When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles. // Luke 6:13 When transitioning into a new school, I had high hopes about maintaining the friendships I had at my previous school. I was excited to begin a new chapter of my life—alongside them. Some time had passed and an ache in my heart began to develop as I watched my previous friends choose other people besides me, which eventually led to the parting of our ways. My heart was deeply confused. Did I do something wrong? Am I not cool enough for them? Why didn’t they choose me?  In today’s Gospel, we hear of when Jesus called His disciples: “When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles” (Luke 6:13). Despite their weaknesses and unworthiness, Jesus still invited them to follow Him.  As Jesus chose the Twelve, He also chooses you. He calls you by name. You belong to Him, and He will never move on from your friendship with Him. No matter what you do, He will always desire your love and attention. It’s easy to be conflicted inside over this truth, especially when the lies of the enemy take deep root in our hearts. But Jesus calls you to Himself, to draw near to His Most Sacred Heart that burns for you.  Sister, I want to gently invite you to stay close to His Sacred Heart in prayer and throughout your day. His Heart is where you’ll discover the truth about yourself. You don’t have to “fix” yourself in order to approach His Heart. He doesn’t want another version of you. His Heart desires to embrace you exactly where you are. Allow His burning love to reveal to you that you are chosen by Him. He chooses you every day.  Jesus, we love You. Thank You for choosing us every day of our lives. Help us to bask in the warmth of Your love that burns from Your Most Sacred Heart. May we have the courage and grace to choose You every day, just as You choose us. Amen. 

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” // Luke 11:28 I cringed and was filled with discomfort as I flipped through my childhood Bible; it was full of pink highlighting, some scribbled notes, and a few designs I probably copied from Pinterest. When flipping through, all I could focus on was how immature I was at the time that I received the Bible. I assumed that the verses that stood out to me as a child, didn’t apply to me as a young adult. It was easy to become dismissive of my younger self, and I assumed that I was being careless with the verses that stood out to me.  In today’s Gospel Acclamation, we hear, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it” (Luke 11:28).  Sister, maybe you’ve experienced a similar situation, where you were dismissive towards the younger version of yourself, reflecting on your past brokenness or immaturity. As you read those captivating verses when you were younger, the Lord wasn’t thinking of your brokenness or immaturity, but He was using His word to communicate to your heart. The Word is alive and active. The verses that stuck out to you as a child are not immature, but they are the very foundation of your relationship with Him. They entail all the pieces that add up to the story between you and Him.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “In sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them” (source). Friend, I want to gently encourage you to reflect on a verse that captivated your heart when you were younger. Allow the Lord to pour out His love upon you through His living Word. May your heart be filled with the joy that you experienced when you first discovered Him. Allow Him to take you back to that place of intimacy.  Lord, I love You. Thank You for Your Word. Lord, take me back to that place of intimacy. Allow my heart to be filled with Your love for me, Your beloved daughter. Amen. 

“O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” // Matthew 15:28  That my suffering, united to Your own, will bear fruit in this life and the next, Jesus, I trust in You.  That You will not leave me orphan, that You are present in Your Church, Jesus, I trust in You.  The Litany of Trust, written by one of the Sisters of Life, was the only prayer I could muster up the strength to say, as an unfamiliar ache filled my heart. My brother was in the hospital with a serious mental condition, and while we were finally getting answers to his mental health, it didn’t diminish the pain that he and my family had experienced. There were very few days that had passed where I didn’t express any anger at the Lord for my brother’s suffering. My mom said, “The Lord hasn’t abandoned our family,” yet it was hard for my grieving heart to hold on to that truth.  In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus say to a desperate mother, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish” (Matthew 15:28).  Once the storm started to calm down around our family, I had a difficult time building trust in the Lord again. My heart clung to many lies that developed because of my woundedness. Like the Canaanite woman, I began to see how faith has an effect on my relationship with Him. It’s not that I always get what I ask for, but I’m learning that He doesn’t settle when it comes to healing. He is not bound by the limitations that we place on Him or by the complexity of a situation. He’s looking at our faith, not our brokenness.  Sister, I want to encourage you to make an act of faith today. If you feel that your faith is weary, bring that to Him. Tell Him everything. There is nothing that He can’t do.  Lord, I love You. Help me to make an honest act of faith today. When my heart is weary, fill it with Your love. Reveal to me Your trustworthiness. Amen.

“Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” // Matthew 8:26 Last year, my family carried a heavy cross as we dealt with a heartbreaking situation with one of my siblings. I found myself constantly anxious, not knowing what the outcome was going to be. I tried my best to numb the pain with all kinds of distractions. Instead of bringing all of my pain to the Lord, I thought I could handle all of it on my own.  In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus say to His disciples,”Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26) Jesus doesn’t propose this question to the disciples to condemn them, but He uses it to build their relationship with Him. He wants them to know Him and know His heart towards them. I was terrified because I didn’t know Him as well as I should. Sister, I know how hard it is to trust, especially when you’ve been disappointed or hurt by others.  Building a relationship with the Lord takes time, and He invites us to be honest with Him. You can tell Him about your fears, doubts, wounds, etc. You can tell Him that you’re having a hard time trusting Him. Again, He’s not here to condemn, but to love and transform our hearts to be in union with Him. He wants to show you that you can trust Him, that He’s true to His promises. The disciples thought the storm was too much for Jesus to handle, and Jesus showed them how He can do the impossible.  Sister, I don’t know what storms are rushing through your life right now, but I want you to know that you don’t have to muscle through on your own strength or numb the pain with distractions. I want to gently invite you to present all of your struggles to Jesus. Allow Him to hold you. Allow Him to comfort you and to speak truth into your heart about His trustworthiness. Let Him show you Who He is.  Jesus, we love You. Please reveal Your heart to us. Help us to know that You are good and trustworthy. Amen.

“Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One.” // Matthew 5:37 Growing up, being deeply insecure, I had a hard time knowing who I was in the Lord’s eyes. I would often look at my peers and compare myself to them. I compared my accomplishments, body, personality, you name it. I was constantly picking myself apart, wanting to always be someone else. The taunting voices of the enemy attacked my identity.  In today's Gospel we hear Jesus say, “Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One” (Matthew 5:37). Friend, Jesus means what He says, and He means what He says about you. He says yes. Yes, you are delighted in by Him. Yes, you are lovely and precious in His eyes. Yes, He’s pursuing your heart in every moment of every day. Yes, He desires to pour His overflowing mercy upon you.  However, before I knew the Heart of the Lord and His tone of voice, it was hard for me to grasp on to the truth. I came to know Him through daily prayer. It’s been seven years since I started a regular prayer life, and I still have moments where I struggle in my identity. I still have to be reminded of Who He is, and who I am. The enemy attempts to take us down and strip us of our identity, but the Lord breathes life into our lungs and restores the truth of our identity as His beloved daughters. Sister, can I gently encourage you to sit with Him today, and ask, Lord, how do you see me? He’s always ready and wanting to communicate His love to your heart. By spending time with Him and allowing ourselves to receive from Him, we will know the constant pursuit of His heart toward ours. We will be firmly rooted in our identity as we have a deeper knowledge of Who He is and allow Him to show us who we are.  Lord, we love You and we praise You. Help us to know Who You are and who we are in Your eyes. Amen.

“If you remain in My word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth.” // John 8:31-32 It’s a no-brainer that we live in a noisy world. Our lives can be filled with many distractions, both internally and externally. In our world of noise, it’s crucial for us to reflect on whose voice we are listening to. As I've experienced, it’s easy to give in to the lies that the enemy attempts to plant within our precious-daughter hearts—especially lies that emphasize the areas of ourselves that are most wounded or places of lingering insecurity.  In the verse for today’s Alleluia, Jesus reveals to His disciples that, “If you remain in My word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth” (John 8:31-32).  Sister, can I gently encourage you to sit with Him today and ask, What do You say about me? Spend time with Him in His loving presence—either meeting Him in your heart, in His words in Scripture, and/or in His presence in Eucharistic Adoration. The more you spend time with Him, the more you will know Who He is and who you are. Where the enemy wants to pick us and our wounds apart, Jesus wants to pick up those broken pieces of our hearts—and not just heal, but make them completely new. Where the enemy’s voice leaves us feeling shameful, the Lord’s voice rejuvenates our hearts and entire beings.  The Lord upholds the dignity of your heart and daughterhood. Go to Him and believe His words. Lord, we love You and we praise You. May we, as Your beloved daughters, come to You for our healing, and allow the words of Your Heart take root in ours. May we know the Truth. Amen.

