peace. GET YOUR PLANNER

In the afternoon between 2-4 p.m. you can find me in a rocking chair, holding my daughter, and reading a book. I know... I’m supposed to be on a tight napping regime where she sleeps in her own crib with a white noise machine and black-out curtains. For the sake of enjoying my newborn and perhaps a bit of procrastination, I haven’t taken to sleep training. So I hold the most precious gift God’s given us—Gemma—and surrender my to-do lists. Habits for Wholeness One of my latest reads is Habits for Holiness by Fr Mark-Mary Ames, CFR. His radical devotion to the Lord pours out in thoughtful prose that spoke to my soul and intellect and tugged on my heartstrings. I suddenly found myself taking pictures of his words and sending them to friends. Whether it is Fr. Mark-Mary’s clear outline of the sanctity of family life, or his recounting of opportunities that changed the posture of his heart as a novitiate, Habits for Holiness is a book for our time. Habits for the Human Person I had been flirting with minimalism when I picked up Habits for Holiness, but I couldn’t grasp onto the “Marie Condo” spirit. I didn’t want to aimlessly hug my slippers and wait for a “spark.” If I step two feet into an Anthropologie, everything gives me a spark! Rest assured, I can easily buy spark-giving things. But of all the wisdom imparted by Fr. Mark-Mary, our Catholic call to “live simply so others can simply live” was the most provocative phrase to express my desire to eliminate capitalist overconsumption and to centre others instead of things. I started to think of the conditions of the factory workers making the clothing I so easily cycle through each season. I thought of the Amazon drivers piling packages at our front door after a long day and some consolation shopping. I pictured the hundreds of under-housed people that seek refuge in our local parks turned into tent cities. Filled with humility, I recognized that my desire to live simply wasn’t just a countercultural inkling but movement of the Holy Spirit confirmed for me by Fr. Mark-Mary and his encouragement to slow down, step back and to tell myself “that’s enough.”   I started lending out my copy of Habits for Holiness because it spoke so directly to my heart and to the pain and confusion felt in the modern world of “never-enough-ness.” The truth plainly put forth by Fr. Mark Mary is that a life filled with things is not a life fulfilled. Our fulfillment as Catholics is looking towards Jesus, centering our lives on Him and answering His call to love others with a deep and radical commitment. If the name Fr. Mark-Mary sounds familiar, it’s likely because he is! He can be seen or heard as a guest on the Blessed is She podcast or on his podcast, Poco a Poco, filmed by Spirit Juice. Have you read this book yet?! What did you think?   Olivia DiGiammarino is a wife, mother, artist, and educator in Toronto, Canada. She loves God and her family, and she never says "no" to tiramisu.   [bctt tweet="BIS Reads // Habits for Holiness #BISblog //" via="no"]   This post contains affiliate links. Thanks so much for supporting the ministry of Blessed is She!

