“If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” // Mark 1:40-41 This past summer, I had a profound experience in prayer contemplating Ephesians 6:10-18, a powerful Scripture about putting on the armor of God. In prayer, I asked God how He armored me and what my armor looked like. After a long period of silence, He placed across my chest the heart of His Mother, Mary. But not the Immaculate Heart of Mary, rather her pierced heart of seven sorrows. I was not excited; rather, I was saddened and humbled. I’ve had a devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary for the past few years. When He revealed to me that my compassionate heart was my spiritual defense against attacks by Satan, I accepted the armor and buckled up. Daily my actions are motivated by God when my heart is pierced by the modern-day lepers I encounter. Lepers in Jesus’ time were severely ill men and women shamed, lonely, and cast out by society. But who are the ill men and women I see shamed, lonely, and cast out by society today? Between the homeless on the streets, the students needing healing from addiction and sexual trauma, and the lonely students overwhelmed by campus life, there are days I come home exhausted from my overzealous compassionate heart. So many people are in need of help, healing, and friendships, and we are all moving at such a fast pace that we don’t slow down long enough to reach out to one another. When was the last time your heart was pierced with pity like our Mother Mary’s? So often we would rather look the other way or not place ourselves in situations where our hearts will be pierced to avoid feeling pity. Mother Teresa said, “You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by society—completely forgotten, completely left alone” (source). I hope we each find our Calcutta and not only have eyes to see, but hearts moved by pity. God wills that we are all made clean (see Mark 1:40-41). It just takes us, His hands and feet, to reach out to one another.

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance." // Matthew 3:7-8 Two things come to my mind when I read Matthew’s Gospel: 1. I don’t think I would’ve given Saint John the Baptist the time of day simply because of how he dressed or how he called people out. 2. I fear boldly proclaiming the truth like Saint John. This might come as a surprise since I don’t necessarily beat around the bush with my words. However, when it comes to praying in front of a Planned Parenthood, posting something about my Catholic beliefs on social media, or sharing the truth so someone can avoid or repent from sin, I often go silent. I fear being rejected and how I will be perceived. There is a massive difference between Saint John and me, I mean, besides our fashion choices. John sees the urgency behind calling people to repent for the sake of their salvation, and I worry about how someone will attack me and my beliefs. John’s desire for the Pharisees and Sadducees to repent and believe in the Gospel was as important to him as each person who came to him for baptism. I probably wouldn’t have called them a “brood of vipers” in hopes that they would repent and be baptized. I evangelize by building relationships that lead to speaking the truth rather than calling someone an offensive name. However, his urgency and words had a purpose. Salvation was at hand, and he had to prepare the way to Christ! As bold and audacious as John was, he also showed great humility, and humility is the answer we need to share truth without fear. When John says he is baptizing with water for repentance, but the One coming after him is mightier and will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, he reminds us, in all humility, that passionately shared truth is an introduction to Christ’s love and mercy. Some will accept that introduction and be led to Him. Others will reject that introduction and walk away. Sharing the truth may result in people walking away from you, but the sad truth is they are walking away from God. Rejection of God should break our hearts. It’s a rejection more severe than any perceived judgment we will ever feel on earth. This awareness should cause us to pray harder, speak the truth with humility and love, and not fear rejection or judgment from others. [bctt tweet="Rejection of God should break our hearts. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” // Luke 17: 3 Forgiveness has many layers to it. I’m a very forgiving person, quick to reconcile with God and others, not withholding love from them even after I’ve been wronged. However, it wasn’t until I went through the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s (19th Annotation) that I realized I had a lot of wounds from my sins and the sins of others. The way I was treated and, at times, discarded, had long-term emotional and spiritual effects on me. I shared this with my spiritual director, and she helped me through an exercise where I rejected several evil spirits and asked God to replace those areas of emptiness with a new spirit and grace. + I rejected the spirit of manipulation and asked God to replace it with His spirit of courage and right judgment. + I rejected a spirit of shame and asked God to replace it with His spirit of honesty and truth. + I rejected a spirit of comparison and asked God to replace it with His spirit of authenticity. + I rejected a spirit of fear and asked God to replace it with His spirit of trust. + I rejected a spirit of loneliness and asked God to replace it with His spirit of love. I had told myself numerous lies, I had to reject evil spirits, I had to acknowledge wounds, and I had to allow myself to grieve deaths. Forgiveness had been given to me, but I hadn’t fully received all God wanted me to receive. There’s a reason God says to forgive seven times seven. Forgiveness, like wounds, goes much deeper, and we often don’t see the damage beneath the skin and memory. “Be on your guard” (Luke 11:3), sister, but don’t remain guarded. God wants to pour life-giving grace upon you. Our hearts are so tender and easily broken. The way we love, forgive, and desire reconciliation is one of the most beautiful aspects of our feminine genius. I believe the way we forgive and receive forgiveness changes human relationships and makes them more honest and authentic. I invite you today to reject any evil spirits that are not of God and ask the Lord to replace that place of emptiness with His Spirit. Be open to receive all the grace God wants to give you today. [bctt tweet="Ask the Lord to replace the places of emptiness with His Spirit. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

"Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." // Luke 17:19 “Please, Momma, make me a mother like you!” I will never forget the sound of desperation in that woman’s voice, her ache for a child. She entered the baths of Lourdes, knowing Momma Mary would bring her cry to her Son. Her faith was stronger than an Olympian's; her prayer was more beautiful than any song I’d ever heard. There was vulnerability and intimacy between a mother-to-be and the Mother of our Savior. Her prayer for healing sounded like a vow she was exchanging to God to be a mother who would love and lead her child directly to Him. The waters of Lourdes, France, have an profound effect on one’s soul. The prayers prayed in silence and aloud co-mingle with the healing waters. To witness the faith of countless women freely disrobing and plunging into the waters, wrapped in a sheet, in order to be cleansed from illness and infirmity will forever be the most humbling moment of my life. It is not unlike today’s Gospel. I will never know if the faith of the women I helped lower into the baths of Lourdes received the healing and grace they sought, but I do know that God heals every woman how He knows they need to be healed in those waters. I know God spoke to their hearts the same thing He spoke to mine, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you" (Luke 17:19). I was not healed from Multiple Sclerosis when I plunged into the icy cold waters. However, the depression that was plaguing me was immediately released. God knew I needed healing from depression. He also knew that the gift of Multiple Sclerosis would lead me into a deeper love and trust with Him and a greater understanding of His suffering for me, for us, on the Cross. So today, I return to Him in thanksgiving for all the ways He has healed and will heal me. I offer a prayer of gratitude for all the women who allowed a stranger to pray alongside her as she faithfully offered her prayers for healing to our Mother Mary and God. May God heal what we need to heal most today for His glory. [bctt tweet="Return to Him in thanksgiving. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

[D]ust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it. // Ecclesiastes 12:8 Death is an everyday experience. The small sacrifices you make for family or friends are sometimes a conscious, yet often unconscious, dying to self. We experience small deaths when a beloved friend moves or a child leaves the nest or when you retire, or the career you put your blood, sweat, and tears into comes to an end. Life may not end, but it is dramatically altered, leaving a hollow space we don't know how to fill. Then, there is death when the "dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:8). This death causes a rupture in the earth's atmosphere and your soul, leaving a cavern deep within the recesses of our hearts. Grief is hard. It comes out of nowhere, triggering emotions you have never suffered and memories that invoke joy and trauma sealed away. A song on the radio, the aroma of perfume or cologne, or even the taste of your grandmother's Christmas punch can open up the floodgates of emotion. We must remember we are the resurrection people. The Apostles’ lives were ruptured when the Son of Man was "handed over to men" (Luke 9:44). Only one Apostle remained to behold Jesus crucified on the Cross. The Apostles even locked themselves in the Upper Room to grieve the loss they felt before Jesus passed through the door and offered them peace. Sister, whatever you are grieving, allow yourself to feel every emotion. Sing that song at the top of your lungs that reminds you of a road trip with your best friend who moved. Spray your husband's cologne on your dog so it feels like he is nearby. Invite the Lord into the areas of loss, emptiness, and sorrow. He wants to meet you there to heal you and reveal the joy of resurrection. Yes, grief is complicated. But when God is holding your hand and revealing His eternal plan, you can display your wounds and surrender them to the Lord. I invite you to do that now. [bctt tweet="He wants to heal you. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." // Luke 10:41-42 Anxiety and exhaustion got the best of me the other day. I am an extroverted introvert and a college campus minister who has been going nonstop since in-person classes began in August. Coming out of the pandemic and building community meant a lot of events, Bible studies, retreats, and spiritual directing. Smack in the middle of all this stress, I took a day to pray and rest. I got my coffee and headed to the beach to be still, listen, and breathe. I felt the vibrations of the music pumping through speakers as people sped by on their bikes. I breathed in the fresh air and listened to the sound of the wind rattling through the palm trees. I smelled the salty air from the waves crashing on the shore and heard laughter ebb and flow from everyone around me. Finally, I listened to the Lord once the chaotic chatter had left my head. It took me hours to be still and finally hear Him speak in my heart. He spoke into my fears and my pride-induced exhaustion. He gently soothed my heart that felt stretched and bruised from trying to do it all on my own. He reminded me that without Him I can do nothing, but with Him all things are possible. And He told me, Today, you have chosen the better part and it will not be taken from you (Luke 10:42). It was an effort to stop and be still, one that I fight all the time. I take it as a badge of honor to do all I do. But it’s more a badge of pride I need to examine and confess so I can rely on God more and give Him the glory. I wish this Gospel of Martha and Mary wasn’t such a mirror in my life, but it is. It’s my new examination as I end my day: was I more Martha or Mary today? Depending on how I answer, I know how close I am to the Lord. Join me in this examination, sister? Maybe then we will get closer and closer to resting in the presence of God. [bctt tweet="Rely on God. // @SoCalTriciaT " username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