The Lord remembered her. // 1 Samuel 1:19 My heart sank as I brought my eyes to the light of Jesus’ gaze in prayer. In my heart, I carried what I assumed was another broken promise. At this point in my faith journey, the only experience I’d had with Jesus doing the miraculous was that He wasn’t. Whenever I asked for something impossible, the exact opposite happened. I held a grudge from those painful experiences. They always seemed to seep into my ever-growing relationship with the Lord.  In today’s First Reading, we read the story of Hannah and how she vulnerably brought her pain to the Lord. Her waiting season was difficult, but as we read, “The Lord remembered her” (1 Samuel 1:19).  Friend, I don’t know what promise you're waiting for the Lord to fulfill, but I want you to know that He will do it even if He does it in a way you don’t expect. Waiting can be painful, but it’s never a waste. In my time of waiting, I've had moments of agony and confusion, but it’s a pathway to knowing the Lord more intimately and an opportunity to grow in holiness. It’s exciting to think about the gifts that He desires to pour out; however, it’s also beautiful to be exactly where you are.  If you’re struggling to be right where you are, then, like Hannah, allow yourself to be vulnerable with the Lord. Let your guard down. He desires to make all things new. That includes you, your heart, your faith, and your relationship with Him. You don’t have to do this alone; He’s here and wants to walk alongside you during this journey.  Sister, can I gently encourage you to vulnerably bring whatever you're carrying in your heart, and entrust it to Him? Whether it’s a promise He’s made to you, an unhealed wound, or a desire. Whatever it is, bring it to Him. He will move. He will do the impossible. It’s what He does best. Lord, we love You. Help us to be vulnerable in our desires so that we may build a more intimate relationship with You, that we may know and love You deeper than we have before. Amen.

“ . . . but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.” // Luke 21:4 As I approached my junk-covered desk and tried to clear off some space, I attempted to quiet my mind and heart for prayer. My cluttered desk resembled my cluttered heart. Prayer was the last thing I wanted to do, yet I still knew it was the only thing I needed. I opened up a livestream of Eucharistic Adoration on my computer as my body weighed heavily on my desk chair. I wasn’t exhausted physically, but emotionally.  I attempted to keep my focus on the Beloved, but my mind was going in a million different directions. Although my atmosphere was quiet, my mind raged with commotion. Through my frustration, I told Jesus, I’m sorry, but no one prepared me for this. No one told me that my friend was going to be sent to the ER for suicidal thoughts. I’m overwhelmed and I have nothing to give You.  In today’s Gospel, we read, “ . . . but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood” (Luke 21:4). Much like the widow in this Gospel, I didn’t have much to give. The tender love of Jesus caught my attention when He gently whispered into my heart, Take comfort in My presence. It’s enough that you chose to sit here with Me.  Sister, Jesus knows the depths of our suffering. He knows how shocking these unexpected and heartbreaking experiences can be. He doesn’t expect us to “get it.” All He wants is you. He doesn’t even need your words; He just wants you. Even if in your prayer you can only sit in silence or just cry the entire time or express your need to be mad at Him, He wants all of that.  All we give to Him is a gift and it’s enough. It’s enough for Him.  Lord Jesus, we love You and we praise You. Help us to lift our hearts, our pain, our sufferings to You. Help us to know and root ourselves in the truth that You're always here. That You care. That You love us more deeply and infinitely than we can imagine. Amen.

"Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." // Luke 12:15 My heart used to ache to be noticed by those around me back when I went to my public high school. There’s always something so painful about being terribly insecure. And looking at other girls at my school caused great discomfort in my heart, as I thought that I needed to be like them or possess the same material items that they had in order to be seen. What I didn’t know was that possessing what these other girls had would not bring satisfaction to my heart. It would leave me still thirsting for more.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions” (Luke 12:15).  While material things are glorified in our world, we can be certain that the most valuable riches that we can ever receive are actually contained within the Eucharist. The Eucharist rejuvenates our hearts and our entire lives here on Earth. In moments where I don’t feel like praying, when I am caught up in material riches or concerns, the Lord gently reminds me of how deeply the Eucharistic presence of Jesus affects my heart. His Divine Love speaks volume to our hearts and produces a deep peace that we’re constantly hungering for.  Whereas our world tells us to be busy, productive, and constantly on the go, the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus invites us to be still and to find our true rest in Him.  There's nothing more beautiful than being rich in the Love that we were created for and finding our identity in Him. Not in our material possessions. Not in our relationship status. Not in what we have or don’t have, but in Him and Him alone.  And when we take time to know Who He is, we will also learn who we truly are. Jesus, we love You. Help us to know our worth and identity in You and You alone. May You reveal to us the riches of Your Eucharistic heart, so that we may enter in Your love more deeply. Help us to know Who You are. Amen.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him. // Psalm 145:18 While walking in mindless laps up and down my driveway, I noticed that the dreary weather was an outward reflection of my heart. It was barely the third week of Lent, and it was already the most “Lenty” Lent I had yet experienced. My heart suffered as I experienced family frustrations, awful weather conditions which left a literal trail of obstacles, and a loved one taking on the painful cross of mental health issues. No matter how much effort I put into prayer, it seemed like nothing was working. I wrestled back and forth with God throughout these sufferings: Are my prayers not good enough for You? Do you not see what’s happening? Do you even care, God?  My emotional state had put a huge wedge in my relationship with the Lord. He seemed to be missing. In today’s Responsorial Psalm, we read, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him” (Psalm 145:18).  My prayers weren’t answered right away, but throughout the weeks, I began to see glimpses of the Resurrection through everyday goodness. Through each bit of goodness, He began to reveal to my heart that He does listen and is near.  Friend, can I encourage you to pause throughout the day and notice how the Lord is active in your life? What bits of goodness is He using to speak to your heart? It can be as simple as pretty flowers on the side of the road. A new song to sing along to. A compliment from a stranger.  Sister, I know how painful the waiting period can be. Even now, more than five months after Lent, I can still find myself asking the same questions.  The Lord desires to reveal His love to you through the big and the ordinary. He is near, and more attentive to our hearts than we can imagine. Heavenly Father, we love You and we praise You. Lord, help us to know that You listen. Help us to be attentive to the ways that You’re revealing Your love to us right now. Amen. 

You have searched me and you know me, Lord. // Psalm 139:1 For years, I pondered on where I belonged. I always felt different from my peers at school and my friends . . . even sometimes in my family circle I felt like the odd-one-out. My heart had been searching for not only my belonging, but something or someone to belong to. I found myself filling my empty heart with things that would only produce temporary satisfaction, and it always left me hungering for something more, something greater.  In today’s Responsorial Psalm, we read, “You have searched me and you know me, Lord” (Psalm 139:1). As I was attempting to satisfy my heart, I wasn’t aware of the Love that was after it. He saw my ache, and He had a desire to fill my heart.  The Lord sees your emptiness. He yearns to fill the areas where you feel unloved, unseen, and unwanted. Friend, I know how intimidating it can be to open up those dark places. It’s a vulnerable thing to do, but know that there’s not a single moment where the Lord isn’t pursuing you. You are His. I found my identity because of His love. Being confident in my identity is still an ongoing journey. I can question myself from time to time, but the good news is that the Lord doesn’t get tired of re-rooting my heart in His delight for me. All I have to do is ask. Sister, can I gently encourage you to ask Him? Ask The Father to reveal His love for you. Ask Him to help you to root your heart in the Truth about who you are in His eyes.  Allow the Father’s love to reveal your identity. Your identity rests in Him, and Him alone. Father, we love You and we thank You. Please gently and lovingly root our hearts in Your love, so that we may have a deeper understanding and confidence in You and in our identity as Your beloved daughters. Amen. 

