If you are like me, occasions like International Women’s Month bring to mind a vast number of women and the work they are about in the world: religious Sisters, moms, doctors, counselors, artists, professors, scientists, volunteers, mentors, coaches, aunties, grandmas, etc. One of these groups that has been of particular interest to me for a long time is the female Doctors of the Church. Of the thirty-seven total Doctors of the Church throughout history, four are women.  On one hand, I wonder if it is the hidden nature of women’s spiritual lives throughout history that explains why we have yet to discover (more than four) women whose gifts and depths of insight have significantly contributed to the spiritual life. On the other hand, the obvious invitation is to get to know these women and their unique lives that contributed so much to the faith of the Church, so that we can celebrate them and learn from them how to best embrace our own gifts and callings. As C.S. Lewis points out in his book Mere Christianity: “How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints” (source).  Saint Hildegard of Bingen // Germany 1098-1179 // Feast Day September 17 Saint Hildegard was a Benedictine Abbess. She is remembered for the vast number of talents and gifts she possessed and shared with her community and beyond. In her lifetime she was a poet, pharmacist, artist, mystic, theologian, and composer. In fact, she wrote the largest number of medieval chant compositions in existence. She was devoted to the Holy Spirit and received many visions from Jesus. Her primary writings are collected in Scivias, the title meaning, “know the ways of the Lord.”  Toward the end of her life, Hildegard and her community faced deep suspicion after allowing a young man who had been excommunicated to be buried in the cemetery at their convent. Although he had received final Sacraments and reconciled with the Church, her community was placed under an interdict, where they were denied the Eucharist until just a few months before Hildegard’s death. Pope Benedict declared her a Doctor of the Church and canonized her as a Saint as recently as 2012, more than eight hundred years after her death. Saint Catherine of Siena // Italy 1347-1380 // Feast Day April 29 Saint Catherine was a Dominican tertiary, who is remembered best for her role in mediating a conflict between popes on the brink of schism. For this reason, she is very often depicted with a ship on her shoulder in acknowledgment of her faithful support and intervention in preventing further conflict. In her lifetime she began a monastery, served the poor, traveled, promoted church reform, and wrote hundreds of letters, as well as a book, The Dialogue. Saint Catherine experienced a mystical marriage to Christ at age twenty-one, at which point she received encouragement to move out of the isolation of her cell in her parents’ home and return to living life in community with her family. She began a life of caring for the poor and those who were ill. Additionally, she received the stigmata, although it was only visible to her. She died at the age of thirty-three and is the patroness of Europe and Italy, people persecuted for their faith, miscarriage, nurses, illness, and fire.  Saint Teresa of Avila // Spain 1515-1582 // Feast Day October 15 Saint Teresa of Avila lived during a tumultuous time in the Church—the Reformation. Her story is unique because rather than extreme piety that drew her to the convent, it was her rebelliousness instead that motivated her family to send her to a convent. For years she lived among the community of women of marginal spiritual fervor or commitment. It wasn’t until years later that she began to receive visions of Jesus prompting her to become more and more His own, that she began to cooperate with the calling she had been given. With great opposition from the women in her community and beyond, Teresa began to reform the Carmelite order that had become so lackadaisical over the previous years.  Teresa was supported in her efforts of Carmelite reform by her friend Saint John of the Cross, who wished to see much of the same in his male counterparts. She is remembered for her wit and good cheer—a quote widely attributed to her is “May God protect me from gloomy saints.” Icons of Teresa often include a heart and arrow, due to her heart pierced by the love of Christ, as well as a book representing her writings (The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle). She is the patroness of headache sufferers and Spanish Catholic writers.  Saint Thérèse of Lisieux // France 1873-1897 // Feast Day October 1 Saint Thérèse’s story is likely familiar to us for two reasons. First, she is the most modern of our group, and second, her invitation to the ‘“little way” can make the spiritual journey feel far less daunting. Following her sisters into religious life, Thérèse received a special dispensation from her bishop after receiving approval from the pope to enter the Carmelite convent at the young age of fifteen. There she lived a life of prayer, resolving to become a saint through her little way of small acts of love and sacrifices for others as her daily offering to Jesus. Instructed by her mother superior (her older sister Pauline) to collect her thoughts, Thérèse wrote The Story of a Soul, her autobiography. Thérèse died at the age of twenty-four from tuberculosis. Knowing she was dying, Thérèse proclaimed from her deathbed that she intended to spend her time in heaven “doing good upon earth,” and that she would “let fall from heaven a shower of roses.” Although she entered a cloistered convent, Thérèse became the patroness of missions and florists because her simple and profound pursuit of Jesus reverberated through the Christian world through a daily giving of small acts of love. Take heart Often when we read stories of the lives of the Saints, it can feel daunting to hope that we could emulate the mystical or dramatic circumstances within which these individuals lived. But take heart! The good news is that we are not called to emulate their lives specifically, only to be inspired by them. The call for you and me is to bring our gifts and talents, our whole selves, to the time and place where we have been called and to trust God with the rest.

