There comes a time in our lives when a person, event, or loss leaves our heart wounded. Sometimes that pain is easy to cope with. We rely on friends, or family, or a gallon of ice cream. There are other times when that pain feels too much to bear, as if there is a large gash left in our chest. In those moments, we are encouraged to pray, to lean in and rely on God’s love and mercy. Yet for some who have been through repeated pain or trauma, that love and mercy can seem like a foreign concept altogether. What is Divine Mercy, and how does one practically heal from emotional wounds through it? What steps can they take? Divine Mercy is “Love’s Second Name” Throughout the Old Testament, two Hebrew words are translated into “mercy”: hesed and rachamim. Hesed refers to steadfast love, as described in Isaiah 54:10: For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you… The word rachamim comes from the Hebrew word rechem, or womb. Think of it as the love a mother has for her child. In the New Testament, the Greek word eleos was often translated to “mercy”. Eleos is loving kindness, or tender compassion toward those who are suffering. Pope Saint John Paul II referred to mercy as “love’s second name” in his encyclical Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy, 1981). Based on the definitions above, mercy can be seen as the result of God’s love for us. It is the expression of God’s love when He reaches out to us with compassion during times of need and brokenness. Accepting Divine Mercy How can one accept that expression of love from God and heal? The answer lies in trusting that God will show that mercy toward us, no matter our circumstances or feelings. When I worked as a therapist, I often had to teach clients the importance of identifying and mastering emotions. It is important to recognize that you are more than the ever-changing tides of your thoughts and feelings. Through practice (and therapy!) one may begin to be in charge of those emotions, and to not get swept away by them. They are often circumstantial, and they can change. From a Catholic perspective, it is important during those times as well to remain disciplined in prayer and to trust in God. To take the focus off of yourself and onto Christ. When we see that God’s love and mercy are present no matter how we may be feeling, then we can open up our hearts to that expression of His love. I like to refer to it as “getting out of my own way.” Vulnerability with God The easiest way to start this is to be vulnerable in prayer with our true thoughts and feelings, as in your raw feelings, your darkest and most hurt parts of you. Do not be afraid to express them to God. Do not be tempted to hold those back. As a mom, my children often lay their heads on me and cry with their entire bodies. Allow God to do the same for you: to wrap you in love, to show you His tender love and compassion. He wants to sit with you and love you through those feelings, as any parent would. Divine Mercy and Healing Trusting that God is greater than any of the feelings you are experiencing can help you use prayer and other coping skills even in times of high emotions. Still believing in God’s love and mercy—that it never fails—can also lead to healing. Psalm 136 states that, “His mercy endures forever.” No matter what we have done, no matter what has been done to us, God’s Heart longs to help us. Saint Faustina gives us a beautiful prayer that we can say during times where we are struggling to rely on God’s mercy: Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion — inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. // Diary, 950 If we truly believed God’s love for us, if we believed His compassion and care for our wellbeing never leaves us, how would we respond? It can be difficult to let others care for us when we are hurting. At times I myself have wanted to push people away. Yet when we allow ourselves to be shown mercy, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. We allow ourselves to let it all out, which in turn allows us to heal. To move forward despite the pain, fear, or sadness we may be feeling. For our hearts to be made new.   [bctt tweet="Divine Mercy for the Brokenhearted #BISblog //" via="no"]   Christie L. is a therapist turned stay at home mom living in Ohio with her two children and husband. You can find out more about her here.

