November 18, 2025 // Optional Memorial of Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles // Optional Memorial of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, Virgin [In the Dioceses of the United States]
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 19:1-10
Reflect on the Word //
Hangers clattered in protest as I heaved another stack of dresses onto my bed. The growing mountain of clothes boasted a colorful array of sweaters, shirts, pants, and skirts.
Earlier that day I’d been pondering the evolution of fashion: For centuries women’s wardrobes had been far higher in quality and drastically lower in quantity. This prompted me to Google, “reasonable number of items in a wardrobe”—hence, my current closet purge and donation pile. Although I’d always delighted in lovely, modest clothing, my wardrobe had grown far bigger than I needed or could manage—especially without an impeccable laundry schedule (yeah, right).
These garments weren’t bad in and of themselves. It was my attachment to them and my underlying reasons for collecting them that kept me from deeper healing. For months, I’d been dialoguing with the Lord as He helped me peel back the layers of attachment and deeper desire:
Why did I want this particular thing?
To feel more beautiful or accepted. This can neither add to nor take away from your authentic beauty, My daughter. Those who admire you for material reasons cannot love you as you deserve. Those who love you as your dignity demands will not be swayed by superficial things.
What was my deeper desire beneath this huge pile?
To be loved. I died for love of you. Will you receive it? Choose to believe it?
Like Zacchaeus in today’s Gospel, whenever I felt small I’d try to compensate by accumulating things I thought could make me feel—or at least appear— more special and significant. Like Zacchaeus, it was my ongoing encounter with the Lord that helped me receive and believe the truth that I was priceless and set apart, independent of any material goods, accomplishments, or relationships.
The Lord blesses us with material things expressly to point us back to Him. We don’t need an excess of worldly goods; we need Jesus. Like Zacchaeus, we can let Him invite us down from our self-imposed perches. We can give Him access to the home of our heart. We can allow Him to elevate us to a beauty and dignity the world can never buy—or manufacture.
Relate to the Lord // Stand before your closet and talk to Jesus. What are your deepest desires as a woman?
Megan Hjelmstad (“Helm-stead”) is a wife, enthusiastic hockey mom, and Army Veteran living in Denver, CO. After serving fifteen years in the United States Army, Megan now serves the Church as an author, speaker, and women's mentor in her “spare” time. Megan loves to share God’s hope in suffering and is the author of Offer it Up: Discovering the Power and Purpose of Redemptive Suffering. She’s a long-time team member of Blessed is She and a writer and speaker for several other ministries. Megan adores books, sleep, sunshine, and Colorado’s great outdoors almost as much as she adores Jesus in the Eucharist. Learn more at MeganHjelmstad.com.
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