Saturday, February 15, 2025 Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord. Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Sunday, February 16 // Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Monday, February 17 // Optional Memorial of the Seven Founders of the Order of Servites, religious Friday, February 21 // Optional Memorial of Saint Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Letter from the Editor //  Dear Sister, The Readings for the Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time are all about the virtue of hope. With this being the Jubilee Year of Hope, let us pay special attention to God’s Words about hope. Christian hope is based in the truth that Christ is the Son of God and that after He died, He rose from the dead. Saint Paul writes that “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). Our hope is meant to be in the next life, that we will rise with Christ. And some days, this whole idea does seem a little bizarre. In the eyes of the world, our hope and faith seem ridiculous. This is why we need hope to give us the oomph to push through the doubts of the world. The First Reading shows us that hope gives us trust in the Lord, so that we are not “a barren bush” (Jeremiah 17:6) with no faith. With hope we are “planted beside waters” and “in the year of drought [. . .] still bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8).  “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord,” (Psalm 40:5a) from the Psalm Response this week sums up the Beatitudes, which Jesus proclaims in the Gospel. The Beatitudes only make sense when we have the virtue of hope, for only with hope can we be happy when we are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated. The Lord wants to fill us with His deep joy, that no matter what trials and temptations we face, He is with us. He has been raised, and we can “rejoice and leap for joy” (Luke 6:23) because of it.In Christ’s Love, Susanna Read the readings for the Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time:  First Reading // Jeremiah 17:5-8 Psalm // Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 & 6 Second Reading // 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 Gospel // Luke 6:17, 20-26 Prayer Practice // How is your hope? Ask the Holy Spirit for an infusion of this heavenly virtue today.  

Saturday, February 8, 2025 Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord. Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Saturday, February 8 (today!) // Optional Memorial of Saint Jerome Emiliani; Optional Memorial of Saint Josephine Bakhita, Virgin Sunday, February 9 // Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time Monday, February 10 // Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin Tuesday, February 11 // Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes Friday, February 14 // Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk; and Methodius, Bishop Letter from the Editor //  Dear Sister, On the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, we hear that because of grace we are much more than ordinary. Saint Paul writes of his conversion saying, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective” (1 Corinthians 15:10).  Paul had confidence in the Lord, knowing that he could only do great things with God’s help. Like the Psalmist prayed, he knew that the Lord  would “complete what he has done for” him, and that the Lord’s kindness “endures forever” (Psalm 138:8).  While we may feel that we are not worthy or able to do what the Lord asks, we must have confidence in His grace and be willing to “[p]ut out into deep water” (Luke 5:4). In seeing His greatness and our own weakness, our impulse towards the Lord might be like Saint Peter who said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). It is true that we are not enough without Him, but He wants to make us extraordinary with His grace. He may push us to our limits but He will not abandon us. At our Baptism and with each Confession He purifies us as Isaiah was purified by the burning coal in the First Reading (Isaiah 6:6). When we hear the Lord’s question, “Whom shall I send?”  let us respond, “Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8) And, like the Apostles in the Gospel,  leave everything and follow Him (see Luke 5:11). In Christ’s Love, Susanna Read the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time:  First Reading // Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8 Psalm // Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8 Second Reading // 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Gospel // Luke 5:1-11 Prayer Practice // Reflect on the Lord’s call in your life. How can you give a greater yes today?