My dearest friend, Amy, is Jewish. She’s even employed by the synagogue community that is her spiritual home. Beyond that, she is a seeker. God has been the subject of many of our best and most challenging conversations in the 20 years since we met as freshmen on the very first day of college. We know the intimate twists and unexpected turns of each other’s faith journeys. A few years ago, on my fortieth birthday, my family surprised me by delivering Amy to our front porch (she lives several states away). My husband Todd had arranged a three-day girls’ weekend for us, finessing the complicated schedule for our family of eight in my absence. The Importance of Retreat Amy and I arrived in Fredericksburg, eager to sample the local wineries’ wares and to catch up on months of history. As much as we talk about the everyday happenings of our lives, from our children’s quirky habits to the foibles of teenaged marriages, the faith question is never far from the forefront of our conversations. A great deal of the conversation was about our youngest son, Oscar, who had been diagnosed with multiple lifelong disabilities. Amy had walked in lockstep with me through the valley of that impossible year of Oscar’s sickness and diagnosis, with an intimacy tempered only by distance. She knew the absolute and blackest depths of my despair. She knew, too, the giddy heights of my soul’s rebirth, the wild and unbridled joy that was born during a miraculous pilgrimage to Lourdes that Todd, Oscar, and I had taken a few months before this getaway—a joy that persisted despite medical setbacks and uncertainty. And she found it all... curious. Compelling, but a source of more questions than answers. I love talking about Faith with Amy; the conversations are always complex and challenging. She is outside the echo chamber of my life surrounded by orthodox Catholics and homeschooling moms. She forces me to consider, to explain, and to question my assumptions, a process that always ends in fortifying some, amending others. These days of freedom were a gift to both of us, a time to reconnect with each other and wrestle with the most important questions in the world. Living the Life of the Beloved I had always thought she would love Henri Nouwen’s book, Life of the Beloved, written as an attempt to explain the basis of Nouwen’s Catholic Faith to his Jewish, agnostic friend, someone who did not share a common background and vocabulary. The first night in Fredericksburg, after we had retired to drink wine and do a jigsaw puzzle (which is just something that happens when introverts go on vacation, in case that sounds weird to you), I handed her my own dog-eared copy of the book. Over the course of the next few days, she read the entire thing. At the end of each chapter, we talked. She pushed back. I wrestled out loud, with this sister of my soul, around the age-old, elemental questions of what it means to be chosen. Blessed. Broken. Given. The four moments of the Eucharistic prayer, which are echoed in our own spiritual lives. While I was making sense of the “given” stage of my journey, the ways in which I was being sent forth to share what had been poured into me in Lourdes and was now running over, Amy was struggling with the idea of being “chosen” at all. “I just don’t see what it means,” she argued. “I guess I don’t believe in a personal God like that, the kind of Creator who knows and cares about us intimately.” “Don’t believe it’s possible at all, or don’t feel it in your life?” I questioned, as gently as I could. “Maybe the second. But I’m not sure, it might be both,” she wondered aloud. A Deeper Understanding Like the Jewish friend to whom Nouwen was writing, Amy wasn’t convinced, in the end, by the book’s central message. But as we talked, two things happened. My own understanding and certainty coalesced into something stronger, and Amy seemed to accept the transformation that had happened to me at face value. God had taken my doubt, my despair, and redeemed it with His love. Even if Amy couldn’t believe in a God who loved her like that, she conceded that what had happened to our family was not imaginary. Testifying to the Truth In the years before and since, we have volleyed tough, tender questions. “How did your spiritual life change between your reconstructionist synagogue and your conservative one?” I asked when she changed jobs and, by extension, faith communities. “What does it mean to you that President-elect Biden is Catholic?” she wondered after the election. With every question and answer, we aim together at Truth; as fallible humans, we can only approximate it, never quite reaching it on this side of Heaven. We hold each other accountable for our fallacies. We build up our common, interfaith sense of divine wonder and trust in providence. We are living in the time before the Parousia, the bringing-about of Christ’s eternal kingdom. Christ was revealed to the world on the first Christmas; He is revealed anew every day. The revelation of the Mystery continues, not through His very person, but by our own witness and testimony. Have Conversations In my own witness, I’ve admitted to Amy that of course, I’d love for her to convert… because I want my two best friends to get to know each other. I wish I could bottle up belatedness—my deep love of the Eucharist and my friendship with Jesus—and sell it on the street, or at least pass it across the table to my best friend. All I can do is to keep talking about it… and not only to the people already sitting in the pew next to me at our parish or across the table at a Catholic retreat. To testify to His wondrous love, by telling my own piece of the story, one intimate conversation at a time.   [bctt tweet="How My Jewish Best Friend Makes Me a Better Catholic #BISblog //" via="no"]   Christy Wilkens, wife and mother of six, is an armchair philosopher who lives in Austin, TX. She writes about disability, faith, doubt, suffering, community, and good reads. Her first book, a memoir about a Lourdes pilgrimage with her husband and son, will be released by Ave Maria Press in 2021. You can find out more about her here.

