PRAYER, THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

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Spring has sprung, and I am thankful winter is a thing of the past.  It’s hard to believe we are still in the early months of 2026, when I consider the many things that have happened in those few short months.  I mourn the loss of two beautiful friends. I can’t imagine going through the grief of losing my friends without a prayerful dialogue with God. I prayed for healing, and I believe God answered that prayer, because they are now resting in the eternal arms of Jesus, completely healed.

Along with the emergence of spring, I’ve been met with a bevy of new responsibilities and the excitement of finishing my latest novel. Through all of the ups and downs, I began to take stock in blessings, the little glimmers of hope gifted to me from our Heavenly Father. One day, as I centered myself in a meaningful moment of prayer, I realized I was overlooking the biggest blessing yet — prayer as a vital gift from God.  Prayer is a gift from God, where I receive it openly with all my weaknesses, gifts, strengths, and worries.  It is a gift, when accepted, to open over and over again, and one I cannot live without. There is absolutely no way I could have completed my second novel without God at my side and the countless hours spent going to Him through prayer for direction and inspiration.  

“Everything, even sweeping, scraping vegetables, weeding a garden, and waiting on the sick could be a prayer, if it were offered to God.”

 ~ St. Martin de Porres

The reality of a commitment to prayer varies with lifestyle and schedule. The one constant among all of us is that God is always ready to give us the gift of prayer.  God will receive our prayers anytime, anywhere, and for any reason.  I find myself falling asleep often as I thank him for my day and the blessings yet to come. I know that God is okay with my drifting off to sleep, because my first prayer in the night is for a peaceful sleep.  God often answers that one first!  The remainder, he can glean from my heart as I slumber in his heavenly embrace.

On the days I struggle to awaken early to “fit God in”, I look to scripture for the motivation I need in my weakness.  I look specifically to the moments when Jesus arose early to pray. Certainly, if Jesus could find time for prayer in his active ministry, I have no excuse.

I am not one to return a gift from a friend; I cherish the sentiment and create a memory of the moment of receiving that very special gift.  God deserves the same treatment when He so graciously gives us the gift of communication with Him through prayer.

Today, I am grateful that God is patient with me and allows me to pray anytime, even if I’m folding laundry; God will participate in that moment with me. All I have to do is let Him in. As I welcome spring and look forward to summer, I embrace the gift of prayer and talk to God about whatever my day may bring. I know God will provide guidance within every up and every down that comes my way.  I invite you to consider how you can make your prayer life as fruitful as your garden. God is waiting and ready to present the very special gift of prayer to you!

 

 

Copyright 2026 Kimberly Novak

Edited by Janet Tamez

Sacred Mysteries of the Rosary

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Sacred Mysteries of the Rosary

 

The Joyful Mysteries

Not a man, this messenger announcing.

Not by man, but by God’s will, this opening.

You have been favored to be God’s mother.

So it will be, as I serve the Other.

 

Beautiful the feet, her journey complete.

God’s family with man; grains of new wheat.

Convey the Divine, bring forth His spirit.

Magnify and rejoice as you hear it.

 

Singular birth, most humble beginning.

A King in a manger, nothing stranger.

From above, afar, the fields, are coming;

Famished seekers, relieved of their hunger.

 

This truth can’t be known; it must be revealed;

Adored or rejected; thoughts unconcealed.

God, as a baby, our arms can enfold.

Piercing projected; such sorrow foretold.

 

“The son must obey the father,” He said.

Joyful reunion, such sorrowful dread;

“You see, I was at home. I was not lost.”

She ponders, says “Yes,” whatever the cost.

The Luminous Mysteries

Bathed in our sins and so bearing our cost.

Fulfilling by willing, saving the lost.

Present in sacrament, baptism first.

Trinity rising from water’s rebirth.

 

Now, Mother? Yes, time to let joy overflow.

Wedding and feasting, delights that will show.

You’ve come to bring joy, reveal His design.

Presence brings comfort, so share such as thine.

 

His Kingdom nears; the King appears.

Return from exile, cast off your stale fears.

Sown in seedlings, true harvest will ripen.

Remorse meets mercy, stony hearts open.

 

Please stop, I’m sorry to see this vision.

I don’t understand this fearful mission.

Fear not, I’m with you; I know what you need.