The LORD God called to him and asked him, “Where are you?” // Genesis 3:9 I often contemplate John bringing Mary into where he was staying before sunset after Jesus was entombed. In my imagination, he serves some food and wine for her to eat and drink. Exhausted and trembling, she cups the chalice evoking the Last Supper she served her Son and the Apostles. The room is quiet, no words are exchanged. There are no words for what they have just witnessed. Mary looks down at her clothes, covered in the blood of her Son from when He was placed in her lap after being removed from the Cross. She curls up on the floor, drawing her chest to her legs, cradling the linen, wishing to hold her Son one more time. She goes outside and washes her clothes in the last moments of daylight. She scrubs and scours till the stains minimize yet are never fully removed. She knows her Son will rise, so she hangs the linens on a clothesline to dry as she waits for the Sabbath to begin and pass. She looks up to heaven with a song of praise on her lips. As the day passes, the faintest voice resonates in Mary’s heart, “Where are you?” God probed Adam and Eve in the garden with this question, but at this moment, God whispers it to Mary with gratitude. He is beckoning her to Him, wanting her to draw near Him intimately in the hours before Christ’s Resurrection. “Where are you?” Jesus calls out as He looks for His mother. Mary sees His shadow in the rising sun through the garments and rushes through the laundry and into His arms. She can feel His breath, hear His heartbeat, and hold His body once more. “I am here, Son; I never left Your side. I will never leave Your side.” Tears of joy stream down their faces as they embrace. “Where are you?” Jesus asks us this question today. Are we waiting with hopeful expectation for the resurrected Christ to beckon us to draw closer to Him, or are we shamefully hiding in the garden like Adam and Eve? I pray we are running through the linens embracing a merciful God. Regardless of your answer, take time today to be aware that His Resurrection is our resurrection. [bctt tweet="His Resurrection is our resurrection. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” // Acts 1:11 The other day I was scrolling through Instagram and came upon a reel that read (and said), “A lot of people feel they’re burned out because they are doing too much. You’re doing too little of the things that make you feel alive; you’re doing too little of the things that really matter.” When I heard this, it was like a lightbulb went off in my heart and then my head. It forced me to pray about what it means to be people of resurrection who believe in Christ’s Resurrection from the dead and Ascension into Heaven. I've been living with the posture of my heart bearing a cross, not as a woman who believes in the Resurrection and ascension of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that all of us carry crosses, but Jesus didn’t stay on the cross. He was gently taken down, carefully bound in a tomb, rose from the dead, and forty days later ascended into Heaven. Do I live with this reality, this truth guiding my life? Or am I like the Apostles looking into the sky wondering where Jesus went? Wondering why He left me? I think this is how the devil deceives us to carry crosses that were never meant for us instead of living as women fully alive with the singular target of Heaven as our mark. We burn out doing things that don’t bring us joy, don’t fulfill us, don’t really matter—aka living with the posture of the cross bearers. This Easter season, I have chosen to start doing the things that make me feel alive, the things that really matter to me. I’m discovering the crosses don’t go away, but they have a greater purpose than before. Each cross makes me look at what I’m doing and ask the most important question: Lord, is this what will glorify You? Ask yourself this today. [bctt tweet="Jesus didn’t stay on the cross. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. // Luke 24:10 The women were: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and a few others. The announcement of the Resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, from the dead was announced to women. Saint Luke focuses our attention on the women the same way he focused our attention on Mary and Elizabeth when he wrote about the annunciation and visitation. Our Mother Mary believed what the angel spoke to her and said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Elizabeth greeted Mary by saying, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Luke 1:45). The women at the tomb “remembered his words,” (Luke 24:8) returning to the upper room from the tomb proclaiming the good news to the Apostles with spices still in their hands. Sister, these women listened with their hearts and believed before they could wrap their minds around what they had heard. There is an authority in a woman’s testimony fueled by love when the world wants to silence her voice. Passion and conviction in His resurrection filled the air of that upper room as the woman proclaimed in their own words more than the fact that the tomb was empty. They proclaimed that death was no more, and their voices were the first to proclaim this life-altering revelation. The coming of our Savior was announced to a young virgin named Mary, betrothed to a man named Joseph by an angel. Likewise, the announcement that her Son, Jesus, rose from the dead was shared with Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The greatest truth our world has ever known was announced to women who shared it with the world. This Easter season, let us announce this incredible truth with the same passion as the women running from the tomb. [bctt tweet="Let us announce this incredible truth. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

