July 31, 2026 // Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 13:54-58 Reflect on the Word //  On our usual morning walk and in the middle of a long conversation, I asked my friend, half-jokingly, “Why do you always have to be the bad girl?”  “I don’t know,” she fired back,“why do you always have to be the good girl?”  Her words caught me off guard, lodging in my mind like an arrow. I felt exposed. There was an uncomfortable truth in her question, and it stung to hear it, especially from someone I knew so well.  I place myself in the scene of today’s Gospel and soon recognize my tendency to take offense at the prophet or “truth-speaker” (see Matthew 13:57), especially when it’s someone I think I know well. Who are the prophets I am tempted to dismiss because I know all about them and presume they could have nothing to teach me? Am I missing out on the mighty works God wants to do in me because I don’t believe He speaks through those closest to me?  When I bring my questions to Jesus, He assures me that as I keep coming to Him, he will help me to receive His truth always. I need not hide. He sees every part of me. Under the gaze of His love, I can admit to Him my failings and weaknesses. His love burns away the false ideal of  “good girl”  that I’ve tried to portray. What remains is a woman with both strengths and weaknesses, one who, having received God’s mercy anew, is more free to live as a beloved child of God and hear the truth from whomever He sends. Sister, we are not so different from the residents of Jesus’ native place. And just as He wanted to teach and heal them, Jesus wants to transform our hearts. Are we willing to ask Him for the grace to receive it when someone close to us speaks a truth that stings? Relate to the Lord // Ask Jesus to help you be open to the truth about yourself. When you feel ready, ask Him to give you the grace to receive it.

June 29, 2026 //Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Psalm: Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Reflect on the Word //  Our three-year-old granddaughter, unable to speak or swallow due to mouth sores from cancer treatment, gave a thumbs up to her mom’s description of the fun visit they’d just experienced with her dad and siblings. They’d  returned home now, and I watched as our daughter positioned herself next to her child in the bed, settling in for a chat with me and my husband.  Our visit was restricted to a video call that day, but even so, it was impossible to miss the exhaustion and pain on their faces. A wave of discouragement swept over me as the call ended: Where is the evidence that God hears my prayers? Why must their suffering be prolonged? But reading today’s Responsorial Psalm, I wonder, could it be that the angel God promises to rescue us is delivering us from evils more threatening than cancer or the painful side effects of its treatment? I immerse myself further in the Psalm and discover that “the lowly” who “hear me” and are “glad” (Psalm 32:3) are the parts of me that doubt, resist, cower in fear, or hide in shame. I summon them out of hiding and declare, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him and delivers them” (Psalm 34:8). Then I invite all my parts to “glorify the LORD with me” (Psalm 32:4a). I receive grace to know the unchanging goodness of God even when I don’t understand His ways. Sister, the promises of today’s Psalm are not empty. When we choose to remember God’s glory and exalt His name, a real transformation takes place in us, no matter our circumstances. We  find courage  to let go of our doubts and fears and to entrust everything to Him. Relate to the Lord // Pray with Psalm 34 today. What verse or word does the Lord highlight for you?

May 23, 2026 // Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 21:20-25 Reflect on the Word //  My husband and I were seated at a restaurant, planning celebrations for each month of the year in honor of our fifty years together as husband and wife. Suddenly, qualms about what others might think of our plans intruded into my thoughts. When I voiced these qualms to my husband, he redirected me back to our life together and God’s faithfulness to us, reminding me that it’s ultimately Him we are celebrating. In today’s Gospel, Peter and the other disciples have been with the Risen Christ all day. They’ve eaten breakfast with Him on the seashore and Peter has thrice clearly professed his love for Jesus, after which Jesus commands Peter to follow Him. Something about seeing John leads Peter to ask, “What about him?” (John 21:21) But Jesus patiently redirects Peter: “What concern is it of yours? You follow me” (John 21:22) . Part of me cringes at Jesus’ response to Peter. Then a question arises. Do I sometimes cloak my own inordinate concerns about others’ lives under the guise of compassion while forgetting the one thing Jesus asks of me in the moment? When I look again, I see Jesus’ patience and kindness toward both Peter and John. He knows well their temperaments and gifts  and asks of each only what they can give. Following, for John, is not the same as it is for Peter; each disciple’s relationship with God is distinctive. Each has their role to play in God’s plan for them and for the world. It’s the same for you and me, dear sister. We each have an essential and unique role in God’s plan. We needn’t be scared of what He may require. He takes into account our temperaments, our experiences and our gifts and provides everything we need. He only asks us to follow wherever He leads.  Relate to the Lord // Where has comparison been sneaking in and stealing your peace? Tell Jesus about it and rest in His unique and perfect love for you.

