“His mother stood by the cross ” – Saint Bernard from the Office of Readings

From a sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot

(Sermo in dom. infra oct. Assumptionis, 14-15: Opera omnia, Edit. Cisterc. [1968], 273-274)

His mother stood by the cross

The martyrdom of the Virgin is set forth both in the prophecy of Simeon and in the actual story of our Lord’s passion. The holy old man said of the infant Jesus: He has been established as a sign which will be contradicted. He went on to say to Mary: And your own heart will be pierced by a sword.

Truly, O blessed Mother, a sword has pierced your heart. For only by passing through your heart could the sword enter the flesh of your Son. Indeed, after your Jesus – who belongs to everyone, but is especially yours – gave up his life, the cruel spear, which was not withheld from his lifeless body, tore open his side. Clearly it did not touch his soul and could not harm him, but it did pierce your heart. For surely his soul was no longer there, but yours could not be torn away. Thus the violence of sorrow has cut through your heart, and we rightly call you more than martyr, since the effect of compassion in you has gone beyond the endurance of physical suffering.

Or were those words, Woman, behold your Son, not more than a word to you, truly piercing your heart, cutting through to the division between soul and spirit? What an exchange! John is given to you in place of Jesus, the servant in place of the Lord, the disciple in place of the master; the son of Zebedee replaces the Son of God, a mere man replaces God himself. How could these words not pierce your most loving heart, when the mere remembrance of them breaks ours, hearts of iron and stone though they are!

Do not be surprised, brothers, that Mary is said to be a martyr in spirit. Let him be surprised who does not remember the words of Paul, that one of the greatest crimes of the Gentiles was that they were without love. That was far from the heart of Mary; let it be far from her servants.

Perhaps someone will say: “Had she not known before that he would not die?” Undoubtedly. “Did she not expect him to rise again at once?” Surely. “And still she grieved over her crucified Son?” Intensely. Who are you and what is the source of your wisdom that you are more surprised at the compassion of Mary than at the passion of Mary’s Son? For if he could die in body, could she not die with him in spirit? He died in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since his.

COLLECT
O God, who willed
that, when your Son was lifted high on the Cross,
his Mother should stand close by and share his suffering,
grant that your Church,
participating with the Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ,
may merit a share in his Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Excerpts from the English translation of The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1974, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Seven Sorrows  of the Blessed Virgin Mary

olsorrowsThe Virgin Mary, who believed in the word of the Lord, did not lose her faith in God when she saw her Son rejected, abused and crucified. Rather she remained beside Jesus, suffering and praying, until the end. And she saw the radiant dawn of His Resurrection. Let us learn from her to witness to our faith with a life of humble service, ready to personally pay the price of staying faithful to the Gospel of love and truth, certain that nothing that we do will be lost.

— Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus – September 13, 2009

Collect:

Father,
as Your Son was raised on the cross,
His mother Mary stood by Him, sharing His sufferings.
May Your Church be united with Christ
in His suffering and death
and so come to share in His rising to new life,
where He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Devotion from the revelation to St. Bridget of Sweden:

The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary from Discerning Hearts on Vimeo.

Day 2 – Novena to St. Padre Pio


Day 2tr47

St. Padre Pio you have said:

I implore you to be faithful and humble and always to keep the great Mother of God before your mental gaze, she who humbled herself more profoundly the more she was exalted.  Never, ever be exalted at your virtues but repeat that everything comes from God, and give Him the honor and glory.

Gracious God, you generously blessed your servant, Padre Pio, with the gifts of the Spirit. You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified, as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of your Son, and as a stirring inspiration to many people of your infinite mercy, forgiveness and love.

In the confessional, Padre Pio labored endlessly for the salvation of souls. Through his powerful intercession, many who suffered were healed of sickness and disease. Endowed with the gift of discernment, he could read people’s hearts. With dignity and intense devotion, he celebrated daily Mass, inviting countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ, in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Through the intercession of Saint Pio, we confidently beseech you to to grant us the grace of (state your petition here). Help us to imitate his example of prayerful holiness and compassion, so that we, too, may faithfully follow the Risen Lord, and one day rejoice in the Kingdom, where you live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

Day 1 St. Hildegard von Bingen Novena

Day 1hildegard

St. Hildegard you have said:

Just as a mirror, which reflects all things, is set in its own container, so too the rational soul is placed in the fragile container of the body. In this way, the body is governed in its earthly life by the soul, and the soul contemplates heavenly things through faith.

