The Certainty of Grace in an Uncertain Time
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"Do you think it was the weather or shelter in place that made it the dreariest February ever? I asked my sister yesterday.
She was quick to point out that it was
April, not February.
Maybe you feel the same way.
More than shelter in place, I'm feeling disoriented without the regular rhythm of in-person Mass. While I've livestreamed Mass from Malaysia, Ireland, Newfoundland, New York, Michigan, and my hometown cathedral in South Dakota, it's obviously not the same.
It's also weird to don a mask to walk around the block, and to have a
new book coming out in a month and to have plans to promote it totally up in the air. Ditto a retreat I planned to give in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley in mid-June. First-world problems, right? Everyone in my immediate family and I are healthy. I'm blessed with a day job that pays well and allows me to telework, and side writing projects that are great formation.
That's the lesson I'm learning from covid, that selecting "trust" as my 2020 word was more prescient than I could have imagined. There's a grace in uncertainty, in not being able to plan a year or six months or a month or much more than a week out. There's grace in an impromptu beer with my sister on our veranda. There's grace in slowing down... breathing... and trusting.
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Friends in Faith: Darlene Davis
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A
Little Women
coloring book. A book of mothers' wisdom. A sheet of observations, her own ("Sometimes memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks") and from others.
Darlene Davis, who lives in a small town in Michigan's thumb, has been sending out these joy packages to friends during the time of covid. It's just the type of thing Darlene does, you see.
Darlene and I have known each other for nearly twenty years. On the outside, we're very different: she plays piano and sings beautifully. I croak. She's always ready with a joke or pun. I'm the least funny person I know. But love of Christ, and a community of Christian writers He brought together in Green Lake, Wisconsin, tie us together. From Darlene, I learn the value of
keeping those ties intact.
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On the Nightstand:
Seeking Peace
by Allison Gingras
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In this, the latest in a series of journals the Lord put on her heart a few years ago, Allison offers seven ways to learn to trust God more... and helps us incorporate that trust into our own lives so we can turn down the worry temperature. And, as always, she offers Scripture study, prayer prompts, and journaling opportunities... just what the Master Physician prescribes!
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Who is this man, you may be asking. Well, he's St. Filippo Smaldone (1848-1923), who was so immersed in his work with the Italian deaf community that his seminary studies sometimes suffered. He grew weary of ministry at one point, but after a talk with his confessor and prayer, rededicated himself to his work. His life reminds me that we can feel numb about service after a while, but that doesn't mean we should stop. In fact, maybe it means we're just getting started.
Filippo was the 1,000th entry in my website's little
database with saints, life-death-feast-canonization dates, quotes, images, and links to learn more about them. I added him on April 26, and that means
Julie M. of Fairfax, VA, who guessed I would hit that mark on April 27, will receive hardcover copies of both
Brotherhood of Saints and
Sisterhood of Saints as soon as
Brotherhood is available. Congrats, Julie!
Thanks for reading, stay safe, and keep praying for our country and the world.
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Other ways to keep the conversation going:
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