Four years ago, I wrote something that still rings true today: Grace grows as we notice good fruit in ourselves and others.
Continue reading “Noticing the Fruit That Grows”Noticing the Fruit That Grows
Tag: Goodness
Remembering with Gratitude the Lord’s Goodness
As we enter this week of Thanksgiving in the US, our hearts are drawn to the Eucharist—the great thanksgiving of the Church. In the Eucharistic offering, we blaze with gratitude for the present realization of salvation, a gift decreed by the Trinity from all eternity. Here we remember that God became matter to purify it and save it; He became man so that man might become God. This is the marvelous exchange of lives: the face of God in man, the face of man in God.
Continue reading “Remembering with Gratitude the Lord’s Goodness”The Divine Worth of Every Person
Saint Leo the Great once wrote, “Let no human being be thought worthless to a human being, nor should that nature which the Creator of things made his own be despised in anyone.” These words echo with timeless clarity, calling us to reverence the sacred dignity of every person.
Continue reading “The Divine Worth of Every Person”Everything Is Grace: A New Lens for Daily Life
St. Thérèse of Lisieux once said, “Everything is grace.” At first glance, it’s a simple phrase. But when we pause and unpack it, we discover a profound truth that can transform how we see every moment of our lives.
Continue reading “Everything Is Grace: A New Lens for Daily Life”Marvels Written Into the World
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1)
Creation is not mere backdrop to our lives—it is revelation. Every sunrise, every star, every hidden rhythm in nature is a wordless sermon, speaking of God’s glory without uttering a sound.
Continue reading “Marvels Written Into the World”The Shape of Our Desires
Desire directs our lives. It’s the quiet compass beneath our choices, the unseen current beneath our prayers. What we desire—deeply, persistently—either adds to our joy or erodes it. There is a relationship between the quality of our desires and the quality of our lives.
Continue reading “The Shape of Our Desires”Anchored in Love: Choosing the Unhurried Path of God
God’s mandate is love. Not efficiency. Not urgency. Not the breathless pace we’ve come to accept as normal.
Continue reading “Anchored in Love: Choosing the Unhurried Path of God”A Reminder to Lift Up Your Spirit
“Don’t spend your energies on things that generate worry, anxiety and anguish. Only one thing is necessary: Lift up your spirit, and love God.”
—Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
We live in a world that constantly pulls at our attention and burdens our hearts with worry. But Padre Pio’s words offer a gentle redirection: lift up your spirit, and love God. When anxiety threatens to consume us, we’re reminded that the most important thing isn’t fixing every problem—it’s turning our hearts toward the One who holds us.
Continue reading “A Reminder to Lift Up Your Spirit”A Pilgrim of Hope at the Mother of All Churches
On this Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, I’m still carrying the grace of having recently walked through its Holy Door—an act of pilgrimage during this Jubilee Year, as a pilgrim of Hope.
Continue reading “A Pilgrim of Hope at the Mother of All Churches”Show Us the Way: Cultivating Gentleness in a Hardened World
We live in a world that rewards independence, self-reliance, and performance. Especially in the West, we’re taught to look out for number one, to keep our guard up, and to measure our worth by success. But over time, this way of living hardens the heart. We become efficient but emotionally distant, strong but spiritually brittle. And in this climate, the fruit of gentleness feels like a foreign language.
Continue reading “Show Us the Way: Cultivating Gentleness in a Hardened World”
Smitten With Goodness 