Saturday, February 1, 2025 Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord. Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Sunday, February 2  // Presentation of the Lord  Monday, February 3 // Optional Memorial of Saint Blaise, Bishop and Martyr; Optional Memorial of Saint Ansgar, Bishop Wednesday, February 5 // Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr Thursday, February 6 // Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs Letter from the Editor //  Dear Sister,  Tomorrow we celebrate a very special feast, one so important that it takes the place of the normal Sunday. It is the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, on which the Holy Family went to the temple in Jerusalem forty days after Jesus’ birth. They followed the law of Moses by dedicating Jesus to God with an offering of two pigeons. This first sacrifice of He Who is our “merciful and faithful high priest” makes way for His ultimate sacrifice (Hebrews 2:17).  The temple was the dwelling place of God on earth, and, did you know, dear sister, that you are a temple? From the moment of your Baptism the Trinity has dwelt within you. While God cannot dwell in us when we are separated from Him by grave sins, He comes back every time we repent and are healed in Confession. In the words of the prophet Malachi, “suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek” (Malachi 3:1). Every Mass we attend we share in offering “due sacrifice to the LORD” (Malachi 3:3). And as we prepare to receive the Eucharist, we rejoice and “lift up,  o gates, [. . .] that the king of glory may come in!” (Psalm 24:7) In living our faith through the Sacraments we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, offering to God due worship. Like Anna in the Gospel, may we never leave “the temple” of our hearts and of the Church, but “worship night and day” (Luke 2:22-40). In Christ’s Love, Susanna   Read the readings for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord:  First Reading // Malachi 3:1-4 Psalm // Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10 Second Reading // Hebrews 2:14-18 Gospel // Luke 2:22-40 Prayer Practice // What will you offer to the Lord at Mass this Sunday?

Saturday, January 25, 2025 Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord. Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Saturday, January 25  (today!)// Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle Sunday, January 26  // Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Monday, January 27  // Optional Memorial of Saint Angela Merici, Virgin Tuesday, January 28  //Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church Friday, January 31, 2025  // Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest Letter from the Editor //  Dear Sister,  In the Gospel for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Saint Luke tells us that he “decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you” (Luke 1:3). He acknowledges that others who were eyewitnesses, have already done so, but he felt called to share his perspective, to speak to people and share their part in the narrative, and to give us stories such as the nativity of Saint John the Baptist and the Annunciation. He saw that, following in the footsteps of Jesus, he was anointed to bring “glad tidings” (Luke 4:18). Luke’s traveling companion, Saint Paul, tells us in the Second Reading that each and every one of us is “necessary” to the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:22). Like Saint Luke, our telling of Christ’s story and our experience of Him in our own lives is important. At our Baptism, we were given the gift of prophecy to proclaim the truth of God’s love, and we were sent out like the apostles at our Confirmation. Our smallest acts of love can become mighty deeds that bring about the Lord’s healing in hearts that are wounded. Our tongues can interpret God’s message in a way no one else can proclaim it (see 1 Corinthians 12:28-30). Like the people returned from exile in First Reading from Nehemiah, there are people who have not heard the good news of God’s love, and the day you speak it to them will be “holy to our LORD” (Nehemiah 8:10). And as we do so, may the words of our mouths and the thoughts of our hearts find favor before the Lord (see Psalm 19:15). I am praying you know His love for you, dear sister. With You In Christ’s Body, Susanna Read the Readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time:  First Reading // Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Psalm // Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15 Second Reading // 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 Gospel // Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 Prayer Practice // Ask the Lord to show you where He is calling you to speak the Gospel to others this week, both through your loving actions and charitable words.

Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord. Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Sunday, January 19  // Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Monday, January 20 // Optional Memorial of Saint Fabian, Pope and Martyr; Optional Memorial of Saint Sebastian, Martyr Tuesday, January 21, 2025 // Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr Wednesday, January 22 // Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children (in USA) Thursday, January 23 // Optional Memorial of Saint Vincent, Deacon and Martyr (in USA); Optional Memorial of Saint Marianne Cope, Virgin (in USA) Friday, January 24 // Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Saturday, January 25 // Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle Letter from the Editor //  Dear Sister,  This year the Gospel for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time tells of the third of the traditional mysteries of the Epiphany, where Jesus as Messiah was manifested and “revealed his glory” (John 2:11). These mysteries are the visit of the magi, the baptism of Jesus by Saint John, and the miracle at the wedding at Cana. We can interpret the water turned to wine at the wedding at Cana as an affirmation of the goodness of the Sacrament of Matrimony, that grace can transform a man and woman into saints through their gifts of self to each other. Saint Paul reminds us that each person within the Church is called to “different forms of service but the same Lord” (1 Corinthians 12:5). Whatever vocation we are called to, we can be confident that the Lord will give us the spiritual gifts we need to live out our call and join Him in Heaven. The prophet Isaiah offers us a deeper understanding of marriage, showing us that our human marriages are an image of a more perfect union for which we are destined: that of God with our individual souls. The Lord “delights in you” and “your Builder shall marry you”(Isaiah 62:4-5)—He wants to be closer to you than anyone. And “as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you” (Isaiah 62:5). This union with God is “the good wine” (John 2:10) the Lord saved for last in His plan of salvation, which we are called to announce “day after day” as we “sing to the LORD” and “bless his name” (Psalm 96:2). I am praying for you this week, dear sister.In the Bridegroom’s Love, Susanna Read the Readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time:  First Reading // Isaiah 62:1-5 Psalm // Psalm 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10 Second Reading // 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 Gospel // John 2:1-11 Prayer Practice // Meditate on Jesus’ love for you as Bridegroom this Sunday as you receive Holy Communion.

Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord. Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Sunday, January 12  // Feast of The Baptism of the Lord Monday, January 13 // Optional Memorial of Saint Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Monday of the First Week of Ordinary Time) Friday, January 17 // Memorial of Saint Anthony, abbot Letter from the Editor //  Dear Sister,  The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is the last day of the Christmas season in the liturgical calendar. (Though we will celebrate one more Christmas-related feast on February 2 of the Presentation of the Lord.) The Gospel for tomorrow tells us of another manifestation or epiphany of Jesus as the Messiah, showing us that the reason for God becoming a Man was so that we could be united with Him. After Jesus has been baptized by His cousin John, the Holy Spirit is seen in the form of a dove, and the Father speaks over Him, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). At our own sacramental Baptism—which is the one John promised Jesus would give us—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are also present, we become daughters of God, and He is well pleased to make His home within our souls. With the Psalmist, as children of God, we can “give to the LORD glory and praise” and enthrone Him “as king forever” in our hearts (Psalm 29:1, 10). For the Lord has fulfilled His promise yet again,  grasping us by the hand, forming us, and freeing us from the “confinement” of Original Sin (see Isaiah 42:6-7). And now through the help of grace, we can become one with His “chosen one,” receive the Holy Spirit and learn to be pleasing to the Lord (see Isaiah 42:1). Saint Peter proclaims that “whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:25). We can do this by listening for His majestic voice in our hearts, affirming our chosenness and guiding us on our way. I am praying for you this week, dear sister.In the Love of the Father, Susanna Read the Readings for the Baptism of the Lord:  First Reading // Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 Psalm // Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10 Second Reading // Acts 10:34-38 Gospel // Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 Prayer Practice // Sprinkle some Holy Water around your house today and recall the gift of your adoption as a daughter of God.

Saturday, January 4, 2025  Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord. Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Saturday, January 4 (today!) // Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious Sunday, January 5 // The Epiphany of the Lord Monday, January 6 // Optional Memorial of Saint André Bessette, Religious (in USA) Tuesday, January 7 // Optional Memorial of Saint Raymond of Penyafort, Priest Letter from the Editor //  Dear Sister,  We celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord tomorrow, as we do every year on the Sunday closest to January 6. Epiphany is the word the Church uses to talk about Jesus manifesting Himself as the Messiah to the world. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote about “[c]aravans of camels” coming and “bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the LORD” (Isaiah 60:6). These and other words of the prophets were like a guiding star for Israel, giving them signs to look for to know the Messiah had come. In the Gospel of Matthew, the “magi from the east” (Matthew 2:1) when following a physical star, sought guidance in Jerusalem from the priests and scribes. The magi went on to Bethlehem and were overjoyed to see the child with His mother. “Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts” (Matthew 2:11). Sounds familiar, right? When the magi came to do homage to Jesus, did the scribes and priests believe the signs they saw? Did their hearts “throb and overflow” (Isaiah 60:5)? If they had raised their eyes and looked about, they would have seen that the Messiah was at hand, and through Israel shining God’s light on all nations. Saint Paul tells us that we are now all “co-heirs” and “members of the same body” (Ephesians 3:6). The magi were the first gentiles to worship the Savior of the world, and now we still pray, “May all kings bow before him, all nations serve him” (Psalm 72:11). We, as inheritors of this promise, can kneel beside the magi opening the treasure of our hearts and offering the gift of our lives. I am praying for you this week, dear sister. Your partner in the promise, Susanna Read the Readings for The Epiphany of the Lord:  First Reading // Isaiah 60:1-6 Psalm // Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13 Second Reading // Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 Gospel // Matthew 2:1-12 Prayer Practice // Light a candle today to celebrate the Light Who came into the world this Epiphany.

