Every one of us carries ideas sometimes beautiful, sometimes inherited, sometimes unexamined about what the Creator wants from us. That’s part of being human. But trouble begins when we claim to possess God’s only true intentions for all humanity and then use that claim to reject or exclude others. In those moments, we begin to resemble the very cadre of Pharisees Jesus confronted so sharply.
Continue reading “When We Miss the Point of the Story”
When I was praying with Scripture on the recent memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, one small line stopped me in my tracks: “Jesus entered a village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.”
(Luke 10:38)
The story of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus is endlessly rich for contemplation. We often remember Martha as the one who was fretful when Jesus came to dinner, busy, distracted, pulled in many directions. Mary, by contrast, sat at the Lord’s feet, choosing what Jesus called the “better part.”
Continue reading “When Anxiety Ripens Into Faith”
Every now and then, I come across a reflection that doesn’t just inform me, it rearranges something inside me. This week, I read a reflection by Richard Rohr about how Jesus engaged with his own Scriptures, and it struck a deep chord. It named something that is a given but I never quite thought about much: Jesus was formed by Scripture, yet he refused to be confined by the parts that did not reflect the heart of God.
Continue reading “Discerning God’s Heart”
This year, I’ve been rediscovering the quiet joy of reading simply for pleasure. For so long, my attention has leaned toward learning, formation, and deepening my relationship with God. But lately, something in my inner landscape has shifted drawing me toward more wonder, more spaciousness, more of what stirs the flames of desire in my own heart.
Continue reading “The Language of Tenderness”
The more I sit with Jesus’s teaching on the Kingdom of God, the clearer it becomes that the Kingdom is not a distant realm or a future reward. It is the present reality of Love made visible, around us, within us, and flowing through us. The Kingdom is wherever Love reigns.
Continue reading “Where Love Reigns”
Detachment is one of the quiet graces of the spiritual life, often misunderstood, often resisted, yet deeply freeing when we finally allow it to take root. It is not about rejecting the world or suppressing desire. It is about loosening our grip on whatever keeps us from God so that our hands, our hearts, and our days can open again to what is truly life‑giving.
Continue reading “The Grace of Detachment”
At the beginning of Mass this week, a simple refrain caught my heart in a way I didn’t expect: “Everyone needs compassion… love that’s never failing… let mercy fall on me.
Everyone needs forgiveness… the kindness of a Savior… the hope of nations.”
I continue to ponder this weeks Gospel. This people and their stories are rich soil. There is a moment that stops me: God says to Solomon, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” It is an open invitation limitless, generous, breathtaking.
Continue reading “Choosing Wisely—Like Solomon”
There were multiple experiences at Mass this week that stayed with me long after I walked out the doors, quiet insights that settled into my heart that kept unfolding. The Gospel spoke of the merchant searching for fine pearls, and suddenly the image shifted for me. I wasn’t just imagining the merchant. I was imagining the pearl.
Continue reading “Layers of God’s Love”
Smitten With Goodness 