All that is Beautiful

I’ve always been struck by the beauty of movement, whether it’s a ballerina gracefully moving across the stage, a baseball hitter’s powerful swing, a skier masterfully navigating the mountain, or an athlete in the gym maneuvering heavy weights with ease. 

Beauty is all around us in many forms and I try to take the time to appreciate how the many hours of repetitive practice allow the human person, at every level of athletics, to move with beauty, grace and ease. Thanks be to God for the incredible design of the human body and all that it allows us to do

The ability to appreciate beauty, in any form, is truly a gift from God. I was reminded of this recently as I listened to a Catholic podcast and the topic was goodness, beauty and truth. This time of year especially, when the trees are budding, the flowers are blooming, and all of nature becomes a flourish of green, it is a easy be thankful for the goodness, beauty and truth of God displayed in the majesty of His creation.

Beauty resides not only in our vistas and valleys, but also in literature, art, music, theatre, gardening, cooking, woodworking, athletics, and most especially in how we love and serve. Beauty resides in really any activity that we unite with God and that lifts our eyes and hearts to Him in thanksgiving. God generously pours his grace into us as we live, laugh, love, pray, play, move, share and create—each of us in our own way—and so we all contribute in some way to the beautiful tapestry of God’s creation.

What a powerful prayer to ask God to guide us in our creative, artistic and physical endeavors and that we do everything with pure hearts rooted in His love. Let us nurture and share our gifts and talents freely so that the goodness, beauty and truth of God flow out from us to others.

The pinnacle of beauty is love in the human soul. St. Pope John Paul II referred to the human person as the “masterpiece of God’s creation.” May we give thanks for the inner beauty of every soul which is like a shimmering jewel illuminating the light of Christ, each in our own way. 

St. Augustine said, “How does that beauty bring us closer to Him? Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.”

Help us Lord to appreciate the goodness, beauty and truth of both the joys and the sufferings that we will inevitably experience in this life — and by your grace, may we unite all of it with the love of your Son Jesus Christ, who by the Cross, gives us new life.

In Training to Grow in Holiness during Advent

Most of the people I work with want to get stronger and move better for everyday life. They want to be healthy and able to enjoy their families and friends, to travel, and be able to take care of themselves as they age and have the ability to serve others.

So the approach I use in teaching fitness is moderate and consistent physical activity. I refer to physical activity as ‘training’ instead of ‘working out’ because the word ‘training’ sounds like we are on a journey — which we are — to provide consistent care for the gift of this human body so we can serve God and neighbor to the best of our ability while we are here on earth.

I also like to think that we are in training to grow in holiness each day. When we rise and pray anew, frequent the sacraments and try to be loving and giving to others, we are in training in a way — to grow in holiness.

The special seasons of the Church, Advent and Lent, offer us a unique opportunity to double-down on our training. Just like the times of training intensity in our physical training, our spiritual lives can also have times of more intensity. The special seasons of the Church invite us into a deeper and more intense experience of knowing and loving Jesus, serving our neighbor and growing in holiness.

I’m a realist and when I look back over the years, I’ve had some really fruitful times during Advent and Lent, and other times where I can say that, for different reasons, I didn’t give the time or effort that Jesus was calling me to. I have let worldly things crowd out my time with Jesus, but that inspires me to get back up and keep training to grow in holiness with more gusto. I’ve set my heart anew on making this Advent a peaceful and fruitful time with Jesus.

How about you? How has Advent been for you this year? I have learned that for me, it’s best to stick to my routines of prayer, Adoration and Mass. I try to spend a little more time in quiet prayer and reading of spiritual books. I also like to take advantage of parish Reconciliation services and listening to moving music this time of year. I decorate my home simply, and I have realized that for me, doing less during this busy time gives me joy and time to spend with Jesus.

From 1 Timothy 4:7-8, “Train yourself for devotion for, while physical training is of limited value, devotion is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present and for the future.”

I pray that Advent has been, and continues to be, a peaceful time of training in holiness for you and yours with an eye on the eternal prize. May your Christmas be a time of gratitude for the gift that each of us is called to grow in holiness and may we each courageously respond to the call from Jesus.

From Within the Familiar

In physical training, there is much to gained by training a limited number of key exercises. I think good coaches don’t seek to entertain, but rather help people learn, grow and progress with a small set of lifts and movements that have the most potential to help them achieve their goals. People like familiarity, and in the familiar, they gain the courage and strength to move to new heights.

I was re-reading the Gospel of Matthew recently, and though I have read and participated in bible studies many times, I am amazed how the familiar words moved my heart in a new way. This time, the familiar became a catalyst for something new.

I love how Matthew describes Jesus and the disciples teaching, healing, praying and responding to the actions of Pharisees and Sadducees. The stories are familiar and comforting, but in this reading, I became almost solely focused on how often Jesus went away to pray alone.

From Matthew 14:23, “And after he dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.”

What does it mean when scripture jumps off the page and into our hearts in a new way? Most of us have been introduced to Lectio Divina in some form — the reading and prayerful reflection of scripture to allow God to work in us, but discerning the meaning in our lives can take time. 

I wanted a quick answer, but instead felt called to go up the mountain to pray. For me this is on our back dock by the pond, or in my favorite chair in the family room, or walking around our yard in the sunshine. Probably much like you, I have lots of ‘mountains’ in which to pray.

In the familiar stories of Matthew, God was trying to teach me something new or to take me to new heights. I began to set aside time to pray, not with my usual routine of Mass readings, the Rosary and Chaplet, but instead being quiet and listening, asking, waiting and allowing God more time and space to work in me.

I asked for a saint to assist me in praying more from the heart and St. John of the Cross turned up; I found this deep and tender prayer from him that revealed more of what I felt God was trying to teach me.

O Blessed Jesus, grant me stillness of soul in Thee. Let Thy mighty calmness reign in me. Rule me, O thou King of gentleness, King of peace. Give me control, control over my words, thoughts and actions. From all irritability, want of meekness, want of gentleness, O dear Lord, deliver me. By thine own deep patience give me patience, stillness of soul in Thee. Make me in this, and in all, more and more like Thee. Amen.

Our amazing God can break through, crack us open, and pull us closer to him through the words of scripture — and in any other way he desires. May we be watchful for these breakthroughs from within the familiar — as the familiar may be just the catalyst that God uses to move us to new heights.

Love of Neighbor

When COVID-19 started, the gym where I teach closed and I began video recording myself and my husband working out in the basement. I also loaned out my equipment so my students could continue their training at home. There were challenges, but we persevered. 

Gyms opened at the end of May and we moved to outdoor classes in the parking lot. New challenges emerged as we had to deal with the heat, wind, rain, humidity and having limited equipment to work with. But we adapted and thankfully we stayed healthy.

Now we are indoors and a whole new set of challenges is upon us with face coverings, social distancing, equipment cleaning, and concern about touching surfaces and equipment.

This experience has reaffirmed for me that the only way to get through change and challenging times is to turn to God in prayer to be filled with his strength. By his grace, and his grace alone, can I be kind, patient and loving to my neighbor. Faith applies 100% to daily life and that is more real to me now than ever.

I see the challenge of loving my neighbor most clearly in my secular activities —  living my faith is hardest in the day-to-day, nitty-gritty details of ordinary life. God sees those times where there is angst in my heart as I discern how to respond to a concern, complaint or a difficulty. I want to be a vessel of his love, I truly do, so I regularly unload on him in prayer to help me to be more loving, patient and kind as we are all adapting to the new norms related to COVID-19.

When I give in to my weaknesses, I am reminded how selfishness brings sorrow, not joy, for us and for others. Our weaknesses are immensely powerful teachers and I have been asking God for the light to see my failures with more patience and gentleness — and with a sense of humor — how can I be so silly to let little things get to me or drive me to annoyance or impatience? Acknowledging our weaknesses, with an ardent desire to learn and grow from them, can set us on the trajectory to be more loving, kind and gentle with ourselves and others.

From 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

This time of living with COVID-19 continues to be a time of learning how to love my neighbor more fully, with the heart of Christ, and with the gentleness of his Blessed Mother. May this scripture encourage us on our journey. From 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.”

Focusing on Our Spiritual Fitness

This is the time of year that we often focus on physical New Year’s resolutions … eating healthy, getting into shape with exercise, creating new habits that will help us feel and look better. All of that is well and good, but keeping our focus on our spiritual fitness is an even greater priority.

I have worked in the field of fitness for a while now. The longer I do this work, the more I see our cultural obsession with our physical bodies. Over time, the Lord has shown me that we can easily miss the point of our lives when things of this world begin to play too big of a role or become our identity

My goal as a strength coach has always been to help people learn to move well, lift heavy things to get stronger, and to have fun doing it, with moderation and consistency. While this is a good thing, it began to change for me when I realized I was spending too much time and energy on it and not giving enough time to God.

I am learning to approach any and all goals, physical or otherwise, from a spiritual perspective. Jesus is with us 24/7 and he cares about everything we think, say and do. He and His Mother will help us discern and guide us to enjoy recreation (and any secular activities) with moderation when we seek their help — as it is our spiritual fitness and fulfilling our vocational call from God that matters most.

There was a time when I was new to coaching (this was a second career for me) and I exercised 2-3 hours a day. I was learning how to teach and that’s how I justified the amount of time I spent on physical activity. I was aware that I exercised far more time than I prayed, but it was new, fun and exciting. Eventually, the Blessed Mother intervened and set me on a more spiritually healthy trajectory by straightening out my priorities.

One day when I was swinging a kettlebell in the gym, the Hail Mary prayer kept coming into my heart. I put the weight down and took an honest look at my spiritual life. I wasn’t praying the Rosary any more and I knew that I needed more prayer time in general. I had a desire to go to daily Mass, but I hadn’t made the effort to make it happen with my teaching schedule. I wanted to give my time and talent more freely to those in need. This all came bubbling up as I prayed for Our Lady’s intervention, so I put the kettlebells away and went home to ponder these things in my heart.

Our Lady of the Rosary

That moment with Our Lady in the gym prompted a big change in my life. I was led to SoulCore Rosary prayer and exercise, attended their retreat, and started leading SoulCore Rosary prayer and gentle movement in parishes.

I made other changes too. I changed the location of my gym to reduce maintenance time. I decreased the number of classes I offered. I exercised for only an hour a day (and now it’s less than that and fewer days per week) and I’m healthier, happier, my life is more balanced and I have a loving and active relationship with Jesus and Mary.

Most importantly, God is first in my life, my prayer time is far longer than my exercise time, I’m able to attend daily Mass, be a volunteer, and enjoy the richness of family, friends, parish and diocesan life in a more peaceful balance with my physical life.

My identity is a child of God, a woman in love with the Lord, a wife and mother, a SoulCore leader, and a servant and sinner who is striving for holiness. My role as fitness coach is very small and I’m thrilled about that. It’s not who I am, it’s something I do — and I ask God to sanctify it every day. There is real spiritual freedom in not allowing a secular activity to own the lion’s share of my time and energy.

So in this new year, I pray that we focus on our spiritual fitness first, keep Jesus at the center of our lives, and ask him, and his Mother, to help us discern how to approach any and all New Year’s resolutions.

Set the World on Fire

I have always loved these words from St. Catherine of Siena, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” We see this on tee shirts, journal covers and I even have it in my email signature.