April 7, 2026 // Tuesday in the Octave of Easter Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 20:11-18 Reflect on the Word //  Shamed for my tears, I’d long ago exchanged them for emotional numbness and habits of negative self-talk. This all changed when I went on a healing retreat, and I found myself arrested by an image of Jesus crowned with thorns and weeping. The tears on His cheeks and His loving gaze conveyed an immense depth of sadness. The Holy Spirit used this image to convince me that Jesus, far from shaming my tears, weeps with me when I weep. Since He cries with me, I now freely let my tears flow when I have the need to cry. In today’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene weeps without shame. Peter and John see the burial cloths in the tomb, believe, and go home while Mary Magdalene stays outside the tomb weeping. When she bends to look inside, two angels ask her why, and  she says she doesn’t know where they took Jesus’ body.  Jesus is there too, though Mary mistakes Him for a gardener. Jesus asks her why she weeps and Who she’s looking for. Do her copious tears blind her from recognizing Jesus? Does her inner anguish mute the sound of the voice she knows so well?  Jesus doesn’t scold her for her tears nor for being slow to recognize Him. He listens to her desperation, then simply speaks her name. Something about the way He says her name transports her from the fog of grief to the reality that her beloved Lord is here with her. She responds, “Rabbouni” (or teacher), for He shows her how to live. I wonder how I’ve let my own perception of circumstances blind and deafen me to seeing and hearing Him. Like Mary Magdalene, we can seek diligently for the Lover of our Souls, whether in joy or in pain. Even when we don’t recognize Him, He listens, then calls us by name until we are transported to the reality of resurrection life. He’s alive! As this truth sinks in, we can announce with joy, “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18) Relate to the Lord // What tears are you withholding from Jesus? Share your sadness with Him and in prayer see Him weep with you, for you.

February 26, 2026 // Thursday of the First Week in Lent // Optional Memorial of Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25 Reflect on the Word //  My bed was a padded church pew, and I lay weeping silently, for fear of troubling a parent or sibling. My parents had received eviction notices, but were hoping and praying for a last-minute miracle. I’d tried my hardest to believe, but knew I had doubted, and now we were forced out of our home. Thankfully, our pastor offered temporary shelter in the church to our family of ten. My whole body cried out to God from the pew in the dark: God, I know You are good. My parents don’t deserve this; maybe it’s my fault. Please! Only You can save us! In today’s First Reading Queen Esther recalls how she was taught of God’s goodness before crying out to God to save her and her people. I, too, was taught of God’s goodness. Unfortunately, I’d also ingested the idea that God punishes those who fail to perfectly demonstrate faith in Him. When I bring this to Jesus, He leads me to ponder these words from Esther’s prayer: “Save us from the hand of our enemies; turn our mourning into gladness and our sorrows into wholeness” (Esther C:25). The enemies I most often face are lies about Who God is and who I am in relation to Him. He wants me to know His goodness to my core, to trust that He loves me even in my weakness. We can make Esther’s prayer our own. Jesus delivers us from every lie, doubt, and fear that attacks our faith. When we turn to Him in mourning, He enters our sad hearts, expanding our capacity to receive joy and gladness. If sorrows fragment and exhaust us,  He strengthens and gathers our scattered parts, making us wholly alive in Him. He saves us! Relate to the Lord // What lie, doubt, or fear do you need to share with Jesus so He can save you?

