August 11, 2026  // Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 18:12-14  Reflect on the Word //  When I was in college, I met up with my middle-school-principal dad and some of his students who were at a theme park in the city where I was a student. We spent the day riding rollercoasters and walking around the park. Then at one point, early in the afternoon, I realized I was missing one of my earrings. I was wearing a pair of pearls my parents had gifted me for high school graduation and I was devastated to think one was lost. My dad and I retraced our countless steps and then he had the idea to check the seat of a particularly intense ride, one that earlier in the day had banged my head from side to side so hard that I remembered the pounding. Sure enough, there, in one of the seats, was my pearl, nestled in the outline of the padding. My dad and I screamed and laughed and hugged each other in disbelief.  The story of the lost sheep is always an important reminder that Jesus loves us so much. He loves each of us as if it were only us. We are not just some number in the crowd, a cog in the machine. We are each seen and known and cherished uniquely and individually by the Lord.  This is a beautiful truth for us to accept personally and also to remember for our loved ones. Our children, our siblings, our parents—the Lord is searching for and cares for them deeply. Even when circumstances feel impossible, God can make a way.  To Jesus, we are the lost sheep, the lost pearl. The Lord tells us that it is not His will for any of us to be lost. “In the first place,” writes St. John of the Cross, “it should be known that if a person is seeking God, his Beloved is seeking him much more” (The Living Flame of Love, Stanza 3, Para. 28). Relate to the Lord // Reread the quote from Saint John of the Cross. Take a few moments to consider how much the Lord is seeking you.

July 23, 2026 // Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time // Optional Memorial of Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 13:10–17 Reflect on the Word //  I minored in Spanish as an undergrad, and one of our assignments involved translating an essay into English. Somewhere along the way, I got a key word wrong and ended up with a heartfelt reflection on a family heirloom onion that had been passed down from a grandmother, an onion that the writer recognized as a sacred part of their family. Something to treasure. When I got to class, I discovered that the story was actually about a bracelet, not an onion, which made a lot more sense. Somehow, I chose the wrong word in translation and everything else was lost! I got most of it right, except the heart of the message. I heard but did not understand.   “You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see” (Matthew 13:14). How terrible and confusing when we hear but do not understand, when we look but do not see. I worked so hard to translate only to discover I was misunderstanding everything. Jesus, quoting the prophet Isaiah, warns of this—the danger of closing our eyes and ears to Him. When we don’t listen to the Lord with our heart, we get it all wrong. We can become so busy, or so convinced we have it figured out, that we are missing the point. The best way to hear the Lord is to get in the habit of listening. We read Scripture. We fill ourselves with the goodness of God. And mostly, we must sit at the feet of the Lord and listen to what He has to say. It is not enough to just talk to Him; we also must tune our eyes and ears toward His voice and wait for Him to speak.   Like Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus, we must listen to the voice of our Savior. He loves when we talk to Him, but in order to hear, we must also be willing to sit and listen, to hear and understand.  Relate to the Lord // Read (or re-read) the daily readings today. Listen for His voice.

June 5, 2026 // Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: 2 Timothy 3:10–17 Reflect on the Word //  When I was in third grade, my Catholic primary school held a Bible story competition where all participating students were quizzed on people, places, and stories in the Bible. I won the contest, being able to answer all the questions correctly except one (about Nicodemus—I still remember missing it all these years later!). My prize was an illustrated children’s Bible that I still have. Today happens to be my birthday, and I’m filled with gratitude for my parents (both now with Jesus) whose example of reading Scripture daily, and reading it to us as a family, taught me the truth of the power of Scripture. More important than winning a contest is how this example guided me in my own life, shaping my understanding of God’s goodness.  When we read Scripture, we are hearing God talk to us. We find truth and wisdom, guidance and clarity. Scripture offers us the tools we need to understand God and do what He asks us to do.  Sometimes we get the solutions directly, with answers to the questions we seek. And sometimes soaking up the Word of God gives us answers to questions we didn’t even know we were asking. We read Scripture so that we “may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:17).  The challenge is to remember to consume Scripture. We are blessed to have our daily Readings, and we should offer ourselves the fruit of Scripture by feasting upon it every day. We need to make the effort to prioritize spending time with God’s Word, listening to His voice speaking to us.  God’s Word refreshes us and reminds us of who we are and Who God is. Reading Scripture is the perfect antidote to all of life’s challenges, the reality check we need as we go about each day. It is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path.  Relate to the Lord // Pick up God’s Word today and pray with Scripture. You could reread the daily Mass Readings, a single Psalm, or start one of the Gospels. 