Saturday, December 28, 2024 //  Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord. Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Saturday, December 28  (today!) // Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs Sunday, December 29 // Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Monday, December 30  // Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord Tuesday, December 31 // Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord Wednesday, January 1, 2025  //  SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD and Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (Holy Day of Obligation!) Thursday, January 2  // Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church Friday, January 3  // Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus Letter from the Editor // Dear Sister, The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—which falls on this Sunday—is an invitation for us to join them in their home. We will pray at Mass, “Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord” (Psalm 84:5a). In their home we can learn how to live as children of God, as Saint John tells us we are in the Second Reading—how to “love one another just as he commanded us” so that we will “be like him” and “see him as he is” (1 John 3:2, 23). We can invite them into our own homes to transform our families to imitate them.The First Reading tells us about the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to Hannah, a woman who longed for a child (see 1 Samuel 1:20). She saw that her son, Samuel, was a gift from God and in gratitude she offered her child back to Him. She shows us that all who are given to our care through biological or spiritual motherhood first of all belong to God. We see this same realization in the Gospel account of Mary and Joseph losing the child Jesus on their way home from Jerusalem. There is that moment of offering, when Mary realizes that her Son was only given to her to do His Father’s work, to be in His house (see Luke 2:49). All of our children are meant to dwell in the home of the Lord forever. Let us look to the Holy Family and their hidden years in Nazareth as a guide to how to prepare ourselves for Heaven. I am praying for you this week, dear sister. In Christ’s Love, Susanna Read the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Year C option below):  First Reading // 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28  Responsorial Psalm // Psalm 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10  Second Reading // 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24 Gospel // Luke 2:41-52 Prayer Practice // Entrust your family to the Holy Family at Mass tomorrow. Share your heart with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. 

Saturday, December 21, 2024 //  Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord. Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Saturday, December 21  (today!) // Optional Memorial of Saint Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church Sunday, December 22 // Fourth Sunday of Advent Monday, December 23  // Optional Memorial of Saint John of Kanty, Priest Wednesday, December 25 // The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) (Holy Day of Obligation!) Thursday, December 26  // Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr Friday, December 27  // Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist Letter from the Editor // Dear Sister, Tomorrow is the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and the urgency of our waiting is reaching its height. “Rouse your power and come to save us” (Psalm 80:3), our hearts will cry out with the Psalmist at Mass this weekend. We know our weakness, we know we cannot do it on our own as we plead with the Lord, “make us turn to you” (Psalm Response). In the Gospel, Mary, our Blessed Mother, travels in haste to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary is also hastening to us, bringing us her Son, the One Who will save us. Will our hearts leap as we hear her greeting? Let us respond with the faith of Elizabeth: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:42).   Mary, a model for all of us, is “blessed” because she believes in the promises that were spoken to her by the angel. She responded by accepting the Lord’s will for her. And through her yes, the prophecy of Micah from the First Reading was fulfilled with Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. The author of Hebrews tells us how Christ had the same response to the Father, saying, “Behold, I come to do your will” (Hebrew 10:9). The Lord desires the same response from us, to humbly—with the Son who became Man and with His Mother—say to the Lord that we want to do His will. Let us be found among the flock this Christmas drawing on the strength of our Shepherd, Who draws His strength from the Father (see Micah 5:3). I am ready to be saved. Are you? I am praying for you this week, dear sister. In Christ’s Love, Susanna Read the Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent:  First Reading // Micah 5:1-4a Responsorial Psalm // Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 Second Reading // Hebrews 10:5-10 Gospel // Luke 1:39-45 Prayer Practice // How is the Lord inviting you to say yes in this season? Ask for Mary’s intercession to help you offer it to Jesus.