“You should start a blog,” my friend declared. At the time—some sixteen years ago—I barely knew what a blog was. And I certainly did not know what business I had starting one. Curiously, I asked, “What would I even write about?” She knowingly looked at me and replied, “You have five children, five years old and younger. You have plenty to write about.” Starting Out Her confidence astounded me but convinced me. While I had no idea what I was doing, I started a little blog called More Than Enough, and through it, I found an entire Catholic community of women that helped those early years of motherhood feel a lot less lonely. Through blogging, I also rediscovered my love for writing, which dated back to middle school, when I began writing for my school newspaper. From this humble beginning, I applied to write for various online platforms, including Blessed Is She. It also gave me the opportunity to contribute to two devotionals published by Ave Maria Press. But none of this compared to discovering that writing is not just my hobby or a honed skill. Writing is my charism. Discovering My Charism According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “[w]hether extraordinary or simple and humble, charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly benefit the Church, ordered as they are to her building up, to the good of men, and to the needs of the world” (CCC 799). The Siena Institute, which helps people discover their charisms, defines the charism of writing as “using words to create works of truth or beauty that reflect human experience and bring glory to God.” But just because writing is a charism, doesn’t mean it’s easy. Often, I experience writer’s block. And at times, my brain can’t recall the exact word I need. Writing takes focused time, which I don’t always have. But Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew, commands that we use the gifts God has given us. And He reprimands those who don’t, saying, “For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29). As fellow writer Claire Dwyer says, “Using our gifts is, in many ways, a lot like the practice of prayer. It requires discipline, focus, and time set apart. You could argue that done with the intention to glorify God, it is actually a form of prayer.” Writing From Prayer Yes, at the very heart of my writing is prayer. Along with lectio divina, writing is the main way the Lord speaks to me. And from this place of prayer, inspiration for a blog post or Scripture reflection comes together. While the connection between prayer and writing is natural for me, I imagine the connection between prayer and other charisms—such as hospitality, teaching, or voluntary poverty—is natural for others. The beauty of charisms is that while we have one or two that we are called to cultivate in order to spread the Gospel, we also receive so much when others live in their charisms. In other words, when we encounter someone living in her gift of knowledge, music, or writing, we receive a great blessing. On this International Writers’ Day, I thank God for bestowing upon me the charism of writing. I also thank those who saw that gift in me before I saw it in myself and encouraged me to write, even when the words did not flow. Honoring the Words that Move Us Moreover, today I consider the many words that have drawn me into a deeper faith and have sparked my own imagination toward writing, especially those words I have encountered in the written Word of God, the deep writings of the Saints, and the relatable work of present-day authors. Written Word of God How many times do I read a Scripture passage that touches my heart, and I wonder, “Was that written just for me?” The written Word of God invokes truth, instructs, comforts, and transforms. It is for everyone, yet deeply personal at the same time. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path. // Psalm 119:105 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. // John 1:1 For whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. // Romans 15:4 I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God. // 1 John 5:13 Deep Writings of the Saints Many Saints authored their biographies or wrote about private revelations they received from Jesus or Mary. Their writings, along with their witness, help us grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Faith, and invite us into a deeper relationship with the Lord. Saint Francis de Sales is a Doctor of the Church, and the patron Saint of writers and journalists. He gave spiritual direction through letters and is known for his Introduction to the Devout Life, which was written for ordinary lay people. Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman was ordained a Catholic priest two years after his conversion from Anglicanism. He was a published poet and novelist, prolific preacher, and prominent theologian. One of his most popular poems, Lead Kindly Light, was eventually set to music. Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, founder of the Redemptorists and a Doctor of the Church, is known for his simple preaching and kindness in the confessional. He wrote The Glories of Mary and Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, which are tremendous aids in prayer. Saint Teresa of Ávila reformed the Carmelites’ contemplative way of life and was named a Doctor of the Church. Her visions inspired her to write Interior Castle, which explains that prayer is not an immediate achievement but rather progresses over time. Relatable Work of Present-Day Authors There are several modern-day authors who I find to bring the mysteries of Faith into relatable terms for the ordinary Catholic. Liz Kelly Stanchina is the author of nine books, including Jesus Approaches. A trained spiritual director, her writings read as if she is sitting right across from you, holding a one-on-one conversation. Claire Dwyer is the author of This Present Paradise, which weaves the spiritual thoughts of Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity into the ordinary experiences of the Catholic woman. Her writings slow you down and draw you into deep thinking, pointing you more and more to Jesus. Dan Burke’s work at the Avila Institute introduces faithful Catholics to the practice of contemplative prayer. In several of his books, such as Finding Peace in the Storm, Burke draws from the wisdom of the Church, while interspersing his own insights. Whether you are a writer or a reader, how has the Word of God or faith-based writing impacted your spiritual life?

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In preparation for 2025 as a Jubilee Year, Pope Francis declared 2024 to be the Year of Prayer in the hopes that the faithful will rediscover the centrality of prayer for our faith life. Much like we cannot exist without the constancy of rhythmic breathing, our spiritual life cannot survive without a consistent prayer life.  Surely graces abound during this time for those looking to learn or rejuvenate such practices! How special would it be for babies born this year to be named in commemoration of a time in their parents’ lives when they were becoming more intimate with Christ? Names with Masculine and Feminine Forms Angelus // Angel, Angela, and Angela are all acceptable names within society. Angelus has a similar sound and brings to mind the traditional rhythmic prayer of the Church. Benedict and Benedicta // “Blessed” is the meaning of this name, and blessed be the name of the Lord! Gregorio and Gregoria // For those parents who find solace and calm in Gregorian chant. The name means “vigilant, a watchman.” Those who pray regularly could also be described as such. Honor // A name which echoes the eternal words of Revelation 7:12: “Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Jude // A name which means “praise” directed towards the Divine (see “Judah” below). Laudes // A name which means “praises highly, or canonical hour.” It is also the Latin title for Morning Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours. Psalm // In honor of some of the greatest and most relatable prayers of all time! Feminine Names Arabella // Derived from Latin, this name means “yielding to prayer,” as we all should do! Araminta // From the Latin-derived name Arabella and the Greek-derived name Aminta, which means “strength.” One who bears this name would be sure to be a prayerful individual and could be called “Mint” for short. Caeli // Latin for “of heaven,” it is a part of the title of the “Regina Caeli” prayer, translated into English as “Queen of Heaven,” which sings the praises of our Lady. Pronunciation is “CHAY-lee.” Dillian // The pronunciation rhymes with Lillian; this name means “image of worship.” Worship is the ultimate prayer for which we were made. Gloria // The prayer of the angels! “Glo” would be a precious nickname. Itta // Pronounced “EE-tah,” this sweet name is a Yiddish variation of Judith, a feminine form of “Judah” (see below). Magnificat // Mary’s famous prayer praising God for His faithfulness and generosity. It could be shortened to Maggie for daily use. Memorare // A powerful prayer to our Lady with a soft and strong feminine quality about it. Raree (which could be pronounced “rawr-ee”) has a similar sound to the popular Irish name, Rory. It could serve as an abbreviation. Odelia// Pronounced “oh-DEE-lee-ah,” it is Hebrew for “I will praise the Lord.” Ora // A name derived from the verb from the Latin phrase “Ora pro nobis” in the Litany of Saint, asking the saints to “Pray for Us.”  