May 13, 2026 // Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter // Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Acts 17:15, 22—18:1 Reflect on the Word //  Every mother has at least one scary “lost child” story. Mine involves a shopping trip with three-year-old Augie, my youngest child at the time. We were together at a sporting goods store when he disappeared. I spent the next thirty harrowing minutes racing through the store in search of him. I did all the logical things. I ran outside to check the car. I barged into the men’s room. I even checked the large safes at the back of the store to confirm he had not gotten trapped (being a mom makes you wise and also crazy). Eventually, Augie appeared right behind me and had been trailing me the whole time, hiding in clothing racks and watching me look for him.  Today’s First Reading reminds me of searching for someone who feels very far away. When in Athens, Paul discovers an altar inscribed to “an unknown god,” which he explains is actually an altar to the one, true God. He tells them that this God that they do not know is not far away at all but is right here, giving us “life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). In our own lives, God sometimes feels distant, but in truth He is actually very close. When we are searching for Him, we find evidence of His presence in the blessings we have had in our lives, in the comfort we have had from Him in our sorrows, in the love we experience from friends and family. God does not lurk behind us but is waiting for us to reach out to Him, to ask Him to reveal Himself to us. Sometimes it is as simple as His peace as we pray to Him.  We do not worship an unknown God, but a God Who is very near, right here within each one of us. How is God made known? When we search for Him, we find Him. When we seek evidence of God’s presence, we find it. And while we may think we are doing all the work in searching, the God Who gives us life and breath seeks out union within each one of us even more.  Relate to the Lord // Pause and pray. Breathe. God is not far off but has made His home within your baptized soul. Connect with Him there. 

April 23, 2026 // Thursday of the Third Week of Easter // Optional Memorial of Saint Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr // Optional Memorial of Saint George, Martyr Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 6:44-51 Reflect on the Word //  Holiness is the best gift you can give your family.  I heard these wise words years ago when I was a young mama wanting to raise good, holy children. A friend of mine had heard this from a holy priest and while I couldn’t figure out exactly what it meant, I was hopeful that it was true. At first I thought it meant simply reading the Bible or paying better attention in Mass. It seemed overly simplistic.  Over time, however, I realized holiness was more about letting the Lord in—into broken spaces and hurting spaces and the beautiful spaces of my interior as well. And now, years later, I have seen that the more effort I put into being loved by the Lord, the more I am able to love my family.  The Lord offers Himself to humanity. As He says in today’s Gospel, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world" (John 6:51). We receive the Lord in the Eucharist, His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. And in turn, we share Him with those around us. We receive God’s love and we share it. The Lord offers Himself to us, for our own holiness and for the good of those around us.  The more healed we are—through the Sacraments, through time spent with God in prayer, through God’s healing love—the more love we can pour out on our loved ones and on the people the Lord puts in our path. We are an object of God’s love, and, as He transforms us to be more like Him through His love, we become instruments of that same love.  Relate to the Lord // How is the Lord inviting you to grow in holiness in this season? 