With time, you will see the new life I breed.

 

This bread is my body, for you given.

Forgive them again, seven times seven.

The cup is a promise, never broken.

Do as I do, you’ll not be forsaken.

The Sorrowful Mysteries

The consoling angel daubs beads of blood

As tears and sweat form into pools of mud.

Above their anguished groaning can be heard,

‘Be done to me according to your word.’

 

Beads and hooks arrayed along leather strips

Like birds of prey strike the flesh they assail.

How can it be that those wielding the whips

Are healed by this very one that they flail.

 

My pride and arrogance a mockery

Of you wearing that wicked crown for me.

Imitating your naked humbleness

Merits the cloak in which I hope to dress.

 

Too heavy, too great, too fearful for me.

Yet fear is tempered by pity for thee.

Who carries my guilt, pays my penalty

Through death on a cross to eternity.

 

Transfixed is my gaze, my hopes pinned on thee,

Hanging suspended on Calvary’s tree.

“I thirst,” you say, as you pour out your heart.

“Finished,” you say, creating a new start.

The Glorious Mysteries

Do dim tombs typically bloom with light?

Who once entombed wakes to a morning bright?

Do burial clothes often display their wearer?

Who bears wounds in a body now fairer?

 

Beyond sight to wider light, He rises.

Here now ever present, He surprises.

Beyond time to forever, He returns.

The path beyond history, He confirms.

 

Heavenly intruder in fire descends.

I am love; you shall love; love never ends.

God present for all, Church for a body.

Go tell it, go share it; for all, it’s free.

 

Bodies only went the way of all flesh,

From ashes to ashes until that day.

Lifted high for her maker to cherish.

She first, before all others, gone this way.

 

A Queen is in Heaven, mother love reigns.

Mercy, she offers, and prayer she explains.

Guide us through exile, in tears do we plead.

Return home, take shelter; hope will succeed.

 

copyright 2025 Tom Medlar

Praying for the We in Me

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As a psychotherapist, I have worked with thousands of clients over more than forty years. Most of them have resided in nursing homes. In those settings, I have helped individuals with all sorts of medical, and disability, psychiatric, and substance use conditions or disorders.

One Saturday I was sitting in church getting ready for the 4:00p.m. vigil Mass. In my mind, I saw dozens of my clients, past and present, enter the church and sit in the pews, but they were not as I have known them. They were fully healed in mind and body, and they were glorious.

This imaginary experience has lingered with me. When I meet a new client for the first time, or if I am speaking with a client I have known for years, I can evoke a mental image of the person thoroughly healed and notice the difference between what is and what might be. That perception gives me hints about things I might be able to help with or influence. But it also clarifies things over which I have no control or influence.

One might look to a therapist for help in coping with difficult circumstances, but psychotherapy is not curative, and sorry, but no, it is not transformative. In hope of complete restoration and abundance of life that never ends, one should look to the ‘Wonder-Counselor,’ (Isaiah 9:5) not to a wounded one. The therapist might support and guide one’s struggle towards improvement, yet the Eucharistic table is where one seeks the life that extends beyond sickness and death.

We have many roles and many relationships in our lives. Others become important in our lives, and dwell in our souls in a variety of ways, some obvious, and some by rather surprising paths. People we know or have known dwell within us in myriad ways, and prayer occurs in many ways, as well.

Our reflections on persons in our lives can become a form of prayer when thoughtfully linked with the awareness of God in our shared lives.

Just as no one is an island, no one lives for herself alone, or belongs to himself only. We live with and for others, our lives also belong to others, and those others also live within us. A crowd of companions live in us.

Family members tend to occupy especially significant roles in our inner life. Naturally, we reminisce about our great grandparents, grandparents, and our parents, aunts and uncles; loved ones who may have completed their earthly journey and dwell now beyond us, while still within us. From them we gained not only our DNA, but also our spiritual ‘on-the-way.’ In God’s plan, the teleological arrow of our life was first influenced by those vital life figures. We often focus our particular thoughts and hopes on our spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings, relatives, the cherished ones we live among daily.
Our human lives intersect also with spiritual persons. We might gratefully consider our guardian angel, the silent and always present one who guides our soul with timely prompts, as well as the communion of saints – blessed spiritual persons who long to assist our burdened journey on earth.

Prayer can be viewed, in part, as our considered and composed attentiveness to the range of those others within us. Our attentive contemplations can include memories, reflections, and speculations about things we’ve never known about individuals we love, and wishes for their comfort, safety, guidance, and salvation. We might make mental requests for things we know them to need, and for things they need that we don’t know about. Our intentions should include thankfulness for their part in our lives, and for the known and unknown ways they pray for us. And we pray to almighty God that our actions, physical and spiritual, may be fruitful in the lives of others within whom we are dwelling.

Post Script: One day recently I woke up from a surprising dream. I was at a nursing home, yet it was not one of my usual places. I turned and saw a client I had actually met with earlier in the week. In waking life, she is small and uses a wheelchair and oxygen. Yet in the dream she was standing up and smiling. We embraced and I asked, “How is this possible? And look at you – you’re as tall as me. This is a miracle!” I remarked, as we laughed and hugged. We started dancing and I said, “I’m dancing with a miracle!”

Was this dream another preview of things to come?

“Mary, Mother of Poets”

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Mary, Mother of Poets

 

The poet is a cultural crime fighter,

A merchant of the timeless,

A calligrapher of gravestone inscriptions.

 

The poet wanders wasted lands, and

Ponders books of ancient lore.

 

The poet tosses runes skyward, and

Traces the descent of inscrutable phrases.

 

The poet leans into the cave of echoes,

Listening for words spoken before speech began.

 

Ancient poets are being found in melting glaciers,

Their names, long etched in ice,

Now melt into a crevasse of collective forgetfulness.

 

Yet, lo, the boldest poet is a banal figure, deaf and dumb,

Next to the singular lady who conversed with glorious Gabriel.

The chosen woman who bears

The body of God,

The scar of the sword,

And the mission of forgiving the crowd calling for the death of her son.

 

Her ever-silent, inwardly-listening husband heard

The dream-speech of divine messengers,

And used the sign language of lowered eyes, bent knees, and folded hands

To tell what he’d heard.

 

Happy the mother who magnifies the Lord,

Who rejoices in God the savior.

 

Happy are we to have a mother who hears the whispered dying wishes

Of the lowest and the highest.

 

Happy to have a blessed mother who shares

Her gravitational hearing,

Her galactic awareness,

Her celestial serenity and

The super nova intensity of her love.

 

Queen mother of Being,

Holy fountain of mercy.

Listening silently to each soul.

Every person’s prayer pondered in her eternal perspective.

 

© copyright 2025 Tom Medlar

Antwerp – The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a copy after Peter Paul Rubens (1613) in Lady Chapel in st. Charles Borromeo church on September 5, 2013 in Antwerp, Belgium

Two Poems: “Sewing Light” and “A Habit of Prayer”

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Sewing Light

Evening gasps,

Grasping closer his dusky cloak

Till he’s a shadow in the corner.

Loitering longer near this luminous lady sewing in light.

 

Time glides beside Evening,

Stilled to see His winged spirit is her guest.

 

Your presence, Lord, is felt

By the powers of nature.

Your silence speaks to the cycles of movement,

To our longings for the everness of you.

 

Abide always, meekest one.

Fill my breath with the motions

Of your arriving and going,

She prays.

© Copyright 2025 Tom Medlar

 

“St. Elizabeth of Hungary Working for the Poor” by Marianne Stokes (public domain)

 

A Habit of Prayer

A wedding dress, made for me.

For we, I wield the thread.

 

A habit of prayer I sew.

I sow the seeds of silence.

 

Along the aisle of silence, on the Father’s arm,

The Father escorts me, the alpine path to the altar.

 

Thou takes me to holy wed.

Monastic cell, the marriage bed.

© Copyright 2025 Tom Medlar

How to Pray All the Time

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How to Pray All the Time

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

St. Paul’s exhortation to “pray without ceasing” once baffled me. How can I have a life filled with work, chores, family care, and even leisure time, all while praying? After nearly twenty years of trying to remain connected to Christ throughout my day, I’ve figured out a few ways to integrate prayer into the day. I may not yet be praying without ceasing, but I am definitely moving in the right direction.

Five suggestions to encourage unceasing prayer:

Pray Your Newsfeed

How often do we encounter requests for prayers when perusing our social media feeds? How about the many situations and persons we read about that could surely use our prayers? I don’t stop at every post to pray. Instead, I pray unceasingly by keeping God at the forefront of my thoughts as I read through my social media outlets and offer a “Lord, hear my prayer” or “Lord, have mercy” as I scroll. For more serious situations, I will pause and pray a Hail Mary or Memorare.

Pray Your Neighborhood

This one came to me quite unintentionally. I was scooting about town running errands, when I passed the house where a dear friend’s husband had passed away from brain cancer just a few days earlier. My heart was so moved with compassion for the family, I could not help but offer a prayer for the repose of his soul and for the family that was grieving his loss. As I continued my drive, I passed many homes that invoked memories and thoughts that moved my heart again to prayer. This practice soon became a habit when I drive anywhere. In addition, I include special prayers as I pass police/fire stations, schools, churches, and cemeteries.

Instead of whistling while you work, try prayer!

When my children were little, it felt like my entire life was folding laundry, changing diapers, and walking the grocery store aisles. Since I barely have a domestic bone in my body, these things were torturous some days. Instead of allowing myself to be defeated by these tasks, I turned them into prayer. While folding laundry, I would pray specifically for the owner of whichever article I happen to be handling at the time. I offered up the stench of the stinky bottoms, looking instead into the eyes of the precious gift who had created it for me and praising God that I had a baby with poop to wipe. Today, my kids have long been out of diapers, but I still find plenty of reminders to pray as I wash dishes, wipe crumbs from the table, or take out the trash.

This can also be adapted for work done outside the home. Whatever your occupation, there is always someone to pray for. Process mortgages? Pray for the family purchasing the home. A teacher? Pray for the student failing your math class or holding the lead in the school play. Throughout your day, lift your co-workers or boss in prayer as you answer an email from them or complete assigned tasks.

Take prayer requests on social media

One of my greatest inspirations from the Holy Spirit came one day when I was getting ready to head to Adoration. The idea was to ask for prayer requests on my Facebook page for my upcoming time in Eucharistic Adoration.  I simply place an image of Jesus in the Monstrance (either one I have taken or a royalty-free one from the internet) with the status update, “Going to spend some time with Jesus. Can I bring Him your prayer requests?” I’ve always been amazed at the exuberant response I receive, with sometimes hundreds of requests!

Consider transforming your inner voice to one in open dialogue with the heavens

Talking is just kinda my thing. Though I may only have a few things I know I have a knack for, I am fairly confident chatting is definitely one of them! Since I constantly have a running conversation underway with myself, I decided in 2007 to transform that to an open discussion with heaven. I know that sounds odd initially, but it is truly the most spiritually beneficial thing I have done for myself. I have running conversations all day with whoever will listen to me: God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Mother, and my Guardian Angel. I reach out to the many awesome members of my Saint Posse, which fluctuates depending on my current needs or circumstances, and my special friends, the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Those conversations with myself are fruitful and purposeful. I am not just spinning on the hamster wheel in my head; quite the contrary, now I often get answers, inspirations, and spiritual insights, unexplained feelings of peace, and so much more!

Your turn: how will you pray without ceasing? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

 

Copyright 2025 by Allison Gingras

Edited by Theresa Linden

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Achieving health, well-being and stronger faith one day at a time

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Achieving health, well-being and stronger faith one day at a time

 

“I promised myself and God that if I found the answers to my struggles with my weight and health, I’d be bold and brave and share what I’ve learned with others. The tribulations that have caused me the most pain in my life – my mess – becomes my message.” — Shemane Nugent

 

Oftentimes, the promises on book covers are more the crafting of marketing departments than the authors: be the best parent in one hour; 21-days to real health; financial independence and a rich, free life. Anyone looking at them realistically would admit that, while the techniques may be effective, achieving the authors’ intentions would be slower and more gradual.