It is the imperative form of the verb, meaning “You, pray!” Osanna // A real name which has obvious ties to the Hebrew prayer, “Hosanna!” It is Latin for “praise the Lord” or “God save.” Regina // Latin for Queen, it corresponds to the hymn “Regina Caeli” about the Queen of Heaven. “Reggie” could serve as an updated nickname—or parents could roll with the traditional, “Gina.” Rosary // There exist many variations of the traditional name Rose; this seems like a natural/prayerful alternative for Catholics. Selah // A Hebrew word found throughout Scripture, especially in the Psalms, which indicates a prayerful pause of praise for God. Masculine Names Bede // A short, cheerful name which also means “prayer.”  Declan // Irish names are quite popular in the States; this one means “man of prayer.” Judah // This name was a prayer of praise by Leah (the Old Testament figure) at the birth of her fourth son. It was the first time she acknowledged what God was doing for her in the names of her children. Oratio // A classic Latin form of prayer which follows a specific formula, and also the Latin word for “prayer.” Orison // A strong and unique French name which derives from the Latin word for prayer. “Ori” would make a good nickname. Saul // This biblical name means “prayed for” in Hebrew—the name of King Saul, the first king of Israel, as well as Saint Paul before Jesus called him on the road to Damascus. Silas // From the Hebrew verb meaning “asked for” in a prayerful sense. Know a Baby on the Way? We have more resources for you! Whether it is more ideas for baby names or gifts you may need to purchase, we have got you covered! Check out these options below. Marian Baby Names Names in Honor of St. Joseph Unique and Usable Biblical Baby Names Not-So-Typical Unique Catholic Baby Names How to Name Your Baby (Catholic Style) Catholic Baby Registry (Catholic Gift Ideas for a Baby Shower) Chosen Baptism Book Catholic 1, 2, 3 Poster for Kids THE PERFECT BOOK FOR KIDS Rise Up will open up beautiful conversations with your children about the virtues. . This will bring beautiful fruit to your prayer life and to your children's prayer lives. GET RISE UP

Read: “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’” Respond:  You don’t dance with me like You do with her. Of course, I’ve seen Your movements in my heart. I know the ways we’ve grown and loved one another. I know the ways I’ve been distant and the ways You’ve pulled me back. But still, I can’t help but notice that Your dance with her is different.  You don’t dance with me like You do with her. You love her in ways I don’t recognize, but they’re personal and perfect. I see the way she lights up around You, when she notices things about You that I’ve never noticed. Her time with You is sometimes longer than mine, louder than mine, different than mine in more ways than one. Should my dance look like hers?  Watching her with You is like seeing a new You unfold before my eyes. An ever-new You, and an ever-new her, two hearts moving in perfect sync. I watch so closely, and I miss a few steps of our dance.  A quick stumble and You’ve steadied me. We find the music again. I glance back over, and I see You with her still. Yet, here You are with me. We dance in all the personal ways that I’ve known.  You never left me when You danced with her. I don’t know how, but it’s true. And in all of this joy of seeing that You’ve stayed, I look around. You’re moving in a million different ways with millions of people. I see her watching us, too. She smiles, and we all continue to dance. Read: “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’” Luke 15:25-32 ————— For more prayers + meditations like this, grab a copy of Detailed Love: Meditations on God’s Intentional Presence, new to the shop.

A couple of winters ago, I had to give up my annual Christmastime visit with my parents due to various members of my family coming down with the flu a few days into our visit with my in-laws. And that is why I found myself mid-March, solo-parenting, road-tripping, and car-dancing with my four kids down I-39 in Illinois with a mug of fully caffeinated coffee in my cup holder. Until that moment on the interstate, I had lived caffeine-free for nearly four years. But the Encanto soundtrack on repeat was not going to give me the energy and alertness to bring my children safely into port, and I realized that caffeine was a necessity to get us there. About a month after this trip, my caffeine addiction was fully set in. Not only was I groggy until my first cup, but I loved the infusion of energy I got from it and often even drank a second one before the afternoon hit. I felt sad and a little humiliated at my loss of freedom from caffeine. Yet, one day in the car after noon Mass, as I gazed at the sunlight streaking between the buildings of Lowertown St. Paul, I realized that there was a parallel between my physical need for coffee and my spiritual need for grace. Our Weaknesses I had an experience of naturally not needing caffeine to function at my best during the years I lived without it. I had given it up when I was on a restricted diet to overcome Lyme disease and once I was fully recovered, I never felt the need. Naturally, if I was able to get enough sleep, then I would not need it.  In the pre-fallen natural state, we humans did not need sanctifying grace to make good choices. Had our first parents and those who came after never made the choice to disobey God, we could be blissfully living sin-free without God ever having come to earth to die and bring us this grace. But sin did enter the world, and God became Man for us, experiencing our weakness. As the author of Hebrews writes: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help” (Hebrews 4:15-16). God knows what it is like to be tempted and be weak, and He offers us his healing forgiveness and help to overcome our sins. He gives us grace to help us be our true and best selves and overcome our temptations. Coffee does a similar thing for us physically—as it makes up for our failings of not giving ourselves enough time to sleep or for over-packing our days with all the things that must be done. The caffeine gives us an infusion of energy and, at least for me, helps to do it all more cheerfully and well.  It Helps Us Be Little I did not realize until after I was drinking caffeinated coffee again (I never gave up decaf) how much pride I took in living without it. Accepting my dependence on caffeine helped me have more humility in my daily life, and also helped me grow in my humble attitude towards God’s grace. I have seen more and more how I am incapable of doing good without the help of God’s grace, especially in the trying times of my life.  In a letter to her sister, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux talks about how good it is to be little and poor before God:  [W]hat pleases him is to see me love my littleness and my poverty, it is the blind hope that I have in his mercy. [ . . . ] [Y]ou have to agree to remain poor and without strength and that is the difficult thing. [ . . . ] Oh! so let's stay far away from everything that shines, love our littleness, love to feel nothing, then we will be poor in spirit and Jesus will come to get us, however far we are he will transform us into flames of love. (Letter 197) I should love how much I need God’s grace to help me in my littleness more than I love the smell and comfort of a cozy mug of coffee each morning. Saint Thérèse also talks about how she is too small to get to Heaven on her own. Having heard of the invention of the elevator, Saint Thérèse came to the realization that the only way of perfection for someone as little as her was to submit herself entirely to God—to go to Him as a child: I would also like to find an elevator to take me up to Jesus, because I am too small to climb the rough staircase of perfection. So I looked in the holy books for the indication of the elevator, the object of my desire, and I read these words from the mouth of Eternal Wisdom: If someone is very small, let him come to Me. [see Proverbs 9:4] So I came, guessing that I had found what I was looking for and wanting to know, oh my God! what you would do to the little one who would answer your call, I continued my research and here is what I found: - As a mother caresses her child, so I will comfort you, I will carry you on my bosom and I will rock on my knees! [see Isaiah 66:13, 22] Ah! never have more tender, more melodious words come to rejoice my soul, the elevator which must raise me to Heaven, these are your arms, O Jesus! For that I don't need to grow up, on the contrary I have to stay small, to become more and more so. (Story of a Soul, Manuscript C , 02-03) I am too small to always get the rest I need—to climb that staircase of getting into bed and turning out my reading light at a reasonable hour. I am too small to have self-control when my hormones shift at the end of my cycle and cause irritability and grumpiness. But coffee can help me in my mood and fatigue. In a similar way, I am too small—like Saint Thérèse—to climb that staircase of perfection.  