O glorious St. Hildegard, abbess of the order of St. Benedict and doctor of the universal Church, we now join in the prayer you taught us….

God is the foundation for everything
This God undertakes, God gives.
Such that nothing that is necessary for life is lacking.
Now humankind needs a body that at all times honors and praises God.
This body is supported in every way through the earth.
Thus the earth glorifies the power of God.

O God, by whose grace your servant Hildegard, kindled with the Fire of your love, became a burning and shining light in your Church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and walk before you as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
St. Hildegard von Bingen, pray for us

Musical excerpt: Ave generosa, by Hildegard von Bingen (1089 – 1179)
Laurence Ewashko, conductor
30 January 2000, St. Matthew’s Church, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
http://www.cantatasingersottawa.ca/listen.php

Novena Chaplet to St. Monica

St.-Monica-and-St.-Augustin

Introductory Prayer

Eternal and merciful Father, I give You thanks for the gift of Your Divine Son Who suffered, died and rose for all mankind. I thank You also for my Catholic Faith and ask Your help that I may grow in fidelity by prayer, by works of charity and penance, by reflection on Your Word, and by regular participation in the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist.

You gave Saint Monica a spirit of selfless love manifested in her constant prayer for the conversion of her son Augustine. Inspired by boundless confidence in Your power to move hearts, and by the success of her prayer. I ask the grace to imitate her constancy in my prayer for [name(s)] who no longer share(s) in the intimate life of Your Catholic family. Grant through my prayer and witness that (he/she/they) may be open to the promptings of Your Holy Spirit, and return to loving union with Your Church. Grant also that my prayer be ever hopeful and that I may never judge another, for You alone can read hearts. I ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Faith

O glorious St. Monica, transfixed with sorrow when you saw your beloved child Augustine living in the dark and gloomy abyss of error and vice, and straying far from the right path which leads to true fidelity in the possession of God and his holy grace, hear our prayer, O afflicted mother.
By that cruel sorrow which, with so much patience, you bore; and by those earnest sighs and bitter tears with which you appealed to God to change the heart of your prodigal son; by your wondrous confidence in God, which was never shaken, O grant to us, that we may, like you, place all our trust in God, and in our trials and troubles be ever resigned to His holy will; while we ask you, O glorious St. Monica, to supply for us our special needs, we here earnestly ask you to pray for the erring children of Jesus, so many Augustines, straying from God and hurrying to ruin. Let that earnest prayer of yours go forth once more for us and for sinners, that we may live in the light of divine grace, and be united again thereafter to bless the bounty of a loving God for eternity. Amen.

Followed by:
Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .Saint Monica, pray for us.

Prayer for Hope

O glorious, St. Monica, who, despite the many means you employed to accomplish the conversion of your son Augustine seemed fruitless, though for a long time God himself appeared deaf to your earnest prayer and unmoved by your ever-flowing tears, did never lose confidence in obtaining the long-sought grace for Augustine.
You did lovingly and tenderly admonish your erring son; you did watch over him ever with all a mother’s love, and fearless of danger and heedless of fatigue, followed him from place to place in his weary and wayward wanderings; in a word, all that a mother’s tender love could suggest, all that a mother’s anxious solicitude could inspire, all that a wondrous prudence and true wisdom could dictate, you, O great St. Monica, cheerfully did to effect the return to God of your firstborn and darling child.
By all these generous efforts, so happily crowned in the end, hear, O St. Monica, the petitions we make to you. Pray for us, too, and pray especially for those who are unmindful of and ungrateful to God. To you,  we are especially dedicated; look upon us, then, as your children, and win for us the grace we need. Regard mercifully the most destitute amongst us, that sin being diminished, the number of the faithful may increase, and greater glory may be given to Him who is the best of friends, the truest of benefactors, our first beginning and last end, the source of all our hope, our Savior, our God. Amen

Followed by:
Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . Saint Monica, pray for us.