One of my favorite things to do is to read past World Youth Day messages and homilies. They always leave me inspired and call me to live a life with and for Christ. After each message, I am ready to live out the strongest desires of my heart and boldly proclaim the Gospel. Recently, I read Pope Francis’ most recent World Youth Day message, one that focused on the theme of Luke 7:14, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” Our Holy Father Francis says to the youth of the world: If you have lost your inner vitality, your dreams, your enthusiasm, your optimism, and your generosity, Jesus stands before you as once He stood before the dead son of the widow, and with all the power of His resurrection He urges you: ‘Young man, I say to you, arise!’ Arising in the Winter Sometimes during these long winter months, I feel like that young man. In moments of the darkness this season can bear, I need to be reminded of the hope and new life the Resurrection brings. I need to listen to the voice of Christ who is telling me to arise! There is a mission that I need to be living out, the mission to live with and for Christ and to love others as I love myself. The time for that mission is now, no matter what season it is. Five Ways to Spiritually Combat the Winter Blues Here are five ways that I hear Christ’s voice clearly inviting me to arise. Whenever I feel down, anxious, unmotivated, fearful, low on energy, or worried, doing one of these five things always helps. We are called to bear Christ's light to the world. And within these winter months, hold onto the words that another holy Francis said, “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” 1. Read the lives of the Saints. The Saints give us insight into the Kingdom of Heaven. Their lives, their writings, and their miracles inspire us and act as a sort of spiritual nourishment. It’s so comforting to know that these very real men and women overcame the lure of worldly power, fame, honor, and pleasure. They accomplished incredible feats within their lifetimes, and brought many people (and still do) to Christ. Even reading a quote by your favorite Saint can be a much needed boost of confidence, a consolation, and food for the journey. The lives of the Saints give us hope. They are friends in the battle, friends on the hard road, friends that compel us to a greater joy. We realize that the men and women now in Heaven experienced similar feelings as us: joys, frustrations, sorrows. Their stories reveal to us how to combat the temptation of despair and rather place our hope and trust in Christ. Their lives inspire us to live with and for Christ. Pick a few Saints this winter to learn more about. Look up some quotes by them or read their writings. Celebrate their feast days! Look up the patron Saint of something you are struggling with and read their story, exploring how they were able to bring Beauty Himself into their lives, environment, and situations. 2. Attend daily Mass. If this isn’t possible, read the daily Mass readings. The most intimate way to unite ourselves to God here on earth is to receive Him in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. He is the Life and the Resurrection. When we eat His Body and Drink His Blood we have life in abundance within us. He grasps us by the hand and helps us to arise, like the young man in Luke 7:14. We are filled with Life and Life in abundance (John 10:10). Jesus, the Word, speaks to us through the Word we encounter in the daily Mass readings. Many times I have gained insight, knowledge, understanding, and clarity in decisions through the daily Mass readings and homilies. Attending Mass allows us not only to consume the Body of Christ but also to be surrounded with His Body, the men and women who are His members. We are never alone in our Faith, we are part of a powerful community that upholds us in prayer, support, and love. Going to Mass, even if there are only one or two other people in attendance, shows us that we are one another’s keepers. We are the Body of Christ, we are His Light in this world. 