January 13, 2026 // Optional Memorial of Saint Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: 1 Samuel 1:9-20 Reflect on the Word //  Songs of sorrow and hope play on repeat as I draw pictures and overwrite them in large black letters taken from the Bible. Other verses I pen onto stark blank pages, crumpling and tossing away all but a few. I go for long silent walks and cry my way through the Liturgy of the Hours, sitting beside my husband who reads the prayers for us both. I attend daily Mass when I am able, acutely aware of my lack of ability to concentrate, yet trusting that the Mass is still efficacious. Grief’s intrusion drastically changes the way we pray, but because it’s lacking in pretenses, I’d argue that what I’ve termed “messy prayer” changes us for the better. Hannah in today’s First Reading is loved by her husband yet knows grief. She pours out her troubles to the Lord, offering Him, incoherently, the deep sorrow and misery she can no longer contain (see 1 Samuel 1: 15-16). I’ve not been maligned nor misunderstood like Hannah. Neither have I known the empty pain of infertility. Yet, like Hannah, I’ve prayed in ways that could be mistaken for drunkenness. I’ve also bargained with God:  If You answer my plea, I’ll  give You everything! Please, please, please grant my desire! But God does not answer my prayer the way I desire. I’m dismayed, and ask, Why hasn’t Jesus granted my plea?   Jesus’ clear answer jolts me: “Are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15b) The question lays bare an uncomfortable truth that when I hear of His goodness toward others, envy sometimes crowds out the loving response of joy He desires for me. Humbled and contrite, I pray. I’m so sorry! How desperately I need You! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I see now that Hannah and her Samuel are gifts to me too, teaching me humility and trust. Dear sister, our loving God desires our open hearts. He wants us just as we are, and loves us too much to leave us sick and wounded. It’s God’s prerogative to heal us in His way and in His time. We can trust Him with everything, including our  messy prayers. Relate to the Lord // Where do you feel messy? Can you share those parts with a friend today? Will you show them to God in prayer?

December 2, 2025 // Tuesday of the First Week of Advent Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10 As she awaited move-in day at college after high school graduation, my granddaughter lived in an already-but-not-yet space. Constrained by the responsibilities of living with parents and siblings, she ached with yearning for the not-yet. My life, too, is replete with such moments. The time between saying yes and the Sacrament of Matrimony, the time between another yes and our arrival in Guatemala as missionaries, the time between discovering Catholicism and our reception into the Church. In each already-but-not-yet space we rejoiced in gifts already received while longing for those yet to be given.  A similar ache rises up in me in light of today’s First Reading. The picture the prophet paints is one of a world without violence, injustice, or harm, a world where wolves, lambs, children, and venomous snakes live in harmony and peace. The artistic renderings I’ve seen of this passage are at the same time beautiful and disappointing. How, I wonder, can an artist possibly portray the “not-yet” of the promised kingdom when “justice shall flourish [. . .] and fullness of peace forever”( Psalm 72:7)? When I bring my heart to Jesus, He assures me that my longing is not misplaced, but rather it’s a holy desire.  Because Jesus has already come, we’ve received so many gifts, especially His Church’s Sacraments! Yet, all has not yet been set right in our world. Wars and famine, earthquakes and tsunamis, predators and prey have not yet diminished. Just as surely as Jesus’ birth brings the Light of Christ to us in darkness, at the end of time God will satisfy our desire for the full realization of peace and justice. Our part is to trust God to complete what He promised through the prophet in His time and to live in His peace and justice through obedience to His commands while awaiting that day. In this already-but-not-yet space we inhabit this Advent, we do well to joyfully plan a fitting celebration of the unfathomable mystery of God becoming Man. We also do well to cultivate an ever-deepening longing for the day when God will be all in all.  Relate to the Lord // What already-but-not-yet space are you inhabiting right now? What are you longing for that you don’t have yet? How can you rejoice in the already? 

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?

October 3, 2025 // Friday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 10:13-16 Reflect on the Word //  “If you don’t stop eating those chocolates, I’ll break your other arm!” At age twelve, I was not alarmed by my mom’s unconventional, overly-dramatic “threats.” I was used to it. But as she left my hospital bedside, nurses whispered, casting disapproving looks toward her back.  Later, one returned to interrogate me as to how I’d really broken my wrist. I answered truthfully with the same explanation my mom had already given. Because of the love relationship between us, their judgment toward my mother felt like personal judgment of me. When they rejected her, they rejected me. This childhood experience comes to mind when I ponder the love relationship between Jesus and His disciples. He says, “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me” (Luke 10:16). Because He loves them deeply and has conformed His disciples so closely to Himself, Jesus takes rejection of them personally. He identifies so closely with His disciples that when they are rejected, He considers Himself rejected too. His unity with God the Father (the One Who sent Him) in relation to us is an added source of strength and consolation for us. And from the Father and the Son, we are sent the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus draws us into His identity in the Sacraments. The Trinity comes to dwell in us at Baptism. We consume the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus in the Eucharist. We are strengthened by the Holy Spirit at Confirmation and are then sent out to bear witness to Christ. Our one task is to remain faithful. When we’re listened to, we know they’ve listened to Him, and we can bear any rejection because we’re united with Him in the Holy Trinity.  Relate to the Lord // How can you remain faithful today?

