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They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 23 - Blessed Is She

They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 23

My mind froze trying to grapple how a friend—someone who knew me so intimately—could betray me. I often chide and say that if there ever were a binding contract for pastoral ministry, the fine print would warn the undersigned that ministry is hazardous, that it would subject them to expressions of animosity, slander, and betrayal. In my grief, I whispered, "Lord, I need hope again!"
They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 22 - Blessed Is She

They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 22

Omnipotent. I remember learning this word while studying vocabulary, and the example used was that of an “all-powerful†God. I love this word! Partially because it brings back memories of one of my favorite school subjects, but also because it has such an authoritative tone.
They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 21 - Blessed Is She

They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 21

The idea of “living in the moment†sounds blissful, right? Yet sometimes it can be so very hard to do.  I am self-admittedly impatient. This posed a challenge for me when it came to my husband and I planning to start our family.
What It Looks Like to Become Interiorly Poor - Blessed Is She

What It Looks Like to Become Interiorly Poor

It's the mark of the first Beatitude, and yet we are quick to breeze past it. It's why the rich young man walked away from Jesus sad, and yet we...
They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 20 - Blessed Is She

They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 20

Years ago, shortly after my grandfather died, I asked my grandma how she was doing and what it was like to wake up everyday without him. She amazed me with a response I didn't expect, and she spoke so simply and matter-of-fact.
They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 19 - Blessed Is She

They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 19

I was going for an afternoon walk with a friend when she was telling me about a conversation she had with her spiritual director. The Priest had asked her, “Out of the three theological virtues (faith, hope, and love) which virtue do you feel the weakest in?â€
A Little Winter Flower - Blessed Is She

A Little Winter Flower

“Nothing was missing, not even the snow!” These are the words from Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, spoken on the day when she received the Carmelite habit. Where did this love...
They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 18 - Blessed Is She

They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 18

A couple of years ago, I went to the funeral of a five-month-old baby boy. He passed away after fighting against the life threatening birth defects of Trisomy 18. That night I wept. Especially after listening to a worship song about joy coming in the morning. “What a lie,†I thought.
They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 17 - Blessed Is She

They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 17

Hope in the Lives of the Saints // Saint Gianna Beretta Molla Saint Gianna Molla had four children in six years. Because of this, I naively assumed that when it...
They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 16 - Blessed Is She

They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 16

The prophet Jeremiah lived around 650-570 BC and is known as “the weeping prophet.†As the author of three heavy books of the Bible (Kings, Jeremiah, and Lamentations), his message is not always an easy one. 
They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 15 - Blessed Is She

They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 15

Several years ago, I learned about a young boy who learned he was dying from a brain tumor at the age of 12. He was an ordinary kid who loved sports and spending time with his family, but he had an extraordinary amount of faith and hope in God’s love and in Heaven.
They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 14 - Blessed Is She

They That Hope: The 2022 Prayer Pledge // Day 14

One of the things I loved most about working as a nurse in a crisis pregnancy clinic was the opportunities to present hope to our patients.