There was something different about Carla. I was a college student and her oldest child was a freshman in high school, but I didn’t care about the age gap. I wanted to be her friend and for her to be my mentor. She would chat with me after Mass or over coffee, always finding time in her schedule. And she was busy. Along with attending all of her kids’ activities, she volunteered at their school and parish. She painted the nails of the residents at the local nursing home. She sought out the lonely and chatted with those who felt awkward in social situations. She invited people to join her table so no one would be alone. Once she bought pounds and pounds of flour, sugar, and butter and invited a financially struggling family over to spend the afternoon baking Christmas cookies. It was extravagant and magical to them but obvious and simple to her. I wanted to be more like her, to love like her, and to see like her. No one was too gross, ugly, poor, dirty, or old for her love. No one was untouchable to her. The reason: Jesus. In today’s Gospel Jesus says, “Love one another,” and explains that our love for others should easily identify us as Christians. (See John 13:34-35.) Carla loved God and her faith was something real, a relationship that spilled into all she did. Yes, there was something different about Carla and you knew it as soon as you met her. She knew Love and spread Love to others. [bctt tweet="She knew Love and spread Love to others." username="BonnieEngstrom"] Here's a basic primer on the Corporal Works of Mercy. Can you name all seven? Bonnie Engstrom is a writer, baker, speaker, and homemaker. She, her husband, and eight children live in central Illinois, and her son’s alleged miraculous healing through the intercession of Venerable Fulton Sheen was submitted to the Vatican for Sheen’s beatification. Bonnie pretends she has a green thumb, bakes a fantastic chocolate chip cookie, loves naps and chai tea, and blogs. You can find out more about her here. She is the author of the Blessed Conversations Mystery: Believe study found here.

Why can’t I pray like she does? How many times have I jealously thought this to myself? I have wondered why others appear to have closer relationships with God. She can have long conversations with the Lord! She can recite so many prayers from memory! She sticks to each novena she starts! Pure jealousy. I sit there, head bowed, but looking around to see what others are doing. I compare my prayer life to that of my sister. I envy her closeness with the Lord and how she seems to have the Holy Spirit touch her every word and action. But isn’t that exactly what I’ve been warned against? I reject the Word of God and His overwhelming love and adoration of me for a comparison game. No, I don’t pray like she does. But that’s okay. It’s good. And it’s how God designed it. Instead of being jealous as the Jews were in the First Reading, we are glad that we each have our own relationship with God. I do have my own, wholly unique relationship with the Lord. I pray in my own way. Sometimes I pray a rosary, sometimes I recite memorized prayers, sometimes I journal, sometimes I sit in silence in Adoration, sometimes I meet Him in Scripture, and sometimes I shake my fists in the air and in exasperation say, “What do you even want from me, God!?” My prayer life changes with the seasons of my life. It evolves, it ebbs and flows, sometimes being fruitful and transformative, and sometimes being pushed aside altogether. I feel the most connected with Him when I’m on my knees, arms outstretched, and singing in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. He loves me and meets me where I am. [bctt tweet="I pray in my own way." username="Substance_Soul"] Watch this brief clip of Saint Teresa of Calcutta about the gift of God's love. Dr. Samantha Aguinaldo-Wetterholm is a wife to Paul, mom to three little ones, and practices dentistry at a public health community center for low income families in the Bay Area, California. She (unashamedly) thinks ice cream is its own food group, loves anything Harry Potter, does not leave the house without wearing sparkly earrings, and is an enthusiastic proponent of the Oxford comma. Find out more about her here.