September 2, 2025 // Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 4:31-37 Reflect on the Word //  “You’re not the boss of me!” I hear these words yelled in frustration by a five-year-old at his older brother and sister. Even young children have an innate sense of proper authority, of who is and is not in charge.  I, too, want to know who has the authority to govern. Whether in the workplace, the political sphere, or the Church, I seek assurance that those in charge can be trusted. Today’s Gospel highlights this same instinct: “[A]nd they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority” (Luke 4:32). Why does the way Jesus exercises authority astonish his listeners? Surely other Rabbis spoke with confidence and were well prepared, knowing their audience. What made His authority different? Jesus not only speaks the Word of God, He is the Word of God made flesh (see John 1:14). He says and does everything in union with the Father (see John 14:10). As the Son, He demonstrates the loving union of Three Persons within the One God of the universe, Who made all things. Jesus, the Son, reveals the merciful Heart of the Father. When demons interrupt Jesus’ teaching, He delivers the person suffering from possession. The swiftness with which the demons obey is so impressive that the witnesses ask, "What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out" (Luke 4:36). Jesus simply orders the demons to come out and they do. Astonishing! Because He is God’s Word made flesh, when Jesus speaks, what He says happens. His authority astonishes me. At various moments throughout the day I hear Him speak to me in my heart. Listen to Me. Trust Me. Follow Me. When He invites me to choose Him, it is with the same authority of the Lord Who calms seas, heals lepers, and casts out demons. I can freely listen, trust, and follow, confident that He will complete the good work He has begun in me (see Philippians 1:6).  Relate to the Lord // How have you been astonished by Jesus?  

July 14, 2025 // Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin [In the Dioceses of the United States] Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 10:34-11:1 Reflect on the Word // Jesus’ words jar me as He says, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). They seem harsh, unlike the loving, gentle Jesus I know so well. A memory surfaces. The only Catholic in my big Christian family, I’d flown to Nebraska for the funeral of my seventeen-year-old nephew. A ride to Mass on Sunday morning felt like a big ask. But, I knew and still know where my strength comes from. Especially in the midst of grief, I needed to worship as God asks me to and receive Him in Holy Communion. So, I decided to ask. After only a little pushback, my sister agreed to take me to Mass and pick me up afterward. Jesus demands that we be “all in” as His followers. His requirement has nothing to do with power or control. For Jesus it’s always about love. He knows how easily our love can go awry. When we cling to any person, even our closest family members, more than we cling to Jesus, unhealthy patterns develop. We turn in on ourselves, grasping after what we think is best and trying to control others. Relationships meant to thrive through mutual self-giving become sterile or one-sided, leaving us empty and lonely. But when we put Him first, He makes a way for us to love like He does. Jesus knows that we cannot fully receive His abundant love when we allow lesser relationships to crowd Him out. When we find courage to put Him first and entrust everything and everyone to Him,  even our suffering is transformed in the light of His love.  Relate to the Lord // How might you put your love of Jesus first today?

May 19, 2025 // Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 14:21-26 Reflect on the Word // Through the past three years I’ve returned repeatedly to a video of my son who drowned in a tragic accident. The audio is his voice pondering the goodness in his life which he knows he can’t deserve. My love for him urges me to listen  repeatedly to his voice and work out how I can best honor his memory, how to both let him go and hold him near.When Jesus knows the time is near for His crucifixion, he tells his disciples, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23). My love for Jesus calls me beyond merely revisiting and remembering His words. I want to listen to the timbre of his voice, hear the ring of truth in His message, see the light in His eyes. What can it mean to keep His Word? My love for Jesus compels me to return to His Word repeatedly and ponder the goodness, beauty and truth I find there. That is certainly one way of keeping His Word.But, there’s more. When I keep my word,  I do what I say I will do, even if obstacles interfere or it becomes harder than I imagined it could be.  It follows that if I want to keep His Word, I must do what He says. I must pray as He prays, love like He loves, lay down my life for sinners, obediently take up my cross and follow Him. As I die moment by moment to my selfish ways, and make myself a gift to others, Jesus and our Father keep their promise to dwell with me. Amazingly, the Holy Spirit is mine too, as a teacher and guide who, in case I forget, reminds me of what Jesus said (see John 14:26). His intimate promise is not just for a few friends, but for everyone who keeps His word. Oh, how He longs for us to fully share in the love that flows between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Relate to the Lord // Contemplate: What does Jesus’ voice sound like? What do you see when you look in His eyes?   

