In today’s Gospel reading according to St. Luke, Jesus helps Simon and his fishermen catch more fish than they ever had. By trusting Him to lower their nets again, the nets are so full they almost burst! One can only imagine their delight and joy at such a bountiful harvest. Success is exhilarating. Instead of turning to Jesus and asking him to come along with every trip out, Simon falls to his knees and professes he is a sinner and Jesus should depart from him. How did he realize that this man was from God? How did he recognize his own failings enough to say he wasn’t worthy of being around such a holy and powerful person? Instead of turning back for more successes and monetary gain, Simon, James, and John left their boats. They literally “left everything and followed him.” What faith! What incredible trust. Secondarily, Jesus told them they would be fishers of men instead of fish. Instead of the job they knew and were trained for, he had a new job in mind. Again, leaving what you know and what you have done your whole life? Departing from your habits to follow a man who inspired you? Pretty profound trust. Jesus calls us to do more than chase success, fame, or popularity. These earthly accolades are not what we are to trek towards. In fact, when we receive them, whether it be in the form of a promotion at work, being selected for a high profile volunteer position, or elected to an office in our community, that “success” isn’t the end of the road. We have the opportunity to seek God, truth, beauty, goodness as our final destination. Not that we shouldn’t enjoy success, but it’s a means to an end, not the end itself. Jesus is calling us for something beyond what we are comfortable with. Jesus asks us to leave our habits, our ways we know, and reach for something that is beyond the day-to-day grumblings and work. We do not have to abandon our careers or families to follow Him. Quite the contrary. Our approach to the every day can be infused with joy. Love can drive our actions and words. A kind request at work instead of a gruff command. A gentle correction of our children instead of a frustrated shout. Through our love of others, through showing them God loves them, being a vessel of love, we will bring others to Christ. Changing our attitude makes us fishers of men, too. Nell O'Leary is an attorney turned stay-at-home mom to three lovelies. She and her husband live in the great city of Saint Paul. You can find out more about her here.

A few years ago, I had one of those few moments of clarity amidst chaos and pain. Sitting in Mass, I was made aware of the fact that I had been relying on my husband for everything. Our marriage was strong, but I was expecting him to be my source of joy. He was my help and my shield, and all my trust was placed in him. I had such unrealistic expectations of this man in the flesh. When life got me down, I turned to him and was, of course, frustrated by his inability to fix it. Where was God in this? He was waiting patiently for me to begin a practice of turning to Himself instead. I was a spiritual infant. Turning then to my Father, and placing my trust in Him, leaning on Him, and seeking Him as my source of joy, has allowed me to more fully grow in Him. The process of turning away from things and people in this world as my source of joy has brought with it abundant grace. Paul warns us against being a fleshly people, jealous, and unable to take the solid spiritual food. Look at your relationships with others. We are merely God’s field, and our leaders are co-workers of the Lord, but it is only God who causes our growth, and heals our sickness. We can’t rely on even our brothers and sisters in Christ to do that. Our soul waits for the LORD, for He is our help and our shield, and it is in HIM our hearts rejoice. Do you rejoice in Him or in others? In whom do you place your trust? Upon whom do you rely upon for your joy? Do you blame those around you or seek fleshly solutions when things fail to go your way? Do you trust in Him or have you placed your faith in things of this world? MaryRuth Hackett is a full-time wife and mother doing her best to teach her four children to love God and country. You can find out more about her here.

  I slumped into the orange and gray subway seat, too tired to care about the grime permanently encrusted on the surface. I'm no stranger to emotional breakdowns on the A train -- I carry a pair of sunglasses in my tote for the dedicated purpose of hiding crying jags on public transportation. But it felt like the last piece of my heart had finally snapped, and there was nothing left to cry about. It wasn't just a bad day or month. It was a season that started as soon as my hair dried from the waters of baptism on Easter 2011. Can we be real? It's only beginning to change now, 3.5 years later. I'd like to say that there was a miracle that made everything better. Spoiler: there wasn't. It took -- is taking -- work. Relationships had to be severed. Habits destroyed. I had to learn to see myself with the mind of Christ and not my own understanding. I had to encounter Grace in the sacraments, even when I could pray "I believe, help my unbelief." But gradually, even though some situations stayed the same, I began to feel hope. You may not feel that faithfulness and love or grace right now. You may not feel loved or lovable, or think that there will ever be a day that feels better than this day right now. The Lord who "raises up all who are bowed down" might seem like a myth. That is okay. It is so, so okay to admit that it is hard. But the beauty of grace is that it doesn't depend on us recognizing it to exist. Something that helps me recognize His faithfulness and begin seeing myself with the mind of Christ is that old party game, two truths and a lie. I write down the lie first. Last week's? I am unwanted. Then I take the lie to prayer, and I ask for truth to be revealed in the dark places. Sometimes the lies don't want to go easily. They, much like the demons in today's Gospel, scream "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?" Another spoiler: Yes. He did. Is there a lie you can begin exchanging for truth? How can we view ourselves with the mind of Christ and recognize His faithfulness? Kassie Rutherford is a dancer, fiction writer and editor from Texas currently relocating from LA to NYC. You can find out more about her here.

    "When I came to you..." I am here. We are here. We are here to dive into the Word together, as a community of believers, as a community of mothers, as a community of wives, single women, daughters, sisters, sinners, thieves. "I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling," With fear and much trembling, we launch Blessed Is She today. In weakness and fear, I give you all of me in this project, in this daily devotions to the Word of God. We give you ourselves and nothing less to be vulnerable and to grow together. Every single day. "so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God." It is not us, the writers or the preachers or the ministers standing at the pulpit. It is the power of God that we rest our faith on. Open up your bible, sister. Read along with us. We come to you as women who needed the gentle push to open up the Word and let it enter into our lives daily. And we want you to come along for the ride. Today begins day 1 of Blessed Is She's daily devotions. We will look at the daily readings and write reflections on them that apply to our lives. It will be soothing to our souls to sit and reflect on what the Lord is trying to speak to us through His beautiful Word. It will be essential for our growth as Christian women to continue to grow in Him as opposed to remaining stagnant. Open up your bible, sister. And I'll join you. Let's do this. photo credit Jenna Guizar is the wife to an amazing man and mother to three beautiful little girls. You can find out more about her here.