"And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” // Matthew 6:18 I’ve never been a person for PDA (public displays of affection). I’m always uncomfortable witnessing couples in intimate moments that should remain private! Intimacy is so precious that seeing it on display takes on a prideful nature that rids the moment of authentic affection. The same is true with our relationship with God. We share these deeply intimate moments that only He can see and only you can cherish. Your relationship with Him is a love story more tangible to you than any other person on earth, even though you cannot physically see or feel Him. We don’t have to tweet about it or post our thoughts to an Instagram story. We simply get to savor the intimate time we have with our Father. He is the Person to Whom you can reveal your deepest longings, your fervent prayers, your tearful mourning, your fears, and your suffering. He strengthens you when you fast and abstain during the forty days that lie before us this Lenten season. He meets you in your inner room, closing the door so you two can be together with no eyes peering into your sacred time of prayerful conversation. You don’t even have to speak a word. Simply acknowledge His presence, and He sees what is hidden inside you and hears you. There is no need for public displays of praise and worship. No microphone is necessary for your hand to speak your testimony in an audible tone. For “your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (Matthew 6:6). Sisters, this season of Lent is an opportunity to cherish intimate occasions with the Lord. Make room for them in your schedule. Give alms without acknowledgment or reward for your actions or sacrifices. Go to your inner room and be transparent with the Lord in ways you haven’t been before. Appear resilient and lovely on days of fasting, knowing that “your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you” (Matthew 6:18). But more than anything, the Lord invites you to enter into hidden, secret intimacy with Him this Lenten season. [bctt tweet="He sees what is hidden inside you. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) // Mark 7:34 As a child, I suffered from horrible ear infections. I would wake in the mornings with blood-stained pillows, just screaming from the pain. My mom would lie by my side, anxiously tending to me until I fell asleep. I had tubes put in my ear multiple times only to have them burst when new infections arose. As a child going through multiple surgeries, being asked to freely surrender my arm for blood tests at the hospital, I remember hearing this Gospel and wishing Jesus would come and say over me, “Ephphatha! Be healed!” and that then the pain would stop. As I aged, my ear infections ceased (praise God!). But a familiar ache persisted and never relinquished: the ache to hear the voice of God. I have had seasons, as I’m sure you have, where I hear Him so clearly. I know His will, and I follow it. I close the doors He asks me to close. I recognize the doors He opens where my feet should tread, and I walk through them. I have also had seasons where His voice is hushed. When I read His Word, and nothing resonates. Stretches of time when I am confused and frustrated by too many options or lack thereof and don’t know where He is guiding me. It’s in these moments that I wish He would place His hand on my entire being and cry, “Ephphatha! Be opened!” In today's psalm refrain, we hear, “I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.” Sometimes we hear His voice through the people in our lives who bring us closer to Him. Who has God placed in your life to bring you to Him? We hear His voice when we acknowledge where we need healing and allow Him to heal us. Where do you need to be more open to God’s healing touch so you can hear His voice? “Ephphatha! Be opened!” Let us listen for Him today. [bctt tweet="Allow Him to heal. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

“Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” // John 2:4-5 I always marvel at the selflessness of our Mother Mary. She continually chooses God’s will over her own, first at the Annunciation, and again here at the Wedding Feast at Cana. She is clearly widowed at this point since Joseph is not mentioned at the wedding feast, only Jesus and His disciples. Her son has been busy collecting His disciples and no longer under her roof caring for her or providing for her on a daily basis. Yet, at this moment, during a wedding she will never witness for her own Son, she is more concerned about us, her children, than her own pierced heart. Since the moment Simeon told her that her heart would be pierced in the temple, she knew her Son would be torn away from her; could she imagine He would be torn and beaten and crucified? Jesus clearly tells His mother that His time has not yet come, and although she knows that ordering Him to do something about the wine shortage could advance Jesus’ messianic mission into warp speed, she still tells the waiter, “Do whatever He tells you.” At this moment, she is thinking more about our salvation than her own well-being. She desires the union she experiences to this day with God to be known by all her children. She selflessly began surrendering even more to the Father’s will at this moment, and she did so every day till her assumption into Heaven. Looking back on this wedding after Jesus’ death, did Mary wish she had not asked Him to do something about the wine so she could have a few more years with her Son on earth? I can’t imagine she did because she always had our salvation on her heart. Since she was without sin, her will was perfectly aligned to God’s. Her heart was pierced, not just from witnessing Jesus’ death, but also from our turning away from Christ, along with her longing for us to be in Heaven with her. Pray with Our Heavenly Mother today. Ask what she wants to teach you. [bctt tweet="She always had our salvation on her heart. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

“Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he." // Matthew 11:11 I love the relationship between Jesus and His cousin, John. It amuses me how in one breath, Jesus calls John the G.O.A.T. prophet, in the same sentence, refers to him as less than the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. It sounds like a typical family rivalry to me, and as family Christmas gatherings approach, I'm sure some of us are dreading a few we will attend. I’m not looking forward to the razzing my family will give me during our annual cornhole tournament which I won fair and square last year. It was a legit win regardless of the fact the entire family was not present. Rest assured, what sounds like a massive insult to John, being told that "the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he," is actually affirming John’s message and call to "Prepare a way for the Lord" (Mark 1:3). John, the last prophet of the Old Covenant between God and Israel, prepared people to encounter Christ, Who was bringing a New Covenant in which all peoples can become holy. Jesus is reminding us that we are called to live in the Kingdom of Heaven even during this earthly life. Hard to comprehend when the Christmas present list gets longer, and we put so much energy into building up the kingdom of Amazon versus the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus wants all men and women to fix their eyes on Heaven now. John the Baptist and Jesus are preaching a new message: one of hope, healing, reconciliation, and forgiveness of sins. Both Jesus and John point our gaze to Heaven. John prepared us to encounter Christ, and Christ makes us able to enter Heaven. In this season of Advent, the more we relinquish what binds us to the earth and weighs us down in sin, the more we will become the least in the Kingdom of Heaven like John. [bctt tweet="This earthly life is nothing compared to the Kingdom of Heaven. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

My Grandma went by the name "Sophie" her entire life. So, when I learned that her full name was Sophia, I was taken back. “Grandma, why did you choose to go by Sophie all your life when you have the loveliest name, Sophia?” I asked her. Quickly she barked back, “I never liked it! I was only called Sophia when I was in trouble.” Sophia is an expression of the feminine aspects of God, and ever since I learned the biblical figure Sophia, or Wisdom, was more than a metaphor, I wanted to name a future daughter this name. I know we often think of wisdom as simply a book in the Bible or a Gift of the Holy Spirit we call upon for an exam, but she is so much more. Chapter 7 of the Book of Wisdom gives us twenty-one attributes to help ponder her divine splendor: Intelligent Holy Unique Manifold Subtle Agile Clear Unstained Certain Not baneful Loving the good Keen Unhampered Beneficent Kindly Firm Secure Tranquil All-powerful All-seeing, And pervading all spirits, though they be intelligent, pure, and very subtle (Wisdom 7:22-23). Women and men alike count on wisdom to influence their thoughts, words, values, beliefs, and actions to embody some, if not all, these attributes. When I pray the Examen at the end of the day, I do so attempting to be “the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness” (Wisdom 7:23) like Sophia. I invite you to take some time to reflect on Wisdom 7:25. Ponder the gorgeous appearance of Sophia, “For she is a breath of the might of God and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore, nothing defiled can enter into her.” I pray my life might radiate the glory of the Almighty, allowing nothing to defile me. I know my grandmother’s life did, and for that, I have little hesitancy to ask for her intercession from Heaven. Granny Sophia, pray for me. Spirit of Wisdom, sweet Sophia, intoxicate my entire being. Amen. [bctt tweet="Radiate the glory of the Almighty. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