So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. // Matthew 10:31 Sitting cozily on my bed, in my dim cotton-candy-pink bedroom, I began to scroll through Instagram, because what else does a high-schooler do on a late and uneventful Saturday evening? It was the night of my junior year homecoming dance, but after conversing with my friends, it was clear that they decided not to go. I didn’t see a point in going if my friends weren’t. My heart sank when I came across a photo that one of my friends shared. She and all my other friends went to the dance. Without me.  I was confused and quite shocked. Why did no one reach out to me? Why did they hide this? Not to mention the lies that the enemy tried to plant in my heart. Lies about my worth, my personality. In today’s Gospel, we read, “So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).  Even though I felt abandoned, Jesus was with me. This incident took place before I had built a deeper relationship with Him, but I know He was with me. For Jesus doesn’t forget us. He isn’t hiding any secrets, but is always inviting us to be with Him.  Sister, when you feel abandoned, lonely, or forgotten, let the embrace of His love heal your aching heart. Can I gently encourage you to go to Eucharistic Adoration or simply acknowledge His presence? Turn your eyes towards the Heart of Christ and allow Him to reveal to you how precious you are in His eyes.  He’s not going to abandon, forget, or hurt you. He wants to love you. Let Him love you.  Friend, He finds you worthy. You are so worthy in His eyes. Sweet Jesus, we love You and we praise You. Thank You for loving us so well. Holy Spirit, please awaken our hearts and minds so that we may openly receive the love of Christ and know how worthy we are in His sight. Amen. 

As the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere and pure commitment to Christ. // 2 Corinthians 11:3 Looking back to the time after my reversion, I can see how my vision of the identity that I had been gifted with was twisted. As I was struggling to build a relationship with Christ, instead of experiencing His love, I began to take deeper notice of my flaws, weaknesses, or the things I couldn’t love about myself. In fact, I found it easier to cling to false identities than to cling to what He thinks of me. In today’s First Reading, we hear from Saint Paul, “As the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere and pure commitment to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). Eve’s identity as a daughter wasn’t taken away after the fall, but her perception of the Lord and the way He sees her was altered, because of the lies that the enemy placed on her heart. How often do we listen to the lies of the enemy, instead of sitting in the Lord's tender silence, and allowing Him to tell us who we are? Sister, can I gently encourage you to go to Eucharistic Adoration or to just simply sit and acknowledge His presence?  In the presence of Divine Love, you are seen, wanted, deeply desired and delighted in, heard, known, and infinitely loved beyond comprehension. His Eucharistic Heart desires you. That’s all He wants. You.  I know it’s sometimes easier to cling to shame, flaws, and insecurities, but as St. Augustine says, “Our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee”(source). When we invite the loving presence of Jesus into our hearts, we are allowing Him to slowly and gently root ourselves in our identity as God’s beloved daughters.  The truth of our identity is found in Him and Him alone.  Allow Jesus, Who is Divine Love, to speak the truth of your identity to your heart.  Jesus, we love You and we praise You. Help our restless hearts to be rooted in how You see us, as God’s beloved daughters. May You help our hearts to be planted firmly in that truth. Amen.

“Whoever loves me will keep my word.” // John 14:2 As I began to crawl back into the Faith, a huge burden was put on my heart, mind, and relationship with Jesus as I began to believe the lies of the enemy. I found myself questioning Jesus’ love for me. At some point I was convinced that His love for me was nonexistent. I closed the doors to receiving His love as I continued to deny the truth that He deeply desires every bit of me and my messy, little, and broken heart. In today's Gospel, we read, “Whoever loves me will keep my word” (John 14:23). As I still struggle from time to time, the Holy Spirit has begun to guide me to put aside what the enemy says and instead focus on what Jesus says about me. Sister, you are deeply and wholeheartedly, loved, seen, heard, desired, and known by the Creator. Friend, His Word is true. What He says about you is true. You can trust the One Who displayed His love for all, through His most excruciating Passion. He doesn’t require anything from you to receive His love. He’s not holding anything back from you. It’s not something we deserve, yet He gives it to us so freely. We can choose to accept the gift of Love or we can put it aside. Sister, I know how painful and violating the lies of the enemy are upon our hearts. I gently encourage you, at some point, to ask Jesus what He says about you and to begin to root yourselves in those Truths. Turn your focus upon the Love that you were created for. Have confidence in His Word. God, we love You and praise You. Help us to root ourselves in Your truth about our daughterhood. Help us to see ourselves as You see us. Amen.