Prayer for Charity

O glorious St. Monica, who can conceive the consolation that abounded in your heart, so long the home of brooding sorrow, when you saw your child Augustine rising in the light of grace and giving himself generously to God; when you held your converted son in your arms, and as tears of joy streamed forth to tell the glowing jubilee of your heart.
Oh, how in that moment God in his mercy recompensed your years of sorrow and anxiety, your long and weary days of racking suspense. It was impossible that a child of tears like yours should perish; and when your son Augustine heard the call of God, he obeyed it, and his life and his deeds flung a luster all their own on you, St. Monica.
O fortunate mother, twice mother of your child, deign to listen to our prayers and present our petitions to God; look lovingly, and with all a mother’s interest on us, under your protection, to honor you. We love you; let us become, as St. Augustine of old, the objects of your maternal love. Pray that we, too, like St. Augustine, may have strength to cling to God, and triumph over sin and temptation. By your prayers break the fetters of sin that hold in cruel bondage the souls of your sinful children in this world.
O St. Monica, pray that the miracle of grace in the heart of Augustine may again and again be repeated in these days of universal sin, and that the erring children of Jesus may be led back to the fold; that, united here on earth, we may securely go through the dangers of life and be united with you and all the Saints in heaven for ever. Amen

Followed by:
Our Father. . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . . Saint Monica, pray for us.

Concluding Prayers

O God, look graciously down upon your children who sigh in this valley of tears. Hopefully we pray for our daily bread, for the forgiveness of our sins, for the never-failing help of your grace, and for the faithful fulfillment of your promises: to find life everlasting and a happy abode with you in heaven, through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer.

May God, through the merits and intercession of Saint Monica, increase our faith, strengthen our hope, and enkindle the fire of charity in our hearts.

Amen

St.-Monica

Novena Chaplet to St. Monica

~ from the Triduum prayers of the Sodality of St. Monica

AW223 #Fatima100 and Mary’s Way- Among Women with Pat Gohn

This week’s episode:

“Blessed are They”: 100th Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima’s apparitions and message

“Among Women” Guest: Judy Landrieu Klein

This week we look at Mary in two ways. First, we explore the 100th anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance in 1917 to three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal. Second, we explore a mother’s life with the help and assistance of Mary — especially during times of great sufferings and trials. My guest is Judy Klein, who shares her story with us, as found in her latest book, Mary’s Way: The Power of Entrusting Your Child to God.

Links for this episode:

EWTN’s website on Fatima

Fatima for Today: The Urgent Marian Message of Hope by Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR

Articles about Fatima:

“A Bullet in Our Lady’s Crown” – an article on Fatima and Pope John Paul II by Pat Gohn (from my archives)

“The Heart of the Message of Fatima” by Dr. Virginia M. Kimball

Mary’s Way: The Power of Entrusting Your Child to God, by Judy Klein

Memorare Ministries

Books recommended on Among Women by Judy Klein:

St Louis de Montfort’s consecration to Jesus through Mary

33 Day to Morning Glory by Fr. Michael Gaitley

About your host, Pat Gohn: After decades of leading women’s and family ministries in local churches in New York and Massachusetts, Among Women combines Pat’s love of learning and teaching the Catholic faith with her passion of using media for the new evangelization. A wife and mother of three young adults, Pat is both a writer and speaker on Catholic subject matter. She holds a Masters in Theology, and a Bachelors in broadcast communications. Visit her column, “A Word in Season”, at the Catholic Portal at Patheos.com, and find her other columns at CatholicMom.com, AmazingCatechists.com, Catholic Digest, or by searching PatGohn.com. Her book for women, Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious: Celebrating the gift of Catholic womanhood, was published by Ave Maria Press in 2013.  Pat’s newest book is “All In: Why Belonging to the Catholic Church Matters

My Spirit Rejoices in God My Savior – Mary’s Magnificat, Word by Word with Sonja Corbitt

Can you imagine how deliriously happy Mary must have been at the miraculous word of that angel as it took root in her? I wonder how many motherhood scenarios she imagined in her heart in the months before He arrived. What would He smell like, what would He look like, what would He be like? Did she fight heartburn and sew tiny clothes and embroider swaddling cloths?

What am I waiting for? When will my life take on that breathless anticipation with which I barely sleep three winks, and awaken before dawn to charge into whatever the new day holds?

I asked the Lord, once, why adulthood is solemnly bereft of such excitement, if we’re supposed to be such a joyful people. I asked if, just one more time, He might give me that experience, the I-can’t-sleep-I’m-so-excited giddiness of Christmas Eve. What followed has been a breathless discovery of His full-blown love and the desire of His heart for me through the Scriptures, faith to faith (Rom 1:17), word upon word.