April 18, 2025 // Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12  Reflect on the Word // I notice Jesus’ silent loving gaze as it penetrates the hearts of his persecutors. He looks with compassion at each person. I’m awed by His quiet strength and calm composure as blood oozes from open wounds. Then His gaze meets mine. Turning, I resist, not wanting to meet His eyes, lest He see only horror and pity in mine. I somehow detect an inaudible whisper: It’s okay, I know. Facing His burning gaze once more, it incinerates my carefully constructed walls, igniting my heart with His love until I desire only Him.  “Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter . . .” (Isaiah 53:7). It’s clear that Jesus chose silence. For surely none can silence God.Then a childhood incident emerges, a painful memory in which I was shamed and silenced. Now I  understand. Jesus’ suffering is intimately connected to my own. Beneath His Cross, I know what to do. I renounce lies I’ve repeated inwardly ad nauseam—lies with which I built walls of isolation and victimhood. I banish them now with the truth. Jesus delights in the sound of my voice. My voice is a gift, enabling me to become a  gift to others, to sing and speak of the healing power of  God. I’m now confident that God, my Father, will provide the endurance, courage, and hope I need to continue to reverse unhealthy ways of thinking. Jesus, silent and suffering, consoles and strengthens me, enabling me to rest in Him and choose silence for love’s sake. The Holy Spirit fills my heart with love and gratitude. Isn’t it astonishing that the goodness of that long ago Friday has the power to meet us here today?  Whether harmed by our own sins or those of others, Jesus draws near us in a powerful way, suffering with us. Silently, He waits for us to let Him into the most tender places. He desires to heal every wound. Relate to the Lord // Meditate on one of Jesus’ five holy wounds today. As you do, allow Him to look at one of your wounds.  

March 5, 2025 // Ash Wednesday Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Reflect on the Word //  My husband smiled when he heard the secret words we had agreed upon, words that communicated to him alone my desire to leave the gathering for private time together. Such secrets can guard intimacy in a relationship. In today’s Gospel, Jesus repeats two small words, secret and hidden, shedding light on the intimacy our Heavenly Father desires with each of us.   “But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. [. . .] [P]ray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (Matthew 6:3-4, 6, emphasis added). When we aim for approval and affirmation from others, rather than God, we devalue the love God desires to give us.  “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you" (Matthew 6:17, emphasis added). The Father is hidden within us at our very core since our Baptism, and wants us to meet Him there. When we keep secret our good deeds and hide our sacrifices, we guard the intimacy we share with God. He sees each little secret gift, hears every silent prayer, and knows how frequently we fast from earthly goods out of love for Him. He receives our secret love language of gifts with delight and reverence. He asks us to revere the intimacy of His work in us and, in return, generates His Own life in us, enabling us to bear fruit. He’s a Father Who delights in secrets! We are marked with ashes today as an outward sign of our need for ongoing repentance and conversion. Ashes remind us that we fall short of the love God desires for us to give and to receive. Black smudges on our foreheads, though visible to all, hold secrets between our souls and our loving Father, communicating to Him alone the depths of our desire to be free from oft-hidden sins and experience greater intimacy with our Maker. Relate to the Lord // What secret will you share with the Lord this Lent? Today?  