March 6, 2026  // Friday of the Second Week of Lent Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a Reflect on the Word // “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the words and my soul shall be healed.” I’ll never forget the first time these words from the Communion Rite of the Mass really hit me. I saw what it meant to allow the Lord “under my roof” and how I had been trying to keep the interior of my being hidden from him. I wanted only the shiny, presentable parts of me to be seen by God, not the broken, hurt, and wounded parts. I needed to have a deeper experience of God’s love but I was not convinced I was lovable enough to be loved.  The opening line of today’s First Reading might feel like a shocker: “Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age” (Genesis 37:3). Can a father really have a favorite? That seems wrong. Perhaps hearing there is a favorite makes someone feel left out and unloved, as we see among Joseph’s brothers.  But what if instead of hearing that line from a place of lack or deficit, I hear it from a place of love, knowing that the Father’s love is limitless. I am the apple of the Father’s eye; I am God’s favorite. I rejoice that Joseph was the favorite because I, too, know the joy of being a favorite. It’s not pride to live in this truth; it’s embracing what the Father has revealed to each one of us. And when we operate out of this love, this knowledge of the Father’s love, we can reject envy and fear. We are chosen and beloved by God, each one of us deeply and thoroughly chosen and beloved. To receive that love is all that we need.  You are God’s beloved. You are His chosen one. You are the apple of God’s eye; you delight Him. Each one of us must embrace this truth and this love, to allow God to love us in every part of our inner being—the healed whole parts and the broken and hurting parts as well.  Relate to the Lord // Pray with this truth today: you are God’s favorite.

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)  

October 1, 2025 // Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Nehemiah 2:1-8 Reflect on the Word //  When my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer a few years ago, I remember crying out to the Lord. Once we knew our dad was dying, I asked that I would feel the Lord’s presence as we walked my dad home to Jesus. “Lord,” I cried out, “please allow me to somehow feel peace and joy and your presence in this sad and scary time.” The day my dad died, as we surrounded him in his final hours, the grace was palpable. The joy of the Lord was upon us. The Father was standing beside us, comforting us in the midst of our sadness.  In today’s First Reading, Nehemiah gets everything he asks for. When he asks to travel, and to be gone for a while, and for safe travel and even for wood to rebuild, the king grants it: “The king granted my requests, for the favoring hand of my God was upon me” (Nehemiah 2:8). Like the king did for Nehemiah, the Lord answered my requests for my father’s death. His favoring hand was upon me. We are as lucky as Nehemiah. We have a King Who gives us every single good thing we ask for. It’s easy sometimes to focus on all the ways our prayers don’t get answered. Our team lost. We didn’t get the promotion. Our loved one wasn’t healed. If we look at prayer as transactional, it’s tempting to keep track of the times we didn’t get our way. We might feel slighted by God or even abandoned by Him. But what about the times when we ask for something that really mattered—like peace or joy or the grace to make it through something really difficult?  When we look at our prayers through a lens of God’s goodness, when we see our requests through a broader lens, we are in tune with all the ways the Lord has answered our prayers. We have a good Father and He wants to give us every good thing we need. He is the good King, granting our requests and showing us His favor.  Relate to the Lord // How has the Lord’s favoring hand been upon you? Make a list and thank Him!  

August 29, 2025 // Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 Reflect on the Word //  One of our sons recently came clean to my husband and me about a season in his life where he had been dishonest. Despite our best efforts to help him live in the light, he had been finding ways to break a few family rules and get away with sneaky behavior. “It feels so much better to not lie,” he sighed, talking about his shift. He felt the relief that comes with doing things the right way. My son and I ended up talking about rules and obedience, and how sometimes we think being obedient will be boring and restrictive, only to discover this virtue actually offers freedom. Sometimes we trust the rule to keep us from harm; and, other times, we go against what we should do and discover the hard way how it feels to make wrong choices. In today’s First Reading, Saint Paul, with Silvanus and Timothy, writes to the Thessalonians and encourages them to live with godly behavior: “Brothers and sisters, we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us how you should conduct yourselves to please God—and as you are conducting yourselves—you do so even more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1). We are created to conduct ourselves to please God, to hold ourselves to a high standard, to become like Him through following Christ’s example on earth and obeying His commandments given to us in Scripture and Tradition. We learn a lot of this in our formative years when our parents guide us and teach us right from wrong. And then we spend a lifetime continually striving to do the right thing in our thoughts and actions and behaviors.  God doesn’t create these rules and this standard of godly behavior to make life boring and dull. Conduct that is pleasing to God is not only in our best interest—it sets us free to be fully alive and in union with Christ. We seek the Lord’s voice in any areas of growth He has in store for us, asking Him to guide our feet onto the path of peace.  Relate to the Lord // Have you been dishonest with someone or with the Lord? Let the truth set you free today. 