I love Saint Paul, and I love him in the Acts of the Apostles! He was able to speak more concisely than he wrote. (Seriously, in all his letters he had some extreme run-on sentences, am I right, English majors?) In Acts 13, Paul was able to break down salvation history in ten sentences! No priest could give a homily like this at a weekday Mass. What really stands out to me is how fearlessly Saint Paul addressed the synagogue officials with a message he knew they would reject and for which they would possibly sentence him to prison. I don’t know about you ladies, but I’m often afraid to share the Good News with fellow Christians out of fear of being considered "too Catholic." If I were in that temple and knew Christ to be the Savior the world has been awaiting, what would my “exhortation” have been? What would I have shared to men who didn’t know Christ or who had never even heard the murmurs spreading about Him? What would I want the world to know about my Beloved? Even now words escape me as I sit in stillness overwhelmed by how He has loved me so passionately and mercifully. Well, guess what, ladies? We have this opportunity today to exhort Him. We live in a world surrounded by people in our daily lives who have never heard of or encountered Christ. They think they know Christ, but they have never encountered Him. What you say, who you are, and how you live is an exhortation the world needs to see, hear, and witness today and every day! As the Gospel of John points out, “whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me” (John 13:20). Use every breath in your lungs so that your brothers and sisters in Christ can receive your Beloved! [bctt tweet="He has loved me so passionately and mercifully." username="SoCalTriciaT"] Learn to pray the Rosary and meditate on your Beloved in deeper ways by checking here. Tricia Tembreull is a California girl with a boundless passion for life. After two decades of ministering to teens and youth ministers as a trainer, ministry mentor, and speaker in Catholic youth ministry, Tricia now serves as Campus Minister at USC Caruso Catholic Center. She loves adventure and seeks it everywhere she goes. As an avid foodie, she enjoys testing new recipes out on friends and family, gathering them around the table to encounter Christ in one another and be drawn to the satisfying unity we crave in the Eucharist. You can find out more about her here.

Spring is starting here in Southern California. After months of an unusually dreary season, the light is beginning to peek through the clouds and the cold, wet ground is beginning to warm underfoot. I’m sure that all sounds silly to the real cold-weather folks but as simple as it is, a few rainy months is the real deal for those of us born and raised on sunshine. I’m always grateful for the real expression of grace extended to us through the natural world. The ebb and flow of dark to light and heat to cold; it's cyclical in a sometimes achingly painful way. We’re not often ready for it, or we feel like the season ahead was just here. I think sometimes our liturgical life can feel a bit similar—Lent again, a little bit of penitential darkness . . . again. But then, without fail, comes the Light. It warms us at the core and radiates out, beyond us even and to the world. Years ago, I remember holding one of my children at the Easter Mass while the Alleluia was being sung. I'd had a particularly useless-feeling Lent, and I don’t know if I felt like I had exactly “earned” an Easter just yet. Those silly temptations of not doing enough nagged at me. And while the season of Lent is not about doing at all—I still found myself wanting to feel more, or to have experienced more. Yet there I was, truly basking in the sound of this Alleluia chorus with a rush of unruly tears coursing down my cheeks. I knew deeply, and truly, that that Alleluia was mine, not only despite my failings, but because of them. For as often as we struggle, our Easter always comes. It’s always on the road ahead, like the springtime and the thawing sunlight. Our Easter is here. We truly are its people, and hallelujah is our song. [bctt tweet="Our Easter is here." username="blythefike"] Have you ever heard the Alleluia from the Divine Liturgy? Blythe Fike is the wife of Kirby and mother of 8 smallish kids. She loves the quiet life in small town SoCal. You can find out more about her here.

I remember the relief of not being chosen last for kickball. It wasn’t that I loved kickball. I just didn’t want to feel forgotten. “Pick me! Choose me!” The desire to belong might be a feeling you experienced in childhood, too—the yearning to be known, seen, and chosen. Older now, that yearning remains. I’m made for belonging, for love, just as you are, sister. Jesus calls us to belong because He yearns for us, too. “Remain in my love . . . so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete” (John 15:9,11). Remaining looks like staying near to Jesus and trusting in His promise. Saint Matthias was a man who remained near to Christ and found his belonging there. We know little about him, but what we read today speaks to his friendship with the Lord. He remained. He stayed near and believed when Jesus spoke of love and action. Matthias “accompanied [them] the whole time” (Acts 1:21), the Lord knew his heart (Acts 1:24), he was chosen (Acts 1:24, John 15:16) to bear fruit. Matthias’ life exemplified remaining with Jesus, day in and day out, keeping His commandment to love others. I'd like to imitate Matthias in my daily living. I imagine his quiet daily living reflected his relationship with the Lord, as he loved like Jesus. But it’s not easy to remain. I don’t always hear my name or experience the joy Jesus promises. Yes, even now as a grown woman I sometimes I wonder how and where I belong. Still, I'm trying to trust that if I remain (through heartache, through rejection, through loss, through stress), there will be joy. Matthias didn't need to be appointed by Peter to be chosen. He had already been invited by Christ from the beginning, just as you and I have. Each day He’s calling us to remain in His love, because each day He wants us to know joy. I'm starting to believe it, the more I stay near to hear Him say, I also love you. [bctt tweet="Each day He’s calling us to remain in His love, because each day He wants us to know joy." username="blessedisshe__"] These excerpts from the Diary of Saint Faustina show Jesus' incredible love for us. Gina Fensterer is a Colorado native at heart, but the West Coast beach life suits her just fine. She currently lives in small coastal area of California with her husband and six children. She loves the Jesus prayer, coffee at any time of day, homemade salsa, photography, and sleepy toddler snuggles. You can find out more about her here.