January 16, 2024 // Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Mark 1:40-45 Reflect on the Word// “Really? I can choose not to tell anyone else that I did this?” My spiritual director, a priest, knew me well and had discerned that my talking more about what I had just confessed would be self-sabotage, a way of not owning my rightful place as a beloved daughter of God. I’d just received the healing words of absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and was filled with joy at God’s forgiveness. I found ways to share my healing without returning to a place of shame and self-condemnation. We might find it strange that Jesus admonishes the newly healed leper sternly and sends him on his way with the warning not to tell, but to go and show himself to the priest (see Mark 1:41). Jesus knew how the leper’s telling might distract him from going to the priest and being rightly restored to his community through the offerings prescribed by Jewish law.  If he was not rightly restored, he would not be allowed to return to the synagogue to worship God. The Scriptures do not say whether the cleansed leper obeyed the second part of Jesus’ admonition, but they do tell us that because the leper told everyone,  Jesus was forced to move to the outskirts instead of traveling freely in the town as He had planned (see Mark 1:45). Did some people miss out on a healing they would have received if the leper had listened and kept quiet?  Sister, God desires for us to listen to His voice. Like the leper, we may never know the full consequences of our choices, but anything short of listening obedience puts us at risk for hardness of heart and missing out on the solace to be found only in Him. The more we listen and are quick to obey what we hear Him ask of us, the more we will find the rest in Him for which our hearts ache. Relate to the Lord // What is Jesus asking of you today? How will you obey?

December 23, 2024 // Optional Memorial of Saint John of Kanty, Priest Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24 Reflect on the Word // As we began to settle into our  home, I decided what to keep and what to donate or discard. My desire to create a refuge for family, friends, and whomever God might bring to our door influenced my reasoning as I tackled another box of household items, which I’d not seen for the past year and a half. The sight of a bedraggled stuffed animal my husband had long ago given me for Valentine’s Day elicited mixed emotions. The bear would be refused as a donation. Considering I’d not once thought of him while he’d been packed away, it was clear that “Sir Valentine” was destined for the dumpster.  There is an urgency in the prophet Micah’s message today which is not unlike my compelling desire to prepare my home for family and guests. As Advent concludes, the Lord’s coming is at hand. We’re called to examine our hearts once again. “But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye?” (Malachi 3:2) This isn’t a threat (although we cannot withstand purification without God’s mercy). It’s a promise. When we submit to His purifying grace, the Lord burns away the impurities in our souls. Even the little things. Our hearts are meant to shine like gold or silver. The Lord makes white again our sin-stained baptismal garment. The cleansing He brings results in the beauty of pure gold, shining silver, and shimmering white cloth.  Sister, if we feel unprepared for Christmas, we can take heart. The liturgical season of Advent serves, like Saint John the Baptist, to prepare our hearts to receive God Incarnate! Let’s trust the Church’s preparation at work in us. Trust resolutely that whatever purifying grace is available in the Sacraments and through our private prayer during these final hours of Advent enables us to welcome Christ more fully into our hearts and to shine brightly in the unique mission He has given us. Relate to the Lord // How is the Lord purifying your heart this Advent? O Antiphon: O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God!

Blessed the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commands. // Psalm 112:1 When I entered a Blessed Sacrament chapel for the first time in my life, I was trembling with fear. I asked myself, “What if that is just a piece of bread? Either it’s truly Jesus and I ought to kneel in adoration, or the people in this chapel are participating in a blasphemous form of idolatry, displeasing the one true God. There is no middle ground.”  I turned to Jesus in silent prayer. Lord, You know my heart, that I have sincerely tried my best to obey You in everything. If this is idolatry, please keep me safe from sin. And if this is Your Real Presence, fill me with Your peace and teach me how to worship You as You desire. God does not want us to be afraid to trust Him, yet our Responsorial Psalm today reminds us that there is also a healthy Fear of the Lord (see Psalm 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6). It’s one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit given to us at Baptism and strengthened in Confirmation. This reverent fear keeps us safely obedient to God’s commands of love.   Imagine yourself standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, filled with awe and delight at the beauty of creation. Are you not also aware of your littleness and vulnerability? In such a scenario we know the reality of the unchanging law of gravity, so we’re careful to stay on safe footing—perfectly happy to do so. Similarly, when we fear the Lord in a healthy way, we are happy to obey His commands, knowing we are safe under His unchanging law of love. In today’s Gospel the unjust judge has neither fear of the Lord nor respect for people, and ironically, he ends up fearing what the widow might do if he doesn’t dole out justice to her (see Luke 18:1-8). Sister, when have you been aware of the gift of the Fear of the Lord in your own heart? Do you delight in His commands? Where is God calling you to keep on seeking justice, believing in faith that He hears your pleas?