I loved reading mysteries as a kid. My mom, a teacher, brought us to our community library every Friday in the summer; growing up, I spent countless hours devouring series like the Hardy Boys and reading authors like Stephen King. Along with instilling within me my passion for teaching and learning, my mom also introduced to me, at a young age, the power of reading as a practice for resting, relaxation, and growth. So much so, that many summers I also shared my sister’s series like Nancy Drew and The Babysistter’s Club! This lifelong practice now manifests itself across all kinds of non-fiction reading, mysteries, and great novels that my wife Brigid passes along to me. God is good!
This Lent, as I journey along the mystery of God’s goodness, I find comfort in the humanity of Jesus and striving to learn from His challenges and experiences as told by this Church season’s Scripture. Some of my own recent ups and downs pale in comparison to the struggles that Jesus endured, and so I find inspiration in his humility and selflessness. I trust in the “not knowing” piece of my own faith journey and seek to embrace the mysteries of my life with openness and perseverance and trust in Divine Providence. And I eagerly await the joy of the Resurrection on the horizon!
I am pleased to share some resources this week to support your reflection. Blessings on your week ahead.
Let Your God Love You
Be silent. Be still.
Alone. Empty.
Before your God.
Say nothing. Ask nothing.
Be silent. Be still.
Let your God
Look upon you. That is all.
God knows.
God understands.
God loves you
With an enormous love
And only wants to look upon you
With that love.
Quiet. Still. Be.
Let your God —
Love you.
A Way Other Than Our Own: Devotions for Lent, by Walter Brueggemann
“I imagine Lent for you and for me as a great departure from the greedy, anxious anti-neighborliness of our economy, a great departure from our exclusionary politics that fears the other, a great departure from self-indulgent consumerism that devours creation. And then an arrival in a new neighborhood, because it is a gift to be simple, it is a gift to be free, it is a gift to come down where we ought to be.”
Keeping the Faith 