But what do those words really mean, practically speaking, in our daily lives? I don’t know about you, but I often don’t feel like my ordinary life is setting things on fire.

But then let’s think about starting a fire. We have an old-fashioned wood-burning stove in our kitchen, with no gas starter, so It’s really challenging to get a fire going. We use different types of kindling and patiently feed a few sparks with more wood until it catches on and ignites the bigger logs — which eventually results in a strong blaze … and a nice warm kitchen.

If we look at starting a fire in a spiritual sense —lighting up our souls with prayer, Scripture study, the Sacraments, and acts of charity — over time these habits ignite our hearts with more love for God and neighbor. When the flame of faith is fanned, it catches on to others. The spiritual life takes patience, care and nurturing, like starting a fire; if we don’t stay united to God in this process, the embers of love can quickly fade and die out.

Let’s look at setting the world on fire. Some saints did visibly great things, but most saints are relatively unknown and grew in love (greatness) over the course of a mostly hidden life. They were often of ill health and had to persevere through many obstacles to do God’s will. One thing they had in common was the fire of faith that carried them through their lives and grew into magnificent flames of love by the time they were called to their eternal home.

It seems that setting the world on fire is the result of patiently seeking to be the person God created us to be with our unique mission and circumstances — and persevering through all of it with great love. So that fire is love … and if it is real, the flame of love will grow and ignite others.

A friend of mine died of cancer recently and I had the privilege of visiting her in Hospice before she passed into eternal life. God has given me the grace to be comfortable in a Hospice environment and I love being with the sick and dying near the end of their lives as God is so present there. 

My friend told me she loved God and she was grateful to have received Last Rites. Her family was by her side through the entire cancer journey and they had done everything that was medically possible. She said she was at peace, grateful for the loving support of family, friends, and her trusted medical team and she was ready to go home to God.

She was setting the world on fire for all who were touched by her illness and passing. By God’s grace, she was able to do, what we all hope we can do in death … trust in God and be at peace in his embrace as we return home. Her faithful witness was a form of evangelization on her death bed. I believe that the impact of her joyful witness will stay with me forever. 

The fire of her love for God was ablaze in her heart, and since our time together, I have shared her story with many people, and now I am sharing it with you. So the fire of her faith continues to burn bright and set others aflame even though she isn’t physically here anymore — all praise and glory to God!

So I think my takeaway is this … setting the world on fire is about being true to what God is individually calling us to do — right here and right now — sharing whatever gifts we have with as much love as we can muster. The example of St. Therese’s ‘Little Way’ challenges us to love the people God places in our ordinary lives and this may be exactly what God is calling us to do to set the world on fire.

Our fire may not be fully visible to anyone except God (many did not truly know St. Therese’s holiness until well after her death), but that doesn’t matter. God sees and loves even a tiny flicker, a small burning ember, and the more we lean on him, the more he fans the flames of love in our hearts. Be who you were meant to be and you will set the world on fire.

God's Work and Our Effort

It takes a lot of effort to start a new exercise routine. Sometimes people are not ready, but when they are, it is a beautiful thing to behold. As they learn to move in new ways, you can almost see the pathways expand in their brain and body as they respond to the new impetus. When it clicks, it is pure joy to help that person move better and get stronger.

So let’s look at effort in our spiritual lives. We know that it takes effort to start anything new and to build strong relationships with people in our lives. It’s the same with growing more in tune with God’s will for our lives. We have to give time and effort to God so that he can work in us and through us.

Our Catholic faith teaches us that God responds to our efforts. It might not be in the way we expect, in fact most likely, it will not be our way at all. In faith, we trust that he recognizes even our tiniest desire to give more effort to our relationship with him and with our neighbor — even if our response is slow and weak.

We had a discussion in bible study recently about allowing God to be the pilot in our lives. It seems that many of us were catechized in a way that places us as the pilots with God as the co-pilot — myself included. It is interesting to take this to prayer and ask God to show us where we are depending too much on our efforts, where we are holding back something from him (and why) rather than allowing God to be fully in charge of our lives.

It is good to remember that God is the one who inspires us to make any effort in the first place — and that thought makes me crazy happy. Our effort is the result of cooperating with God’s grace received through the Sacraments, in prayer and scripture study, and in loving and serving others. He is first and we are second. He is pilot and we are co-pilots, no matter what is going on in our lives.

St. Teresa of Avila said, “The feeling remains that God is on the journey too.” 

Do we give God full reign of our efforts on this journey, in all matters, temporal and spiritual? Do we trust that his way, and our effort to cooperate with his grace, will lead us to greater joy, freedom and peace on our journey to eternal life with him?

From the second Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians, 1:11, “To this end, we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith.”

God brings fulfillment to our efforts. He makes our crooked lines straight. He is almighty and all powerful and has our best interest in mind. He love us and doesn’t give up on us — and I pray that we don’t give up on him — no matter what is going on in our hearts, families, parish, community, country or world. 

May we make every good effort to know, love and serve God, using the gifts and talents that he has given us so he can do amazing things with us and through us. Cooperation with his grace is a beautiful thing to behold.

The Power of the One-to-One Encounter

In my group strength classes, every now and then, students are busy traveling or working and only one person shows up for class. That student doesn’t usually like it at first because all of the attention is focused on her. However, it usually ends up being a great session as we talk, laugh and deepen our friendship and understanding of each other.

It got me thinking about the power of the one-to-one encounter. Having time with that one person is special and is important in building a more authentic and caring relationship. 

How often did Jesus, in the midst of a crowd, have a personal and life-changing encounter one-to-one … like the woman who came up behind Jesus to touch his cloak to be healed, and Zacchaeus the tax collector who climbed the Sycamore tree to have a better view of Jesus, and Nicodemus the Pharisee who came at night to question Jesus about his teachings.

In our daily lives, we are called to a one-to-one encounter with God in the Sacraments and through personal prayer. By giving time and attention to our relationship with God, we receive his grace so we can be Jesus to others. I know that when I’m not attentive to my prayer life, it’s harder to be loving and patient with people amidst the challenges of everyday life.

One of my favorite saint quotes is from St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, “Don’t wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” Her entire ministry was working one-to-one with the dying and the sick, strengthened by her one-to-one time with God in daily Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Her ministry, and that of the Sisters of Charity around the world, is about the power of being 100% present to that one soul in need. 

I’m blessed to take communion to a hospital and there have been times when only one person has received — for various reasons. At first I was discouraged when people declined the Eucharist, but over time, God has shown me that I’m simply to be his hands and feet and to trust the results to him. He is teaching me to pray more fervently for the sick, to be a joyful and authentic witness to him, and to savor each one-to-one encounter. Even if no one receives, I trust that God will bring about a greater good than I could never imagine.

I was sharing my one-to-one thoughts with a friend recently and she said that in our world of ‘how many Likes on Facebook’ it can be terribly easy to overlook the power of one. Never fear, there might be only one Like, but thanks to the algorithm of Facebook, thousands of people may have seen the post and who knows how it may have impacted that one person!

I remember a priest telling me that he didn’t get caught up in whether people liked or disliked his homily message. He said that he wrote his homilies in prayer, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and that perhaps the message was meant for just one person; in writing his homilies, he simply desired to be an obedient servant.

So let us try to do what God is calling us to do, trust the results to him, and remember that touching one soul always matters. From 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do.”

Endurance

Endurance in sport is cultivated with patience and time, training and conditioning, under the guidance of a good coach.

In the same way, we seek to build endurance in our spiritual lives with Jesus guiding us. Our journey to spiritual maturity is a life-long process of growing in virtue. This quest for holiness requires patience and time, training and conditioning with an unwavering commitment to a sacramental life, prayer, study and service to others. It isn’t easy, but there is no greater goal for the Christian.

Psalm 136 reminds us that God is Endurance as his love and mercy endures forever. He never gives up on us and desires only to bring us closer to him.

Praise the LORD, for he is good;
for his mercy endures forever;
Praise the God of gods;
for his mercy endures forever;
Praise the Lord of lords;
for his mercy endures forever.

We see in the lives of the saints these amazing people who endured temptations, difficulties and trials of every kind. We could use the words ‘saint’ and ‘endurance’ as synonyms since there every saint ended their lives with an enduring love of God and neighbor.

St. Gregory of Nyssa said of endurance, “He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows.”

When we reflect on St. Gregory’s words, we see that spiritual endurance is just that — going from beginning to beginning — every day, every situation, every conversation, every interaction, literally every moment of every year is a new beginning for us to do what we know we should do — love more fully to become the person God desires us to be on our journey from this world to the next.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque said, “Let us begin in earnest to work out our salvation, for no one will do it for us, since even He Himself, who made us without ourselves, will not save us without ourselves.”

So we work side-by-side with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, with the loving intercession of Our Lady, to grow in holiness, to love more perfectly, to forgive ourselves and others, and to share the truth of the Gospel each as we are called.

Just as endurance in sport requires both mental and physical work, there is great work for us to do in the spiritual life. Let us see each day is an opportunity to grow closer to God as we train to have more faith, hope and love. May each day be filled with with training in virtue so that we persevere with love when the going gets tough.

As athletes depend on their coaches, peers, tools and training methods, we too, in the spiritual life, have help  … from the Holy Trinity, our sisters and brothers in Christ, the great Communion of Saints and all that Holy Mother Church gives us so that we can grow and endure with love.

We can be inspired by the subject of endurance in Scripture. From Deuteronomy 31, “Be strong and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the Lord, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you.”

We do not run this race alone. God is with us to aid us in this pursuit.

Let us pray: Father God, give us endurance in the spiritual life and help us to trust in the strong and mighty shield of your love which endures forever, Amen.

A Baseball Story

My husband and I enjoy watching professional baseball. This year, we were blessed to attend Spring Training in Goodyear Arizona and we met one of our favorite pitchers. He was staying at our hotel and we met his wife and youngest son relaxing in an outdoor area. This pitcher is a father of five children and is an active Catholic. It was fun to see him interact with his wife and youngest son in a casual setting. He spoke with my husband at length and I was impressed with his kindness and humility. We are so used to seeing him on television that it’s easy to forget that he is a regular guy just like the rest of us.

Recently this same pitcher, at the age of 32, announced that he was diagnosed with Leukemia. His version of this disease is treatable with oral medication, but he’ll be out of baseball for a while. We all deal with family and friends being diagnosed with disease, and facing other hardships, but it still comes as a shock that rocks our world almost as if it’s happening to ourselves. It reminds me how much we are all connected, that we need to pray for each other, and that we should give thanks every single day.

This pitcher makes millions, but money can’t cure this disease for him. Just like the rest of us, he’ll pray, do what his doctors advise, and rely on faith, family and friends to persevere in this challenging time.

I’m sharing this story with you because I think sometimes, even for those of us with strong faith, we can get drawn into things of this world in a way that can separate us from God. I’m not saying the pitcher did this, but his situation really made me think about how money, fame and comfort (at any level) are fleeting, and that we should give thanks to God because it all comes from him.

I am also struck by the fact that this pitcher is a professional athlete who is in top physical condition, spends hours every day addressing his physical health by eating right, training, practicing and doing everything a multitude of coaches tell him to do, but he has no control over his body when it comes to this disease. Our culture places more emphasis on caring for the body than caring for the soul, so when a physical hardship hits, I consider it a blessing that if, by God’s grace, we are made humble and seek a greater reliance on God.

This pitcher has the potential to be an amazing example for us with his public platform. Surrounded by his teammates at the 2019 All Star game he was crying and I was too. Our adult son texted us that he watched and he was moved to tears. It is easy to take our good fortune for granted — whatever it might be — but it can change in an instant. Perhaps God is using this man’s situation to soften our hearts, to harken us to pray more, to move us forward in our mission, and to remind us to let go of material concerns that can drive us away from God.

May we never forget that we are here to live out our God-given mission, to care for those people God has placed in our path, and with great detachment, to enjoy some of what God has created on our journey home to him. The material comforts are a gift, but they do not define us; let us give thanks that we are all children of God.

Wideness

Wideness is interesting word to ponder in spiritual terms. There is a beautiful hymn called the “Wideness of God’s Mercy” and that hymn inspired me to think about the many ways the Wideness of God can shape our lives.

God’s mercy is so magnanimous that it’s incomprehensible—and yet we are called to that same mercy with each other, 70 x 7 times. To think of the Wideness of God’s mercy as a never-ending, vast stream of love washing over us, healing us, forgiving us and bringing forth new life is a beautiful image that fills me with hope.

Wideness is akin to openness—the openness we are called to with God in prayer— sharing our triumphs and challenges, joys, sins and sorrows—giving him room to work to help us grow stronger. We are also called to live this openness with our brothers and sisters by authentically celebrating and protecting the good in them.

In Luke, 9:11 we see the Wideness of Jesus’ love as, “He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured.”

Wideness lends itself to an image of big, outstretched arms welcoming another with a hug and a smile in a spirit of hospitality. May the Wideness of our thanksgiving for each other carry us out of the narrow focus on ourselves. May we instead be poured like a libation into a Visitation frame-of-mind where we live in the Wideness of loving and caring for each other.

Wideness can be giving God the time and space to work in our lives, whether through the Sacraments, in reading Scripture, by adoring him in the Blessed Sacrament, and with prayerful listening for God amidst the activity of family, work and play.

Let us give God the latitude to transform us by inviting him into the great expanse of us … body, mind and soul. May we magnify the Lord by courageously seeking his strength rather than limiting the fullness of God’s plan for us.

Lyrics from “Wideness of God’s Mercy” speak of the majesty of God. “There is grace enough for thousands … For the love of God is broader than the measure of our mind;  And the heart of the Eternal is most kind.” He pours his grace out to us constantly… do we notice and do we respond? 

Let us boldly ask God for the “strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth” giving thanks for the miraculous Wideness of God’s merciful love.

Haste Does't Always Make Waste

It’s funny how the Holy Spirit sends you a thought, inspiration or even just a word that you have to take to prayer to try to figure out how to respond.

For me recently, the word was ‘haste.’ During Christmas, I reflected on ‘haste’ as it related to the Three Kings and the Shepherds as they made haste to meet the newborn King Jesus. Haste can be positive or negative and we see both in Sacred Scripture. 

At the Visitation, we see Mary move with beautiful haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth to care for her and to share her joy of the impending birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

In Proverbs 19:2, we see another side of haste: “Desire with knowledge is not good; and whoever acts hastily, blunders.”

We might think of haste in this way—as being rushed, hurried, or that we’ve been negligent or wasting time on something else less important that sets us behind so that we’re forced to respond in a way that is rash or reckless and leads to mistakes.

This could be true. But if we approach haste prayerfully, and in the context of our spiritual lives, haste might be exactly we need to get busy responding to God’s call or to sharing our love of Jesus more openly with others. May we be like the  Samaritan woman who left her water jug behind in her haste to share the news of the Messiah with the people in her town.

Are we inspired to make haste to attend daily Mass, to meet Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to read Scripture, to pray daily, to commit to a Holy Hour, to start something new for God, or to invite others to experience Jesus?

Could haste be the key to getting unstuck from a prayer rut, or out of a spiral of sin or selfishness or feeling reticent because we don’t clearly see the path Jesus is laying out for us? Let us rise up with holy haste to pray, discern, and take some action—even if we start small.

May our haste start with getting to know Jesus better so we an share him with others in whatever way God is calling us. Let us move forward in our life’s mission with courageous haste that bubbles over from a life of prayer and discernment. We’ll make mistakes, but if we stay close to Jesus. and his will for us, he can make our well-intentioned haste work for good.

St. Ursula Ledochowska (foundress of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus) urges us onward, “You must never ask Jesus to wait.”

Jesus and Our Resolutions

This time of year we might think about developing new healthy habits such exercising more, eating healthy, perhaps getting more sleep, de-stressing and so on. There is nothing wrong with making some resolutions, but do we include Jesus in this process?

It’s funny how we don’t call on Jesus to help us with our physical goals and other needs in times of good health and prosperity the the same way we do when we are experiencing illness, injury, infirmity or other trials. Jesus desires to be part of our lives in difficult times and in good times. 

Jesus, help me to make food choices that are give me strength and vigor to serve you and others. Jesus, guide to me to some like-minded Christians to begin to gain more physical strength with safe and sustainable exercises. Jesus, order my day so that I have to time to rest and recover. Jesus, help me to maintain a habit of praying and and being physically active daily. Jesus, help me to be at peace with my body.

We know from Scripture that Jesus cares about all of our needs and concerns and that includes our physical needs. We see Jesus respond to the physical hunger of the crowd of 5,000. He see him repeatedly pair physical and spiritual healing. He understands that we get tired and hungry, that we grieve, that fasting is difficult, and that we are in need of a balance of activity and rest.

Why are we prone to separating our physical and spiritual lives when we know that body and soul are one—and we know that Jesus cares about, and wants to be part of, every single aspect of our lives?