Saturday, December 14, 2024 //   Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord. Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Saturday, December 14  (today!) // Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church Sunday, December 15 // Third Sunday of Advent Letter from the Editor //  Dear Sister,Tomorrow is Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, when the priest will wear rose (pink!) vestments, a liturgical color of joy. We call it gaudete because the Entrance Antiphon begins with this Latin word for “rejoice,” and the Readings all reflect the anticipatory joy of Advent. Saint Paul tells us in the Second Reading, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4) This is because “The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5). He comes to free us from our anxiety and fear, to bring us peace. In the Gospel, we hear from Saint John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin who leapt for joy in his mother’s womb. His followers ask him what they are to do in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, and Saint John directs them to acts of generosity and charity. He gives us reason to rejoice as he promises that Jesus will baptize us “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16), giving us the grace of redemption.  The joy of this Sunday is also the Lord’s own joy. The First Reading speaks of the Lord’s generosity in coming to us, forgiving our sins, and turning away the enemies of sin and temptation. When we run to His mercy, He will “rejoice over [us] with gladness” (Zephaniah 3:17). He rejoices with us in that we are living in the story of the Lord’s great love for us, love that came down to offer us an abundance of grace. The Responsorial Psalm invites us to prepare our hearts, so that we will “draw water at the fountain of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).  Let’s drink of that water, dear sister. In Christ’s Love, Susanna   Read the Readings for the Third Sunday of Advent:  First Reading // Zephaniah 3:14-18a Responsorial Psalm // Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 Second Reading // Philippians 4:4-7 Gospel // Luke 3:10-18   Prayer Practice // As you go through your Christmas preparations, make room in your heart for the joy that comes with waiting. 

Letter from the Editor //  Dear Sister,  The Readings for Second Sunday of Advent remind us to prepare for the coming of Christ. We hear in the Gospel that Saint John the Baptist, the precursor to his cousin Jesus, is calling us all to ready ourselves for Christ’s coming through repentance. When Saint John the Baptist tells us to “Prepare the way of the Lord” (Luke 3:4), he is not talking about buying presents, baking cookies, or listening to Christmas music. He is talking about our hearts. Now is the time to heed the call to repentance and to make our hearts a fitter dwelling place for the Infant Jesus when He comes on Christmas morning. As in the words of the Responsorial Psalm, in Advent we “go forth weeping” and  “come back rejoicing” (Psalm 126:6). The Lord is coming this Christmas—He is coming to transform us out of our sinful ways and to make us like Him. He tells us in the First Reading that He wants us to “Put on the splendor of glory from God forever” (Baruch 5:1). He wants us to become one with Him forever in Heaven. Let us open our hearts to the Word this Sunday, and ask the Lord to show us how He is calling each of us to prepare our hearts for His coming. And along with Saint Paul in today’s Second Reading, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it” (Philippians 1:6). I am praying for you this week, dear sister. In Christ’s Love, Susanna Read the Readings for the Second Sunday of Advent // First Reading // Baruch 5:1-9 Psalm // Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 Second Reading // Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11 Gospel // Luke 3:1-6 Prayer Practice // Take a few quiet moments to ask the Lord how He’s inviting you to prepare your heart for His coming.

All the nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed. // Revelation 15:4 I talked to my mom yesterday on the phone—she struggled to form the words she wanted to speak as her ALS is steadily destroying her nerves and limiting her physical abilities. We used to have deep spiritual conversations and I am not sure how many more months we have. Her illness is progressing, and I wish it would stop and go away.  My husband and I spent a day with dear college friends this summer—our children playing with theirs while we shared meals, drinks, and deep conversations. I wish they did not live ten hours away. I went to my brother’s beautiful wedding Mass earlier this year. He was the image of the magnanimous bridegroom, his love for his bride emanating from his being, and the love of the guests overflowing for the two of them. It was an anticipation of the Heavenly banquet-—no one wanted the day to end and we left the reception way past bedtime. I have been blessed in my life to have formed deep, faith-based relationships in the different places I have lived—within my family and with friends. And then there are the people I have bonded with at a retreat or a conference, or met briefly, whom I know I would be close friends with if they lived nearby. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with an ache to just be with everyone I love—to be in community with them all forever.Sister, perhaps you feel the same. The end of the liturgical year with Readings from the Book of Revelation promises us that this desire is not in vain. When I ache for my dear ones, I can turn that ache into an offering of hope, that one day, we will all be together, worshiping with the nations before God. For while death, distance, and differences in beliefs keep us apart for a time, the Lord is bigger than all of these limitations. He can change any heart, overcome any obstacle, and accomplish anything. Offer your loved ones to Him and ask the Lord to renew your hope today.

