A new year always arrives with big expectations—fresh starts, bold goals, the pressure to “finally get it right.” But what if the most transformative resolution we could make is surprisingly simple? What if this year we chose, above all else, is to develop the habit of becoming friends with God?
Continue reading “Begin the Year as a Friend of God”
There’s a line from an old hymn I prayed recently in the Divine Office that has been echoing in my heart lately:
Continue reading “Letting God Steady Our Day”
Last night, I stood in the backyard looking at the moonlight shining on my house and the twinkle of the Christmas lights through the window. Their soft glow felt almost like a benediction of tiny, trembling prayers strung across branches and the banister. The Christmas tree lights still shimmer in the early January dusk, as if the world is reluctant to let go of this season of brightness.
Continue reading “One Last Look at the Lights”
The Feast of the Epiphany yesterday is a reminder that God is always revealing himself—often quietly, often unexpectedly, always with love. The Magi didn’t stumble into Bethlehem by accident. They saw something, however faint or distant, and they chose to follow. Their journey began with a glimpse of God’s light, and that was enough to set their lives in motion. Wise men still seek Him.
Continue reading “When We Seek God, We Find Him”
Epiphany is the feast of seekers—of those who sense there is more to life than what they can see, measure, or control. The Magi remind us that the honest search for truth never ends in mere understanding. It leads us to worship.
Continue reading “Epiphany: For All Who Still Seek the Light”
There is power in being named—and even more power in the One whose Name claims us. Saint Paul reminds us, “You have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 6:11).
Continue reading “Celebrating the Name Above All Names”
A Gentle Examen for the New Year
Every so often, the Spirit nudges us to pause, not to judge ourselves harshly, but to look honestly at the shape of our lives. Are we living in a way that reflects the One we claim to follow? Are our habits, our reactions, our desires slowly being formed into the life of Christ?
Continue reading “Are We Living the Life of Christ?”
New Year’s Day has a way of softening us. The world feels a little quieter, a little more open, as if we’re standing on a threshold with the chance to begin again. In the Christian tradition, this day is also a celebration of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is seen not only as his mother, but as a mother given to all of us.
Continue reading “Beginning the Year with a Special Love”
As the final hours of the year slip quietly toward midnight, something in us naturally slows down. This moment—this “hour”—has a way of gathering up everything that came before it: the joys and the disappointments, the surprises and the sorrows, the ordinary days that passed almost unnoticed. It invites us to look back with honesty and to look forward with hope.
Continue reading “A Moment to Pause, Give Thanks, and Begin Again”
Remember Your Dignity: A New Year Invitation
As we stand at the threshold of a new year, the Church offers us a quiet but powerful reminder, we are not who we once were. In Christ, we have been brought from death to life, from darkness into light, from old ways into a new creation. This is not poetic exaggeration—it is the deepest truth about us.
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Smitten With Goodness 