Accepting Our Dependence The seventeenth-century French hermit Brother Lawrence wrote, the more we draw close to God, the more we need His grace: The greater the perfection to which a soul aspires, the more dependent is she upon divine grace, and this grace becomes more necessary every moment because without it the soul can do nothing. The world, the flesh and the Devil together wage so fierce and unremitting a war that, without actual grace and a humble reliance thereon, the soul would be dragged down in spite of herself. Such dependence seems hard to human nature, but grace makes it acceptable and a refuge.” (The Practice of the Presence of God, p. 86.) As hapless creatures held in existence by a loving Creator, we often overlook that very fact. We are dependent on Him for everything whether we like it or not, whether we realize it or not. He invites us to be mindful of our need for Him in each and every moment of our day. My reliance on coffee is a reminder for me to rely on God in everything I attempt for His glory. And as Saint Paul points out, His grace is always waiting and will never run dry: “God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Pages with highlighted sentences, notes written in ink, and coffee stains. These are some of my favorite kinds of pages to peel open, because it usually means it’s a book given to me by my mom, a book that helped her through her own vocation as a wife and home-schooling mother of seven.  One such book was written by a French Carmelite who lived in the seventeenth century:Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection. The title? The Practice of the Presence of God. It is a book filled with wisdom, bringing me back to it for my second read in less than one year. I won’t be surprised if it’s a book that pulls the dust off of my bookshelf many times more. It is written through the heart and mind of a brother whose task in the monastery was to work in the kitchen.  One of the lines in my copy of this book which has stuck with me the most, is actually from the introduction written by Dorothy Day: A philosopher once said “Do what you are doing’—that is, pay attention to what you are doing. Brother Lawrence obviously had no books in his kitchen, to study ways of finding God. He had to find his way, obviously by prayer. (p.7)  This reminds me of a conversation I once had with the Mother Superior of a religious order. She said that each of her sisters was only allowed five books at a time to be kept in their room. This struck me, because I love holding on to my books, especially the ones which have shaped my spiritual life. I have way more than five books on my bookshelf, and I have many more that I still want to acquire. But what I’ve been reminded of again and again in Brother Lawrence’s book, is that it isn’t about the perfect spiritual formula that I so often try to mix up. It’s about calling Jesus to mind in the simple moments of everyday life.  One of the ways I am trying to practice this is by actively living out his words, “...we ought to act very simply towards God, speaking frankly to Him, and asking His help in things as they occurred” (p. 25).  I’m trying to invite God into everything. When my three children are all either whining or crying, I am doing my best to ask God to be there with us. Before we dive into a messy art project, I ask Jesus to be there with us (and to help prevent us from making too big a mess). When we drive to a playdate, I ask Jesus to give us safe travels and blessed conversation. Then, when there is crying, or finger paint all over the kitchen chairs, or freezing cold weather to carry the children in and out of the car and I am tempted to complain, I can be encouraged by Brother Lawrence’s reminder that “our business is simply to love and be happy in God” (p. 28).  One person observed that Brother Lawrence “was more united with God during his ordinary activities than in religious exercises, in which he was generally afflicted with spiritual dryness” (p. 32).  How amazing! I often daydream about quiet moments of prayer with God. Yet here we have an example of someone who lived out his call exactly how it is meant to be! He lived out his vocation, as a brother and as someone responsible for a kitchen, by practicing the presence of God. By calling Christ to mind at every moment, and being faithful to his daily duties, Brother Lawrence trusted that Jesus would give him the grace he needed to be a joyful servant: “[W]e ought not to get tired of doing little things for the love of God, because He looks at the love rather than the work” (p. 36). This means that wiping sticky faces clean, sweeping up play dough, and simply just holding my child are all acts of great worship, so long as I do them with love.  In a letter he wrote “To a Woman in the World” he said: “To be with God it is not necessary to be always in church. We may make a chapel of our heart whereto we may escape from time to time to talk with Him quietly, humbly, and lovingly” (p. 50).  These words are beautiful, but not always easy—I do not always remember that the Trinity dwells within my soul because of my Baptism. Sometimes the escape I long for is an hour in Eucharistic Adoration or a retreat. Yet these moments of “escape” Brother Lawrence describes are often meant to be interior, and they are taken throughout the actions of one's day. It is the whispered prayer during a long day, it is a plea for mercy when falling short, it is a word of thanks for an unexpected blessing.  He is always there with you. Will you escape with Him?

No matter where you are vocationally this Saint Valentine's Day, Jesus wants to spend it with you. So much so that this year, Ash Wednesday falls on the feast of Saint Valentine's Day. The day we begin the season of repentance, remembering and turning back to the Lord, and entering into the desert, is the Saint’s feast-day-turned-secular-holiday that the world uses to remind us of love. Today, as the first day of Lent, is the day to enter into His love. His heart is for you. Let Jesus “allure [you] and bring [you] into the wilderness” this Saint Valentine's Day “and speak tenderly to [you]” (see Hosea 2:14).  The secular Valentine's Day, with its pink and red hearts, flowers and chocolates, and romantic notions, reminds us of the beauty of love. Those Valentines we receive, whether they are from classmates in second grade, a friend, or a spouse, are affirmations of being loved. Our hearts, made in the image and likeness of God, crave that affirmation of love. Yet love cannot be separated from sacrifice, as modeled for us by Christ but also by Saint Valentine who was martyred for His love of Jesus.  As the Bridegroom of us, the Church, Jesus' love for us is not only sacrificial but wildly beautiful and, I daresay, romantic, in His pursuit of our hearts. I stumbled across this poem recently from the epigraph of the book The Friendship of Christ by Robert Hugh Benson. (He footnotes it as “from an old manuscript.”) I think it captures the beauty of the Lord’s pursuit of our hearts and gives us much to ponder this Valentine's Day.  “This Is My Friend” Let me tell you how I made His acquaintance.I had heard much of Him, but took no heed.He sent daily gifts and presents, but I never thanked Him.He often seemed to want my friendship, but I remained cold.I was homeless, and wretched, and starving and in peril every hour; and He offered me shelter and comfort and food and safety; but I was ungrateful still.At last, He crossed my path and with tears in His eyes, He besought me saying, Come and abide with me. Let me tell you how he treats me now.He supplies all my wants.He gives me more than I dare ask.He anticipates my every need.He begs me to ask for more.He never reminds me of my past ingratitude.He never rebukes me for my past follies. Let me tell you further what I think of Him.He is as good as He is great.His love is as ardent as it is true.He is as lavish of His promises as He is faithful in keeping them.He is as jealous of my love as He is deserving of it.I am in all things His debtor, but He bids me call Him Friend. This Valentine's Day, this Lent, “He begs me to ask for more.”  What more is the Lord begging you to ask for? For what have you been hesitant to ask the Lord? It's funny how we can hold ourselves back from asking the Lord for very good things out of fear, false humility, or pride. Yet He wants us to ask. Perhaps He is asking you this Lent to be bold in your prayer. Ask big, because “He is as lavish of His promises as He is faithful in keeping them.” I think, in a way, this kind of prayer is an affirmation of love. It’s a way you can give the Lord a secret Valentine.

