November 19, 2025 // Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: 2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31 Reflect on the Word //  When I was fourteen, my baby brother was born with two heart murmurs, which, in time, closed up. “Holes in his heart,” the doctors called them. Listening to his heartbeat, they would hear the rushing noises, murmurs caused by what is known as a “turbulent” flow of blood across the heart. This year, I have often prayed with this image. Exteriorly, I have been saying goodbye to college, moving cross-country, planning for the future. Interiorly, my heart has been murmuring—worrying, savoring, mourning, dreaming. The undercurrent of turbulence calls to my mind the quote from Saint Augustine’s Confessions: “My heart is restless until I rest in Thee.” In today’s First Reading, when I ponder the king’s offer to the youngest of the woman’s sons, I feel as though I am reading a list of things that would fill some of these holes in my heart: “The king appealed to him, not with mere words, but with promises on oath, to make him rich and happy if he would abandon his ancestral customs: he would make him his friend and entrust him with high office” (2 Maccabees 7:24). Surely this youngest son had his own hopes and dreams for his life, still just beginning. Surely he had many good and holy desires: longings for abundance, happiness, companionship, trust. Here, as an alternative to death, he is promised their fulfillment. Yet “the youth paid no attention to him at all” (2 Maccabees 7:25). Perhaps he was still pondering his mother’s earlier words. Perhaps he had even been able to predict them, if from his babyhood he had known the strength of her faith. She had just reminded her sons that God alone is the giver of good things, concluding: “He, in his mercy, will give you back both breath and life” (2 Maccabees 7:23). This confidence can be ours too. Like the mother in Maccabees, we can trust God to be generous. Our hearts are right to cry out for perfect happiness—for the day will come when the Lord will give all good things, no longer for a time but for eternity, and how glorious that day will be! Relate to the Lord // Has your heart been turbulent? Meditate on the generosity of God today. Trust in His love for you.

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?

November 17, 2025 // Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 18:35-43  Reflect on the Word //  “I’ve been polite in prayer. I feel like I’ve done my part and now it’s God’s turn,” she lamented.  “Keep making a commotion,” I said, partly in jest. “Jesus is on the way.” The young woman on the other side of the counter laughed, lightening the seriousness of the moment. I hoped she heard a reminder of the truth: Jesus was listening and working. This young woman was enduring a mental battle, fighting voices of doubt and worthlessness that tried to silence her prayers. She felt like God wasn’t responding. She wanted a miracle. I can’t help but see similarities between her doubts and longing for a miracle with the blind man who called out to Jesus in today’s Gospel. I imagine the blind man’s calls to Jesus caused a commotion. Realizing Who was approaching, he cried out for Jesus’ pity. Undeterred by those who tried to silence him, he kept calling to Jesus. Jesus heard him, and responded: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Luke 18:41) As God, Jesus already knew the man’s need and desire. Still He asked, desiring the man’s heart to open wide.  “Let me see” (Luke 18:41). The blind man could have asked for money or a meal. Instead, he asked for a life-changing miracle: the gift of sight. When I shared the (somewhat silly) idea to keep making a commotion, I hoped to encourage the young woman to boldly continue seeking a miracle, like the blind man did. When I told her Jesus is on the way, I hoped to deepen her faith that He hears and will answer in His time.  I want to encourage you, too, sister. While doubts may try to keep us in the dark and to silence us, doubt can’t stop Jesus. The gift of faith we’ve been given in Baptism will strengthen us to keep calling to Him in prayer. Jesus has a plan to meet our needs in big, beautiful ways as He did for the blind man. Relate to the Lord // Where do you need to make a commotion in prayer? Don’t give up. Tell Him what you desire. 