In my years teaching in public schools, I started to notice a subtle but steady presence of cultural orphan mentality. I talked with 5th graders who did not know anything about George Washington or history in general. I taught 3rd graders who had no understanding of fairy tales and, when asked what lesson a story taught, did not know the meaning of the word "lesson." As a point of clarification, I taught students with some form of a learning challenge but that does not mean all had significant disabilities. Many were in regular classrooms who needed a little extra support. This was often provided in a pull-out model of instruction for a limited period of time weekly. In other words, most of the time they were in their grade-level class. I’m not suggesting rigorous content was absent but something was definitely going on here. I am also aware that many things have to be reinforced at home in order for children to realize and remember how important they are. Without that, schools have limited ability to pass on knowledge that matters. Why We Remember But still, I saw it happening. As technology pervaded daily life more and more, it seemed to be impacting the development of minds and souls. Almost like forgetting anything that came before. Cultural memory includes the stories, events, and people that are remembered in a society. This can be heroes and villains, art, music, literature, and holidays. It can be seen in celebrations, memorials, and what is mourned. Scripture is full of this theme of remembering. Catastrophic things happen when God’s people forget their story, Who they came from, and where they are going. Think of the Israelites leaving Egypt and heading toward the Promised Land. So many of them forgot their purpose and the strength of their God. It led to hard heartedness and death. The Solution is Simple What are we to do about this? I suggest leaning into sacred order and actionable steps that connect with what is eternal. Steward language, write the play, sing the song, light the candle, read the prayer. Bear witness to faith not just with head bowed in silence but also in communal gatherings of remembrance. Feast days can be opportunities for building tradition and memory as well as acts of courage. We can develop immunity to words in our culture that have become weapons of ideology. We know sin is the real problem of humanity, which exists within the religious and without. And for the younger generations who grew up with technology in our relatively new world of iPhones and social media, I invite you to build cultural memory in communal acts together. To practice hospitality and transparent conversations. To believe there is more than individualism and materialism that is being sold as the way to true happiness. To lay your phone down and go have real experiences. To reach out for spiritual mothers and fathers if that is what you need. My life would be lacking in richness without relationships that span ages and experiences. Old and young are necessary to build the kind of cultural memory that lasts and gets passed on. Hear the Trinitarian call in your heart and remember, remember, remember. How are you building cultural memory today?   Jenny Richeson is a Catholic writer who is a lover of language and its mysteries. By day she provides speech pathology and cognitive intervention services to kids. Her main goal in life is to be a speaking stargazer caught up in wonder whenever possible. She makes her home in Kentucky with her husband, Matt. Together they find God in gardening and all manner of outdoor activities whenever they can. Stargazing is a favorite pastime too. You can find out more about her here.   [bctt tweet="Building Cultural Memory #BISblog //" via="no"]

The Lord is kind and merciful. // Psalm 103:1 Love this from today's readings. Let His word dwell in us richly, sisters. Download your F R E E wallpapers right here --->>> Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper

Adoration offers time for deep, focused meditation. I often close my eyes. Sometimes, I have visions or dream-like encounters that I believe are guided by the Holy Spirit. Recently, I reflected on the physical face masks we’ve adorned over the last couple of years. My thoughts were led to the invisible symbolic “masks” that we carry with us. We all developed personalities and ways of being in the world when we were young. We learned how to react and respond to situations based on our environment. Some of us learned healthy responses and most of us learned at least some unhealthy responses. These things helped us navigate childhood and develop into the person we are today. But are those responses still serving us as adults? Are the masks we learned to wear allowing us to grow into the person God is calling us to be? The Types of Masks We Wear It is important to acknowledge and embrace the masks we wear now and those we wore in the past. They are a part of us, but they do not define us, nor do we have to continue to hold on to them. Take some time to ponder what your masks include at this point. Perhaps write them down and reflect upon their origination. Here are some examples that many women encounter. Mask of Friendship Are we friends with certain people because we believe they will benefit us in some way? Do we put on a particular face in specific crowds to fit in even if the actions and discussion do not match our values and beliefs? Or do we hide behind our friends such that our own thoughts and beliefs are covered up by others? This is not how God created us to live together. One of the most significant verses in the Bible about friendship is John 15:11-13: I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. The power of true friendship is embedded in a deep love for one another. God’s version of love embraces all of who we are, past mistakes, current sins, and challenges. Mask of Perfection Do we portray ourselves as having everything together? Does our social media account depict pictures of smiling children in a perfectly clean house when moments before or after included tears and huge mess? These images can be beautiful and impactful, unless they are the foundation of a false identity. Do we refuse to leave the house without make-up, feel the need to dress a certain way, and come across as though we effortlessly glide through life? Saint Paul notes: I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ my dwell with me. // 2 Corinthians 12:9 Only God is truly perfect, and He wants to reside within us. Once we fully wrap ourselves around this truth, we can work to release perfectionism. Mask of Independence Do we take on too much to try and prove ourselves to others? Do we feel the need to achieve and do more to earn love and respect? As women, we often feel pressured to take on the weight of the world. We feel responsible for everything to do with our children, family, and household. We think we need to partake in various church activities and school volunteering opportunities. We feel pressure to join in numerous social engagements, neighborhood events, and so much more. It is not a reflection of our motherhood or self-worth to accept the help and support of others. Asking for help and learning to set boundaries can increase our confidence, along with our mental and emotional health. God created us to live and work in community. We need help from God Himself as we are encouraged in 1 John 5:14-15: And we have this confidence in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked Him for is ours. The Love of God for the Truest Us We all have a choice, we can grow, change, learn, and reveal our true identities over time. We must also love ourselves as we are right now, weaknesses, challenges, masks, and all. This can be difficult. Sometimes, it’s easier to forgive and love others—despite their weaknesses—than it is to forgive and love ourselves. Let’s remember that God knows us better than we know ourselves, He knows the deepest desires of our hearts, and the greatest sins. Yet, He embraces us and adores us far beyond our understanding. May you have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. // Ephesians 3:18-19 Once we begin to love ourselves, forgive ourselves, and appreciate our growth, we can move forward. Take time to ponder, as Mary did. Reflect and pray about your own masks, asking God to reveal them to you and help you overcome them, unveiling the unique woman that He created for a specific purpose. Adoration is a wonderful time to be still and listen to the Spirit within you. Even if you only have a few minutes, the quiet time spent with God demonstrates your love for Him and infuses you even more with His love for you. Whatever your masks may be, and wherever you are on your journey, know that you are loved beyond measure, as you are, this very moment. Every effort made to increase your faith and fulfill God’s purpose will further unveil the glorious woman you were created to be.   Barbara Yurasek Conklin is a loving wife and mother of three kids who currently returning to graduate school to finish her Master of Arts in Theology after 16 years of focusing on parenting and leading a direct sales team. She loves hiking, traveling, coffee, deep conversations, adoration, reading, writing, and public speaking. She is passionate about marriage ministry and encouraging women as they discover their unique purpose in life and the beauty of God in their own soul.   [bctt tweet="The Many Masks We Wear #BISblog // " via="no"] HIS WORD CHANGES LIVES God is speaking to you through His Word. In this personal study, you will learn to hear God's voice by reading slowly and praying deeply. BEGIN THE JOURNEY

Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. // Psalm 1:1 Love this from today's readings. Let His word dwell in us richly, sisters. Download your F R E E wallpapers right here --->>> Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper

After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” // Luke 5:4 Love this from today's readings. Let His word dwell in us richly, sisters. Download your F R E E wallpapers right here --->>> Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. // 1 Corinthians 13:7-8 Love this from today's readings. Let His word dwell in us richly, sisters. Download your F R E E wallpapers right here --->>> Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper

I attended a retreat for women writers in 2008 and had the privilege to study under Kentucky’s poet laureate at the time, Jane Gentry Vance. She shared thoughts on poetry from William Butler Yeats (Harvard Magazine 2008) that made a lasting impression: Poems are not position papers. They are not votes, they are not uttered from a podium or pulpit, they are not essays. They are products of reverie. In the act of writing, one can feel removed from the work at times and even surprised at the finished product. It is frequently a mysterious process that reveals the writer to herself and others. Here’s a personal example. Dear So and So, If only there was a temple, a Solomon house. Lovely, but small and sparrow size. Instead they lie dismembered—feet in jars, with limbs hanging from trees you can’t see. They do a dance of the dead and ask you to listen. You (and sometimes me) dwell in a glass box car. Through the window it’s all a circus. But, I’m looking for the complaint box, to share my idea in the top narrow slot, to please save the babies. Poems are Places to Process Today’s modern climate is so contentious at times it can be scary to talk about controversial issues. Beyond that, faith compels us to take thoughts and feelings and process them with God as seekers of Truth. In this piece, I was processing the events of the National Right to Life March I attended for the first time, in January 2020, as a high school chaperone. In addition to the March, we also visited the Basilica of the National Shrine, National Archives Museum, and Arlington National Cemetery. We made a guided Monuments tour, spent an afternoon at the John Paul II Shrine, and finally toured the Naval Academy a short distance away. The density of these encounters with people and places was hidden to me until I began to write about them later. If poems are not position papers, what am I to do with this piece? If the end game is not social justice first, what is it? Refusing to Edit My Own Heart I’d like to submit to you that this poem is an invitation to reverie. Its job is to be an expression of my heart first, and hopefully an artful contraption of good poetry. Why did I address this to a generic So and So? Because it seemed the best way to honor unnamed babies who do not get the chance to be born. If there is any indictment, it’s on me. I can be prone to sit in my own glass box car, removed from problems right before my eyes. I am guilty, too, of being numb to injustices in our world. What’s more, I am in no position to judge someone’s intention, their understanding of revealed truth, or their degree of responsibility for wrongs committed. My logical mind also knows there’s a difference in a money-making abortion industry and a young, pregnant, unwed mother who is afraid and often convinced by others that abortion is the only answer. But, that’s not the first thing this is about. It’s about the unnamed, unborn, and aborted. It’s about me imagining a lovely and holy place where all these are honored, held, cherished, and remembered. It’s about me considering more deeply and in detail what goes on in an abortion. It’s about not editing my own heart and having the courage to write this and let the language do its work in me first. It’s about me feeling like one person in the back of a huge classroom of yelling, screaming people, while I raise my hand and ask to share my great idea to save all the babies. Social Wholeness Starts with Personal Repentance My experience at the March for Life can be summed up in a few words—a sea of happy, shiny, polite people standing in proxy for the unborn. The crowd was enormous. It was body-to-body for hours. The display of goodwill and manners was unlike any I had seen before in a group that large. Some of the posters were shocking. But still, the holders of those signs were quietly standing, causing no disruption. The veil was pulled back a little more as I encountered the nature of God here. Enveloped in peace, love, joy, kindness, and truth—surrounded by the tension of abortion and those advocating for life. I wondered about a world where courage looked more like humility and how that humility starts with me. Where do you find yourself with complex matters of social justice? Would that we all embrace repentance first as we seek to make our contribution in a world of so many needs.   [bctt tweet="The Relationship Between Personal Holiness and Social Wholeness #BISblog // " via="no"]   Jenny Richeson is a Catholic writer who is a lover of language and its mysteries. By day she provides speech pathology and cognitive intervention services to kids. Her main goal in life is to be a speaking stargazer caught up in wonder whenever possible. She makes her home in Kentucky with her husband, Matt. Together they find God in gardening and all manner of outdoor activities whenever they can. Stargazing is a favorite pastime too. You can find out more about her here.

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life. // Psalm 19:8 Love this from today's readings. Let His word dwell in us richly, sisters. Download your F R E E wallpapers right here --->>> Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper

You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem held by your God. // Isaiah 62:3 Love this from today's readings. Let His word dwell in us richly, sisters. Get your 2022 Lent devotional—all about poverty—here. Download your F R E E wallpapers right here --->>> Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper

The Saints, at times, have been difficult for me to connect with. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen the powerful intercession of many great Saints at work in my life, but they are often hard to relate to.​ I don’t have much in common with great mystics who have received the stigmata, the Apostles or martyrs for the Faith. I likely won’t spend my life in a cloistered convent or working in the slums of India. The lived experiences of the greatest Saints feel so detached from my daily life, it can be easy for them to feel inaccessible. The Church, to this day, continues to canonize Saints, including some not so far removed from our own lives and modern experiences. Two such women on the path to sainthood share the same name and home country, Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano and Venerable Chiara Corbella Patrillo of Italy. (Both pronounced key-are-uh). Their stories speak to us particularly as modern women, both of whom were called to love the Lord with all their hearts in the midst of their everyday lives, just like we are. They wore t-shirts and jeans, played instruments, loved sports, spent time with family and friends, and lived “normal” lives. Allow me to introduce you to my friend(s), Chiara. Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano On October 29th, 1971, Chiara Badano was born in Savona, Italy. An only child, Chiara was a devoted daughter, loyal friend, and fierce athlete. She loved playing tennis and spending time at the beach. More than that however, she had a deep personal love for the Lord that carried her throughout life, in the good times and bad. One day while she was playing tennis, a splitting pain shot up her shoulder forcing her to drop her racket. She was diagnosed days later with an aggressive form of bone cancer and the prognosis was bleak. Within weeks she had lost the ability to walk and was in incredible pain. The next two years of her life were marked by intense suffering as the cancer spread. Chiara did not hesitate to offer every moment of her pain to the Lord, often saying, “For you Jesus, if You want this—so do I!” Though bed-ridden for the last year of her life, Chiara continued to provide hope and encouragement to all around her, using a phone beside her bed to stay connected with loved ones. As the end drew near, doctors encouraged Chiara to take stronger doses of morphine to keep her pain manageable, but she refused, determined to offer everything she had to Jesus, seeking always to unite her suffering with His. Chiara Badano passed away on October 7th, 1990, surrounded by her parents. She was 19 years old. Her cause for sainthood was opened in 1998 and she was given the title of "Blessed" following a miracle attributed to her intercession in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI. Venerable Chiara Corbella Patrillo Chiara Corbella was born on January 9th, 1984 in Rome Italy. She was described as independent and decisive; committed to her decisions and always eager to serve others. Her faith grew in young adulthood under the guidance of her spiritual director and she met her soon to be husband on a pilgrimage in Croatia. Chiara Corbella became Chiara Patrillo when she married Enrico Patrillo. Soon after their wedding, Chiara discovered she was pregnant with her first child. An ultrasound revealed their daughter, Maria, had a rare condition called anencephaly, and would not be able to survive outside the womb. Chiara chose to carry Maria to term, and was with her when she died less than half an hour after her birth. A few months later, Chiara was pregnant again, this time with a boy they would name Davide. Davide was severely malformed in several crucial organs. Like his sister before him, he died soon after birth. When Chiara became pregnant with her third child, she discovered a growth on her tongue that was found to be cancerous. Against the advice of many doctors, she made the decision to delay lifesaving treatment until her son was born, knowing the risks to her own health she would incur by doing so. She delivered a healthy baby boy, named Francesco. Shortly after Francesco was born, Chiara became a terminal cancer patient. The last few weeks of her life were spent in a home near the ocean, with her husband and a priest by her side. Friends and family are quick to point out that Chiara struggled in her suffering, just as anyone would. She was frightened of Purgatory, hated vomiting, and often felt overcome by pain. The thing that set Chiara apart however, was her ability to cast all of her fears and anxieties on the Father, who she knew loved her. She welcomed His plan for her life, and in doing so radiated joy and peace that friends would describe as "otherworldly." Chiara died at home on June 13th, 2012, at the age of 28. Her cause for sainthood was officially opened in 2017. The Road to Sainthood As we journey in faith we are blessed to be surrounded by witnesses who support us in prayer and help us seek God’s will in our lives. Chiara Luce Badano and Chiara Corbella Patrillo are two such witnesses, who show by their beautiful examples that the path to holiness doesn’t have to be found in grand gestures, mystic visions, or starting a religious order. It can be found for each of us in living our “normal” everyday lives with extraordinary love. Want to learn more about these incredible women? Both have websites (here and here) that share their stories in detail, provide prayers of intercession and give updates on their respective canonization processes. Blessed Chiara Luce Badano and Venerable Chiara Corbella Patrillo, pray for us!   [bctt tweet="My Friend(s), Chiara #BISblog //" via="no"]   Shelby Hennen is a young professional who hails from the Midwestern metropolis of Kansas City, MO. She loves a good book, a good chat with a friend and a good taco joint.

The Lord will bless His people with peace. // Psalm 29:1 Love this from today's readings. Let His word dwell in us richly, sisters. Download your F R E E wallpapers right here --->>> Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper