"...Zion said, 'The LORD has forsaken me, my LORD has forgotten me.'. Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands..." (Isaiah 49:14-16, RSV) …
Letting the Shepherd Carry Us Home…
In Luke's Gospel, chapter 15:3-7, Jesus tells the familiar story of the shepherd who goes into the wilderness in search of his poor lost sheep. When he finds it, "...he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing...", and brings it home. I recently read the following from Ruth Burrows, a Carmelite nun, and was deeply touched …
What’s the Deal with the Virgin Mary?…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-GrcgodsUNM&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE Okay, so I'm wanting to post this episode of Fr Mike Schmitz's clear and immensely helpful series regarding what the Catholic Church officially teaches about Mary. However, YouTube isn't letting me make a direct link, sorry. You'll have to go on YouTube and put "The Catechism in a Year, Day 69" in the search …
The Universal Cure?…
"Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) Many years ago, there was a movie called "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". One aspect of the film which stuck in my memory is the Greek parents' fondness for Windex as …
Only Jesus…
"You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?". Jesus answered, "I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew …
Entrust…
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will He not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:42) Recently, I've been thinking a lot about a particular word: entrust. The dictionary says that to entrust is to "hand over for safekeeping". I …
Seeds…
"And [Jesus] said, 'The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how.'..." (Mark 4:26-27, RSV). There are friends and family members very dear to me who seem totally indifferent to, …
Cultivating Contentment…
"...I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content." (Psalm 131:2 NIV) The image this verse creates is a striking one: a young child sitting quietly and contentedly on her mother's lap, leaning against her breast. Not a screaming, panic-stricken infant, but …
Happy New Year…
Each January 1st, I remember the final entry of My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers' well known daily devotional book. I just dug it out today and re-read his reflection for December 31st. He writes: "Our present enjoyment of God's grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday's sins and blunders." How …
Asking…
"Ask, and I shall bequeath you the nations..." (Psalm 2:8) This morning, I read this phrase from Psalm 2. While the promise seems to be for the predicted Messiah of Israel, I sensed today that it was being addressed to me... Advent, that season of anticipation, has begun. The world around us gets into high …
Lessons From Love School 