Unfortunately, we don’t see ourselves, and others, as Jesus sees us. When it comes to the physical, we can be influenced by popular culture which focuses on aesthetics. When we see our face or body in a mirror, do we exclaim with delight because we are temples of the Holy Spirit, his beloved children, made in his image and likeness? Or are we more likely to lament about aging or some aspect of our physical appearance?

What would happen if we gave thanks for the gift of God’s magnificent creation before us in the mirror and asked Jesus to guide us in our quest for a physical life that reflects His love and helps us advance in our unique mission? Can we be childlike and turn to Jesus to guide us in prayer and good works on our way to developing new holy and healthy habits?

Jesus, help us to be gentle with ourselves, to set realistic physical goals, to accept our physical limitations, whether injury, illness and infirmity, and to unite our physical crosses with your cross. Jesus, remove the scales from our eyes so we see our physical appearance as a reflection of you, and your great love for us, rather than succumbing to a cultural view that attributes beauty to worthiness.

Jesus, we give you our temporal concerns because we know that you care about everything we care about and you know what is best for us. We pray to move forward with you, in faith and trust, to humbly address our physical and spiritual challenges, desires and concerns, both big and small in the new year.

How will Jesus respond? I think that’s the exciting part. We don’t know because he works so individually with us. We may even be surprised to find that what we thought was a physical need, like a thirst for a cool drink of water, is actually a thirst for spiritual strength, or in the words of the Samaritan woman, a cry for living water—water that will last.

Jesus, we pray for the courage to entrust you with every aspect of our lives, and to seek you first on our journey to be more holy and healthy.

Astonishment

We see repeatedly in Scripture that people were astonished, amazed and surprised at the teachings of Jesus. 

From Luke 5:26, “Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.” 

They hung on his every word, they followed him wherever he traveled, and they were in awe of his teaching, preaching, healing and forgiveness of sins. Jesus barely had time to eat or sleep, but he prayed to be filled with the Father’s love to continue to minister to the people then—and to you and me now.

Astonishment can be described as a feeling of great surprise, wonder and awe and it defined Christ’s public ministry.

We also see that whenever Jesus astonished the crowd, it angered the Pharisees who wanted to arrest him, yet they were afraid of the reaction of the astonished crowd.

Do we experience astonishment at the words of Jesus? Are we surprised when his words reveal to us exactly what we need to do to respond to a problem or to a person, or to address an area of sin in our lives? Do we give thanks, with a sense of awe, when he heals one of his beloved children physically or spiritually? Is his endless mercy something we reflect on in prayer with wonder and joy?

St. Augustine said, ”In my deepest wound I saw your glory, and it dazzled me."  

I don’t want to miss moments of astonishment, and in fact, I want to meditate on, celebrate and share these moments with others as Jesus calls us to evangelize and encourage each other on our spiritual journey. 

I pray to grow in humility and childlikeness so that moments of wonder and dazzlement change me and make me more like him. We pray for him to pour his grace into us as grace can open the door for us to make real changes in our lives.

Recently, I felt called to go to Confession. I wasn’t sure how to make that happen with a full schedule of family, work and ministry commitments. So I prayed for Jesus to make it possible whenever the time was right.

About a week later, I attended daily Mass at another parish and I was astonished when the pastor announced that the Sacrament of Reconciliation would be offered afterward—as Reconciliation isn’t typically offered after daily Mass at this parish. Jesus led me to that place, at that time, and worked out the details so that I could receive this vital sacrament.

Astonishment can take many forms and I love hearing stories about how Jesus works in peoples’ lives in astonishing ways, both in suffering and in joy, in little ways and in big ways too.

I pray that we cultivate a childlike openness so that we see and appreciate Jesus guiding and protecting us in our everyday affairs. May our hearts be open to an astonishing journey with Jesus.

Holy Friendships

This Scripture passage really hit home recently, from Matthew 12:47-49, “Someone told him, “your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wishing to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? And stretching out his hand toward his disciples he said, “Here are my mother and brothers.”

This Scripture can be a confusing because we love our mother and our brothers. However, recently I gained new clarity when I had the opportunity to visit St. Louis to meet new people, speak and lead SoulCore Rosary prayer and exercise at a parish.

A sister in Christ read a blog post that I’d written for soulcore.com and she contacted me to see if I could speak at her parish. The Holy Spirit worked out the details, and I had a wonderful visit to share, learn and grow with some marvelously faithful sisters in Christ.

Studies show that they key to a long and happy life, well into our senior years, is strong connections with others. When you love Jesus, and are united to him in Baptism, and you have that in common with someone, I have found that friendship comes easy. You have a bond that is not of this world, and God willing, can help prepare our hearts for the next. That is what I experienced with my new friends in St. Louis.

It is both holy and healthy to build authentic and loving connections with our brothers and sisters in Christ. While we are called to love and serve all of God’s children, but those who are on the journey with us can play a special role as they challenge, support and intercede for us.

Holy friendships can inspire us to be more faithful to the Sacraments, to nurture an active prayer life, study Scripture and to become more bold about sharing our faith with others.

The disciples traveled in pairs and small groups—and for good reason; we need each other! We are called to love God and love neighbor and we can get all caught up in ourselves if we try to do it alone. God works through each of us differently, and in many cases, speaks to us through those friends with which we have a spiritual connection.

When I have a life challenge, I have no qualms about asking a friend to pray for me for strength. Intercessory prayer is powerful!

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori said, “How pleasing to Him it will be if you sometimes forget yourself and speak to Him of His own glory, of the miseries of others, especially those who mourn in sorrow; of the souls in purgatory, His spouses, who long to behold Him in Heaven; and of poor sinners who live deprived of His grace.”