Mary knows. It’s the Word of God that brings the crazy, twirly, fist-pumping joy.

For other episodes in this series, visit the Discerning Hearts Sonja Corbitt page

Scripture References for The Show

Luke 1:46-55, the words of the Magnificat

And Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
52 he has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”

Romans 6:23, The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wisdom 11:16, One is punished by the very things by which he sins.

Revelation 12, Mary as Queen of Heaven and “the woman” of Genesis 3.

Revelation 12:17,  Mary as our Mother: Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. 

 

INTERACTIVE SCRIPTURE MEDITATION EXERCISE (LECTIO DIVINA)

This week’s lectio exercise is based on an Augustinian approach. Go on! Try it!

Read (Lectio)

As you read through the words of the Magnificat, above, imagine that Mary is speaking them directly to you about herself.

Meditate (Meditatio)

Revelation 12:7 (see above) is one place the Bible speaks of Mary as the mother of all Christians. Spend a few moments rewriting or re-wording Mary’s Magnificat so that it could be a prayer that Mary is praying for you and over you as your Mother, at this very moment in your life. Change or omit whatever words or phrases that do not apply to you. Close your eyes and imagine Mary praying this song over you today. Like this:

And Mary said: “Sonja’s (your name’s) soul magnifies the Lord, and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior…”

Pray (Oratio)

Pray your new prayer back to God for your own children and/or grandchildren. As you consider yourself, and then your own children or grandchildren as the object(s) of this prayer, what emotions and/or inspirations arise in you? What does God want you to do now?

Rest (Contemplatio)

Perhaps you’d like to take a few minutes to simply bask in the warmth of God’s love in giving you a spiritual mother in addition to His Son.


 For more resources and Sonja’s scripture meditation exercise for this episode visit  the Bible Study Evangelista website  

Sonja’s books can found here

Sonja Corbitt is the Bible Study Evangelista. She’s a Catholic Scripture teacher with a story teller’s gift – a Southern Belle with a warrior’s heart and a poet’s pen.

We’re all sweating and dirty with the effort to love and lift all He’s given to us – those people, duties, callings, and longings that break our hearts and make them sing, sometimes at the same time. But most times, we need to be loved and lifted ourselves.

So her Bible study media are created with you in mind, bites of spinach that taste like cake, to help you make space in your busy heart and schedule for God to love and lift you all the way up into His great lap, where all you’ve been given is loved and lifted too.

FG#8 Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacques Phillippe ep 8 – Fountains of Grace with Donna Garrett

Join host Donna Garrett, with Fr. Daniel Brandenburg, LC, as they discuss the spiritual classic “Interior Freedom” by Fr.  Jacques Philippe  a priest of  Communaute des Beatitudes, an international association of the faithful of Pontifical Right founded in France in 1973.  The members of the Community, which has a contemplative vocation based on Carmelite spirituality, are actively engaged in the service of the poor and the proclamation of the Gospel.

Discussed in this episode, among other topics,  from “Interior Freedom” page 112

Donna Garrett is joined in this particular series by Fr. Daniel Brandenburg, LC

“Instead of following the impulses of the Spirit, people give themselves up, under a pretext of freedom, to their passions to selfishness and sin and sin in all its forms: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness carousing and the like. St Paul reminds us of a classic teaching worth repeating in these confused times; licentiousness is not freedom. It s slavery in which people are trapped by what is most superficial in humanity selfish desires, fears weaknesses and so on. We must wage an unceasing fight against the tendencies described by St Paul and must remain permanently open to the healing graces that come from the Cross of Christ. Then we become truly capable of accomplishing good.”

For other episodes in this series click here “Fountains of Grace w/Donna Garrett

You can find “Interior Freedom” here

Fr. Jacques Philippe

AW216 Riding the River of Grace – Among Women with Pat Gohn

In this episode:

This week’s episode:

“Among Women” Guest: Susan Bailey

In this episode Pat talks about finding a way through grief, loss, and tribulation. She speaks with Catholic author and singer-songwriter Susan Bailey. Together they discuss recovery from loss or grief and how to deal with it creatively and with the help of prayer and the sacraments. Pat and Susan talk about her kayaking experiences and the spiritual lessons she learned from it, as captured in her book,  River of Grace.