3. Stick to a routine, no matter how you feel. So often during the winter months I’d rather stay in a cozy, warm bed five more minutes instead of getting up to pray. Yet I always regret when I do that, and I never once have regretted praying. Two years ago I made a promise to myself. I decided that I would be faithful to morning prayer each day no matter how I felt. My prayer started out small, just five minutes each morning, yet I remained faithful to my promise. Now, two years later, I see that fidelity to God and to myself has transformed my life. The fruit of that decision extended into every aspect of my life. I began challenging myself to be faithful no matter the circumstance or my feelings not just in my prayer but also in my daily tasks and duties. Establishing and remaining faithful to a routine, that includes time for God, ourselves, our family, our work, our hobbies, leisure, and our friends allows us to thrive and grow. It leads to both freedom and simplicity. It leads to joy. It allows us to give from a place of abundance. Servant of God Luis Maria Martinez wrote that: The secret of the spiritual life consists in this: that we try, with a spirit of faith and with sincerity of heart, to unite ourselves to God in the midst of all the vicissitudes of life. Our life is so complex! So very many elements enter into it! We are affected by everything, even the weather. Therefore, the wise course is not to analyze those states but to withdraw our spiritual life from them in order that nothing and nobody may rob us of our treasure. Let us learn how to guard our treasure equally well at midnight and at high noon, whether the tempest is unleashed, or the sun shines brilliantly in a cloudless sky. [bctt tweet="The secret of the spiritual life consists in this: that we try, with a spirit of faith and with sincerity of heart, to unite ourselves to God in the midst of all the vicissitudes of life. -SOG Luis Maria Martinez #BISblog //" username="findphilothea"] 4. Pray for holy friends and be a holy friend. Surrounding ourselves with motivating, uplifting, holy, goal-oriented people fills us with inspiration and joy. So often Christ speaks to us through our friends. Our friends may be the ones who tell us to arise! Holy friends are a gift from God that we must pray for every day. Yet we must also pray to be a holy friend to others. Each day we must grow in virtue, not only for our own holiness, but for the holiness of others. All we think, say, and do affects not just ourselves, but others, too. Are our thoughts, words, and actions allowing us to grow into the friend we want to be to others? We must pray to God for friends who we can glorify God with in this life and the next. 5. Do an act of charity. Whenever I feel myself turning inward, the one remedy that always works to curb this is doing something for someone. My go-to for this is making a meal for someone. My love language is food and I feel so loved when someone makes me a meal! The way I express my love the best is by making something delicious for someone. I pray for that person and their family as I prepare dinner and dessert for them and drop it off. Doing something for someone, whether it’s writing a note, creating a spiritual bouquet, cooking a meal, praying a Rosary, or volunteering with a religious order—truly anything done in love for another—uplifts our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. Here For You This winter season, rest in God’s love for you. No matter what season, He wants you to live with Him, in Him, and for Him. If you are struggling this winter, know you are loved by our Creator and surrounded by a community that is here for you. Do you struggle in the winter? What are some ways you boost your soul?   [bctt tweet="5 Ways to Spiritually Combat the Winter Blues #BISblog //" username="findphilothea"]  