He is like a tree planted near running water, That yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. // Psalm 1:3 Zipping up my jacket, I step out the back door in my gardening shoes. I have my kitchen shears in one hand and a large bowl in another. It is late October in Minnesota and the first frost will be here soon. The tops of our carrots jut out of the ground—I pull them one by one by the base of their leafy greens. We love carrot cake made from our fresh garden carrots. My husband is picking the remnants of the green cherry tomatoes. If we have time, we will pickle them in jars. Our garden is finished yielding its fruit this year—that which it offers us in due season if we take the time to plant, weed, and water. Yet sometimes the work of the harvest is the hardest part of bearing the fruits. Saint Paul in the First Reading contrasts the “works of the flesh” with the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18-25). At our Baptisms we were planted near the running water of the Spirit, but we have to intentionally sink our roots into the river bed and drink. It takes regular weeding to clear away the works of the flesh in our own lives so that we can bear the fruit of the Spirit. We must “crucify our flesh,” or to use the gardening analogy, let ourselves be pruned in our sufferings. These sufferings may be great or small, voluntary mortifications or trials offered to us by life.  Sometimes as we tend to our spiritual lives, we strive so hard to follow the law, that we lose the fruit of living in the Spirit. We get so focused on the tending, like the Pharisees in today’s Gospel (see Luke 11:42-46), that we let the most precious fruits of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” slip through our fingers. Sister, what are the fruits you want to see in your life? Are your roots reaching towards the Spirit? Where do you need to let the Lord in to tend the garden of your heart? Ask Him to help you experience the fruits of your life in Him.

Now indeed [then] it is, in any case, a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated? Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers. // 1 Corinthians 6:7-8 An oval-shaped crack formed on the inmost pane of the window as my child leaned against it—a window that had been pressed up to countless times before. We had just finished sweeping up the remains of a broken glass cup. Words of blame flew around the room as we vented our frustration at this avoidable accident. But these kinds of mistakes in our family often follow the literary “rule of threes,” and I was not entirely surprised two mornings later when I discovered as I got into the minivan to go to daily Mass that I had left a window down during the previous evening’s thunderstorm. For the first half of Mass, my mind swirled with strategies for drying out the car and my gut felt sick with regret. I tried to push aside the distracting thoughts, to be present at Mass, to stop blaming myself and my family. They were all simple mistakes, and our material property is just that: material, finite, passing.  And that is when it hit me: I should feel as sorry for my sins, as I feel for leaving that car window open. In today’s First Reading, Saint Paul is writing to the Corinthians about their tendency to take each other to the civil court. He tells them to instead settle things between themselves, and if they can’t do so, then just live with the failures between each other (see 1 Corinthians 6:1-11). Besides examining when we should take serious matters to court, this reading also applies to our everyday interactions with each other in our homes, workplaces, and parishes. When I blame others, I am more likely than not going to “inflict injustice” and commit a sin. Further, getting all worked up about a small, human mistake is not going to solve problems. Rather, I should charitably put up with the little things. And I should save my accusations for my own conscience and my failure to love and remember to forgive as I have been forgiven.Lord, help me to know my sins and be sorry for them, and to love my neighbor as myself. Amen.

He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poorTo seat them with princes, with the princes of his own people. // Psalm 113:7-8 One of my favorite places to go to daily Mass is a beautiful church called the Church of Saint Mary—dedicated to our Blessed Mother. Set into the high altar piece above the tabernacle is a beautiful mosaic of the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is seated on a cloud in the center with her Son on her right and the Father on her left together holding a crown above her head, and the Holy Spirit as a dove hovers above her while little angel heads rim the upper part of the mosaic. One morning last summer, I sat in meditation with that image during Adoration. I was praying with the Parable of the Prodigal Son (see Luke 15:11-32), imagining myself in the scene coming repentant to the Father, intending to offer myself as a servant. In a single instant I felt the Holy Spirit showing me the Father throwing His cloak over me, calling me His daughter, but not just that—showing me that, like Mary, I am meant to receive the crown of Heaven, to be “another Mary.” She, the most perfect of human women, received the crown, so that we all would receive it with her. Sister, I don’t know where you are on your journey with the Lord, if you are struggling to pull yourself out of sin, feeling the drudgery of your daily life, or frustrated at your inability to be consistent in your resolutions. The Lord wants to wrap you in His cloak of mercy and place the grace-filled crown of daughtership on your head. I know the idea is daunting, but “[d]o not be afraid” (Luke 1:30) for the Lord to lift you up from the dust of your fallenness (see Psalm 113:7). Ask the Blessed Mother to embolden you with the faith to say with her in today’s Gospel, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). And the “Holy Spirit will come upon you” (Luke 1:35) and transform your life into one of true daughterhood.