On this day 102 years ago a beautiful woman dressed in blazing white appeared to three shepherd children tending a field in rural nowhere, Portugal. Her message to them would change their lives and would change the world. Our world intensely needs those graces offered by that Lady in White, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope Saint John Paul II, upon surviving the assassination attempt made on his life on May 13th, 1981, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, made a special pilgrimage to Fatima upon his recovery. There he consecrated his papacy and the world to Mary's Immaculate heart. Placing the bullet which surgeons had retrieved from his body—just millimeters from a fatal arterial injury—into a bejeweled crown atop a statue of the Lady in White, he remarked of his brush with death that "one hand pulled the trigger, another guided the bullet" (source). This spring we hosted a traveling statue of Our Lady of Fatima in our home for a week. The custodians of the pilgrim virgin reminded us to pray a daily rosary with her, and I cringed. We love Mary, but our kids are short and our attention spans even shorter. Imagine my surprise then when we completed not one, but five full rosaries that week, not the perfect seven we'd been asked for, but more than I'd imagined possible. Our last night with her I let my gaze travel around the living room, fifteen kids under the age of nine gathered to bask in the gentle, welcoming light of Our Lady. They were willing, if a little squirmy, to pray Her rosary. The quiet graces she ushered into our home that week are still flowing, though she is no longer visible atop our mantle. I believe she came to us to awaken our sleepy hearts, gently turning our attention to Jesus, reminding us that He still has work to complete in us. [bctt tweet="Our world intensely needs those graces offered by that Lady in White, the Blessed Virgin Mary." username="jkuebbing"] Read more on Our Lady of Fatima and the approved apparitions of Fatima. Jenny Uebbing is a wife, mother to five, and the author of the blog Mama Needs Coffee where she writes about sex, marriage, and the Catholic Church. She's a freelance writer, a speaker, and an espresso enthusiast. You can find out more about her here.

If you have spent any time at all in church ministry, you know how easy it is for disagreements to surface in the local church. Just spend a little time at a parish council meeting, leading your Catholic school parent-teacher group, or volunteering to get a new parish ministry off the ground. In a place that should be so united by the love of Christ, why is it so easy for people to be divided by rifts over funding, music preferences, and what Father preached on last Sunday? There were no parish council meetings in Saint Paul's time, but without a doubt there was drama in the early Church. Today's First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles shows how painfully difficult the growth of the early Church must have been. (See Acts 13:43-52.) Praise God for the steadfast devotion of the Apostles who were not afraid of responding to these rifts both inside and outside the faith community. But do you know what the Apostles did in the face of such division? They fixed their hearts on Jesus' words from the Gospel of Saint John: "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand" (John 10:27-29). Saints Paul and Barnabas knew that the Church would never be completely free from division or disagreement. Not then. Definitely not now. So what do we do when these divisions surface in our own local parishes, especially when we so desire to be that "instrument of salvation" that the Saints reference today? (See Acts 13:47, Isaiah 49:6.) Don't let the drama take your gaze off the Shepherd. When rifts or past wounds rear their ugly heads, remind yourself and your fellow parishioners that if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and pray for His gentleness in our hearts, the members of our flock may still disagree, but we will do so with far greater charity. [bctt tweet="Don't let the drama take your gaze off the Shepherd." username="blessedisshe__"] Pray this prayer for peace today. Karen Schultz hails from the Land of 10,000 lakes, where she is often found in or near one of them. As a doula, lactation educator, and FertilityCare Practitioner, she finds joy in helping women to embrace the gift of their bodies. Downtime is found in quiet adoration chapels, farmers markets and gardens, listening to bluegrass music, and embracing the diversity of Minnesota’s seasons. You can find out more about her here.