I have gone through seasons in my life when I struggled in my relationship with Mary. There were many times when she seemed distant or unrelatable, and I did nothing to foster a connection with her. Mary and Marriage? I remember a particular season of struggle which began after a religious discernment retreat I attended. During this retreat, much to my surprise, I received a strong message that I was not being called to the religious life, but was in fact called to the vocation of marriage. And somehow, I let this change of discernment greatly affect my relationship with Mary. I suddenly thought that Mary played less of a role in my life and vocation than before. I thought Mary bore more relevance to women who are virgins. I knew she was important in the life of all Christians, and that she is the Mother of all the faithful, but somehow women in religious life seemed more important to her. The consecrated women in my life, or those discerning religious life, always seemed to have a deeper devotion to Our Lady. That made sense to me. After all, Mary gave her everything to God in her fiat. And the modern way in which women radically give their all to God seems to be through the religious life. Also—and this was a big also—Mary lived as a virgin for all her days. Therefore, Mary must serve as more of a model and example for women who are called to virginity for the sake of the Kingdom, right? I somehow “lose” some aspect of devotion to her because my life as a future married woman will not be like her life, right? Wrong. Very wrong. Virgin and Wife Mary was a married woman. Mary was joined to Joseph, and the two were husband and wife. Now we must remember, the marriage between Mary and Joseph did not look like most marriages of today. This is due to the fact that Mary and Joseph never engaged in the marital act, as was most fitting in God’s plan and most fitting for the Mother and foster-father of Jesus. The Catholic Church has always held the perpetual virginity of Mary: Mary remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him, a virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a virgin. // CCC 510 Mary was ever-virgin. But she was also married. We must not let her perpetual virginity cloud the fact that while she remained truly a virgin, she remained truly a wife. She was the wife of Joseph, who had received the call from God to marry Mary even after he heard the news of Mary’s conception of Jesus. … An angel of the Lord appeared to him [Joseph] in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit… When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife… // Matthew 1:20, 24 Mary is both virgin and wife. She alone is in a unique situation to serve as a model and example for women within all vocations. Mary and the Married Woman I believe we need to re-awaken our understanding of the marriage of Joseph and Mary. I’m afraid that we sometimes accidentally paint their marriage and their relationship as stale and boring. But in reality, the marriage of Joseph and Mary serves as an example to all those who are married. This is not because their marriage was devoid of romance and attraction. Joseph and Mary loved each other. They loved each other with a deep, affectionate, self-sacrificial, spousal love. Their marriage was not dry, but full of life! They felt toward each other how any young and in-love married couple would have felt. They abstained from sexual relations, but they shared a deep and intimate connection in other ways. And so my assumptions about Mary as being more relevant to the life of a sister or a nun were wrong. Yes, Mary can relate to them in a unique way. But Mary also understands the heart of a married woman. She understands what it is like to be a wife and a mother. She has so much to teach us about how to love men, and how to trust and give of ourselves. In his Consecration to Saint Joseph, Fr. Donald Calloway beautifully expresses the inner workings of Mary’s heart in this regard: When Mary met St. Joseph, she knew that God had chosen him to be her loving (and beloved) husband. Trusting in God’s plan, she fell in love with St. Joseph and gave him her Heart. Mary’s body was reserved for God, but she had the freedom to give her Heart to St. Joseph, the only man worthy of her, the only man perfectly reflecting the pure love of God. Mary was in love with Saint Joseph. We don’t normally think of her this way. But I think if we give her the chance to reveal herself to us, in her true identity as a wife, she can help repair the many damages and wounds present within the family today. The Best Example Mary was a married woman. So if you are married or feel called to marriage, don’t be like me and make that an obstacle between you and her. Instead, ask her to show you how to love. Ask her to show you how to be a good wife. We get to learn from the best.   [bctt tweet="Mary and the Married Woman #BISblog //" via="no"]   Mary Grace “Gracie” Tillman is a fulltime student and fulltime extrovert. If you don’t find her with her friends, odds are she’s lost on a backroad with her music turned all the way up. She loves sports, writing, one-on-ones over coffee, and all things related to Divine Mercy. She strives to life live every day to the fullest and be a joyful disciple of Jesus.

