Love is the key to the mystery

February 14
“Love is the key to the mystery. Love by its very nature is not selfish, but generous. It seeks not its own, but the good of others. The measure of love is not the pleasure it gives – that is the way the world judges it – but the joy and peace it can purchase for others.”
 –Ven. Fulton J. Sheen
For Reflection:
Love is not an emotion as much as it is a decision of the will. How can I show love today according to this quote?

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Love in a soul

February 13
“The good God does not need years to accomplish His work of love in a soul; one ray from His Heart can, in an instant, make His flower bloom for eternity.”
-Saint Therese of Lisieux
 Today’s Reflection:
When we trust in God and faithfully ask Him to change our hearts, He does so as swiftly as is necessary. Where can God heal and change my heart today? Do I trust Him to do so?

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The hunger for love

February 12
“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger
for bread.”
-Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Today’s Reflection:
What a beautiful reminder it is to know that we all ache for love. And how lucky are we to have a Father who loves us so much. Today, thank God for the love He continually pours out on you, and remember to share that love with every soul you encounter.

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Scatter more love

February 11

“Today people are suffering from poverty, but also from lack of love.”

-Pope Francis

 

Today’s Reflection:

Where am I lacking in love in my life? When I say that I love something or someone, what do I really mean? Ask God to open your heart to scatter more love wherever you go, love that only He can provide.

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Love is willing the good of the other

February 10

“Love is not a sentiment or feeling. Love is actively willing the
good of the other.”

-Bishop Robert Barron

 

Today’s Reflection:

Often times, we think that love is simply a feeling towards another, an emotional response to a person. However, as Bishop Barron tells us, love is to actively will the good of the other. Wow! What a beautiful definition. Today, ask God to show you where you can turn your love for someone, especially Him, into action.

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Fresh life

February 9
“A word or a smile is often enough to put fresh life in a despondent soul.”
-St. Therese of Lisieux
Today’s Reflection:
What an impact I can have on another person! When I encounter others, how do I respond? Do I pretend to not see them? Or do I embrace them with the warmth of Christ’s love? Ask God to help you truly see others today.

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Go home and love your family

February 8
“Charity is the sweet and holy bond which links the soul with its Creator: it binds God with man and man with God.”
-Saint Catherine of Siena
Today’s Reflection:
How beautiful! What a lovely reminder that we are linked with our Beloved. Knowing this, how can we show extra gratitude today to Him for His constant presence in our lives? How can we recognize Him wherever we go?

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The holy bond of charity

February 7
“Charity is the sweet and holy bond which links the soul with its Creator: it binds God with man and man with God.”
-Saint Catherine of Siena
Today’s Reflection:
How beautiful! What a lovely reminder that we are linked with our Beloved. Knowing this, how can we show extra gratitude today to Him for His constant presence in our lives? How can we recognize Him wherever we go?

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Fear is useless

“This is the way to become a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old way of being will pass away and we will be made new in Him.”
-2 Cor. 5:17-18

March 2020

Here at Women of Grace we are busy preparing for our upcoming events, additional webinars on insightful and inspiring topics, and a host of other outreaches to help us live our call as Catholics in the world today, none of which would be possible without your prayers and financial support. Please visit our website (womenofgrace.com) to find out all about our upcoming events, including our annual Women of Grace Retreat at Malvern Retreat House in July.

It’s hard to believe we are already closing in on the halfway mark of Lent. How would you evaluate your Lent thus far? It’s a good question to ask at the mid-way point. It’s never too late to adjust, begin again, or even start over should you need to.

Life being what it is, I have often found it beneficial to come up with a plan and a strategy to help me enter more deeply into the Lenten season. In years past, I have planned and strategized how to “give up” certain foods or treats (don’t buy them), activities and recreations (don’t go to them), habits and behaviors (don’t do them). One year I even gave up going to the mall (don’t drive by it). That was my longest Lent ever!

Along with the exclusions, I have often added a few inclusions: more time in prayer and study, going to adoration more frequently and performing additional acts of charity.

This year, I have devised a new plan centered around behaviors that start with “C,” as in Cross. Together, they are acting as a compass leading me through this holy season. The goal has been to implement some and eliminate others. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which is which!

Here are a few:

» Complain

» Collaborate

» Console

» Control

» Complete

» Carp

» Conciliate

» Carry On

In the end, the purpose is to advance in becoming what the cross is all about – LOVE. Recall that it was because of His love for us that God gave us His Son, and it was out of the Son’s love for us that the Son chose the Cross. Two passages from Scripture tell us as much: For God so loved the world that He gave His Only-Begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life John 3:16), and There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13).

As Christians, we are called to live Christ, to be His presence in the world, to be His love among men in all of the diverse circumstances, situations, and nuances of our daily lives. Jesus tells us:

This is my commandment: love one another love as I have loved you (John 15:12). And this, It was not you who chose me, it was I who chose you to go forth and bear fruit. Your fruit must endure… The command I give is this, that you love one another (John 15:16,17).

Both remind me of yet another passage. Given to us through St. Paul, this one shows us the way to love: Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices in the truth. There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure … Love never fails … There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love (1 Cor. 13: 4-7, 8, 13). This is the way to become a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old way of being will pass away and we will be made new in Him (2 Cor. 5:17-18).

Lent is 40 days long. Researchers tell us it takes about six weeks to engage a new behavior. My hope is that implementation of my “C” words will help me overcome vices, grow in virtue, and better become Christ’s love in the world today.

It’s been a lofty goal to be sure, but why not think big for the Lord? We can never arrive at our destination if we never set off.

Let’s sojourn together through this holy time no matter or plan or strategy. Together we can do great things through the Lord!

As always, I faithfully remain…

Johnnette's Signature

 

 

 

 

 

Our Lord loves you

February 6

“Our Lord loves you and loves you tenderly; and if He does not let you feel the sweetness of His love, it is to make you more humble and abject in
your own eyes.”

-St. Pio of Pietrelcino

 

Today’s Reflection

What are your reactions to God’s love? Do you embrace it and accept it, regardless of whether you feel its sweetness? Or do you reject it when you do not feel its consolations? Spend some time letting God love you today, even if you do not feel it initially.

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