Saint John Paul II once said, “The human being is unique and unrepeatable, somebody thought of and chosen from eternity, some[one] called and identified by his own name.” What if we let this truth shatter our insecurities? What if we finally let go of the belief that we aren’t wanted? Or that we’d be “better” if we looked like that girl on social media or had someone else's life? How would our lives be transformed if we truly believed what Saint John Paul II said? It’s easy to read the words of great Saints and intellectually agree with what they say—but it’s a long journey from the brain to the heart. For so many of us, the battle of comparison and low self-esteem is a daily struggle.  As women in the 21st century, we’re aware of how positive daily habits can drastically improve our self-perception. Waking up early, reducing screen time, going for walks, going to daily Mass, and reading before bed are all things that can help improve how we see ourselves. Things like “positive self-talk” effectively combat “negative self-talk” and re-affirm the truth of our identity.  But what if the way you dressed was another key part of restoring your belief in your God-given, unrepeatable identity? Personal style is not commonly associated with growing in faith, but when understood through a theological lens, it is a tool for building our relationship with God.  Saint John Paul II also said, “The body . . . is capable of making  visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine.” He explains that the body manifests the soul, revealing the interior of the human person. We have an opportunity to further aid the expression of our souls through the garments we put on our bodies. In choosing items that “match” the beauty of our souls, we celebrate how God made us. This helps us to see ourselves through God’s eyes.  Similar to “positive self-talk,” dressing in a way that affirms our beauty, our individuality, and our dignity has a massive impact on how we see our worth overall. When we dress in a way that communicates to ourselves (and the world) that we have been made wonderfully unique and out of great love, it starts to transform our perception of ourselves. This has the power to impact every aspect of our lives! When we see ourselves as “chosen from eternity,” our understanding of our purpose changes from finite to infinite. Our choices and relationships are guided by our perception of our worth, so making daily choices that re-affirm God’s own view of you is crucial. Remember, God delights when we recognize how much He loves us. He wants us to know that He intentionally knit us in our mother’s wombs (see Psalm 139:13) and that from the beginning of time, He wanted us. The more we recognize the love of the Father who has willed us into existence, the more we are able to return that love to Him.  Personal style is just a tool to use in our faith journey. Ultimately, personal style is not about the clothes. It is not about having the best outfit or even being fashionable. The most important benefit of developing your personal style is the transformation of your relationship with God. Let’s dress in a way that helps us to learn how God made us, so we can grow in our relationship with Him.  My dear sister, don’t be afraid of exploring your style! God rejoices when He sees you growing in the knowledge of your worth. He loves when you put together a special outfit that expresses just how uniquely He made you. Like any parent, He cherishes who you are. For Mass this Sunday, challenge yourself to put together an outfit that makes visible the invisible beauty of your soul! Give this beauty back to God and thank Him for making you in His image. Author Bio Lillian Fallon is a Catholic writer with a passion for helping women express their unrepeatability through personal style. She recently released Theology of Style: Expressing The Unique and Unrepeatable You through Ascension Press. Growing up, she dreamed of working in the fashion industry but believed her Catholic Faith could not coexist with her love for clothing. After studying Saint John Paul II’s work on the theology of the body at Ave Maria University, Lillian’s enchantment with fashion transformed into a lifelong mission to help women understand their true identity, made in the image of God. Informed by John Paul II’s teachings, she went on to work as a style editor in New York City before ultimately landing at the Catholic fashion label Litany NYC. Lillian currently resides in Pennsylvania with her orange tabby cat, Tito.

The story of our 2024 Lent devotional is a pretty simple one. It begins and ends with God said so. I remember being at daily Mass one morning as my mind drifted prayerfully to Psalm 23. And in the moment I turned my attention to the Good Shepherd, the words of Saint John the Baptist  echoed in my ears: “Behold, the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). The Good Shepherd is the Lamb of God. I called Jenna right away only to find out our managing editor had shared the same inspiration—Advent and Lent companion devotionals exploring these two related titles of Jesus. But let me clarify: When I said “God said so,” I wasn’t referring to the grace I received in Mass to ponder the mystery of the Good Shepherd Who became the Lamb of God, or the similar inspiration He gave to our editor. God said so when He inextricably linked these titles and images together in the words of Holy Scripture.  It’s a secret hidden in plain sight, and He has entrusted it to our sweet sisterhood to treasure and meditate upon. How can our strong leader, Jesus—the way, the truth, and the life (see John 14:6)—allow Himself to become the sacrificial Lamb slain for the sins of the world? How can the Good Shepherd become a Lamb?  And yet, a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. It is the same creature, but one crawls upon the ground and the other magically flies through the air. The nature is the same, but the character is different. It falls short, as analogies do, but we can glean some truth from it. The nature of the creature (what it is) can be the same while the character (what it does) is different. And don’t we want to know every aspect and dimension of our beautiful Savior Jesus’ Heart and life? To know and love Him as both Shepherd and Lamb? This Lent, the Good Shepherd is extending His Hand and inviting us to walk with Him from the fields of Bethlehem to the city of Jerusalem. He is asking us to look upon another side of His Face and to receive another piece of His Heart.  In Advent, Jesus pursued each one of us and every part of us—and now He wants to rescue those whom He found. That is what Lent is all about, after all: what He did for us.  At times we get a little confused about that. We try to do for Jesus what only He can do for us. So this Lent, we’re looking to the Lamb of God to show us Who He is as Savior. In the Lent devotional, Rescued: Lent with the Lamb of God, we’ll read the prophecy of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 while meditating on different aspects of Jesus—extravagant, patient, healing, meek, willing, and strong—and what that means for our lives.  Jesus wants to be your Good Shepherd and your Savior, to reveal Himself as the Lamb of God Who sacrificed everything for love of you. This Lent, let Him.