As a speech therapist working in a rehabilitation hospital, I change a lot of adult diapers. Most of my patients are adjusting to a new life with disabilities. One day they're self-sufficient, perhaps even working full time. Then comes the incident (a stroke, a car crash, a fall, a heart attack, lack of oxygen, etc.). Now they're dependent on others even to go to the bathroom. And if they're on my caseload, they also have difficulty communicating, remembering, thinking, and/or swallowing. It's a rough transition. Some of my patients make a pretty good recovery, regaining their independence step by step. Others will never be truly self-sufficient again and will always rely on the support of caregivers. Never a Burden Among my patients who are aware of their new disabilities, a common worry expressed to me is this: "I don't want to be a burden to my family." It’s a legitimate concern! None of us wants to feel that we cause more trouble than help for the ones we love. The response I am tempted to give is this: "You've earned their care. You took care of your family long enough; now it's your turn." And while that may be true for some patients, there's a problem with this response. Listen carefully: "You've earned this." Can love and respect ever be earned? It's easy to overlook the problems with conditional love and respect when the conditions are met. But despite the messages we absorb from society, we cannot earn love, respect, or dignity. Our dignity is innate and cannot be augmented or diminished by our abilities. Our dignity comes from the One who made us. Conditions, Conditions, Conditions I believe I should be able to keep our apartment immaculately clean. I believe I should gain weight to achieve the perfect BMI. I believe I should be able to function on 7 hours of sleep. I believe I should never ever make mistakes at work. I believe I should never offend anyone with my writing. The list goes on and on and on. Do you feel the pressure, too? Our society is obsessed with optimization. We are taught we must always be working to maximize our positive impact. Fill in this sentence: I believe I should ______________. Fill it in as many times as you need to. I encourage you to stop reading for a moment and write down a list of your expectations for yourself. Now check off all of the expectations you meet. Now crumple up your list and throw it in the garbage. Your dignity is not dependent on any of those conditions. Not a single one. Dignity is Innate Our abilities do not define our dignity. One of my favorite authors, Katherine Wolf, suffered a stroke at age 26. She is severely disabled to this day. She often writes about transitioning into a life with disabilities. In the book Hope Heals, Wolf wrote: "I slowly began to understand that I had survived a brain bleed and that I was this 'slow-motion miracle girl.' [...] I also eventually learned I could no longer walk, eat, hear out of my right ear, see one image at a time, speak clearly, or use my right arm or hand. [...] The whole miracle thing really stung because the 'miracle' had left me unable to live normally." But Wolf's story does not end there. Later in Hope Heals, Wolf wrote about a beautiful message the Lord spoke to her heart: "Katherine, you are not a mistake. I DON'T MAKE MISTAKES. [...] Remember that you were fearfully and wonderfully made in your mother's womb, and that is when the AVM formed in your brain." Every time I read Psalm 139, I think of Wolf's words. We are temples of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing we can do (or fail to do) that changes our dignity one way or another. A newly conceived single-celled child is just as dignified as a 100-year-old grandmother with dementia. A person on death row is just as dignified as a Nobel laureate. A person with Down syndrome is just as dignified as a famous poet. You are as dignified as a person experiencing homelessness and the Queen of England. Katherine Wolf's dignity did not change with her stroke. And neither does our dignity change. If we succeed or fail, if we are able or unable to accomplish something—our dignity does not change. This is radical. Abilities Change But Our Dignity Does Not In American society, we are taught that certain aspects of our experience are part of our identity. Patience, pro-activeness, eloquence, efficiency, strength, intelligence—to name a few. What about when these traits are stripped away? When the brain is affected by an injury or disease, our personalities are often affected directly. Patience may give way to impulsivity. Pro-activeness may give way to reduced initiative. Eloquence may give way to aphasia (difficulty using or understanding language). Efficiency may give way to impaired problem solving. Strength may give way to weakness. IQ can drop. I'm not sure why American society conditions us to believe that we will retain our self-sufficiency throughout our lives. It seems absurd to me that our grandparents are expected to live with complete physical and financial independence. According to the CDC, two in five adults over age 65 have some sort of disability. The two most common types of disabilities, according to the same source, are mobility and cognition (read: intelligence). For most patients, rehabilitation works well, but not always the way patients expect. Sometimes, rehabilitation is about working around the disability, compensating for new deficits with help from strategies, devices, and other people. This may seem bleak, but remember: the dignity of the person is not affected by any of these new disabilities. You are Worthy of Love If I've learned anything from my work as a speech therapist, it is this: our dignity is not defined by our abilities. We are all worthy of love, respect, and care. Our dignity does not change, no matter what diagnoses or disabilities we may encounter. So now when my patients tell me that they don't want to be a burden to their families, I try to give a more compassionate message. I try not to tell them that they've earned this care and love. Because love is not earned. This new message is hard to swallow, but it's so important to hear: "You are not defined by your self-sufficiency. You are worthy of love and care no matter what. Your abilities may have changed, but your dignity has not." Honestly, even though I don't have a disability at this point in my life, sometimes I need to hear that message too. Don't you?   [bctt tweet="Dignity Beyond Our Abilities #BISblog //" via="no"]   Kiki Hayden is a freelance writer and bilingual Speech Therapist living in Texas. She is a Byzantine Catholic. Check out how God has changed her life through speech therapy here.

