BEING CLAIMED AS GOD’S BELOVED

In the midst of all the learning, unknowns, worries, and excitement, Jesus invites me to claim my identity in God.

AN EPIPHANY: FEAR AND AWE, ALWAYS JOY

This is the Epiphany - an overwhelming joy at the encounter of Emmanuel, “God among us,” even in the midst of challenges such as fear.

CONNECTION FROM DISCONNECTION

What a wonderful paradox – that God can create connection from disconnection and life from death.

BEING PERFECT IS OVERRATED

Even as I face my perfectionism and stumble at times, God will not stop calling for me.

THOSE WHO LIE IN UNMARKED GRAVES

Our faith tells us that God knows each one of us, wholly and personally.

BEING CATHOLIC IS WEIRD SOMETIMES

To be like Jesus and to call myself his own is a tall order.

WAIT, WHO IS THIS?

Either way, God doesn’t come back with the clear-cut answer I’m looking for.

COMING TO KNOW GRACE

In Mary we come to know that maybe Grace has always been there, actively present, just like Jesus, here with us.

A FAMILY, HOLY AND HUMAN

Jesus, Mary and Joseph were holy, but holy and perfect are not the same.

REMAINING STEADFAST

God is steadfast in His love and faith in us even and especially when we are not.

HOW TO HAVE SUPERPOWER VISION

Our noisy world easily distracts us from hearing the Spirit.

GOD-WITH-US IN THE DARKNESS

Surely darkness and fellowship with God can occupy the same space.

THE RIGHT DIRECTION

All that swirls around me, all “concerns the Word of life” that is continually made visible by God with us.

WHAT IF I SAY THE WRONG THING?

In moments when worries return, I am reminded that I come from God’s belovedness and that there is nothing I could say that could take that away.

WHAT CHRISTMAS IS THIS?

Perhaps we doubt, despair, are afraid, or don’t understand. That's okay. If that’s where we are, then that's where our loving God comes to be with us.

DEAR SANTA, TAKE ME WITH YOU

The most important visitor we await doesn’t just want to sneak into our homes for a moment, but to come and live in our hearts.

WHAT AM I TO BE?

Let me trust in You and leave my worries behind to fully experience the joy of Jesus’ birth with an open heart.

IN WAITING

And, in the midst of all the chaos, I must learn to breathe through it all. 

BE QUICK, BUT DON’T HURRY

This Advent, I am hastening—not hurrying—upward to a closer relationship with Christ. With Him guiding my path, joyous victory is secured.

SIGNS

When we share honestly with the Lord, our doubts can be transformed and we can grow in humble acceptance.

FAITH AMIDST FEAR

Fear not. Trust. God will provide. God is with us. All will be well.

IN THE MESSY MIDDLE

The unexpected might be the most beautiful part of my journey.

SURPRISED BY JOY

Joy springs from gratitude. It is our soul smiling.

FACE-TIME

Even though I might not know how to exactly help and struggle with finding the right words I know I must persist.

THOSE WHO FOLLOW YOU, LORD, WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE

Knowing the peace that following the Lord can bring during good times and difficult times is my prayer for them today.

BECOME ALL FLAME

May we remain patient with our struggles, offering them to God, so that like a log into a fire, we too may be transformed into light and love.

WAITING FOR CLARITY

Though there's uncertainty and “blindness” about what the future holds, in the liminal spaces I try to recall past promises God has fulfilled.

FROM EMBRACING TO PRAISING

While she may have been filled with uncertainty for what was to come, her trust in the Lord filled her with gratitude, consolation, and joy.

LOVE AND FAITH

In embracing my vulnerabilities, I not only find acceptance but also walk hand in hand with our Father.

REMEMBER THE DANCE

Sometimes instead of receiving and savoring what God has offered me, I am trying to pass it onto the next person like a game of hot potato.

GOD’S GIFT

Each morning when we wake up, God offers the chance to live into the promises of our baptism in completely new ways.

TO JOYFULLY DECREASE

How can I find greater connection, community, and healing through “joyfully decreasing”?

GREAT, ANOTHER LEPER?

Jesus looks at leper after leper in the eyes and joins them, sees them, heals them.

BECAUSE GOD LOVES US FIRST

Fill our well with grace and reminders of how we are deeply loved, just as we are.

TAKE COURAGE

I only need to remember that He is with me.

RATIONING LOVE

Jesus challenges them to look beyond the obvious solutions, to make space for love to enter in and multiply what is already there.

WHERE DO GOD LIVE?

To care for and educate the poor is to care for Jesus in the poor, the migrant, the homeless.

ALIGNMENT

Trust and faith were my companions to endure the walk of unfurling a deeper self - a call towards a life of Christ within me.

HOW MARY RESPONDS TO UNCERTAINTY

Because her trust in God is greater than a desire for certainty, she is open to receive all of God’s unimaginable gifts.

“YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!”

They simply had a taste of what God promised for their lives. Maybe that’s enough.

UNEXPECTED EPIPHANY

We looked around at the unique decorations and offerings on the tombs: tangible outpourings of love, grief, and healing.

5-STAR JESUS

To accept and trust God’s word in the modern world..is it possible?

LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING

We’re each born into a family that God chose for us, and while conflicts are possible, so too is love and mercy.

BEARING WITNESS

When I look at my day, I ask what my actions testify about where I place my hope and trust.

SINGING A SONG OF PRAISE DURING A DIFFICULT TIME

We are not alone. May that be enough for us to sing a hymn of praise.

OPENING NEW DOORS OF GRACE

Trying something pretty different - with divine inspiration - opened the door to incredible, abundant grace.

“AND THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.”

Mary gives me a model of prayer, rooted in the past but open to the future.

LET ME HEAR YOUR VOICE

Perhaps as much as I want to hear the Lord’s voice, He longs to hear mine.

IS IT YOU WHO WILL BUILD A HOUSE FOR ME?

This year, these four walls (and the people who dwell in them) are the only manger I have for the Holy Family.

FINDING GRATITUDE

May we discover the opportunities each day to reflect and find past and present moments to be grateful for and live in gratitude.

SURE, MAYBE… BUT I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.

Jesus has called me, by name, to do great things, if I trust enough to say ‘yes’.

“ASSEMBLE!”

The truly heroic comes when he can see the worth in his own brokenness, and to rejoice in confirming the worth he suspected in another all along.

IN SEARCH OF A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

In our quest to look for “the one who is to come,” let’s open our hearts to God’s presence who has been with us from the very beginning, in joy and even in suffering.

“YES, AND” OR “YES, BUT”

The further we push God away, the more adrift we feel, and the harder it can be to realign ourselves.

A ROAD LESS TRAVELED

I am called to choose hope, even if the immediate consequences scare me, for soon He will be near.

I sit in awe of all the ways in which people and moments in my life, both easy and difficult, have made a straighter way for the Lord to enter my heart.

THE FEAST DAY OF GUADALUPE

Mary’s role, as the God bearer, is to bring her son to us and to bring us to her son – through her love, through the church and through other people.

UNDERSTANDING THE LESSONS OF THE LORD

God’s message encourages us to let go of any expectations and to place ourselves in His grace.

POINTING AT JESUS

Help me to know who I am and to live with my words and deeds pointing toward You.

REST

I am learning to give myself grace each day and practice the sacrament of non-doing, emptying myself in God’s presence to strengthen me.

A MOMENT OF PEACE

Let the quiet presence of God gift you with a moment of peace.

MAKING SPACE FOR POSSIBILITY

It is the openness to deepening trust and ultimately more joy that makes all the difference.

UNASHAMED

Sometimes wrestling fear is as futile as wrangling a toddler into fancy clothes for a picture. What if we stopped allowing that fear to control us?

TO REJOICE WITH GLADNESS

During the Christmas season, we wait in joyful anticipation for Jesus’ coming.

HOW DID I DO IT?

Even when I didn’t recognize it, God stood by my side being anything from a shadow to a bright light whenever I needed it even when I didn’t know I needed it.

LEARNING TO LET GO

Faith is to believe what you do not see.

FAITH OVER FEAR

When my prayers are less desperate lamentations, and more listening, God’s voice is that much clearer: I love you. I trust you. Please trust Me.

I HELD YOU

Today, for just one moment, I had the privilege of holding another family, and allowing them to hold me and my family.

SURPRISED BY JOY

Joy is something that sneaks up on us. It surprises us, often through gratitude for ordinary blessings.

THROUGH THE VEIL

Let us turn our eyes to Jesus to allow ourselves simply be with Jesus and savor in the hope that Christ brings.

WAY MAKER

What if, instead of preparing for the things of Christmas, we slowed down a bit and took time to prepare our hearts?

LIFE RING OF TRANSFORMATION

God of transformation, may we heed Mary’s example to be open to your dream for us, thus making You become more alive in this world.

GRACE THROUGH SURRENDER

What lenses need to be removed in order for me to see Your love and grace?

FAITHFUL FLOCK

The particular joy of finding that lost sheep becomes all the more beautiful because there is a flock to rejoin!

THE NEW ROARING 20s

Just like Mary, we all have moments when we imagine a future full of despair in spite of all the incredible things that await us.

TO WELCOME AND BE WELCOMED AS CHRIST

We are preoccupied with Christmas things, but are we just as preoccupied with why Christ came?

WAITING AND WAILING FOR WAFFLES

Advent isn’t only about waiting for a savior who’s already been born; it’s our anticipation of the world that is to come.

WELCOMING HUMILITY

In what ways can humility be a teaching guide for me as I dive deeper into Advent?

FOUNDED IN CHRIST

I was delightfully reminded that despite the many emotions and longings jostling around on the surface of my heart, there is a deeper sense of hope and trust that anchors me in Christ.

LIMINAL SPACE

In the vesper of my tears, God embraces me with a stream of compassion that bonds and holds me tenderly as I learn how to breathe under the deep and grieve with hope.

WAY OF LIFE

What does being childlike look like for you? What way of life during Advent will enable your buds to blossom?

HUMBLE TRUST

We can let go of our preoccupation with whether we are worthy or unworthy of being loved and we can simply continue with, “Only say the word …”

UNEXPECTED COMING

Advent invites us to pause in silence to understand a presence, a glimpse of God’s love that consoles us amidst the troubles of the world.