This past Advent, we walked toward Christ’s Nativity with the guidance of our Good Shepherd. In between Advent and Lent is the odd stretch of Ordinary Time that one might almost want to wish away. But if there’s anything the seasons of Advent and Lent teach us, it is that preparation is important in the spiritual life, and we need this space in between to prepare our hearts for Easter. Here are some ways to shift our attention from Jesus as the Good Shepherd to Jesus as the Lamb of God. From Protector to Fellow Human Seeing Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the idea of God being all-powerful comes pretty naturally to us humans. Just like sheep, we are lost, broken, and confused without our Shepherd. It is God who makes conditions optimal so that, like sheep, we can survive in this world. However, sometimes we can forget that Jesus was just as human as we are. With the exception of sin, He felt human emotions to the depth that we feel them. As we journey into Lent, we can pray with the image of Jesus’ humanity as the Lamb of God: meek, gentle, and capable of being hurt. Sometimes, we can alienate ourselves from Jesus, thinking, He must not understand the pain that I feel. However, when we think this we forget stories like the one beside the tomb of Lazarus in the Gospel of John, when “Jesus wept” (John 11:35) because He felt the depth of the pain caused by the death of His friend. There is sometimes a temptation to give in to despair or to “not set our expectations too high” so that “our hearts do not get broken.” But this Lent, I invite you to ask Jesus to sit with you in your hopes, hurt, and everything in between. Jesus chose to represent Himself as a lamb because of His humility and His desire to meet the human race where we are. And further because an unblemished lamb was the animal sacrificed at the first Passover in the book of Exodus. The Heart of Mary Another way we can shift our prayer is by paying close attention to the heart of our Blessed Mother. Jesus as the Good Shepherd has many characteristics of a mother. When He calls Himself the Good Shepherd, He is carrying out His ministry and has disciples whom He is forming. In our human lives, we are extremely reliant on our parents when we are young. As we get older, we start to be able to perform the same tasks and have the same autonomy as our caregivers. Yet, we still go to them for help and advice. This Lent is an opportunity for us to reignite our childlike characteristics as we pray with the Lamb of God. We cannot live forever in Heaven without the Lamb who died for us. “Mary had a little lamb” and His name is Jesus. This Lent, let us draw close to the heart of the Mother, whom the Lamb gave to us from His Cross (see John 19:26), allowing her to take care of us as we head towards Calvary and await Jesus’ Resurrection. The Sacrament of Reconciliation In Luke 15, there are multiple stories that all exemplify a return to Christ. The Parable of the Lost Sheep demonstrates Jesus as the One who leaves the rest of the sheep to chase after the one that was lost. We can experience this story in our lives by letting the Good Shepherd find us and carry us to the Sacrament of Confession as a way to prepare for the Lenten season. In terms of seeing the Lamb of God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we must remember that the reason we are forgiven each time we step into the confessional is because the Lamb of God was slain and paid the price for our salvation. If, for the Good Shepherd, we are “the one” that He chases after, for the Lamb of God, He is “the One” who takes away the sins of the world and gives us a pathway to Salvation. Redefining Strength If you look at Jesus on the Cross from a worldly lens, He looks weak and helpless. But we all know that the image of Jesus on the Cross demonstrates just how grand His Love is for us—that it has the power to overcome even death. It is the ultimate symbol of strength. When a person lifts weights, she feels weak as her muscles continue to be used, but in reality, she is getting stronger. Sometimes, we reduce strength to the image of a roaring lion or someone who never cries, but the Lamb of God reminds us that experiencing weakness is actually what makes us strong. He says to us: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Sometimes we assume that God only wants our résumé virtues, but the reason that we need the Lamb of God is because we are so weak. This Lent, let us bring the parts of ourselves that we are ashamed of and the parts of ourselves that we so desperately try to get rid of to the Lord. Spend More Time In Eucharistic Adoration Finally, this is a time we can refocus on the Eucharist as the pinnacle of our Catholic Faith. It is what sets us apart from the rest of the world and gives meaning to our lives. The Eucharist is a reminder of the Lamb of God that is graspable by our minds, though still beyond our full understanding. In order to become as meek as the Lamb of God, we must spend time with Him. One of my all-time favorite quotes about Eucharistic Adoration is from Venerable Fulton Sheen, who says, “We become what we gaze upon. Looking into the sunset the face takes on a golden glow. Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an Hour transforms the Heart in a mysterious way.” As we enter a season of fasting, prayer and almsgiving, let us spend more time looking at the Lamb of God than scrolling through social media or letting the noise of the world get to our hearts. Get your Lenten devotional, Rescued: Lent with the Lamb of God, here.