I came into full communion with the Catholic Church twelve years ago. A major hurdle to my conversion was the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist—precisely that the bread and wine, consecrated during the Mass, is truly the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Savior. For me it was the most difficult of the teachings to accept. I had been convicted since childhood that Jesus was my Lord and Savior. I was confident my husband and I could follow the social teachings of the Church as we raised our growing family. Apostolic tradition made rational sense. But true flesh and true blood? I understood intellectually and I had read this passage that proceeds our Gospel reading today in John 6 so many times. I believed Saint Peter when he said, “to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life” (John 6:68). But I still wasn’t completely convicted. As part of my RCIA process, I participated in a Holy Hour of Adoration one night in the spring before our Easter of all Easters. I walked through the doors of the church with my RCIA buddy, we exchanged somewhat skeptical smiles and shrugs and settled ourselves in the pew. I opened my heart and asked for clarity. And my heart was opened like never before. God doesn’t hide from us. God doesn’t keep His true presence hidden. He wants us to know Him. Kneeling in the pew the tears rolled off my chin as I came face-to-face with Jesus for the first time, and there was no denying the truth of His presence. Maybe you struggle with this teaching, or maybe you just don’t think about it very much. Either way, I encourage you to go to Adoration and kneel before Him. Baby-step your way to a full hour of Adoration each week. If you already recognize His presence, sign up for a Holy Hour and visit Him regularly. He is there waiting for you. Let His truth be revealed. [bctt tweet="God doesn’t hide from us. God doesn’t keep His true presence hidden. He wants us to know Him." username="blessedisshe__"] Go deeper into what the Catechism teaches us about the Real Presence. Dr. MaryRuth Hackett is the host of the podcast Parenting Smarts. She loves historical fiction, dark chocolate, watching her children play soccer, a good cup of coffee (decaf please) and the quiet of the early morning. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and has a passion for helping parents understand the way their children grow and develop. You can find out more about her here. She is the author of our Blessed Conversations: Leader Guide found here.

Have you ever gotten a new phone, received a text from someone whose number isn't in your phone, and written them back asking, "Who's this?" I have and remember feeling a little embarrassed about it, thinking that I should have had that number in my phone—because if this is someone I cared about, I should have asked for their number earlier and put it in my phone right after I got it. That's what I thought about when I read about how Saul and Ananias each responded to God's voice. Saul heard the voice of Jesus and asked, "Who are You?" while Ananias heard the voice of Jesus and responded, "Here I am, Lord." Metaphorically speaking, Saul didn't have Jesus' number, and we know the reason why: he was a persecutor of Christians. He hadn't experienced his conversion just yet. But once he did, he began to proclaim Who Jesus was. He began to know Him, and I imagine, to recognize His voice. What was that moment in your life—when you experienced a conversion in your heart and life, when you turned to Jesus, began to know Him more and recognize His voice? When did He become someone so close to you that His phone number would have been one of the first that you added to your new phone? And if you haven't had that moment yet, what is keeping you from listening for Him today? [bctt tweet="What was that moment in your life—when you experienced a conversion in your heart and life, when you turned to Jesus, began to know Him more and recognize His voice?" username="praymorenovenas"] Having trouble discerning God's voice in your life? This priest sheds some light on this. Annie Deddens is a writer and producer. She runs a prayer ministry with her husband, called Pray More Novenas. She has a heart for the sick & suffering, and she writes about living with greater faith (hope & love, too) in this imperfect world as a Catholic wife. You can find out more about her here.

I need the Eucharist for many reasons. The Eucharist grounds me. On the days when I go to Mass but feel distant, distracted, or spiritually dry, it snaps me to attention. My thoughts might stray during the homily, but not while receiving the Eucharist; the feel and taste of the host on my tongue always bring me back to the present. The Eucharist anchors me in the reality of here and now. The Eucharist makes me think of the holiness of food. There is no more concrete act of love than to feed another person; there is no more vivid sign of community than to gather for a meal. The Eucharist, when I let it, reminds me that the meals I prepare for my family are holy and that the gatherings of my friends for brunch or of my coworkers for birthday cake are holy, too. The Eucharist challenges me to see those encounters in this light. The Eucharist reminds me of the power of sacrificial love. As a priest I know once said, “In the Eucharist, Jesus makes Himself so small for you.” He’s small enough to fit in my cupped palm. It’s a remarkable thing to make oneself tiny, humble; most of us try our hardest to avoid that. Jesus does it, day after day, for every one of us. The Eucharist challenges me to love like that. The Eucharist is a hint of Heaven. This close encounter with Jesus that I have every week: it’s a taste of the life beyond this one, an intimate communion with God that we can only begin to imagine. In the sometimes messiness of human life, a life full of uncertainty or the chase for success, the Eucharist reminds us that this world isn’t all there is. Think bigger, the Eucharist tells us. It doesn’t end here. There is much, much more to come. [bctt tweet="The Eucharist reminds me of the power of sacrificial love." username="blessedisshe__"] Here's a talk based on the book Seven Secrets of the Eucharist by Vinny Flynn. It's worth a quick listen. Ginny Kubitz Moyer is a mother, high school English teacher, and BBC period drama junkie. She is the author of Random MOMents of Grace: Experiencing God in the Adventures of Motherhood and Taste and See: Experiencing the Goodness of God with Our Five Senses. Ginny lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two boys, and about thirty thousand Legos. You can find out more about her here. She is the author of our Blessed Conversations: The Seven Sacraments found here.