July 28, 2025 // Monday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Psalm: Psalm 106:19-20, 21-22, 23 Reflect on the Word //  For many years, I had a bad habit of gossiping. It wasn’t just a habit, it was a security blanket. Because I struggled with feeling good enough on “my own,” I often felt the need to keep track of other’s shortcomings to feel better about myself.  It wasn’t a good way to live and it did not make me feel good as a person. Being someone who stirs up gossip is exhausting. In the moment, I enjoyed it (I am ashamed to admit), but I would always have a gossip hangover, feeling the need to apologize later for what I had said or repeated. It was embarrassing. Today’s Psalm is a perfect example of how this behavior feels. The Israelites “exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating bullock” (Psalm 106:20). Instead of dwelling in a place of peace and of God’s goodness, I used a  second-rate idol—security through gossip—as a substitute for true security in Jesus.  Eventually I got to a place in my own journey with Jesus where deep healing made me less reliant on putting others down to make myself feel good. And the cycle of shame and regret subsided. I read a beautiful reflection recently that said shame is a natural reaction to a person’s inherent understanding of his dignity. When we feel shame, it’s not because we have been conditioned to be guilty. “Shame reminds us of our dignity,” writes Father Paul Scalia, “[and] repentance restores it” (Magnificat, March 2025). The Israelites “forgot the God who saved them” (Psalm 106:21) again and again in the Old Testament, but when they remembered their dignity, their response was shame. The Psalmist reminds us that God is good, and will not destroy us for our sins but will show mercy.   We all have areas of sin and suffering that replace our God-given glory with a grass-eating bullock. God allows us to suffer only because He wants us to remember our dignity and worth. We are created in His image and likeness. Anything less than that will never be enough. Relate to the Lord // Do you know your God-given dignity? Ask Him to reveal it to you.  

June 20, 2025 // Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30  Reflect on the Word // I recently experienced an invasion of grace in the Sacrament of Confession. A flash of courage helped me tell the priest something that I had been too ashamed to admit. I had tried to make this Confession a few times before, and finally, on that day, in that moment, I uttered my sin out loud.  My shame left me almost immediately. The feeling of freedom and joy stayed with me and I found myself wishing I could share with the world what God had done for me.  I have been set free, I wanted to shout, my sins are forgiven! But of course, we can’t brag about our sins, these weaknesses we can barely admit in the quiet of the confessional. Who wants to boast about that? In today’s First Reading, Paul tells the Corinthians that while many boast to show their strength, he will boast of something else. “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness,” he writes (2 Corinthians 11:30).  What I wanted to do after my liberating Confession was exactly what Paul wrote about. He saw that the Lord was present in all of his weakness, and that anything good in him came from the Lord. There was beauty in admitting my weakness because God’s strength and healing were undeniable in that moment. He gave me beauty for ashes; here in my weakness, He found me.  The Lord wants us to boast in Him, not because we are proud of our sins but because we are grateful for His saving grace and everlasting mercy and love. The Lord does for us the thing we cannot do for ourselves, and in our weakness He makes Himself undeniably present.  Relate to the Lord // How has the Lord made Himself known in your weakness?  

March 26, 2025 // Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 Reflect on the Word //  My parents were rock-and-roll hippies in the years before I was born. They hitchhiked and lived in a commune and my dad played drums for a band that traveled with the Beach Boys and Sam the Sham and a whole host of others. And then, they met Jesus. And everything changed. Within a few months, my dad became Catholic and my mom returned to the faith of her youth. They started living with Jesus at the center, seeking truth and peace that only comes from Him.  I don’t have memories of my parents B.C. I was six months old when their conversion occurred. Moses speaks in the First Reading about not forgetting “the things which your own eyes have seen” (Deuteronomy 4:9). Like my parents, I want to remember their story, for they did not let their conversion “slip from [their] memory as long as [they] lived” (see Deuteronomy 4:9). I remember  hearing their stories as I grew up, stories of who they were before their faith became important to them and what it meant to drop everything to follow Jesus. It meant something to me, because my parents shared how God had transformed them. They never forgot who they were before and what it meant to be set free. They were always great people, but God made life even better.  Today’s Scripture reminds us to share our own transformation—to not forget the things we have seen. We need to share them with our children, and with our “children’s children” (Deuteronomy 4:9) and with those around us.  Do not forget these things that you have seen with your own eyes. Do not let them slip from your memory. We were one way and now we are another, and the Person in the middle was Jesus. Relate to the Lord // Call to mind your witness. What has God done for you? What prayers has He answered? What areas has He healed? Where have you been set free?  

February 4, 2025 // Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Hebrews 12:1-4 Reflect on the Word //  My brother has recently started returning to a focus of faith in his life, recognizing the importance of this not just for him personally but for his family as well. This summer, I traveled to visit him for a few days, and as he was driving me to the airport he caught me off guard. “Rach,” he said, “I just want to thank you and Paul for being examples of living the faith for all these years. Your caring about that made a difference for me.” My brother explained that just watching us make this a priority in our lives was a quiet witness to him. Our commitment to running the race was for him evidence of something good and was waiting for him when he was ready to recognize it. I was humbled, and I got a little emotional. I never thought in terms of being an example. My husband and I  just did what we knew God was calling us to do—to follow Him, to make Him a priority. “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses . . .” (Hebrews 12:1). I reflect on all the people who are part of the cloud of witnesses in my own life. Certainly there are the Saints and holy men and women within our rich faith tradition; what a gift! But there are also the people in my own life who have followed the Lord and have inspired me to pursue holiness. I see how they “persevere in running the race” and keep their “eyes fixed on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1). And I am thankful for how they have helped me grow in my own faith.  When others witness the faith to us, it reminds us—compels us!—to do the same. With the help of each other, we will not grow weary in running the race!  Relate to the Lord // Who is in your “cloud of witnesses”? Make a list of the Saints and people of faith who inspire and intercede for you—and thank God for them!

“And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." // Matthew 12:33 Years ago, our parish priest shared something in his homily that changed my life forever:  “Love inspires more than the law requires.”  At the time, I was a young, tired (happy!) mama who took offense at a great many things. I don’t know why; life was wonderful but also challenging. And I just found myself feeling annoyed with people a lot of the time.  These words that Father shared from the pulpit really got my attention.  If I had the love of God overflowing in my heart, then I could be more patient and more loving and more generous—not simply with my time but with my heart. In that season, where I really didn’t have extra time for much, I recognized that generosity of spirit and demeanor was something I could offer to Jesus.  Love inspires more than that law requires. Love your neighbor as yourself. This is worth more than burnt offerings and sacrifices. And so for me, from then on, I started to seek kindness and love. Instead of entertaining petty thoughts in the school parking lot (the car pick-up line is not for wimps!), I tried to focus on love. It took some rewiring, to be honest. I was in the habit of agitation.  Choosing love was a new concept. God gives us direction because He knows what is best for us. While I was following all the rules in my life, God had more in store for me. The Lord wanted to offer a deep joy and freedom that really only comes from love. As explained in today’s Gospel, to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, I needed to learn to love my neighbor as well (see Mark 12:28b-34). It’s not always easy—dealing with people can be messy indeed. But this is where we grow! We grow in heroic charity and virtue. I love that our Heavenly Father offers us the chance to flourish in ways we could never expect, when we are willing to follow His lead and do whatever He asks. Ask the Lord to show you how to love better today.

Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom. // Psalm 145:12 I was meeting with my spiritual director recently and as he always does, he opened our session with a short prayer. As I calmed my heart for prayer, he spoke, “Jesus, You are our Friend.” His prayer was so simple and profound that I continued to reflect on it for days after we had met. Jesus is our Friend. What a gift a good friend is! Years ago when I was pregnant with my son Henry, I was in the habit of meeting a few friends for lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. My normal favorite menu item became something I could no longer tolerate while pregnant. I would order it, eat it, and then feel sick for hours afterward. I remember telling my friend Susie, “Please don’t let me get this next time!” And lo and behold, a few weeks later, there we sat once again. As I started to order that same item, forgetting once again the price I would pay, I looked up to see Susie shaking her head, ever so slightly.  She had remembered! I changed my order on the spot, and this time I didn’t get sick. What a gift a good friend is.  The Alleluia acclamation today emphasizes how we are Jesus’ chosen friends:,  “I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord” (John 15:16). Jesus is our Savior and our Redeemer – and he is also our Friend. He guides us and loves us and supports us. He is the gentle healer, always ready to offer love and direction because He wants every good thing for us.  And He chose us, set apart from the world, to share this love with those around us, which is how we bear fruit that lasts. Jesus is our Friend! With Him at our side, we have everything we need.

When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men dreaming. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing. // Psalm 126:1-2 (from Responsorial Psalm for Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs Years ago, at a routine ear appointment with my toddler, I asked if the doctor would look in my ear. The office had a camera to display the eardrum on a screen in the room, and I thought it would be interesting to see why my ear always bothered me. The doctor discovered (to his intrigue and my dismay) something called a cholesteatoma, a cyst on my eardrum from years of infections as a girl. Removing the cyst would be easy, he said, just local anesthesia and some cutting and flipping the ear forward and . . . from there the room got a little wavy. I was pregnant with our fourth baby, and I would have to be awake for it all. I began begging for Mother Teresa’s intercession (as well as the prayers for a miracle from all my family and friends). A few weeks later, I went in for my pre-op. To my doctor's amazement there was no cyst. It was gone. I had been healed. He told me it was a miracle—that he had never seen one go away on its own. I immediately drove to my husband’s office where I burst into the room to share the news. I was healed! After that, I told everyone in my path. God had healed me! He had made me whole. Those of us who have had an encounter with the living God can appreciate this healing—we were one way and now we are another. And the thing in the middle was Jesus. We were in tears and now rejoice—and we can’t help but share it with the world! Yet, we eventually slip back into regular life. For a while, all I could talk about was this miracle—until it drifted off my radar.  We are reminded by the Responsorial Psalm for today’s martyrs that all of us should stay aware of what God has done for us—we were captives, like men dreaming. And now we are filled with laughter; now we are rejoicing (see Psalm 126:1-6). May we never forget to share it with a world that is so hungry for this truth.

Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother's lap, so is my soul within me. // Psalm 131: 2 (Responsorial Psalm for Memorial of Saint Monica) A few years ago one of our sons was going through a hard season. He had gone away to college and had come home struggling. Further, this was during Covid, when everything felt like it was falling apart anyways, but watching this particular child struggle in this particular way made me especially sad. I remember one day, on our daily walk with our dog, telling my husband that I felt so tight inside. “I feel like I’m never going to be able to exhale until all of our boys are either married or ordained priests.” And saying this out loud deeply helped, because I realized how crazy it was. There was no way my central nervous system could sustain this level of anxiety and then just calm down once I marked the box of “launched” for this child. I needed to find peace in the now, even though now was very imperfect.  Mothers everywhere have looked to the example of Saint Monica, whose feast we celebrate today, during hard times with children. And while most of us hope that we won’t have to wait thirty whole years for our child to change, we still seek her intercession and follow her good example. She never gave up on her son, who is now Saint Augustine, and I would imagine that in her close walk with the Lord, she found peace even as she waited for the Lord to answer her prayers. And that is what we are called to as well. We are to pray, hope, and not worry—as Saint Padre Pio advised. We have to get to a place of real peace as we journey along beside our children. We can only find that peace in the Lord which we prayed for in the Responsorial Psalm, not in our children’s good or bad decisions, not in the temporal at all.  Lord, give me a stilled and quieted soul, a dependence on You in the difficult times and the knowledge that every good thing I have comes from You. Only You can bring peace to my soul within. Amen.