The cover of Shemane Nugent’s 2025 release, Abundantly Well (Good Books), also makes such a cover claim. Situated within a ribbon vector image, it promises, “40 days to a slimmer, healthier you.” From a sales perspective, it’s a sexier enticement for the writer’s audience, most likely women ages 40 and up. If that’s the grabber, it does a disservice to the book and Mrs. Nugent’s comforting, faith-infused style because the whole intention of this book is more than losing weight. The subtitle, “Bible-based wisdom for weight loss, increased energy, and vibrant health” says more about what’s inside. Rather than a crash course for temporary results, Abundantly Well offers ways for women to sincerely regard themselves as “temples of the Lord,” and not just in body but in mind and spirit. While written in a topic a day, 40-day format, Abundantly Well is unique from other health and fitness books because it is prayer and God-centered with the author’s recurrent reminder of taking “small steps” that work for the reader’s life.

Each day’s topic begins with a Bible verse that fits the chapter contents. After the main content, supported not just with her own opinions and experiences, but other Bible verses and scientific articles, is the “Move Forward” portion, where the author asks, out of the information just presented, what one or two parts could be added to your life today? The day’s readings and motivations are capped with prayer.

Cover of Abundantly Well by Shemane Nugent

She ventures between the days addressing fitness and weight loss, with writings on healing trauma, detoxifying your home, aging, prayer, service to others, and spiritual warfare. While she doesn’t go in-depth on the topics — they are meant to be easy to digest daily, she provides insightful information and resources to learn more later. On Day 12, she begins to demystify cravings and on Day 17 managing “Hormonal Havoc.” Day 14, “Detoxify Your House,” she addresses many small ways we add poisons to our lives through the gasses and chemicals in things as plastic bottles and scented trash bags.

When Mrs. Nugent writes about nutrition and fitness, she differentiates it from typical approaches by grounding them in a Biblical framework and a mindset of moving forward. Day 7, “God Food Verses Man Food” is a realistic reflection of the mass-produced food industry compared to the often-vilified individual hunting practices.

“Some people say they could never kill an animal, but even if you’re a vegan, you are responsible for killing millions of birds, geese, rabbits, possums, and deer. The roads you drive on, the shopping mall you frequent, your house — these were all once wildlife habitat. Your vegetable garden too! By making way for those areas to be habitat-free, you have to kill every squirrel, rabbit, chipmunk, pheasant, dove, turkey, and deer. We are all complicit (pg. 25).”

Within these pages, she speaks of what she knows and lives.

“I promised myself and God that if I found the answers to my struggles with my weight and health, I’d be bold and brave and share what I’ve learned with others. The tribulations that have caused me the most pain in my life – my mess – becomes my message,” she writes (p. X).

Mrs. Nugent is co-author with her husband of more than 30 years, Ted Nugent (yes, that actual rock star, Ted Nugent) of the 2016 release, Kill It and Grill It, about preparing and cooking wild game. She also authored, Killer House, her story of surviving illness from toxic mold found in her home. She has been in the fitness industry for 40 years as an instructor and program developer, and is host of the Sunday morning show, “Faith and Freedom” on Real America’s Voice network. It could be easy to look at Shemane Nugent, who maintains her figure and beauty past the age of 60 and dismiss her as a celebrity author and wife of a mega star who can buy whatever she needs to achieve happiness. But don’t be so quick to judge. She has endured major surgery, forgiven marital infidelity and beaten a life-threatening illness. She regrets spending too much of her life being a “doormat,” stuffing down deep grief, and lacking confidence, without a note of self-pity. She also admits to eyelash extensions, trying botox, and indulging in chocolate chip cookies and cupcakes. She shares with her Christian sisters that she learned to take the difficulties in life and use them to grow stronger and develop her prayer life and reliance on God and she wants the same for them.

How we think, how we feel, how often we move, what we breathe into our bodies and ingest, our perspective of God, prayer, gratitude, and service to others, all play a part in our health. You may not live a rock star life, but Shemane Nugent maintains that you do not need to; you just need to take baby steps every day, accompanied with prayer and gratitude, toward achieving your goals.

© Copyright 2025 by Mary McWilliams

Feature Image by Pexels from pixabay.com

Inset by Mary Mcwilliams

God Circles Back

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By Kimberly Novak

I first heard the term “circle back” five or six years ago. I’ll admit that I was not immediately a fan of the phrase, probably because of its overuse. Merriam-Webster lists the term as an idiom, defining it simply as “to return.” It is described as returning to a conversation or discussion later in business. I will confess that I have occasionally used the term as an afterthought. Such as cooking dinner and realizing I never put the laundry in the dryer. Or making the bed and remembering I never had breakfast. 