No matter where you live on the globe, winter brings with it a certain chill. For a time, this coolness can be calming and restful, inviting you to slow down, settle under a soft throw, and drink a toasty beverage. But as the months go on and the cold remains, the initial reaction to the reprieve of our hot months is often replaced by disdain and even some depression about the isolation and extra work the icy months can bring. It is easy to let the cold on the outside leak into our own hearts, making us a bit grumpy or even bitter and closed off to the world around us. Scripture Verses to Pray When You’re Cold Whether you simply need a little spiritual pick-me-up or a major change of pace to help cope, I’ve always found it helpful to reflect on the way God revealed Himself to the world in Scripture. With God, everything is deliberate. It’s no coincidence throughout Salvation History, He consistently and constantly revealed His presence to His people as fire. For example… The Burning Bush In Moses’ first encounter with God, he happens upon a burning bush, which though ablaze is not being consumed. God speaks, and in this moment reveals a truth to Moses about His own identity and value—something Moses probably struggled with having grown up as a Hebrew within the Egyptian courts where he was not fully accepted by either race. God tells Moses to whom he belongs, and He gives Moses the purpose and direction his life had been missing. What does this tell us? God’s fiery presence provides warmth, truth, and love to our hearts that have experienced the harsh and bitter coldness of others. // And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. -Exodus 3:2 //And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” -Exodus 3:6 // Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” -Exodus 3:10 // He said, “But I will be with you….” -Exodus 3:12 Pillar of Fire In the Pentateuch, God leads the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land with a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. Scripture tells us this pillar (which represents God’s very presence) never left His people. This pillar not only directs and guides them, it also provides protection from the threat of their enemies. Often our own coldness can come from a lack of direction in our lives, or from the hatred and vitriol of others. No matter what darkness we may be experiencing, God’s presence remains with his faithful ones and protects them from their foes. // In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light. -Psalm 78:14 // And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night; the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. -Exodus 13:21-22 // Then the angel of God who went before the host of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness; and the night passed without one coming near the other all night. -Exodus 14:19-20   Fire in God’s Dwelling Place God also gifted His people with a visual of His presence dwelling among them even when they were settled. Whether it was within the Tabernacle or the Temple, God made sure His people knew He was physically present among them. // On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony; and at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. So it was continually; the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel encamped. At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they encamped; as long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. -Numbers 9:15-18 // When Solomon had ended his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. When all the children of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the earth on the pavement, and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures for ever.” -2 Chronicles 7:1-3 Elijah and Fire God continued to reveal His presence as fire into the ages of division and Exile. When Elijah wanted to prove the reality and power of God to the pagans and idolizing Israelites, he entered a duel with the priests of Baal, prayed for a sign, and God sent down fire from Heaven to completely consume the sacrifice being offered. In addition, when Elijah’s mission on earth had been completed, he was taken to Heaven in a flaming chariot, carried away by God’s presence after a long and grueling experience with the harsh, cold hearts of the Isrealites and her enemies. // And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Eli′jah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that thou, O Lord, art God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” -1 Kings 18:36-39 // And as they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Eli′jah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Eli′sha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. -2 Kings 2: 11-12 Fire in the New Testament When the Holy Spirit descends upon the Church at Pentecost, all Jesus’ followers are filled with His presence and tongues of fire appear above their heads. This is an indication of the new, living Temple in which God’s presence now dwells. In light of our Baptism and Confirmation, our hearts and the hearts of all the faithful are now the dwelling places of God. And just as the Apostles were filled with courage and able to face unspeakable challenges and be understood by others, this same fire burns within each of our souls. This fiery theme extends throughout the wholeness of the New Testament, all the way to Revelation, where Christ’s heavenly body is described as blazing. // When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. -Acts 2:1-4 // John answered them all, “I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. -Luke 3:16 // Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast; his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters; in his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. -Revelation 1:12-16 If You Need the Visual Don’t be disheartened or disappointed in yourself if you’re struggling with coldness in your heart. Scripture warns against the cold, but it doesn’t outright condemn it. In fact, it is the lukewarm who are condemned (see Revelation 3:15-16). This is because the lukewarm are comfortable. When cold, this extreme discomfort results in receptivity of fire and warmth when it is encountered. Whether it is your body or your soul which is feeling chilly, take the time to meditate upon these passages of Scripture about the warmth and light of God’s presence. Drive to Church and gaze upon the candle illuminated beside the Tabernacle. Light a candle at the devotional corner of your parish and ask God’s presence to overwhelm the coldness you feel consuming you. Even lighting a candle or a match at home could have this same effect, provided it is a moment of prayer when your heart is surged and present with God. What Scripture verses do you turn to when feeling spiritually cold?   [bctt tweet="Scripture Verses to Pray When You're Cold #BISblog //" via="no"] HIS WORD CHANGES LIVES God is speaking to you through His Word. In this personal study, you will learn to hear God's voice by reading slowly and praying deeply. BEGIN THE JOURNEY