When people express concern about having a personal relationship with the Blessed Mother, I explain that seeking Our Lady’s intercession is just like asking a friend to pray for you. Our Lady loves each of us and wants nothing more than to grow in friendship with us to continually move us closer to her Son and his will for us.

We have to make some effort to foster holy friendships. When you ask the Holy Spirit to bring holy friends into your life, you might be surprised what happens next. That was my prayer a few months ago and I see the Lord placing new people in my life who are striving to grow in holiness and who desire to be a saint—and they inspire me.

May these words from St. John Vianney challenge us to persevere in our quest to build holy and healthy friendships: “O my dear parishioners, let us endeavor to get to heaven! There we shall see God! How happy we will feel! If the parish is converted we shall go in procession with the parish priest at the head … we must get to heaven!”

Simplifying our Lives for Jesus

Trying to live a more simple life can help us to become more holy and healthy. What is a simple life? That will vary for you and for me. Here are some thoughts for us to consider.

A good place to start is looking at areas of our lives where there are excesses. I’m thinking about my kitchen pantry right now that has built up with too many items; it’s time to clean it out and give food to my local food pantry. Too much stuff weighs us down. In the example of my pantry, I can’t find things quickly and easily, so it takes extra time to prepare a meal. I also end up buying duplicate items because I can’t see anything in the mess. Simplifying helps me be more efficient at home and giving food away helps others.

Another area of our lives to consider is our activity level. Do we have too much going on, feel stressed, too busy, rushed or worn out? These are signs that we might be doing too much and not doing God’s will. Taking this to prayer can help us sort out what God is calling us to do—and then we can reduce or eliminate activities that are not using our gifts and talents to be balanced and peaceful servants for Christ.

We can also look at how we spend our time. Time management can be critical in simplifying our lives. For example, we can examine how much time we surf the Internet, watch television or pursue a hobby. If we are not finding time to pray or keep up with work and family responsibilities, we might need to adjust activities that are not essential to our vocation. 

Simplifying our lives doesn’t necessarily mean we are doing less. Before making changes, we should pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help us order our lives. It might mean adding in more activity that is aligned with God’s will for us and removing those that don’t contribute to our desire to be holy and healthy. Maybe we need to add more silence to our lives, commit to a regular Holy Hour to talk to Jesus, exercise for more mental clarity, read a good book, or reconnect with a friend.

Simplicity can make more room for God to work in us and help us be better to serve the people we love—and this can help us grow in holiness. 

“Order your soul. Reduce your wants.”―Saint Augustine

The Holy Spirit has showed me that I need to give more time to nurturing friendships. I’m trying to organize my time so that I’m more available to meet friends in person, talk on the phone and hand-write notes. Simplifying my exercise routine and spending less time online is helping me do this.

When our lives are too busy, too complex, with too much stuff, activity, or noise, we can feel lost, lonely, out-of-control, and out-of-touch with God and his mission for us.

Think about a saint you know and love. Look at that saint’s life and you will see a spirit of simplicity. One thing common among the saints is their desire to love and serve God and to do his will—and they make a lot of changes in their lives to do this. Ask your special saint to intercede for you as you seek to simplify your life to be more free to respond to God’s call to you.

The more you have, the more you are occupied. The less you have, the more free you are.” ―St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

St. Catherine of Siena

Have you ever had a saint burst into your life and you’re not sure why? St. Catherine of Siena has been pursuing me recently, so I became inspired to look more closely at her life and teachings.

I am a convert who has been Catholic for 32 years and I continue to be amazed at the lives of the saints and how we can develop such personal relationships with them. The saints watch over us and assist us when we call on them. They are our heavenly friends who teach us and intercede for us at different times in our lives and stand along side us on our march toward heaven.

St. Catherine of Siena is a doctor of the Church, canonized in 1461, and she is a patroness of Italy and Europe. She was a third order Dominican who lived to the age of 33. She was a spiritual guide to many, and in the words of Pope Benedict, “guided  people from every walk of life: nobles and politicians, artists and ordinary people, consecrated men and women and religious, including Pope Gregory XI who was living at Avignon in that period and whom she energetically and effectively urged to return to Rome.”

She had a profound “mystical marriage” to Christ whom she loved with intimate faithfulness. She is one of a small group of saints who Pope Benedict identified as having an extraordinary devotion to the Holy Eucharist.

I feel connected to St. Catherine in many ways; I admire her directness and the poignant simplicity in her words inspired by her love of Christ and her understanding of the spiritual life. “If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire.”

It’s funny how sentiments from centuries ago resonate in our times. “Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.” 

Her words inspire me to deeper reflection with Lectio Divina.“All the way to heaven is heaven, because Jesus said, ‘I am the way.’”

Just as our friendships with certain people seem to start almost naturally, and can feel like we’ve known them forever, our friendships with saints can happen in the same way. 

During this month of All Saints, St. Catherine nudged me along as she became our Walking with Purpose table name. I discovered that was the saint in a small image that I had in my kitchen (who I mistakenly thought was St. Teresa of Avila until a friend cleared that up!) St. Catherine’s reflections jumped off the page as I was preparing SoulCore Rosary meditations for All Souls Day. And I am blessed to lead SoulCore at, where else but, St. Catharine of Siena Catholic Church.

I continue to pray for this amazing saint’s intercession to help me stay centered on Christ, to be courageous in speaking the truth and guiding others to Christ with humility. May we all open our  hearts to this saint, friend and “coach” as we seek to discern and live out the mission Christ has in mind for each of us.

How Much is Enough?

When it comes to exercise, the general train of thought is that more is better. Sometimes my first task as a fitness coach is to gently move people to a new way of thinking that developing quality technique is more productive that doing lots of work without careful attention to how the body is moving and recovering.