Here in Denver, the National Western Stock Show is a big annual event and has been happening  since 1906. It begins with an iconic parade of Longhorns through the streets downtown, ushering in two weeks of western-themed fun. Folks travel from all over the United States to bring their animals, rodeo prowess, and everything from pony rides to 4-H and university level shows of animal husbandry, cattle auctions, beekeeping, sheepdog herding, mutton busting, pro-rodeo, and carriage driving.  If you have never been, it is worth a visit! Area schools have long taken the opportunity to bring students, who are learning about pioneers and western expansion, on field trips to the stock show for a hands-on experience—especially enlightening for students growing up in a more urban area. While chaperoning one of these trips, I had my first up-close encounter with sheep. Our group of giddy second graders opted to attend a sheep shearing demonstration. Gathered around, we watched as the shepherd gently, and often firmly, used the shears to remove the wool from his sheep. At first, the sheep was tolerant, maybe even comfortable having the matted wool from its back and flanks removed. However, as the demonstration continued and the shearer got closer to its face, legs, and belly, what had begun as a tolerant demonstration became a bit of a wrestling match between the sheep and the shepherd. By this time, the shepherd was on the ground holding the anxious animal steady for the safety of each of them.  To a gal who did not grow up on a farm, this was an important illustration for me of God as the Good Shepherd: gentle, strong, slow-moving, and calm. It also brought great clarity to Pope Francis’ encouragement to his bishops to “be shepherds, with the ‘odour of the sheep.’” Based on my limited understanding of sheepherding, there is very little accomplished from a distance (unless of course, you have a sheepdog). Scripture is fairly littered with analogies of sheep, goats, and shepherds. If we are honest, our best working knowledge of these creatures very likely comes from homilies and Scripture stories, rather than personal experience. We have probably heard that sheep are stubborn and not particularly bright—in need of protection, and prone to wander away. For example: The LORD is my shepherd. // Psalm 23:1   We had all gone astray like sheep, all following our own way. // Isaiah 53:3 All the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. // Matthew 25:32-33  They were like sheep without a shepherd. // Mark 6:34   “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” // Luke 15:6  -“Behold, the Lamb of God.” // John 1:29 We know sheepherding to be a nomadic, lowly profession. Those who were left to tend the sheep were economically poor and physically unable to contribute to the hard work often required for harvesting and maintaining crops. Shepherds, therefore, could be children, the elderly, men, or women—whoever could be hired out or spared. The Lord has a special fondness for sheep and identifies Himself over and over as a Shepherd, but He doesn’t stop there.  The Lord in His humility is also identified as the Lamb of God: Shepherd and Lamb, Beginning and End, Human and Divine. God navigates so seamlessly in the arenas we might imagine to be either/or. And yet . . .  Just as the sheepdogs at the stock show are required to successfully and painstakingly herd the entire group of sheep into their pen to complete their competition, our next move heading into Lent is to humbly identify ourselves with sheep so desperately in need of our Shepherd. Lent is the hardest season for me to enter into because it always asks me to go a little further and give a bit more. More self-awareness, more generosity, more sacrifice than what I might otherwise choose. Not as a drab duty, but as an adoption of the selfless love of God.  If you are looking for a Lenten devotional to accompany you through the season of Lent,  Rescued: Lent with the Lamb of God is a beautiful option that focuses more deeply on the Scriptures, images, Sacraments, and stories of the season. Who better to lead us to Holy Week than the Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God?

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Early in my twenties, I went on a pilgrimage to Turin, Italy. My main goal was to visit the tombs of Blessed Pier Giorgio and Saint John Bosco. As I walked into the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, where Saint John Bosco was buried, I was filled with wonder at the stunning beauty of it. The architecture and artwork of that church is a deep reflection of the majesty of our Catholic faith. Our Lady Help of Christians is the title of Mother Mary that Saint John Bosco loved so dearly and for whom he had built the Basilica I was entering in her honor. As I knelt before Saint John Bosco’s body, that is partially incorrupt, I felt a strong desire to ask his intercession for my future. Through his intercession, I entrusted to God my vocation: my future husband and children. The moment I did this, I felt such peace and excitement.  Several years later, I met my husband Mike through a young adult group I helped create in honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. A few months after our wedding, we found out I was going to have a baby, and my due date was May 24, the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians. All throughout my pregnancy I prayed for my son through the intercession of those two holy men from Turin, Italy: Blessed Pier Giorgio and Saint John Bosco My son was born on his due date, the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians. A few months ago, I was able to return to Our Lady Help of Christians, to the exact place I had prayed ten years prior. This time, instead of prayers of petition, I offered joyful prayers of thanksgiving. God, through the intercession of Saint John Bosco and Mother Mary, the help of Christians, fulfilled the desires of my heart. After years of infertility I know the miracle of my son’s life—the power of their intercession, and the life changing reality of prayer.  A Prophetic Dream Though the Marian title “Help of Christians” had been used for years, it was Saint John Bosco who helped promulgate it. He often had prophetic dreams (you can read some of them HERE), and one in particular led him to a greater devotion to our Lady.  In his dream, he saw the Church represented by a ship on a stormy sea, passing through two pillars into safety. On the top of one of the pillars was an image of our Lady with the words “Help of Christians” and on the other was a Eucharistic Host with the words, “Salvation of the Faithful” underneath. The imagery is clear: Saint John Bosco knew that through the Eucharist and the Intercession of Our Lady Help of Christians, our Church will find refuge, safety, peace, and joy in the storms of this life.  Our Lady Help of Christians Saint John Bosco helped build the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians and created a religious order, the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians. Thousands come each year to ask our Lady’s intercession. I think back to a few months ago, when I was blessed to have the Sacrament of Confession in this Basilica, built by Saint John Bosco and many of his faithful friends. After confessing my sins the priest replied, with a smile, “Turn to our Lady; she wants to help you. She will help you! She is the help of all Christians!” In our sin, sorrow, suffering, and storms—let us hold these words of my confessor at our hearts’ helm: our Lady is the help of all Christians! On this feast day of Saint John Bosco, may we ask our Lady’s intercession and share in the glory of Saint John Bosco and all the Saints.

As we've been gearing up and sharing about our brand new Lent devotional, Rescued, this question has come up a couple of times: What do I get when I purchase the Blessed is She Lent devotional?   Well, besides this incredibly beautiful book to use in the chapel or in your prayer chair, to ponder and journal through, to have as a tangible keepsake between you and the Lord... there's more.   Some of you were able to pray with us during Advent, whether that be with the Advent devotional, Found, or by following along with us in your email. THOUSANDS of us were reading the same thing every single day... finding ourselves again and again held by our Good Shepherd.   We will walk together again this Lenten season by narrowing our focus on this ONE thing: the One who became the Lamb of God to rescue you and me.   You can follow along in your email or by purchasing the actual book, all praying as one community, sharing one heart and mission: to get to know and emulate this Lamb of God.   But if you purchase the book, you get icing on the already beautiful cake.   You are invited to join us to pray together, live, in real time, on the Blessed is She app.   Once you purchase, you will receive the link to the exclusive space we created just for: participating in our Lent kick-off(!!), praying LIVE every weekday about the theme and Lent, sharing our hearts in an intimate and beautiful way in a safe space with other Catholic women, creating a virtual small group to journey through this book alongside you. It's too good to be true. But it is ;)   So, what do you get when you purchase our devotional, Rescued? You get a sisterhood, walking tangibly beside you every single day in our exclusive Lent group in our FREE Blessed is She app.   Can't wait to see you in there, friend.   And I can't wait to get to know this Lamb alongside you, to worship the One who came to save you and save me.   All glory to God, now and forever.  

In this new year, with so much talk of resolutions, let us consider turning to Mother Mary to be our guide.

