In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 19
When I was pregnant with my first child, I listened to a podcast by a woman who was recalling a very painful time in her life. Her firstborn child was dying and her marriage was on the rocks as a result of that tragic circumstance. She reflected on that season...
In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 18
I’m a checklist gal. I love the satisfaction of making a list, methodically crossing things off. And yes, I am one of those people that adds an item to my list that I’ve already completed, just so I can check it off.
Here’s what I’m learning when it comes to the Christian life, though...
In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 17
I didn’t grow up with an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in my house, and there wasn’t one in my parish. As a young girl, I didn’t even hear the words “Sacred Heart.†The one exception: my grandmother belonged to the “Sacred Heart Auto League,†and had an emblem on her car...
In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 16
“Close your eyes after Holy Communion,†Father Andrew instructed. “Let yourself feel the loving embrace of Jesus.â€
I try to remain attentive to the presence of Jesus after receiving Holy Communion. I believe with all my heart that His precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity dwell within me in a special way. As a mom of six, however, I often have to spend this time with one eye open, making sure my children stay relatively quiet, while our parish community prays around us...
In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 15
I walk with my friend. We’re set on finally finding Jesus. We’ve heard Him speak. We’ve seen Him heal. If only we could get close enough…
In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 14
The air in the chapel contains an allure, powerful yet gentle. And I am drawn into the intensity of God’s love for me. It is so present, so tangible. It is almost overwhelming.
But am I just being silly, like a girl being wooed by a handsome prince in some fairy tale?...
In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 13
Several years ago, I had an ongoing vision in my Christian imagination of Jesus and me on a playground. When the image first entered my prayer, I asked, “On a playground, Lord? Really?â€
And in reply, Jesus laughed! And with a glimmer in His eye and a warm smile across His face, He extended His hand in invitation...
In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 12
The pain and suffering were like nothing I had ever endured. I could not believe how much had been given and taken away in such a short amount of time. It felt unbearable...
In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 11
As I enter the chapel, I immediately notice that I’m not alone. The presence of Another is so real, so palpable; it fills the entire space.
I kneel down before Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist, housed in the beautiful gold monstrance upon the altar. I feel His eyes on me, and He smiles. He has been waiting for me...
In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 10
We have spent this first week together diving more deeply into the mystery of the Heart of Jesus: so merciful, so gentle, and so personally loving to each one of us. What a gift to start 2020 with several weeks of reflection and prayer of the gift of the Heart of Jesus to us!
There are many different types of prayers of consecration to the Sacred Heart. Today we reflect on one from St. Margaret Mary Alacoque...
In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 9
Like many little girls growing up, I found joy and creativity in using my imagination to play dress-up or house or to write short stories based off the American Girls book series, which I dearly loved.
However, when it came to playing dress-up, I differed from most other girls my age...
In His Heart: The 2020 Prayer Pledge // Day 8
Over the history of the Church, there have been many strong intellectual minds that have left us with ideas and thoughts to reflect upon. In more recent times, one such theologian is our previous Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. In his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, he writes: “He has loved us first and he continues to do so; we too, then, can respond with love." ...