His mercy endures forever. // Psalm 136:1 Accepting the gift of Jesus’ mercy has been something that I’ve struggled with for years, especially after my personal reversion that took place four years ago. I would come in and out of Confession feeling numb. The shame was easier to cling to than the forgiveness. However, the Redeemer has constantly restored my mind from the lies of the enemy that say that I’m not forgiven. I specifically remember one moment in Eucharistic Adoration when God gently whispered in my heart, You are not your sins; you are My daughter. During a homily, I heard that one of the most dangerous things we could do was to be resilient towards forgiveness. Not only towards each other, but mostly Jesus’ everlasting mercy. In today’s Responsorial Psalm, we read, “His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:1). Sister Faustina, a Polish nun, was asked by Jesus to spread the truth about His deep desire for us to receive His forgiveness, His Divine Mercy. Written in Saint Faustina’s diary, Jesus told her, “Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as a scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout eternity” (notebook 2, section 699). Friend, He wants to enter your heart. Every part of it. Not only the beautiful parts, but also the areas where we might be afraid for Him to see. It’s difficult, especially when we are under the heavy weight of our sin, but we have a loving Father Who yearns to lift the weight off our shoulders. When our souls are cleansed in the Sacrament of Confession, our hearts become closer to Him, and there we are re-rooted to our identities as beloved daughters. There’s not a single heart that the Lord doesn’t desire to cleanse in His merciful love. Jesus, we love You and praise You. Thank You for the gift of Your Divine Mercy. Help us to root ourselves in the truth of Your merciful and everlasting love. Amen. {formbuilder:MTAxMDY1}

Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly. // Mark 8:25 Let Him look at you. These words spoken by our retreat speaker, not to only me, but the many women who were attending this retreat, caused a familiar discomfort in my wounded heart. I slightly shuttered at the idea of allowing Jesus, upon the altar, to look at me. Due to losing trust in people who I thought cared about me, I would tend to close up and assume that I didn't want to be seen as I truly was. Unfortunately, this wound crept into my ever-growing relationship with Jesus. For too long I would come to Him with a filter on, thinking that I had to clean up my act in order to be loved by Him. In today’s Gospel Reading, we read about Jesus healing the blind man: “Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly” (Mark 8:25). My lack of vision was restored when I drew my gaze to Him on the altar. I truthfully told Him, God, I’m a mess. In His beautiful gentleness, He reassured me, No, you're not a mess. You're My daughter. Sister, He’s not asking for a clean-up version of you. He wants all your brokenness, weakness, struggles, quirks, strengths, and everything in between. The qualities about yourself that you see as burdens are the delights of the Creator’s heart. He’s not here to fix what you think is wrong with you, but instead to redeem your heart and draw it back to His loving gaze. The Love that you’re created for is always ready to restore your sight, so that you will know who you are in His eyes. God, we love You. Please remind us who we are as Your beloved daughters. Help us to root ourselves in Your love. Amen.

Receive the word of God, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God. // 1 Thessalonians 2:13 During my first year of public high school, after attending a tiny Catholic school for about nine years, I quickly became aware of the various stereotypes and different ways people categorize themselves. As I struggled to find my place in this unfamiliar environment, I often looked for my identity in the amount of friends I had, number of social media followers, the kind of clothes that I wore, or the sort of compliments I received, etc. Searching for my identity in worldly things left my heart feeling empty, lost, and unseen. My mind was fixated on the fears of what others would think or say about me, instead of going to the One and hearing who He said I am. In today’s Gospel Acclamation, we read, “Receive the word of God, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). While I sought to place my worth in things that would provide only temporary satisfaction, my heart had yet to open to hear the words of Love speak life into my thirsty soul. Sister, the truth about your identity is in Him and in Him alone. You can trust the words of the One Who created you. Pope Saint John Paul ll has a well-known quote, “It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you” (source). Friend, when your soul is weary and restless, His words of love and truth for you are what will bring your heart back to life. He is more than delighted to remind you of your identity and the truth that you’re fully seen, heard, known, and loved by Our Most Loving Father. His words are true. Father Most Loving, we thank You and praise You. When our hearts are restless, please remind us of our identity as Your beloved daughters. Root this truth into our hearts. Amen.