November 15, 2025 Letter from the Editor // Dear Sister, The end is coming soon—the end of the liturgical year during which time we remember the end times, when Jesus will come again “to rule the world with justice and the peoples with equity” (Psalm 98:9). Tomorrow is the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, the last ordinary Sunday we will have this year. In the First Reading, Saint Paul gives us instructions on how to live as we await the end. He encourages us to “work quietly” and not concern ourselves with “the business of others” (2 Thessalonians 3:11-12). We each have our own call, and it is not the same as our sister, brother, parent, friend, or colleague. When we meet the Lord at the end of our lives, we will want to show Him how we lived out His call to us.. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of a time of persecution, of wars, of insurrections, of “earthquakes, famines, and plagues” (Luke 21:11). Every generation since He walked the earth has seen these things; we see them more now than ever because of how quickly the media spreads the news. It is easy for us to be overwhelmed by fear and give into worry and despair. We must remember, as we do the work Jesus asks of us, that He is with us giving us the wisdom we need to live in the times that we have been born into. And the Lord promises us in the First Reading: “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays” (Malachi 3:20a). Let the Son’s healing rays cover you, sustain you, and be with you in all you do this week.  In Christ’s Love, Susanna Read the Readings for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time:  First Reading // Malachi 3:19-20a Psalm // Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 9 Second Reading // 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 Gospel // Luke 21:5-19 Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Saturday, November 15 (today!) // Optional Memorial of Saint Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Sunday, November 16 // Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Monday, November 17 // Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious Tuesday, November 18 // Optional Memorial of Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles // Optional Memorial of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, Virgin [In the USA]

November 14, 2025 // Friday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Wisdom 13:1-9 Reflect on the Word //  For months now, I’ve felt . . . hidden. Not in a self-protective way, and not from a lack of trying. I’ve shown up, been open, stayed prayerful—and yet, when it comes to dating, it’s as if God has placed a kind of covering over me. I’m not unseen because I’m avoiding love or withholding parts of myself. It’s deeper than that. I feel as if God Himself has hidden me, not to punish me, but to preserve me. I don’t fully understand it—but I can’t shake the sense that this hiddenness is His doing. It’s easy to see what’s missing and assume God is absent. But what if hiddenness is not a punishment, but a form of protection? What if God sometimes hides us so we can better see Him? In today’s First Reading it says, “From the greatness and the beauty of created things, their original author [. . .] is seen” (Wisdom 13:5). It’s a reminder that God is not withholding Himself. He is revealing Himself—just not always in the ways we expect. We search for clarity in outcomes, for God’s presence in answered prayers, for proof of being loved in being chosen. But sometimes, God removes those familiar lights so we learn to see Him as the source. In my own waiting, I’ve realized that what feels like hiddenness might actually be an invitation. I am being invited to look more closely, to notice how God is present in beauty, in longing, and even in delay. So I wait—not unseen, but seen first by God. And maybe that is the deeper preparation: to be grounded in the eyes of the One Who formed me, before being revealed to someone else. As we live in seasons that feel quiet, slow, or hidden, may we remember: God is not far. He’s not playing games with our desires. He is near, and He is revealing Himself—through beauty, through mystery, and yes, even through the ache of waiting. Relate to the Lord // What are you waiting for? How is God revealing Himself to you in the waiting?

November 13, 2025 // Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin [In the Dioceses of the United States] Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Wisdom 7:22b–8:1 Reflect on the Word //  The pain of the past hits me like a ton of bricks to the heart. I am suddenly brought back to a time and place in which hope felt too hard to hold. As God reveals the hurt once more, my thoughts float from I wish this were different to Will this always feel so raw? to God is already at work on my behalf. I feel much like a ping-pong ball being paddled from one side to the other, and each extreme feels like a heavy weight. It feels confusing and like too much to bear. It is Wisdom that comes to meet me in prayer. She is a gift of the Holy Spirit—to be received and pondered. To sit with and lean into. "In Wisdom is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, Manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain, not baneful, loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, kindly, Firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing, And pervading all spirits" (Wisdom 7:22-23). Each description of Wisdom leads me to beg God to stir within me a desire to be right here, with Wisdom. To stop looking back and focus, instead, on where my feet are in these very moments. The pain of the past begins to be transformed in my heart into resurrection light. Though my reality and circumstances remain the same, Wisdom comes to help me see with the eyes of the Father—a vantage point that I could not reach without His help. There is no such thing as wasted pain for the believer. God desires to gift us with and lead us from our place of self-reliance to trust in His Wisdom. As pain rises to the surface, He reveals only to heal and never to simply leave us abandoned in that seemingly empty, painful place. Wisdom is "the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of His goodness" (Wisdom 7:26), and you can rest and remain still as the gift of Wisdom comes to soothe you in your pain. He will transform it all. Relate to the Lord // How has the Lord healed and transformed your pain? Thank Him today.