THE OATH TO ABRAHAM

This advent I'm worrying less about being holy and righteous and more about letting Him love me and help me to feel worthy of it.

SOUL FRIENDS

Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.

FOOLISH TRUST

The challenge is to trust, not in hopes of personal gain and greatness, but rather to trust because God has already lavishly given us so much.

DEEP JOY

Each time Christ is present, life deep down inside me leaps for joy.

LET IT BE

“For everything that has been, thank you. For everything that will be, yes.”

OFFERING MY SHAME WITH ARMS WIDE OPEN

As we near closer to Christmas, I feel like I am experiencing a rebirth along with Jesus' birth.

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST: JESUS AND OURSELVES

In this last week of Advent, may we open ourselves up to God’s invitations to be more fully born and say yes to him.

THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS’ FAMILY

How has the past of my family shaped me?

JESUS IN CHOCOLATE

Jesus wants to go where we will find him, to encounter us in our own place and time.

LOOK AND SEE THE FACE OF LOVE

Our capacity to receive his mercy is contingent only on our own willingness to turn and embrace it.

STEPPING BEYOND BIAS

Where have I turned a biased eye or allowed others to, for the sake of getting along and missing the opportunity to see more?

FIX MY EYES

How are we called to leave behind the hustle and bustle of the holidays and fix our gaze on the feast awaiting us in heaven?

CHOOSING TO DELIGHT

I admit I am very afraid; yet, I am challenged to delight in God’s unfailing love for me.

THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A MOMENT YOU WERE FORGOTTEN

I’m human, but the saving Grace is this: God is God. He will always find me wherever I may find myself.

THE LOST SHEEP

It seems silly for the shepherd to leave the flock behind to go out and find one sheep that strayed away, one lamb in peril.

I LOVE YOU, TOO

Lord, help my actions clear the way for Your grace. Open my eyes to see You in every event and person this Advent season.

BECOMING MORE IMMACULATELY ME

What I can do to imitate Mary’s example is to be as open as possible to saying “yes” to the invitations God offers me.

RETURNING TO OUR ROOTS

This could be a time to reconnect to the Middle East and our brothers and sisters in faith, remembering that we are all awaiting salvation.

REMNANTS OF HOPE

When I look around, I see the remnants of destruction, but I also see the remains of hope.

ENOUGH

I realize at the heart of the matter that my disquietude about scarcity stems from my neediness.

IT'S COMPLICATED

Simplicity didn’t feel exciting, and I realized excitement had become my default metric for happiness.

UNDER OUR OWN ROOF

“If you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family.” – St. Teresa of Calcutta

TRUSTING GOD'S PROMISE

Mary's gentle, encouraging, and understanding gaze steadies me. She invites me to trust in God’s promise.

READY MY HEART

The One whom I seek is waiting for me, but He can’t come to me, and I am unable
to fully receive Him until the day my heart desires nothing else but Him.

MARY'S SONG

I experienced a great desire to let go of my fears and let myself surrender to God. 

LOOKING AT LOVE

I resisted because of the cross; because it means that I must learn to love this way.

MY SURRENDER

Mary surrenders, perhaps not understanding completely what the “plan” is, but with faith that God will be with her. 

LISTENING TO THE ANGELS IN OUR LIVES

Can I open my ears to hear the songs from the angels in my life?

OPENING THE HEART TO SURPRISE

God amazingly breaks through our limited views and understanding, and creates a new, more expansive reality. 

WINTER LIGHTS

And so I want Him more than I want the dreams themselves.

THE CALL OF THE WILD

Have I ever written off God’s call because it seemed crazy?

ALONG THE WAY

We may not know where we are being led, but we know we are not alone.

FEAR NOT

When we walk in genuine love, we create more "monasteries" in this world. We create living sacred spaces in our relationships.

LEARNING TO REST

I don’t know how, but learning to couple my eyes and heart with Jesus’ gives rest.

WAITING FOR GOD

Our Lady of Guadalupe is an image of the kind of joyful anticipation we do in Advent.  The child we await is like the kingdom of God – already, and not yet. 

GOD COMES TO US

In what way is God preparing me to welcome Him?

EFFORTLESS MEMORIES

God takes my little life with its moments and days and pieces, brings them to the altar, and makes them whole again.

OPEN TO GRACE

I'm making an earnest effort to wait and listen to what God has to reveal when we look back at the situation together.

MAY IT BE

Mother Mary's "May It Be..." embraces the present.

TRUE GRATITUDE

True gratitude embraces all of life: the good and the bad.

WAITING IN STILLNESS

Lord Jesus, help me to wait with patience in stillness and see the sacrament of the present moment.

GOD IN OUR MIDST

It is in the everyday reality of life that we find God.

HEALING THROUGH PRAYER

Instead of focusing on the pain, I’ve developed a habit to pray daily, to have conversations with Him. It gives me peace knowing God is there. 

AN ADVENT PILGRIM PRAYER

Awaken in me, a willingness to pause and breathe, to pause and be, to pause and receive.