January 7, 2025 // Optional Memorial of Saint Raymond of Penyafort, Priest Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: 1 John 4:7-10 Reflect on the Word //  It was January 1. Enthusiasm bubbled up within me as I began my New Year’s resolutions. I had carefully discerned my goals and how I was going to execute them. I couldn’t wait for a “new me” to emerge. After only three weeks, “life” interfered with my best-laid plans. My children got sick. Projects and activities arose that required my attention. Feeling tired and frazzled, I chose sleep over my new early-morning prayer time. My plans fell apart. Once the busyness subsided, I contemplated what went wrong, and I realized that I failed to integrate my new plans into real life. I also recognized why I was so easily derailed. I relied solely on myself to succeed, not leaving room for God’s will or His grace. Even more so, I was so focused on striving, accomplishing, and checking boxes off a list that when I did not achieve my goals, I felt defeated. I didn’t even consider that what I was doing over those few weeks genuinely mattered—maybe even more than my resolutions—because in those moments, I was being called to love. And “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). I was reminded that what I do (or don’t do) does not define my worth; God defines it. My worth is found in Him. I am beloved. Loved by a God Who is love. He loves me for who I am, not what I do. And so, what matters most is how I respond to His call to love. As women, however, we often measure our worth by our contributions and accomplishments: our GPA in school, the raise at work, the healthy meals we prepare for our families. Even our consistent prayer routine is tracked. And when we don’t get the promotion, when we find ourselves in the drive-thru line ordering dinner, or when we miss our morning prayer for the third day in a row, we feel like failures. But none of these externally measurable things define us. However, our response to the call to love can transform us. We are beloved. God loves us whether we do certain things or not. He “sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him” (1 John 4:10), and all He asks of us in return is to love and be loved by Him. Relate to the Lord // How will you live in your beloved identity today?

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named . . . // Ephesians 3:14-15 While I sit in the hallway of my childhood home, my parents argue behind a closed door. Why are they not getting along? I miss our time spent together, and I worry that our little family of three will soon be torn apart. Living in a home with parents divided on many things is hard on any child. Experiencing it as an only child, without a sibling to turn to and share the pain with, makes it even harder. During that time in my life, I felt lonely and isolated; my heart ached for companionship. While I could not always name it, eventually I learned that I suffered from wounds of abandonment and helplessness. Slowly, however, God showed me the reality of my adoption in Christ through Baptism. He helped me recognize myself as His daughter, who is “rooted and grounded in love” in order “to know the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:17, 19). With confidence, I began to see myself as part of “the people he has chosen for his own inheritance” (Psalm 33:12).  I love my parents, and I am so grateful for them. I am especially grateful for their decision to bring me to the waters of Baptism, where I became a daughter of God. I cherish the good memories we shared together. As for that painful memory of me sitting in the hallway, now when I recall it, I cannot help but see Jesus sitting next to me, His arm around me, and my head resting on His shoulder. While I felt alone, I realize that I never was. The Lord was always with me, and He always will be. My dear sister in Christ, I imagine you have experienced your own sense of loneliness at some point in your life. Maybe it was years ago, but the scars still remain. Or perhaps you are in a season of loneliness right now. My prayer for you today is that you may know your true belonging, your true place in God’s family, your true part of “the design of his heart” (Psalm 33:11).