At the beginning of this new year, at the dawn of our time together in this year's Prayer Pledge, we contemplated this quote about the Rosary from Blessed Bartolo Longo:

Saint Josemaria Escriva said: "The Holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results."

I have been a faithful Catholic since I was baptized as an infant and, as difficult as it might be to believe, prior to my invitation to travel to Lourdes, France, I had never heard of Our Lady of Lourdes. I never knew that the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette in 1858, identifying herself as the Immaculate Conception, and revealing a spring of healing water that has led millions of pilgrims to travel to France praying to be healed.

Lent is but a few weeks away, and you might be starting to wonder, "What am I going to do for Lent?!" This question proves to be stressful for many of us, as we begin to fret about "doing Lent the right way" or becoming distracted by what others are doing. This is not the purpose of the Lenten journey. As we know, Lent is all about going into the desert with Jesus, to fast and pray alongside Him, to face our temptations wielding the Word of God, to be purified by the Holy Spirit, and to prepare to celebrate the most sacred Mysteries of our Faith. It's about riding ourselves of anything that keeps us from Jesus so that He can more fully possess our hearts. It's about offering our whole hearts to Him in love and thanksgiving. The Best Way to Figure Out What the Do for Lent Since that is our foundation for discerning what to "do" for Lent, the best way to go about deciding is to ask Jesus. Ask Him what He desires for your Lent. He knows your heart more deeply than anyone else—even yourself. He knows what will most benefit your soul and draw you closer to Himself this season. So start by asking Him. And If You Need More Ideas ... Once you've talked with the Lord about your Lent, feel free to gather some other ideas for inspiration. To help get your discernment juices flowing, we have a few unique ideas about what to give up for Lent: Apologizing for things that aren't your fault The snooze button Swearing Scrolling before bed Audio while exercising Streaming (music, Netflix, etc.) Your car Worrying (or immediately countering worry with a surrendered prayer) Kissing (for you dating folks!) Snacking Self-deprecation Staying in your pajamas all day Texting and driving Your mattress Scrolling when you wake up Audio in your car Makeup Not making your bed Alcohol Front facing camera Thinking judgmental thoughts Buying coffee Tell Us About Your Lent? What are you giving up and taking up this Lent? Let us know below so we can pray for you and encourage you!   [bctt tweet="How to Figure Out What to Do for Lent #BISblog #bislent //" via="no"]

I can still recall the first time I made my Saint Louis de Montfort Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. In the summer of 2008, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and the ministry I worked for invited me to travel to Lourdes, France in the hopes I would be miraculously healed in the bathes of Lourdes.

As a former youth minister, I have witnessed thousands of teenagers receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. So when I became a college campus minister, I wasn’t expecting anything out of the norm on Easter Vigil when over twenty college students entered the Church. Uproarious joy, clapping, and hymns were audible after each catechumen was baptized.

About twelve years ago, I lost my vision for a week’s time. I wasn’t completely blind, more like a “Claritin†unclear commercial. At first, I was scared, then a peace rushed through my soul as I recalled Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.â€

In imaginative prayer, I often return to an undocumented moment in Jesus’ life: Jesus visiting Mary after His Resurrection.

In a small living room, my mom and dad’s closest friends from their “Marriage Encounter†days back in the '80s gathered to pray a Rosary like they had every Monday night for years. But this night, it was different.

Traditionally, Saturdays are dedicated to Our Blessed Mother. As we conclude our meditations on the Fruits of the Sorrowful Mysteries, we can ask Our Lady of Sorrows for the grace to give ourselves—mind, will, and heart—to God.

The saints have said that at the end of our lives, we will be judged on how we have loved, especially how we have loved the most underprivileged among us. The Lord allowed Himself to be nailed to the Cross, to be humiliated and abused beyond our imagining.