Also AW listeners are among the first to get a sneak peak at my latest book.

Links for this episode:

Susan Bailey.org

River of Grace by Susan Bailey

About your host, Pat Gohn: After decades of leading women’s and family ministries in local churches in New York and Massachusetts, Among Women combines Pat’s love of learning and teaching the Catholic faith with her passion of using media for the new evangelization. A wife and mother of three young adults, Pat is both a writer and speaker on Catholic subject matter. She holds a Masters in Theology, and a Bachelors in broadcast communications. Visit her column, “A Word in Season”, at the Catholic Portal at Patheos.com, and find her other columns at CatholicMom.com, AmazingCatechists.com, Catholic Digest, or by searching PatGohn.com. Her book for women, Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious: Celebrating the gift of Catholic womanhood, was published by Ave Maria Press in 2013.  Pat’s newest book is “All In: Why Belonging to the Catholic Church Matters

My Soul Magnifies the Lord – Mary’s Magnificat, Word by Word with Sonja Corbitt

Mary “magnified” the Lord, not because of the words she said or sang in praise of Him, but because Mary fulfilled God’s purpose for her to the fullest possible degree. Completely unhindered by sin, Mary evolved completely into the person God created her to be, and in so doing, her whole life magnified the Lord. Mary, herself, is the Magnificat.

For other episodes in this series, visit the Discerning Hearts Sonja Corbitt page

Scripture References for The Show

Luke 1:46-55, the words of the Magnificat

And Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
52 he has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23, “The God of peace sanctify you wholly, that your whole spirit, and soul, and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Three divisions or “parts” to man:

  • spirit – Psalm 51:10, “Lord, create in my inward parts a right spirit.”
  • soul – Genesis 2:7, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
  • body – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Matthew 10:10, Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you.

Mark 12:30-31,  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Hebrews 11:1, (NJB)  “Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of realities that are unseen.”  (KJV) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Joh 4:23 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

INTERACTIVE SCRIPTURE MEDITATION EXCERCISE (LECTIO DIVINA)

This week’s lectio exercise is based on a Thomistic approach. Go on! Try it!

Read (Lectio)

Colossians 3:23-24

(DRB) Whatsoever you do, do it from the heart, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that you shall receive of the Lord the reward of inheritance. Serve ye the Lord Christ.

(KJV) And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

(NAB-A) Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment of the inheritance; be slaves of the Lord Christ.

(NJB) Whatever your work is, put your heart into it as done for the Lord and not for human beings, knowing that the Lord will repay you by making you his heirs. It is Christ the Lord that you are serving.

(RSV-CE) Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ.

Meditate (Meditatio)

To whom is God speaking in these verses?

Which tasks of your daily life are most distasteful to you? What is is about those tasks that you find disagreeable? What does God mean by “whatever your task…”?

How do we do that? When and where in your daily routine, specifically, do these verses apply to you?

What does “heartily” or “from the heart” mean? Why are we doing our “work as unto the Lord”?

Who are we serving on a daily basis?

What does God mean by “you will receive the inheritance”? Which tasks done for the love of Christ in your heart merit reward?

Pray (Oratio)

As you consider that all the mundane jobs, chores, and duties of your station in life can accrue toward your eternal reward, what emotions and/or motivations do these verses inspire or provoke in you? Does it change how you will go about your daily routine from now on? How? What do you want to say to the Lord about that?

Rest (Contemplatio)

Perhaps you’d like to take a few minutes to thank Him for elevating such “little things” to eternity, so that none of it is wasted or useless.


 For more resources and Sonja’s scripture meditation exercise for this episode visit  the Bible Study Evangelista website  

Sonja’s books can found here

Sonja Corbitt is the Bible Study Evangelista. She’s a Catholic Scripture teacher with a story teller’s gift – a Southern Belle with a warrior’s heart and a poet’s pen.

We’re all sweating and dirty with the effort to love and lift all He’s given to us – those people, duties, callings, and longings that break our hearts and make them sing, sometimes at the same time. But most times, we need to be loved and lifted ourselves.

So her Bible study media are created with you in mind, bites of spinach that taste like cake, to help you make space in your busy heart and schedule for God to love and lift you all the way up into His great lap, where all you’ve been given is loved and lifted too.