Tag: Jesus

Being Loved

Where the Prophets Call to the Four Winds

Smitten With Goodness

“From the four winds come, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”
— Ezekiel 37:9

There is a place in scripture where the prophets cry out to the four winds—north, south, east, and west—summoning breath, life, and judgment to the whole earth. It is a call not confined to one nation or people, but a divine summons that stretches across creation. The four winds symbolize the totality of God’s reach: His message is not local, but universal. His Spirit moves across every border, every language, every soul.

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Being Loved

The Grace to Keep Knocking

Smitten With Goodness

Yesterday’s Gospel (Luke 18:1–8) is sticking with me. It’s tells the story of a persistent widow who refuses to give up. She pleads with a judge for justice, again and again, until he relents—not because he is just, but because she will not stop asking. Jesus shares this parable so that we “ought always to pray and not lose heart.”

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Being Loved

Pray Always: Will He Find Us Faithful?

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Saint Teresa longed to climb a mountain and cry out to the world: “Pray, pray, pray.” Her urgency echoes Christ’s own command: “We ought always to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Prayer is not merely a spiritual discipline—it is the lifeline of grace, the breath of the soul, the key to the treasury of heaven.

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Being Loved

From Faith to Faith: When Knowing Isn’t Enough

Smitten With Goodness

We live in a world saturated with signs of God’s presence—sunrises that silence us, acts of mercy that defy logic, the ache of beauty that stirs something eternal in us. And yet, Saint Paul’s words in Romans 1:16–25 cut through our modern noise with unsettling clarity: “Although they knew God, they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks.”

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Being Loved

Choosing Depth Over Distraction

Smitten With Goodness

A new study reveals a quiet but troubling shift: daily reading for pleasure in the U.S. has dropped more than 40% over the past two decades. In 2003, 26% of Americans read on an average day. By 2023, that number had fallen to just 16%. Researchers warn that this decline isn’t merely cultural—it’s deeply personal and potentially harmful. Reading is linked to improved mental health, deeper empathy, and stronger cognitive function across all age groups. It’s not just entertainment; it’s nourishment.

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Being Loved

What Do You Covet?

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Sometimes I get overburdened by the amount of things I’ve accumulated in my life and the things I have hung onto. Things passed down to me as well as things hanging around my house that are my children’s that I just can’t seem to let go of. It’s tucked away in closets out of sight. Can any of you “boomers” relate?

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Being Loved

Our Help to Hear and Observe God’s Word

Smitten With Goodness

Today, as the Church celebrates the Blessed Virgin Mary, we remember her not only as the Mother of God, but as our gentle companion on the journey of faith. Pope Saint John XXIII once called her “the dawn of eternal day,” a radiant presence who scatters the shadows and restores the splendor of heaven. In her, we glimpse the promise of grace fulfilled—and the path by which we too may walk toward it.

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