We don't often see the little things we do as significant, but God notices every small move we make. I remember when I was training for a half marathon. In the beginning, I could barely walk because of my Multiple Sclerosis flare-ups. In my mind, I wasn't going to reach the finish line. But I was patient with my body, started walking one mile, then two, then four, and so forth till I crossed the finish line walking 13.1 miles. Small steps lead to enormous finish lines! Sometimes we see ourselves as so small and insignificant that we cannot imagine God using us for His glory. What has been spoken to you or repeated in your mind and heart that has made you remain a tiny mustard seed rather than grow into the large mustard plant God created you to be? Sometimes we see the mountains before us as impossible, and we cannot imagine scaling the cliffs to take in the view from the other side. What are you facing that is disheartening to you? What metaphorical mountain seems too difficult for God to heal or overcome? Start small and be confident in your starting line; God is lighting the path. Fifteen minutes of prayer daily can lead to joining a Bible Study. A Bible Study might lead to you becoming a Catechist at your parish. Being a Catechist could lead to you going to daily Mass or finding a spiritual director. And all these small steps instill a greater love for the Lord. Love is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth where we long to dwell like the "birds of the sky who dwell in its branches" (Luke 13:19). And it all started with fifteen minutes of prayer. You are not just a mustard seed; you are planted and watered and nurtured by God to grow and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Start simple. Remain steady. Be strengthened by God. [bctt tweet="God is lighting the path. // @SoCalTriciaT" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion

One of my favorite things to do is to cook with friends. Following a recipe, while singing songs, chopping vegetables, and sautéing ingredients in mounds of butter makes my heart soar in my best Julia Child's voice, “Bon Appétit!” For a lifetime, our senses of taste, smell, touch, sight, and sound can transport us to memories, communities, and homes in which we shared meals with loved ones. A sweet or savory meal has the power to awaken in us a hunger we didn’t know we had. But of course, we are always left hungry the next day. “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat,” Moses spoke these words to a grumbling Israelite community who complained about their hunger after God produced manna from Heaven. These men and women watched God part the Red Sea to ensure their escape and freedom to the promised land. Yet they were still hungry, still looking for a sign. What God did was not enough. And then right before today's Gospel passage, Jesus fed 5,000 men. They had witnessed a miracle, yet were still hungry, still looking for a sign. In today's Gospel, they asked Him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?” (John 6:30). What Jesus did was not enough. Even though He offered them the Bread of Life, it was not what they wanted. He offered them His flesh to eat and His blood to drink so they might never hunger or thirst again. Like the Israelites, they had witnessed a miracle of God’s provision, and yet they would rather get a snack to hold them over rather than be satisfied. How like the people in Exodus and Matthew am I? I hunger for things of this world that leave me empty. Even though I’ve witnessed God’s provision, seen His miracles, and consumed His precious Body and Blood, I still don’t fully receive all He wants to give me. Lord, help my unbelief and help me hunger and thirst for the Bread of Life, Your precious Body and Blood, more every day till I reach the heavenly banquet. Only then will I be fully satisfied. [bctt tweet="Lord, help my unbelief. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion  

Who am I? I struggled with comparison long before social media took it to a stratosphere out of this world. As a teenager, I compared my weight to that of the girls on the Drill Team. As a college student, I compared myself to the grading curve, which I never helped establish. As a single woman in my forties, I look at Christian marriages and families with children and feel less than the woman God created me to be. Throughout my years in ministry, I’ve compared myself to the woman or man on stage giving the talk, the Catholic writer who released another book in her spare time, and the titles people bore. I never felt wise or educated enough to preach the truths of our Church or worthy enough to serve in the name of the Lord. So, you can say, I relate to Moses when he asked, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11) I remember one night in Adoration, when I was comparing myself to someone, the Lord gently reminded me I was His beloved daughter. I am not too much or too little; I am who He created me to be. As long as I follow the voice of the Shepherd, I will know where He is calling me and what He is calling me to do. He doesn't care about titles, or degrees, or accomplishments; He only cares about my soul. He rid me of the need to be equal to or greater than anyone else. He told me to stop striving and start abiding. Sister, instead of asking the question, “Who am I?” with doubt of what we have to offer to God, we should ask the question with the confidence of Whose we are. God made each of us unique and perfect. When He calls us to lead His people out of slavery like Moses did the Israelites, or maybe just to invite them to return to Mass, He knows who He is calling. He does not doubt our ability to lead our sisters and brothers to Him. Let's do it. [bctt tweet="He knows who He is calling. // @socaltriciat" username="blessedisshe__"] listen to today’s devotion