In both scenarios, I do not fill the space in between; rather, the only thing at the forefront of my mind is circling back to complete whatever I was absent-minded about. Otherwise, I risk forgetting the task at hand. God circles back as well,  but never as an afterthought or forgetfulness;  He plans for all the time in between. 

Now that we know its meaning and use, let’s examine how it relates to spirituality and our relationship with God. I’ve offered some examples and noted scripture references that align with each point.

 

God circles back by:

  • God brings us back to places we may have avoided and blesses us in that exact place, the place of the desert.
  • Hosea 2:14 (NASB) – “Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade her, bring her into the wilderness, and speak kindly to her.” 
  • God is drawing you back into your desert, not as punishment, but as a place of intimacy and restoration.
  • When we feel the Holy Spirit’s nudges in areas of our lives we try to avoid, God calls us to do something we may not be totally on board with. God will keep nudging until we answer that call. We must let go of our fear and allow God to share His vision with us, trusting and knowing that conquering our worries with God is worth it, and we will grow in our relationship with God through acceptance.
  •  Joshua 1:9 (NASB) – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
  •  God’s Word in this verse reminds us that God is with us in everything we do, even the things that make us fearful. He will never leave us alone in those frightening moments. I have found it helpful to imagine an empty chair where Jesus will sit and accompany you on the fearful journeys.
  •  God never lets us go; He keeps returning to us, calling us toward Himself.
  • 1 Peter 5:7 (NASB) – “having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you.”
  • This verse captures God’s support in everything we do, and it is a wonderful verse to pray when we feel lost and alone.

 

We circle back in our relationship with God both positively and negatively by:

  • By repeatedly confessing the same sin without the intent of repentance, we close ourselves off from bearing good fruit. Instead of repeatedly circling back to the same sin, wait until your heart, mind, and soul are ready for full repentance.
  • Matthew 3:8 (NASB) – “Therefore, produce fruit consistent with repentance.”
  • This verse from John the Baptist instructs us that repentance is a change in words, actions, and behavior, demonstrating a genuine transformation. Without it, the fruit we bear will not seed and grow.
  • We can positively circle back with God by praying without ceasing.  God loves to hear our prayers, even the ones we pray over and over again. 
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NASB) – “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
  • This verse is a good reminder that we need to be happy with God’s will for our lives, and when we are confused or unsure, prayer will help us to get through anything.
  • Making promises to God with no intention of seeing them through will eventually bring you into spiritual desolation and take you away from God’s will for your life. Spiritual desolation also opens an opportunity for the devil to make a move, pulling you further away from God.
  • James 4:7 (NASB) – “Submit therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
  • Praying with this verse can help you to submit to God and, in doing so, resist the devil’s influence.

Even to the faithful, all of this may seem overwhelming, but we all have moments in our lives when prayer falls off our list, connection to God begins to dwindle, and our thirst for Jesus dries up. The good news is that God gives us the option to circle back when we fall out of prayer. God’s invitation for a relationship is open-ended, and you can rest assured that God will circle back to you when you struggle to return to Him. 

God’s love and care for us cannot be measured, and no matter how many times you stray or fall off the prayer wagon, God will come back for you.  It might be in moments that you least expect, maybe the smile of a stranger in a place you hold a special memory. Perhaps, God might find you through a text message from a friend, or even while doing chores.  God’s love is given to us freely; all we have to do is accept it. We surrender our will to God simply by living with open hearts and minds, ready to align with His Holy Spirit.

 

 

 

©️  Kimberly Novak 2025

Edited by Janet Tamez

The Shepherd’s Pie: Praying for Our Priests

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The Shepherd’s Pie: Praying for Our Priests

 

“A slice of hope to raise faithful kids.”

This uplifting, ecumenical show uses engaging conversations and fun entertainment reviews to offer positive insights and media resources for families and youth leaders. We discuss current issues that impact young people at home, in school, and in the world today.

In this episode of The Shepherd’s Pie, Antony Barone Kolenc speaks with Tina Jost about the critical need for us to pray for our priests and pastors, and her prayer companion book, One Hour For My Priest.

 

 

Check out other episodes of The Shepherd’s Pie.