Most people are exercising for general fitness and overall health for life and sport. Even when they are training for a specific event, such as an obstacle course race or a marathon, focusing on the quality of training, rather than the quantity, is essential to prevent injury and ensure they are well prepared.

I was reminded recently, in a conversation with a friend, that sometimes we have the same view of our prayer lives … that more is better. That may not always be the case.

If we set a goal of a specific quantity of prayer, rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us as to what and how to pray, we might not even start, or if we do, we might rush through without any heartfelt contemplation at all.

We might be expecting too much from ourselves based on our vocation and especially with our full lives serving family, community and our employer— which, with the proper intention, are also forms of prayer.

Asking the Holy Spirit to guide our prayer lives and coach us on how to pray can be freeing and spiritually productive — without a time element. So we start by setting aside a little time and space, in our schedule and in our hearts, and trust that the Spirit will move us to pray in the way he desires us to pray.

St. Teresa of Avila said, “Much more is accomplished by a single word of the Our Father said, now and then, from our heart, than by the whole prayer repeated many times in haste and without attention.”

What if it isn’t clear how we should pray? 

We can stop, listen and have an openness to the gentle movement of the heart to pray, for example, a fervent decade of the Rosary for a family member. Maybe later in the day the Holy Spirit will prompt us to pray another decade. We may have a lunch date cancel and we have a desire to attend noon Mass. We might comfort a suffering friend with spontaneous prayer. We can pray the Gospel for that day in a few minutes at bedtime. The possibilities are endless and the Holy Spirit might just surprise us!

I know that each of us have had ‘God instances’ when we asked for help with time to pray and get everything else done too. Then we look back over the day and see how Our Lady and her Son worked it out all in a way that we could never have imagined.

St. John Vianney reminds us that prayer is love rather than an item on a checklist. “Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.” With that thought in mind, let us pray with joy and confidence in the way the Holy Spirit is individually and intimately moving each of us.

Sport at the Service of the Spirit

Sport and physical culture can contribute to a better understanding of ourselves and our relationship with God and neighbor. The topic of sport has been addressed by many pontiffs including Pope Pius XII who made this statement entitled, Sport at the Service of the Spirit, July 29, 1945.

"Sport, properly directed, develops character, makes a man courageous, a generous loser, and a gracious victor; it refines the senses, gives intellectual penetration, and steels the will to endurance. It is not merely a physical development then. Sport, rightly understood, is an occupation of the whole man, and while perfecting the body as an instrument of the mind, it also makes the mind itself a more refined instrument for the search and communication of truth and helps man to achieve that end to which all others must be subservient, the service and praise of his Creator."

There are some phrases that stand out for me as someone who teaches physical skills to others and seeks to grow in holiness. I encourage you to pray about what stands out for you.

Courage: It takes courage to challenge the body and mind to explore new limits in a physical endeavor. Courage is also necessary to authentically live our Catholic faith in everyday life. Physical courage can help us develop the confidence to be courageous in living out our faith in the way God is calling us.

Gracious victor: It takes humility to be a gracious victor. Practicing humility in athletics can prepare our hearts and minds to be gracious, humble and hospitable to those people who challenge us at home, work and in our community.

Steels the will to endurance: Life on earth is a marathon, not a sprint. Learning to be physically strong can parallel our journey of growing spiritually strong. In both cases, we strive under the leadership of Jesus Christ who is with us in all endeavors. Cry out to the Holy Spirit for assistance when you, or your loved ones, are on the court, in the gym or pool, on the field, road, rink or trail.

Makes the mind itself a more refined instrument: One of the most powerful results of properly-directed physical activity is mental clarity. Physical activity can leave you feeling physically energized and mentally calm and clear-headed; this can help you focus in prayer, at work, and respond more patiently to the needs of others.

Service and praise of the Creator: If you are a faith-filled person who enjoys physical endeavors, you probably already praise God for the gift of your physical vitality. Ask him to guide you in caring for your body so you can continue to serve God and your neighbor with spiritual and physical vigor.

Community

I attended two beautiful weddings recently and this reminded me of the importance of our community of loved ones, both family and friends, that care, guide, challenge and support us through the everyday joys and challenges of life. Our community of loved ones is our front line, our village that is ready to do whatever we need whenever we need it.

It might seem like an odd comparison, but people join a gym to be part of a community too. They depend on the coach and other exercise enthusiasts with similar goals to guide, care, challenge and support them on their journey to improved health and strength. Some might have started out doing it on their own at home, then discovered that it can be more fun and rewarding to learn, practice and train in a group that pushes them to levels they might not explore or achieve on their own.

It’s the same with our spiritual lives. Our brothers and sisters in Christ guide, care, challenge and support us in different ways as we seek to grow closer to Jesus and to know him better. Those who know us best, and love us the most, are often how God speaks to us about the direction and priorities in our lives. 

In my own life, my husband Al has often been one who can help me discern whether something is my will or God’s will. It’s a gift to have those people in our lives who help us to stay on the road to holiness. The fewer detours the better!

Because we are generally social creatures, we may gravitate toward groups almost naturally in different areas of our lives — especially our spiritual lives. Sometimes it might be tempting to to stay safely enfolded in prayer in the quiet of our homes even when we know that praying in community, authentically sharing our spiritual struggles with others, learning from one another on retreats, and serving in ministry can be special opportunities for spiritual growth.

There is perhaps no one more more aware of our need for each other than St. Teresa of Calcutta. She enjoyed the company of her Sisters immensely. She spent private time in prayer daily before the Blessed Sacrament. She gave her life to public ministry. She reminds us that we’re all called to care for others, wherever we are in our lives, and it can be as simple as offering a smile and kind words:

“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.” 

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” 

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”

Take a moment today to pray in gratitude for the communities you are part of and how they guide, care, challenge, support and love you.