When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart. // Jeremiah 15:16 My mind was blown open as the priest leading the retreat read through the conference he had prepared. His words brought alive the scene of the Gospel in a way that I had never experienced before. I was in the garden with Jesus. I was falling asleep with the disciples. I was watching Jesus be arrested and fleeing with the Apostles. I was in the Gospel in a whole new way. This style of mediation called Ignatian or Imaginative Prayer, comes from Saint Ignatius of Loyola whose feast we celebrate today. While raised a Catholic in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries in Italy, he lived a dissolute life as a soldier until a cannon ball shattered his leg. During his recovery, he began reading the lives of the Saints, and their example inspired him to a radical conversion. He eventually founded the Society of Jesus and has left a legacy of prayer through his work The Spiritual Exercises, where he introduced Imaginative prayer as a way to enter into Scripture. Saint Ignatius is one of those Saints whose conversion was so immediately complete that he never turned back, devouring God’s words and accepting God’s call to him. Serving God, and God alone, “became [his] joy and the happiness of [his] heart” (Jeremiah 15:16). His life became like the men in the parables in today’s Gospel (see Matthew 13:44-46), who sold all they had to possess the greatest treasure. And the fruits of his conversion have impacted countless souls. Sister, let Saint Ignatius inspire you to try a new way of praying with the Gospels.* Take five minutes to imagine you are in the scene of today’s Gospel. Can you see yourself as the merchant searching for pearls? Ask the Lord to show you what you are to give up in order to follow Him more fully. Try it again tomorrow with the Gospel passage for the day. Let us ask the Lord to inflame us with the same passion of Saint Ignatius—that we will be drawn into God’s Word and find joy in it. *The Blessed is She Gospel Studies are a great place to begin praying with Scripture imaginatively.

Your presence, O LORD, I seek. // Psalm 27:8 “Amen,” I whispered as I opened my mouth to receive Holy Communion. My husband knelt at my side and received the Host in his turn at our wedding Mass. Our first act together as a married couple, after making our vows and entering into the Sacrament of Matrimony on this same date sixteen years ago, was to kneel down at the Eucharistic Prayer of our wedding Mass and receive the graces of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Beginning that day, our married life has been the intentional seeking of graces: daily family prayers, Sunday Mass every week, daily Mass when our schedule allows, Confession twice a month, regular prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. When we have slackened in our receiving of grace, our marriage has suffered. When Jesus laid out the hard teaching on marriage in today’s Gospel (see Matthew 5:27-32), He did not expect for us to do it alone. He explained that the reason there was divorce in the Old Testament was because of their hard hearts (see Matthew 19:8). They were living after the fall and before Jesus died for our sins and sent the Holy Spirit to fill us with grace. In this time of the Holy Spirit, where the seven Sacraments are a part of our daily lives, we can live out marriage as we were meant to in the beginning. As Pope Saint John Paul II wrote in his work on the theology of the body, Christ wants us to “rediscover the lost fullness of [our] humanity and want to regain it” in which we live out marriage according to God’s plan in mutual self-giving, in love and respect, as a communion of persons imaging the love of the Trinity (source). Sister, the Lord wants you to know the freedom of living in His sacramental life. Wherever you are in your vocation, you cannot live His call without the help of the Sacraments. Receive them whenever you can. He hangs on the Cross, blood pouring from His wounds, asking us to step under the flow of His sacrificial love and accept the grace to live redeemed marriages.