November 12, 2025 // Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 17:11-19 Reflect on the Word //  I loaded up my family's seven-foot Christmas tree, both boxes of ornaments, and all the other miscellaneous Christmas decorations I could find into my Jeep. I ended up laying the seats down in order to fit everything to drive them over to my then boyfriend’s (now husband) place. We thought it would be fun to host our first ugly sweater-themed Christmas party as a couple.  The meatballs were warming up, the cups were out for drinks, chips were ready in a bowl, and so were the other serving dishes that would be used for whatever everyone else brought. The Christmas classics kept me in step as I finished decorating while we waited for our college friends to arrive.   After the white elephant exchange began to wind down, I started picking up the trash and gathering the dishes. At first I thought it was sweet that everyone felt at home, so I didn’t mind having clean-up duty. Slowly that sentiment changed as I found myself alone. Was it possible that my boyfriend and I mistakenly found ourselves with a group of takers? In today’s Gospel only one of the nine lepers returned to thank Jesus for curing him. His humility didn’t leave him once he was cleansed and Jesus blessed him further (see Luke 17:19).  Jesus highlights the ingratitude of the other lepers because He knows ingratitude hurts both the giver and the receiver.  He reveals to us the selfish, fallen nature of our own hearts.   Gratitude cannot be forced upon anyone, but it has to be freely given. It can be incredibly discouraging to experience thanklessness in all the various relationships we have. But instead of complaining about them, maybe it is an opportunity to look at our own gratitude.  Do we value the ways our friends and families help us? How often do we say, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” (Luke 17:13) and offer nothing in return?  Is our prayer life so burdened with petitions that we miss giving God His rightful thanks and praise? The Lord wants us to be like the leper who came back.  Relate to the Lord // Look for an opportunity to give today.

November 11, 2025 // Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Wisdom 2:23–3:9 Reflect on the Word //  Ever since I was young, I remember adults encouraging me not to worry.  I am conscientious by nature, but I did not know that word or concept at the time. My parents would help by telling me who was responsible for the thing I was worrying about, or by helping me to fulfill the task that worried me.  The Lord quickly put a beautiful-hearted music teacher in my life who listened deeply, and it was through her loving understanding that I gradually was able to blossom and open up.  The dramatic imagery of the First Reading is another reminder not to worry, and it consoles me. The Lord brings my heart to rest in the familiar rhythm and logic of the book of Wisdom like a pylon in the depths of a raging ocean. I feel His constancy in the words: “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead [. . .] But they are in peace” (Wisdom 3:1-3). He gently reveals to me how I don’t have to be overcome by the daily griefs of life. Our good Jesus shows to me that after many battles and trembling prayers over many years, I don’t have to look around and ahead at things like a foreboding, tormenting storm. Because of His fidelity,  I now know that daily crosses can be more like thin mist that the Father dissipates easily at every new day.  Our task: hold on to Him. While He proves and tries His beloveds like gold in the furnace (see Wisdom 3:6), our good God shows us that He is our true hope. His desire is for our good, for “God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made them” (Wisdom 2:23). Sister, He wants us to have peace in this life, and we attain it through clinging to Him through all that comes our way. And through it He will form us to be more like Him.  Relate to the Lord // Are you worried? How can you hold onto Jesus today instead of your fears?

November 10, 2025 // Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Wisdom 1:1-7  Reflect on the Word //  I was agonizing over a stressful relationship during a video chat with a beloved mentor and friend. She drew three concentric circles. “These are the spheres of control,” she explained. “The one in the center is what you can control. The middle is what you have some control over, and the outer ring is what you have no control over.” I have used this tool countless times over the years. A recovering people pleaser, I like to think that I can make others feel a certain way about me. The truth always reveals itself when I pray with the circles, though: The only thing I can control is my own actions. I cannot control my circumstances, nor other people’s reactions to me. I can’t control my kids, my friends, or my parents. Everything I can’t control, I surrender to the One Who can. Our First Reading says, “ [T]hink of the Lord in goodness, and seek him in integrity of heart; because he is found by those who test him not, and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him” (Wisdom 1:1). Just as I have spheres of control, I also have spheres of influence and authority. I owe most of my vocational energy to my husband and children. My life needs to revolve around the Word of God and the Sacraments, so that I can “seek him in integrity of heart” and accomplish my mission. I am also called to bring Jesus to my extended family, friends, students, and neighbors, but wisdom calls me to prioritize the innermost sphere. We all have a mission field. Our job is to know which parts of our life we are called to influence, where we rightly wield authority. We may be able to convince others of our pure intentions when we overstep the bounds of our authority and attempt to seize control, but “God is the witness of his inmost self, and the sure observer of his heart, and the listener to his tongue” (Wisdom 1:6). If we are honest in prayer, the Spirit of Wisdom will guide us. Relate to the Lord // Pray with the three concentric circles Elizabeth described. What can you control? What do you need to surrender to God?

