Editor’s Note: I never guessed 40 days could fly by so fast! But here we are in Holy Week and I’m not so sure my heart is prepared to fully enter into the Triduum – the most epic time of year for us as Catholics. What about you? Are you prepared?
If you feel like you need a recap of this journey through the desert we just took, listen to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s homilies from the last couple weeks. If that sounds boring to you – you’ve never heard this holy man preach! Just press play . . . you could even organize your sock drawer while you listen. Just promise me you’ll do one thing, prepare your heart and really enter into the Triduum this year; God has something amazing to show you.
I’m praying for you.
-Christina Mead
For Love of You
“The ashes mean I am a sinner. The Cross means I have a Savior. The ashes mean I need to turn away from something. The Cross is what I turn towards. The ashes mean that I have fallen short of God’s glory. And the Cross means that you and I are all made for glory.”
Purification and Enlightenment
“I invite you, my brothers and sisters, to enter into this Lent with a spirit of meekness but a spirit of courage, with a spirit of humility but a spirit of boldness, with a spirit not of fear, as St. Peter says, to not be afraid or terrified with fear, but a spirit of hope.”
Purification and Enlightenment
My Beloved Son
“In Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Chapter 8, the whole chapter is about being a son of God. Because of Jesus it says, ‘Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, ‘Papa! Abba! Father!’ So what does that mean? Isaac said, ‘Abraham, Father, your will is my will. Let it be done unto me.’ Jesus said to the Father, ‘Abba, Father, Your will is my will, Your mind is my mind, Your mission is my mission.’ And you, us, as sons and daughters of the Father, what do we say? ‘Father, Your will is my will. Just like Abraham, I can trust you. Just like Isaac, I can trust you. Just like Jesus, I can trust you.’”
Christianity 101: Shame
“God is not ashamed of your shame. He is not ashamed of what we’re ashamed of. He is not afraid of what scares us. He is not afraid of our sins. God is not shocked by the fact that we are weak. So do not, do not, please, my brothers and sisters, do not allow your shame or your sin or your weakness to keep you in shadow.”
Father, Glorify Your Name
“I think when Jesus says in today’s Gospel, ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a single grain of wheat. But if it dies, it can produce much fruit,’ He knows what He is talking about. Because here He is, stripping Himself. Here He is, becoming that seed that falls to the ground and dies. And I think the same thing happens to us. When it comes to whatever it is in our life that just enslaves us, whether it’s that desire to be famous, that desire to be known, the desire to be significant, unless that dies, I just die as me and my glory does not follow me below. So Jesus says, ‘Here is the secret: humble yourselves. Strip off glory.’”