 

Copyright 2025 Antony Barone Kolenc

Emily Henson

Jubilee: A Coming Out of the Wilderness

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Jubilee: A Coming Out of the Wilderness

Years ago, when my dad was stationed in Italy, I was blessed to be able to take part in Italy’s jubilee in 2000. I didn’t think I would get the opportunity again. Jubilees only come along every 25 years and I live far away from Italy now.  When I stepped through St. Peter’s Holy Door in 2000, I never would have guessed that I would not only get to participate in Rome’s jubilee again, but that I would have a husband and three children in tow!

A jubilee is a time of forgiveness and spiritual renewal. The word jubilee means a time of celebration. We are celebrating God’s merciful love during a jubilee. Everyone is encouraged to participate, whether locally or through a pilgrimage to Rome and to receive the plenary indulgence. https://www.usccb.org/jubilee2025

When my husband first mentioned a possible trip to Italy for the Jubilee, I panicked. I’m a bit of an anxious person to put it lightly. All of the things that could possibly go wrong when bringing a family of five to Italy immediately filled my mind. I put our family on a strict “Don’t talk about the trip to Italy” notice in order to mentally avoid the inevitable. For the next several months, my husband quietly researched, planned, and bought tickets for our pilgrimage. I quietly brushed up on my Italian but stubbornly remained in denial.

In March, we landed in Venice and made our way through cities such as Siena, Assisi, and Florence, visiting many holy sites and preparing ourselves for the final stop in our pilgrimage – Rome. Italy, like America, has grown farther and farther away from God. It is hard to imagine the existence of a world where political – and even church– governance was heavily influenced by faith in the one, true God. This, however, is what the elaborate paintings in their government houses depict. God first, high above mankind, and all those below searching the Heavens and sometimes even pointing above in the realization that true governance comes from God.

That is what jubilees are about. An opportunity for us as individuals and, hopefully, as a society to renew our focus on God, His teachings, and His boundless love for all of us. Now, more than ever, the world needs this awakening. We need this hope.

Without this hope, however, I would never have even made it to Italy. Remember, I was so worried about all that could go wrong on the pilgrimage to Italy that I secretly preferred not to go at all. This was a grievous lack of trust in God on my part. Instead of turning to Him, instead of surrendering to Him, I almost missed out on a beautiful opportunity to allow my family a trip to the Holy City! I needed to surrender my heart to Him and ask Him to enter under my roof before I could enter under His.

This year’s jubilee calls us to be Pilgrims of Hope. Before I could even depart on this pilgrimage – I needed hope. As soon as this realization dawned, I was able to see this huge trip we would be undertaking as a just what it was meant to be – a pilgrimage. Pilgrimages are not easy. The first jubilee was decreed after the Israelites made it through 40 years of wilderness. Only after their desolate pilgrimage and only when they finally surrendered their stubbornness and made it to the Promised Land did the people enjoy their jubilee. “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you.” (Leviticus 25:10)

Looking back, I find it poignant that the hardest challenges for my family came prior to us even leaving and these challenges seemed to be allayed only when I surrendered and trusted the Lord with abandon. All at once, the wilderness cleared and our path to the Holy City unfolded.

Any pilgrimage we take during this jubilee year, whether to Italy or within our hearts, must start very close to home. Though I’m home now, my pilgrimage of hope should not be over. I’m to be an example to those around me of God’s loving mercy, at home and at work. This pilgrimage of hope starts in our heart. What does it benefit us to walk through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s if our heart is not as beautifully decorated as the basilica’s walls? Will I carefully place jewels of patience, love, and mercy into the altar of my heart? Will I perfume the chamber with oils of humility and kindness? When the Holy Doors close and the jubilee ends, how much more radiant will my heart be?

No matter where we find ourselves this jubilee year, let’s start with the heart. I plan to take time during daily prayer to look within and check on the progress within the basilica of my heart. Hopefully, at the end of this jubilee, I will be able to hand our Lord a heart I’ve done something to improve. All hearts can be like an ugly, rough stone, but each heart is greater than a precious jewel in the eyes of the Lord. With careful refinement, our hearts can shine like the beacons of hope God meant them to be. Let us renew our hope in Him and take up the pilgrim’s staff. God speed on your journey!

Copyright by Emily Henson 2025

Edited by Maggie Rosario

 

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