One time, our family gathered with a group of friends to pray the Rosary. My five small children must have experienced an overflow of grace because that time, they prayed the Rosary as piously as the little shepherd children at Fatima. I was filled with joy as I watched them pray with such fervor. However our regular family Rosary is more like what you'd imagine praying for twenty minutes straight looks like with five small children. Our son used his rosary as more of a literal weapon than a spiritual one, and our six-year-old who had previously prayed with such reverence said, “Please, Jesus, make this go faster. Please, Jesus, this rosary is taking too long.” But even then there was joy in that moment because Jesus remained in the chaos. Sisters, in today’s First Reading there is frightening chaos. Saul is persecuting the faithful, ripping them from their homes, and imprisoning them. Yet, amid that suffering, there is great joy in the city of Samaria. "For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured. There was great joy in that city" (Acts 8:7-8). In the chaos, Jesus remains. The Son of God calls you His daughter and by His power you can find joy in whatever chaos afflicts you. In your worry, there remains the Prince of Peace. In your heavy cross, there remains the One Who conquered death. In your struggle with sin, there remains the Redeemer. In the Gospel Jesus says, "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day" (John 6:40). Sister, rise and see the presence of Christ in your turmoil. He has overcome it. You have victory in Jesus. [bctt tweet="The Son of God calls you His daughter and by His power you can find joy in whatever chaos afflicts you." username="blessedisshe__"] Do you already follow the "Abiding Together" podcast? This holy trio of women is evangelizing beautifully. Leana Bowler is a wife and mother of five little ones. She is a Holy Rosary enthusiast with deep devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Her love for the message of Divine Mercy led her to become a Marian Missionary of Divine Mercy dedicated to spreading Marian Consecration and the beauty of Christ's abundant Mercy. She enjoys finding the miracles in the mess of family life, books, strong coffee, and encountering others wherever they're at in this blessed journey to sainthood. You can find out more about her here.

This past Sunday was my eldest’s First Holy Communion. She has looked forward to this day for years now; I think she knew she was going to partake in something big. After all, we have really built this up. For months we’ve prepared her with the Catechism and discussed heady theological issues together—or at least as heady as you can get at seven. We picked out her white dress and shoes and decided how she wanted her hair. We practiced receiving unconsecrated hosts and even planned a big party at home for after the Sacrament. So much preparation, but today I sit back and pray that she forgets all of it. Lord, I pray her mind is filled with absolute wonderment of the miracle of the Eucharist. May she never have any doubt that this Bread from Heaven is true and that it will sustain her. And I pray the same for this sisterhood here at Blessed is She. Let us forget the stress of tasks before us as well as regret of things in the past. Lord, help us to be fully present in the moment when we receive You. Even if we doubt, make our intentions pure and bless our obedience. May we always be in amazement that Our Lord is truly present in the humblest form of food. [bctt tweet="Let us forget the stress of tasks before us as well as regret of things in the past." username="callherhappy"] Pray alongside this Catholic musician this song of Adoration. Jenna Hines has a teeny army of four children and is married to a bearded fellow named Mike. They are a homeschooling family who just moved out to the country. Find her books and illustrations in her shop. You can find out more about her here.