Saturday, November 8, 2025 Letter from the Editor // Dear Sister, Tomorrow we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the pope’s basilica as the bishop of Rome. While it may seem funny to have a feast for a building, we have to remember that there is more to a physical church than the building and decor. It signifies a higher reality—the temple of Christ’s Body which is the whole Church. In the Gospel, we see Jesus filled with zeal for the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, which is being used as a place of commerce instead of just for worship. He speaks “about the temple of his Body” and prophesies His coming Death and Resurrection (John 2:21-22). Jesus is the new temple built of each member of the Church and His Sacrifice is the fulfillment of all of their temple sacrifices. Saint Paul in the Second Reading talks about how we each are a temple of the Holy Spirit. In the Jewish temple, God dwelt in the Holy or Holies, present behind the veil. After Christ died and rose, God now dwells in each of the baptized who have been brought into covenant with Him. We are meant to honor ourselves as dwelling places of God, caring for ourselves spiritually and physically. And from the Church, grace flows like the water from the temple in the First Reading. We are “watered by the flow from the sanctuary” everytime we pray and every time we receive the Sacraments, and when we allow the grace to refresh us and listen to the movements of God, we “bear fresh fruit” (Ezekiel 47:12). May this stream gladden us as “the holy dwelling of the Most High” (Psalm 46:5).  In Christ’s Love, Susanna Read the Readings for the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome:  First Reading // Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 Psalm // Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9 Second Reading // 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17 Gospel // John 2:13-22   Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Sunday, November 9 // Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome  Monday, November 10 // Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church Tuesday, November 11 // Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop Wednesday, November 12 // Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr Thursday, November 13 // Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin [In the USA]

November 7, 2025 // Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Psalm: Psalm 98:1-4 Reflect on the Word //  When I started teaching at the university level, I was sad to think my days of evangelizing were over. Before that, I had been teaching at the small Christian school my children attended. I knew that shifting to a college setting would make my new focus less about the faith and more about the academic subject. I worried that this job wouldn’t feel meaningful if I couldn’t talk about Jesus. In one of my earliest semesters, a student pulled me aside after class and asked to talk. “Professor Balducci,” she said, “I know you don’t talk about it in class but I can tell that you believe in Jesus. It shows in how you treat us.” My eyes filled with tears and I felt a wave of gratitude. Jesus was there, with me in the classroom. God will have His way. He can use us even when we can’t use words. Even when we fall short, when we don’t have the words or perhaps aren’t free to use them, we can share the love of God because we have His presence within us.  As the Psalmist penned in today’s Psalm, “The LORD has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice” (Psalm 98:2). After my conversation with that student, I realized that the Lord was in the center of whatever path I was on. He was leading the way and guiding my steps. He could use me—with or without words—to share the good news of His saving power. The Lord reveals it. He makes His salvation known. My job is to be in tune with going where the Holy Spirit leads me.  The reality of preaching the good news of Jesus is that it is the Lord Who reveals His saving power, not us. We don’t have to do anything except what the Lord asks of us, and offer Him our desire to reveal Him to others. Relate to the Lord // Prayer Prompt Written by editors around weekly theme  Pray Mother Teresa’s “Radiating Praying”, which is based on Saint John Henry Newman: “Make me preach thee without preaching—not by words, but by my example, and by the catching force,  the sympathetic influence of what I do [. . .]   the evident fullness of the love our heart bears to Thee.” Amen.” (source)  

November 6, 2025 // Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 15:1-10  Reflect on the Word // I hurried around the small room searching frantically. Under the bed, then the quilt, behind the small dresser and under the side table, on my hands and knees and then on tiptoes. I couldn’t find it anywhere. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It was Jesus. My body relaxed and I sighed with relief. Jesus would help me find it. I continued searching in much the same way, lifting and shifting, now with a little less anxiety. Surely Jesus already knew where it was and it wouldn’t be long until He revealed it. But instead of pointing to a dark corner or getting down on the floor, He extended His Hand and asked me to dance. It’s a terrible habit of mine, getting ahead of the Lord in prayer. In this time of imaginative prayer, as Jesus held me tenderly and turned me slowly, my eyes were still scanning. I assumed He was simply positioning me in a better angle so I could finally spot the lost coin (see Luke 15:8-10). But as He held me, lips against my hair, I could hear the smile in His voice. You’re the coin, He said. And I was found again.  In our modern world, it can be easy to assume that a single coin would be of little or no value. After all, who lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches carefully for a penny? But the coin Jesus was referencing in this Gospel was worth significantly more; it was the woman’s livelihood.  And you and I are even more valuable to the Father. So much so that He sent His Son Jesus, the Light of the World, to search, to find, and to restore us to the house and family of God. But it’s not enough to hear this truth; we must experience His pursuit of our souls, again and again, and receive His joyful celebration of who we are.  You are not one among many. You are eternally and immeasurably loved by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let your God show you this relentless love in prayer—today and tomorrow and every day after that for the rest of your life.  Relate to the Lord // Dance with the Lord today. Put on your favorite song (or playlist) and let Him love and celebrate you.

