May 18, 2026 // Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter // Optional Memorial of Saint John I, Pope, Martyr
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 16:29-33
Reflect on the Word //
I pulled into a parking spot and turned off my car, reaching for my phone to check voice memos. Alone on an errand, I finally had space to listen to my friend’s message. During a season of brokenness and sorrow, I needed her voice of reassurance.
“Let’s look for little miracles each day. We’ll share them with each other and find hope together,” she said. We also agreed to seek Saint Josemaria Escriva’s intercession. His words, “Cling tightly to our Lord's hand and remember that God does not lose battles,” inspired us (Friends of God, 214). He became our go-to prayer warrior as we praised God for His work in our lives and petitioned Him to help us with our struggles.
Saint Josemaria’s confidence in the Lord echoes Jesus’ own words from the Gospel. I imagine the scene: eleven of His most-trusted companions sitting together for Passover in the Upper Room, listening to Jesus teach them. Jesus’ life had been threatened; yet, He came to Jerusalem anyway. Some Apostles appear uneasy. “In the world you will have trouble,” Jesus says, and the Apostles’ heads nod in agreement. I, too, nod my head in agreement. So many troubles, Lord.
Jesus continues, “. . . but take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33).
Every time I read the words, I exhale and release some stress. Jesus offers peace and tells me to have courage. Not anxiety, not fear, not self-pity. Courage, because He has already won all the battles.
I’ve practiced a quiet kind of courage, actively looking for God’s work in my life, like my friend and I did. When I see God at work, I learn to trust His way. The more I trust, the more cooperative I am to follow where He leads me, and the closer I walk with Him.
Courage, I find, is clinging tightly to the Lord.
Our lives may be messy and chaotic, doubts may threaten our faith, fears may steal our peace. But no troubles can undo Jesus’ work, ruin His plan, or overwhelm Him. Our Lord doesn’t lose battles, sister. He has already conquered the world. Let us take courage in Him.
Relate to the Lord // Cling tightly to the Lord today. What might that look like?
Gina Fensterer is a wife and mother of six children. She is passionate about finding God in the ordinary moments of her vocation. She loves Adoration, praying with Scripture, long morning walks, and fitness. She was a contributing author to And Hay Became Holy and our children's devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Read more by her here.
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