Grace was poured out on me. That is, the grace to let go of trying to grasp on to control of my life was offered to me through a personal retreat written by a Sister of Life, Sister Faustina Maria Pia, S.V. The same author of the Litany of Trust, Sister Faustina recently joined us to talk about her book Jesus I Trust In You, a month-long retreat where she helps build up the courage needed to “trust fall” into Jesus’ arms.  Blessed Is She: One of the gifts of being a Sister of Life is that you get to participate in the choosing of a new name. I’d love to hear more about your name. Are there any devotions tied to it? Sister Faustina: My name is definitely a big part of how I've come to know God, and is something that, in a way, God chooses for us. My mom had a conversion through Saint Faustina and came to know God through experiencing His message of mercy. She ended up naming me Faustina before she was even canonized a Saint.  I didn’t connect with Saint Faustina when I was young because I really thought she was far beyond me. When I entered religious life I ran into an elderly sister who found out my name was Faustina. I asked her to pray for me because I was going to get a new name. She looked at me with the love of a mother, but very stern, and she said, “Don’t you dare get a new name.” She then gave me a book that she had written, The Life of Faustina Kowalska: The Authorized Biography, and it filled in the human side of Saint Faustina that I never really encountered as clearly in the diary. After reading this book I absolutely fell in love with her. I chose to take that name again because I need God’s mercy to secure me in who I am. Without His unconditional love I don’t have anywhere else to lean on.  Maria is for the Blessed Mother, and then Pia is for Padre Pio. My parents met through visiting Padre Pio when he was still alive, and Padre Pio told my dad to marry my mom, so I really owe the man my life. Saint Padre Pio is really teaching me how to suffer and to live that as love and not to separate those two things. Blessed Is She: You are the author of both The Litany of Trust and the Jesus I Trust In You retreat. Can you share a little bit about how each of these came to be? Sister Faustina: A few years into my religious life, I was in a situation that was really difficult to understand. I was looking at Jesus asking: What are you doing? The one thing that He was very clearly saying back to me was: Trust Me, trust Me.  I didn’t feel like He explained what that meant in my situation. Do I just wait for things to resolve on their own? Do I just cross my fingers? I didn’t know how to live it and apply it in real time. I started to realize that I didn’t know what trust meant. After many months of praying and struggling I was in my room, looking at the crucifix with a heaviness in my heart. I told Jesus that I wanted to understand what He was doing and then I would be okay if I knew that He was up to something specific.  His response to me was such an intimate and tender encounter with Jesus. He lifted my chin up to look into His eyes. I felt like He was saying: I don’t want your yes to depend on a bunch of circumstances. I want it to go to Me. I want you to look at Me and say, “Jesus, because You’re here in the situation and You have my life in Your hands, it's going to be okay.” It was a sheer grace. I realized it’s not about circumstances, it’s about the relationship between me and Jesus and saying yes to Him with the whole of my life. All of a sudden I felt the floodgates of my heart open up to this huge desire to trust God more deeply, and my heaviness lifted. Jesus wasn’t going to explain everything and give me His eternal vision. My situation didn’t resolve the second Jesus spoke to me, but my heart did. In that moment I heard, not audibly, but in the stillness of my heart, an invitation to write a litany of trust. So, I took out my journal right then and there. I knew the Litany of Humility so I used that format and within ten minutes it was done. Without thinking much, I simply wrote everything that came over my heart. I held on to it for about a year without telling anybody and just prayed it on my own. A year later I was at a young adult event and I ended my talk on mercy with my litany. Afterwards there was a line of people asking me for a copy of the prayer, but I didn’t have any, so it took off from there.  The book wasn’t anything I intended, either. A few people told me they thought God was calling me to write, and I asked God to make it clear if this is what He wanted. The next day I received an email from a publisher asking me to write a book and offering to publish it. My Mother Superior said, “Yes, you’re going to do this,” and then writing the book became part of my obedience.  I was asked to write during a very busy season of traveling, but the invitation for the book offer came right at the beginning of 2020, and then the world shut down and I had this huge window of time in which to meet my deadline. Everything was truly God.   Blessed Is She: In your book you write about asking God to give us the grace to let go of our plans, because they might limit His plans. You talk about living your life as being a gift unraveled for Jesus. Can you explain what this looks like? Sister Faustina: God sees life from the eternal perspective. We see the very small side of heaven that we’re on. What I mean by the unraveling of the gift of our lives is that as Christians, we receive new life in Christ, and the essential part of receiving this new life is a death to self. I’m losing myself to gain life, to gain Christ, Who is Life. Trust is what enables us to live those little or big deaths. Trust is so pivotal in all this because we need to engage this death to self and see it as it truly is—a giving of ourselves to God. Trust is the hinge to the doorway to new life. It’s this openness in a radical way to His thinking, His eternal perspective. God is putting an invitation out there in the midst of those situations to ask: Will you give Me yourself? Will you let go of your expectations or your plans?  Who are we to say where our love will be the most fruitful? That surrender and gift to God is where we come alive.  Blessed Is She: On my window I have written your quotation, “The future lies in eternity, which is our only goal. The treasure of time, which Jesus jumped into so readily, is that it invites us to begin to receive eternity now.” How does every minute have infinite value? Sister Faustina: The Sisters of Life wear a medal on the outside of their habit that has a beautiful little quotation from a poem. It has a picture of Jesus and says, “Nothing would again be casual or small.” It is this reality that because Christ became incarnate and assumed human nature, the whole of our life is sacred. We believe that because of Christ, even the most mundane things are sacred and have eternal value. This is stunning. That’s what Jesus taught for thirty years when He lived in the quiet of His home with His parents. For thirty years He decided to stay at home to live a hidden life, interceding for us in His daily tests and daily prayer. Every vocation has humble jobs, and that brings us to the place of encounter with Jesus. He knows the fidelity to the small things because of His own hidden years.  Jesus comes to dine with us, so to speak, in the most intimate place of our existence, the interior of our hearts, to live there, to do the dishes with us, to hear what we hear and inspire us in our conversations, to sweep the floor with us: that’s how much He wants to be with us.  Blessed Is She: Is there anything else you would like to share? Sister Faustina: The biggest thing is that trust has really taught me that God is good. And that I am good. He keeps loving me, and that does not get old. It just keeps soaking in deeper and it frees the heart.  A “trust fall” is so easy for a little girl in the arms of her father whom she knows loves her. If we could begin to know how strong God is and how much He loves us, we would know that He’s not going to drop us. He wants us to fall into His arms. That’s all He wants. To let our hearts be embraced by Him. That gives Him so much joy.