Have you ever gone after something—a goal, or a status, or even a person—and once you got what you wanted, it just didn’t feel right? You spent all of that time, talent, and energy working for an apparent good and in the end, it just felt empty or lacking in some way? The food you thought you wanted was simply tasteless? I imagine this feeling is what Jesus is pointing to when He discusses the Bread of Life in today’s Gospel. “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life. . .” (John 6:26-27). The world is full of shiny new things to pursue—lofty ideals of what should be important, picture-perfect images of what is supposed to bring happiness, levels of achievement meant to equal success—but do those things really fill my soul or even point to God? Does presenting an idea of perfect or achieving certain accolades in life bring me closer to Jesus—to the food that will truly satisfy my hunger for goodness? Do I ever take a moment to ask God what He wants me to consume? How He wants to feed me? The Gospel today challenges us to dive into these questions. It beckons us to recognize the perishable foods in our lives—not only those that are easy to point out, but to dig deeper. Jesus invites us to pray for the desire to uproot anything and everything we are consuming that keeps us from eternal life. Will we take the time to listen and join Him at the banquet of abundance? Or will we ignore His hospitality and keep eating our favorite junk foods in fear of future scarcity? He is waiting for you, sister. His love will quench your thirst and satiate your hunger. Eat and be filled. [bctt tweet="Jesus invites us to pray for the desire to uproot anything and everything we are consuming that keeps us from eternal life." username="blessedisshe__"] This compilation of Church Father quotes on the Eucharist has lots of gems. Find one that strikes you? Sarah Stanley is a small town Ohio girl who is obsessed with all things Ignatian and is passionate about faith, social justice, and the intersection of the two. She left Ohio in 2012 and after a year of service in rural Alaska, earning her Master of Divinity in California, and working at a Connecticut High School, is officially back in Ohio serving as a university Newman Campus Minister. When she’s not working, she enjoys contagious laughter, clever puns, and finding the good in all things. You can find out more about her here.

“We fought for you,” I told him as he nuzzled in to read his bedtime stories. His big bright two-year-old eyes stared back at me with a glimmering smile that slowly spread across his face. And I wanted so desperately to tell him the whole story. I wanted to tell him about the infertility and the lack of hope and the heavy tears. But mostly, I wanted to tell him about the abundance that came from the lack, about the faithfulness of our Father and the miracles He works in the middle of our empty seas. Because there he was in my arms with a beating heart and a wistful smile, and there I was with gratitude oozing from the very center of my being. Someday, when he’s old enough to understand it, I’ll tell him about it. I’ll tell him that I had grown accustomed to the sea, to the lack that was sinking underneath it. Because for nearly ten years, I swam in it. I dove headfirst into the deep end and paddled my way through the absence. No light on the horizon, no hope in the dark. I’ll tell him about the times God said, “cast the net” (John 21:6). And then I’ll tell him about the doubt when my net came up empty. But then I’ll tell him about the time that it came up full, when I saw the positive pregnancy test in the midst of a sea of years of negatives. And then I’ll listen to his heart beat within his chest and revel in God’s most perfect and abundant plan. Because I had to have all of those empty nets in order for the right one to be filled. I don’t know what sort of fish you’re trying to catch or whether you keep coming up empty, too. All I know is that God has a plan for each of us. Those empty nets mean something. Our job is to just keep casting those nets and to wait for the abundance only God provides. [bctt tweet="God has a plan for each of us." username="IamBritCal"] Pray or share this sensitive prayer for those journeying through infertility. Brittany Calavitta is an enthusiastic advocate for a good book, strong coffee, and a hopeful heart. After battling years of infertility, she and her husband welcomed their first child on September 11, 2016. You can find out more about her here.

