March 3, 2025 // Optional Memorial of Saint Katharine Drexel, Virgin [In the Dioceses of the United States]
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Sirach 17:20-24
Reflect on the Word //
“Stay in the right two lanes.”
“Turn left.”
I gripped the steering wheel and felt the muscles in my shoulders become tense as my phone recalculated directions to the airport. I had missed a turn and was lost—again. As I navigated through the dark streets of the most unsavory part of town, I berated myself for my lack of a sense of direction.
My husband, waiting at the curb of the airport with our daughter, called. He’d expected me to be there a long time ago. “Where are you?” he asked, his voice strained. Good question.
Where are you?
That’s the first question in the Bible too. The question God asks to draw Adam and Eve out of hiding and back to Himself. It’s the question we are asked when we find ourselves lost in our own sin and shame—not because we can find the way ourselves, but because we can’t. And we need to cry out to the One Who has provided the way home.
“To the penitent God provides a way back,
he encourages those who are losing hope” (Sirach 17:24).
The Lord provides “a way back” when we are tempted to despair. Our bad choices, our wrong turns, the sinful ways we’ve steered ourselves into some dismal alleys—it can lead us to believe it is too late, that we’re simply too off course.
The First Reading from Sirach today reminds us that if we are willing to repent, to turn to Him, there is always a way back. There is, in fact, one Way back. Jesus Christ is the Way. And He is always, always ready to recalculate, taking our missed opportunities and failures and turning them into our exact path to holiness. Nothing is wasted in the spiritual life. Not even wrong turns.
Sister, your story may include some detours and “scenic routes,” but never doubt God’s ability to re-route you back to Himself. Just answer the question, “Where are you?” with humility and honesty, and ask for help getting home. He’s put the path on your heart, and the Way is waiting to carry you there.
Relate to the Lord // How has Jesus been the Way for you when you’ve gotten off track? How is He leading you back to Himself even now?
Claire Dwyer writes with the desire that all women see the sacredness of their stories in light of Salvation History. Speaker, Retreat Leader, Author of This Present Paradise, senior copywriter and content editor for Avila Foundation / Spiritualdirection.com, and co-founder of the PraiseWriters community, she knows firsthand the power of words to set a fire on the earth. She lives in Phoenix with her family. Find out more about her here.
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