November 5, 2025 // Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 14:25-33  Reflect on the Word //  The sight of bare rooms in my favorite home, the one that had most recently sheltered our family of seven, triggered a jumble of emotions. We’d faced tearful goodbyes, then packed a small trailer with the few possessions we hadn’t sold or donated. Now we were leaving our missionary community in Guatemala for temporary housing in Arizona. Schools, neighborhood, my husband’s employment, the church we’d attend—nothing was certain. We were leaving everything, including cherished beliefs we’d previously thought unshakeable. Jesus was the one hope we clung to. Surely He would guide us in discerning the devastating decision to become Catholic. I find the call to discipleship alluring. What could be better than deeper communion with the Lover of my soul? Still, I’m frightened by Jesus’ unrelenting demands, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27) What, I wonder, will my cross require of me next? Dare I choose once more to die to self and let go of my own desire to know what lies ahead?  Haven’t I already renounced all my possessions? (see Luke 14:33) I have, but He asks again. I now have more riches than before. Dare I trust Him again? Since He still desires me, maybe I’m not too old, irresponsible, or unfit to follow! In Him and with Him I dare to trust once more that the cross I carry today gives me access to the most intimate relationship possible with Him. My yes to His alluring call brings peace. What in your life hinders access to the beauty in Christ’s call to discipleship? Are you attached to  something or someone that keeps you stuck? Are you imprisoned in the past by chains of unforgiveness? Does fear of the future paralyze you? The cross He offers you makes you His disciple. Do you hear His alluring call? Your yes to the cross is your sure path to peace. Relate to the Lord // How can you say yes to the cross today?

November 4, 2025 // Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Romans 12:5-16  Reflect on the Word //  I timidly walked through the courtyard where the retreat was being held. Arriving at the table I desired to sit at, I couldn’t help but notice that diagonally from my table, was a wall that had a floral themed photo-op. On top of the green-grassy-textured wall, was a sign that said “You Belong Here.” A familiar and doubtful feeling engulfed my heart, as I allowed a lie to take over. No, I don’t belong here, I told myself. Throughout my teenage years and leading into adulthood, I’ve experienced the “worldly” pressure of competing with other women, whether it’s about talents, popularity, vocation, holiness, etc. The poison of comparison has been following me for a long time.  Convicted by today’s First Reading, I want to cling to Saint Paul’s bold statement: “Brothers and sisters: We, though many, are one Body in Christ and individually parts of one another” (Romans 12:5). Comparison does not build up the Church; conversely, it divides the one Body that God desires us for me to be a part of. He intentionally and uniquely created my heart. Not to compare, but to love. To “[r]ejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). Comparison has a strong, and sometimes painful grip. Especially when you’re watching others receive what you desire, what you’ve been waiting for. The Lord invites me to grow and flourish in this season that He’s placed me in, even if it looks different from those around me, but to also be honest about my disappointment and fears. He’s shown me that comparing myself doesn't invite me to grow, or love those around me.  We cannot shine Christ’s love to others when we’re stuck comparing ourselves. We each bear our own God-given uniqueness, gifts, heart, and vocation. “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them” (Romans 12:6).  These differences aren’t meant to divide us, but to bring each other closer to our Creator and His Bride, the Church.  Relate to the Lord // Do you struggle with comparison? Ask the Lord to show you your own gifts and thank Him for others’ gifts. 

November 3, 2025 // Optional Memorial of Saint Martin de Porres, Religious Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 14:12-14  Reflect on the Word //  The woman stirring a pot of rice in our kitchen mesmerized me. And if I’m honest, she frightened me a little too. Irma was a Cuban refugee who had been welcomed into our home by my generous parents.  She looked different, sounded different—and her food sure smelled different. Little me, a preschooler at the time, didn’t know what to think of her, this strange person from a strange land suddenly sharing our family’s space. The secular world wouldn’t have known what to think either. After all, in an age where most things, even relationships, are transactional (“you do this for me, I’ll do that for you”), giving freely without expectation of return is foolish. Gullible. Nonsensical. Why would you share your home with someone you don’t know, someone who can’t—in any human way—possibly pay you back?  But my parents weren’t thinking in worldly terms. They were looking at Irma and her situation through a Christ-centered lens. They saw Him when they saw her. And they knew that in the reward of being united to the One Who gave them all they have, what they’d receive would surpass anything she, or anyone, could give them in a worldly sense.  We are challenged to do the same by the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel. He specifically invites us to open our homes (and we can extend that to our hearts, too, our inner sanctuaries) to those who cannot possibly pay us back. How would such radical generosity challenge and change us? We can only find out by taking Him at His word and doing as He says. After all, when we flip the script, we realize that truly, we are refugees from Eden who can never repay God for His redemptive, merciful love. With that in mind, sister, how can we say no? Relate to the Lord // Who will you open your heart (or home) to today?

Saturday, Nov 1, 2025 Letter from the Editor // Dear Sister, Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints where we honor all the people who have been brought into Heaven after their labors on earth; and tomorrow we celebrate the Feast of All Souls where we offer prayers for all the souls of people who are in Purgatory. They died loving God and repentant of their sins but not ready to enter into full union with God in Heaven. The whole month of November is a time that the Church prays for the dead and that we remember our own deaths.  The First Reading for today’s solemnity gives us a look at what that heavenly joy will look like. Saint John writes, “After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue” (Revelations 7:9). The people we honor today are already there. The people we pray for tomorrow are on their way, being purified of their last attachments that keep them from loving God fully. And we, dear sister, hope to one day be together with all of our loved ones.  The Lord desires for every human to be with Him and loves us all greatly. Saint John writes in the Second Reading for today, “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God” (1 John 3:1). What a gift it is to be made children of God at our Baptism, so that all of our suffering and hopes on earth will be fulfilled in eternity. Today and tomorrow are days of hope: “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven” (Matthew 5:12). In Christ’s Love, Susanna Read the Readings for the Solemnity of All Saints:  First Reading // Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 Psalm // Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 Second Reading // 1 John 3:1-3 Gospel // Matthew 5:1-12a Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days Saturday, November 1 (today!) // Solemnity of All Saints (not Holy Day of Obligation this year) Sunday, November 2// The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)  Monday, November 3 // Optional Memorial of Saint Martin de Porres, Religious Tuesday, November 4 // Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop

October 31, 2025 // Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 14:1-6 Reflect on the Word //  It’s hard not to reflect on the recent tragedy that has befallen my community. This past summer, three celibate members of Opus Dei drowned in a terrible accident in Northern California. Six men had hiked out for a day on the river at a familiar spot for rock jumping and swimming. However, the conditions were worse than usual. Matthew Schoenecker, a seasoned diver, jumped first and realized quickly how brutal the current was and how cold the water. Before he could tell the others, cries of help rose from the water. Val Creus, another of the men, had jumped in.  Without hesitation Matthew jumped back into the water after Val, and Matthew Anthony, another of the six, followed. They lived out the words of today’s Gospel without hesitation, “Who among you, if your son or ox fell into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out . . .” (Luke 14:5). This story could be told a million ways and with a million words, but, in short, the three men—Matthew, Val, and Matt, never resurfaced. They died that day in the water.*  As members of Opus Dei, which is a group within the Catholic Church devoted to the sanctification of ordinary life, that day was lived no differently for them. Prayer, friendship, a hike, and a swim—ordinary things made extraordinary through the lens of prayer and sacrifice. A life lived close to Jesus in the Sacraments and in prayer allowed them to live, like Christ, for others. Perhaps this is exactly why both Matts jumped in after Val without hesitation. For they had put on Christ, and Christ truly lived within them.  In our own small ways, we will find ourselves at the water’s edge today. Lord, how will You call me? What will You require of me? If we remain close to the heart of Jesus, we will surely hear His voice over the roar of the river.  These beloved sons were recovered from those waters on a Saturday evening, after three days in the tomb of the river. Requiescite in pace, Matthew, Matt, and Val. *For more about these men’s story see here and here. Relate to the Lord // Pray for the repose of the souls of Matthew, Matt, and Val, as well as any loved ones you’ve lost: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.