Thoughts from prayer, Scripture, and ordinary life. Not answers. Just an invitation to notice where God may already be at work.
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Let the Lord Direct My Heart
The verse that stood out to me this morning was from Proverbs: “Like a stream is the king’s heart in the hand of the Lord; wherever it pleases him, he directs it.” At first I was thinking about kings and leaders, and how I generally find the opposite to be true. It sure seems like…
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Mercy Is Christ’s Gift
“But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” That line from Paul stayed with me this morning. What is Christ’s gift? Today’s Gospel tells me. Mercy. “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” That really made me think this morning, because I…
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Blessed to Be Picked
Reflection on Matthew 20:1-16 Something stood out to me in today’s Gospel (Matthew 20:1-16) that I don’t think I had ever really noticed before. We all know the parable. A landowner goes out early in the morning and hires men to work in his vineyard. Then he goes back out at nine, noon, three, and…
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Bearing Fruit Through Perseverance
“What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.” I know I am taking St. Paul a little outside the line of what he is talking about here. He is talking about the resurrection of the body. But that image stood out to me this morning because I think it applies much the…
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Humbly Trusting God
“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Paul is pretty direct today. If Christ has not been raised, then our faith is in vain. But He has been raised. That is where our hope comes from. Not from ourselves, not from how well we perform,…
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Again and Again, He Shows Mercy
Good morning, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.” That line from St. Paul in the first reading really stood out to me this morning. Paul knew who he had been and what he had done, but he also knew what the…
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The Fruit of Agape
Paul’s words on love in the first reading stood out to me today. “Love never fails.” He says that love “bears all things.” He is talking about agape, that supernatural love that comes from God. The love of the Holy Spirit living in us. And I started thinking about what that actually means in the…
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Behold Your Mother
Today we honor Our Lady of Sorrows, and something interesting happened in my prayer this morning. In the first reading, Paul says, “We were all given to drink of one Spirit,” and then tells us to “strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.” That stood out to me. We are all given the same Spirit,…
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Empty My Hands
Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. I hope you take a moment today to think about the Holy Cross and what it means for us. What stood out to me in the readings today was patience, grasping, emptying ourselves, and trusting God. In the first reading, “with their patience worn…
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Receiving the Grace God Gives Us
Reflection on Matthew 18:21-35 Something stood out to me in today’s Gospel (Matthew 18:21-35) that I don’t think I had ever really stopped to think about before. We all know the parable. A servant owes the king a debt so large that he could never repay it. When the king orders that he and his…