Somedays I have a knee-jerk reaction to things left in what we call “a common area” in community. Over the years I have tried offering it up or reasoning, maybe she was tired or maybe she didn’t see it or I’ve done this, too. Whether these little things irritate me or cause me to pause to do a mental exercise, they remind me that the little things count. It is the little things that count or drive us crazy in day-to-day life. The First Reading today recounts the way Saint Stephen and a few others were enlisted to serve the widows of the young Church. (See Acts 6:1-7.) Isn’t this often how things work in our communities and Church circles? Isn’t it also the way things happen in the little communities of our families? There is something that needs to be done, and no one is doing it. So we have a conversation and ask someone to step up and fill in a gap. Filling in the gap is like a call that arises organically from the Body of Christ. Each of us has big callings in life like the one to our vocation, and then we have “little calls” in life like wiping the counter because no one else is around to see it. At first glance, one of these calls seems thrilling, glamorous, and definitely Insta-worthy. The other call seems easily unimpressive because it is little, ordinary. But isn't it true that our love and care for one another is expressed in the small things? Relationships are either growing and thriving, or they are not. There is a world of difference between a team that works together and looks out for one another and the team that is made up of individuals who cannot see beyond their noses. The Readings today inspire us to be good stewards of the precious gift of life and love we have in our loved ones, our community, our friends, and ourselves. They invite us to step up and fill in the gaps with love. [bctt tweet="Each of us has big callings in life like the one to our vocation, and then we have little calls in life like wiping the counter because no one else is around to see it." username="SrMariaKim"] Learn more about Saint Stephen today including what it means to die a "happy death." Sister Maria Kim Bui is a Daughter of Saint Paul, women religious dedicated to evangelization in and through the media. She is originally from Tempe, AZ, spent most of her fourteen years in religious life in the northeast, some time in Texas, and now was recently asked to serve as the director of marketing and sales at the Sisters' publishing house in Boston. Find out more about her here. She is the author of our Blessed Conversations Mystery: Belong found here.

"Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us," begs Saint Philip in today's Gospel, John 14:8. Saint Philip is making the very human mistake of believing all we need is a one-time vision of God to change our lives completely and irrevocably. As a cradle Catholic, I sometimes stumble in this same way when I start acting as if my faith and being a member of the Catholic Church guarantees me automatic holiness for the rest of my life. As if a one-time encounter with the Church is enough to sustain my faith for my entire lifetime. In other words, I think I can bypass a real relationship with Jesus. If I just see the Father, I won't need to put in the work of self-examination and sacrifice to grow in holiness. I won't have to spend daily time devoted to prayer. I even won't have to receive the Sacraments frequently. But how wrong I am to assume that my encounters with Jesus in the past are enough to sustain my faith for the rest of my life. Jesus calls us not simply to a one-time download of holiness, but a lifetime of relationship with Him. A continual communication and friendship with Jesus as real person Who wishes to befriend our hearts not just once, but every day of our lives. We need more than one vision—we need the frequent reception of the Sacraments, of Christ Himself. We need to spend daily time with Jesus not just as the transitory aspects of our lives change from season to season, but the movements of our hearts. Our belief in Jesus and our relationship with Him must grow every day if we are to accomplish great things in His name. [bctt tweet="Jesus calls us not simply to a one-time download of holiness, but a lifetime of relationship with Him." username="christyisinger"] Are you familiar with the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus? Christy Isinger is a wife and mom to five lovely, loud children and lives in northern Canada. When not homeschooling, she is a devoted reader of English literature from Jane Austen to Agatha Christie. She writes about the beauty of faith, life, and the home at her blog and is the co-host of the Fountains of Carrots Podcast. You can find out more about her here. She is the author of our Blessed Conversations: The Ten Commandments study found here.

The Apostles were sent by Jesus to proclaim the Good News to the whole world. At Pentecost, the Father filled them with the Holy Spirit, not rationing His generous gift. And these Apostles are praying for us today! They will show us how to live our baptismal identities and operate in the strength of our Confirmations. In the First Reading, the Apostles are faced with opposition from the Sanhedrin. The high priest questions them, but Peter is not shaken. He remains a firm rock and courageously speaks for the Apostles, saying, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). What a glorious proclamation of faith; Peter is being who God created him to be. Peter is living out of his identity, and he has strength beyond the ordinary. Peter models for us the strength that God desires for us to have. We are called to remember our Baptism and the holiness that we are called to, no matter what our vocation might be. Each one of us will be faced with our own trials and misunderstandings, and God wants to give us Supernatural Grace that will help us be who we are meant to be. And in case you are feeling weak, run with confidence to the Sacrament of Confession and the Holy Eucharist. Jesus desires to meet us there. His healing love promises new life and strength for whatever battles we might need to fight today. Our Risen Lord wants us to live in the hope of our eternal life this Easter season. [bctt tweet="His healing love promises new life and strength for whatever battles we might need to fight today." username="blessedisshe__"] Have you read Saint Peter's epistles? These letters are powerful and thought-provoking. Rose Coleman is a contemplative in action who delights in all things beautiful. Her adventurous heart has traveled many places—from circumnavigating the globe on a ship during college to some years in the convent as a religious sister. Exuberant from her childhood, she is an elementary school teacher who learns so much from her students. You can find out more about her here. She is the author of our Blessed Conversations: Ways to Pray study found here.