Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

This Saint Valentine’s Day, Give Your Heart to The Sacred Heart

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Whether you have a Saint Valentine’s Day that delights or disappoints, the most important gift of hearts is the one each of us gives to Our Lord. The most strengthening Valentine we can receive is the chance to rest our head upon the Sacred Heart of Our Lord, listening to its beat; as St. John the Beloved did at The Last Supper. After all, St. John the Beloved was the only apostle to withstand witnessing the Way of the Cross. When we draw near to the Heart of Jesus, we are capable of so much more than we could do on our own!

Here’s a few ways to make this Valentine’s Day and Valentine’s Month extra heartfelt:

  1. Place an image of the Sacred Heart with bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table or island as a reminder of your love, and His.
  2. Pray one of the many beautiful Sacred Heart prayers as part of grace before meals. Here’s one I like: Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
  3. Make Valentine’s food in honor of the Sacred Heart. After you make the cupcake recipe of your choice (I like chocolate with vanilla frosting!) top with strawberries cut into the shape of a heart. Or, bonus points: make Red Velvet cupcakes!
  4. Try making an easy Sacred Heart craft with your kids. Get a grapevine wreath resembling the crown of thorns, and place in the center of your dining table. Make a large heart out of construction paper. Upon that heart, each family member can write a prayer intention or a work of mercy they will offer to the Sacred Heart all month long. Place the heart in the middle of the wreath.
  5. Honor his Sacred Heart as present in the Eucharist through making a Holy Hour of Adoration and Reparation.
  6. Buy a new statue, candle or image of the Sacred Heart for your home. If you already have yours, consider buying one to give someone else… especially someone in need of a little extra love this Valentine’s month!
  7. Consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Our House of the Sacred Heart is a 33-Day Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus filled with art, stories, and reflections to draw our hearts closer to His. It’s a great preparation for Lent as well as a wonderful Lenten companion. The hard cover has full color sacred art on every page. A podcast companion to the book, sent to your inbox for 33 dayshttps://www.bethanyplan.com/consecration-to-the-sacred-heart-of-jesus/ offers reflections and music corresponding to each of the book’s chapters; another resource to make our hearts more like His… with each passing day. O Jesus, Meek and Humble of Heart, make our hearts like unto thine.

Happy Saint Valentine’s Month!

Interview with Barb Szyzkiewicz about The Handy Little Guide to Prayer

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If you have ever wished you had a wise and prayerful friend to guide you in growing closer to God, meet Barb Szyzkiewicz, a Catholic wife and mom, a wonderful writer and editor, and the author of a new book: The Handy Little Guide to Prayer!

She’s familiar to many women around the world for her fantastic work at CatholicMom.com, and now she’s got a new book and two beautiful prayer journals to tell us about!

Click the book cover to watch!

Order the Handy Little Guide to Prayer, by Barb Szyszkiewicz

Barb Szyszkiewicz is a wife, a mom of three young adults, and a Secular Franciscan. She is editor at CatholicMom.com and blogs at FranciscanMom.com. Barb enjoys writing, cooking, and reading, and is a music minister at her parish.

Order the (beautiful) Simply Faithful journals:

Sacred Heart Prayer Journal: https://www.osvcatholicbookstore.com/product/simply-faithful-my-catholic-prayer-journal-the-sacred-heart

Our Lady of Lourdes Prayer Journal: https://www.osvcatholicbookstore.com/product/simply-faithful-my-catholic-prayer-journal-our-lady-of-lourdes

Barb’s blog: FranciscanMom.com

Social Media: @franciscanmom on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

Work: CatholicMom.com

New Year’s Resolution: How to Increase Our Hospitality for Jesus in Our Hearts and Homes this Year

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As this month begins, the gifts have been unwrapped, leftover Christmas tinsel may be clinging to the rug and there might be a few gingerbread cookies still left in the pantry. We’re a bit worn out from hosting or attending December’s Christmas gatherings, or due to pandemic-related concerns, we are feeling a bit disappointed that this Christmas wasn’t quite as social as years past. And now comes January of a new year, traditionally a time to start fresh. How can we rest or rejuvenate ourselves, no matter what kind of end to 2021 we had?

For starters, Christmas isn’t really over. It’s the season known as Christmastide now! Some people keep their decorations up until the “twelve days of Christmas” culminate on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. Still others like to keep their decorations or at least their Christmas lights up until the traditional end of the Christmas season on Candlemas, or the Purification of the Virgin Mary on February 2. But whether you prefer to pack the ornaments away immediately or keep the Christmas decorations and crafts going, there’s one thing every home can benefit from this January: increasing our hospitality. Hospitality during Covid? That’s right! We can welcome Jesus into our home EVERY DAY. And doing so will make us feel a greater sense of true belonging in these disjointed times as we are reminded of Whose we are. Let’s make a resolution now, or better yet: five! Here’s five ways we can increase our hospitality for Jesus in the new year:

1) Welcome Jesus First Thing, Every Day

“Now it came to pass as they went, that He entered into a certain town: and a certain woman named Martha, welcomed Him into her house”(Luke 10:38). We know how Martha worked as hard as she could cooking and cleaning for Our Lord and how Mary gave her full attention, sitting at the feet of Christ and listening to Him. But it’s easy to forget the simple profundity of that verse: she “welcomed Him.” How often Jesus was misunderstood, rejected, or overlooked. Yet Martha welcomed Jesus: receiving Him into her home! No wonder she became a saint! Let’s resolve to welcome Jesus in our homes and hearts this year… first thing; every day! What will that look like for us? Well, it can look like praying a Morning Offering prayer daily as soon as our eyes pop open, deciding to find and attend a daily Mass, praying an Our Father and emphasizing “Thy Will Be Done,” even as we start the coffee or take the dog for a walk. If there’s a prayer that helps you surrender everything to Jesus, try placing it behind the door of your most-opened kitchen cabinet or on the table near where you eat breakfast every day.

2) Tell Jesus, “Our Home is Your Home!”

You’ve Heard the Expression “My Home is your Home” or “Mi Casa es Su Casa!” Well, this 2022, let’s offer that sentiment to Jesus! Saints Martha and Mary offered Him a peaceful respite from a world that often rejected him. We should ask ourselves: Does our house do that? Do people who pass by our house know we are Catholic? This month, why not add a statue of Jesus or of our Blessed Mother on our property in a place that can be seen from the road, inspiring others! Do people who enter our home see our faith proudly on display? Add a beautiful picture of the Sacred Heart in a prominent place in the home. Then arrange with a priest to have a Home Enthronement Ceremony in which you officially declare Christ as the King of your Home. Here is the Enthronement Ceremony which is ideally led by a priest, or the father of the family, or if neither is available, the owner of the home. We pray, “May our home be for Thee a haven as sweet as that of Bethany, where Thou canst find rest in the midst of loving friends, who like Mary have chosen the better part in the loving intimacy of Thy Heart!”

3) Give Jesus Your Heart, Again and Again

St. Francis once asked Jesus what he could give Our Lord, since he had already given Jesus his heart. Our Lord answered, “Francis, give me (your heart) again and again. It will give me the same pleasure.” Consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for the first time, or once again. You can never consecrate yourself too often… it is like a repeated “I love you.” This one offers a fresh approach to the 33-Day Consecration. Available completely for free online, it sends daily emails to your inbox with a link to a 9-12 minute podcast containing beautiful stories and reflections, featured works of art and inspiring music… all themed around that day’s line in the Litany to the Sacred Heart.

4) Invite Jesus to Each Meal You Have

We know Saint Martha of Bethany worked hard on each meal she served Jesus. How wonderful to imagine the grace of inviting Jesus to our own table, to invite Him to sit among our family members and to serve Him there. But we can do this! Let’s resolve to always pray grace before meals and perhaps end by praying, “Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!” This 2022, why not also a prayer of thanks after meals, frame a picture of Jesus and place it in the center of our table as a way to include this most Beloved family member, and add readings from and discussions of Scripture to our mealtime conversations.

5) Take a Course in Welcoming Our Lord from the Saints

Martha and Mary were devoted hostesses and they can teach us how to welcome Our Lord. After all, Jesus did not just stop by their home once. Rather, He loved visiting them and would often visit when he was in or near Bethany. To start 2022 with a 9-day novena to Saints Martha and Mary that delves deeper into the lessons we can learn from their house at Bethany, sign up here for 9 podcasts delivered daily to your inbox that includes moving reflections, sacred art and music for only 9-12 minutes a day.

God bless you as you resolve to make your home and heart shine with hospitality to Our Lord in this fresh first month of 2022!

Interview with Dr. Brant Pitre on His New Book!

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My Friends, Enjoy this delightful half-hour with Dr. Brant Pitre. We’re talking about his fantastic new book, “Introduction to the Spiritual Life: Walking the Path of Prayer with Jesus.”

Just click the book cover to watch my super-fun chat with Dr. Pitre!

I highly recommend this resource for individuals and groups.

It is truly accessible to anyone–from teens and RCIA candidates to those who are advanced in the spiritual life. 

Dr. Pitre presents the faith in easy steps, without skimping on the beauty, majesty, challenge, and joy of growing in the spiritual life.

You can order it in plenty of time for Christmas, here.

Pro-Tip: For 2022, form some accountability partnerships and go through this one short chapter at a time, discussing your learnings and then setting goals for your own growth!

Dr. Brant Pitre is Distinguished Research Professor of Scripture at the Augustine Institute, Graduate School of Theology. He earned his Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, where he specialized in the study of the New Testament and ancient Judaism. He is the author of the best-selling books, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist (Image, 2011), The Case for Jesus (Image, 2015), and Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary (Image, 2018). Dr. Pitre has also produced dozens of video and audio Bible studies, in which he explores the biblical foundations of Catholic faith and theology (available at BrantPitre.com). He currently lives in Louisiana with his wife Elizabeth and their five children.

5 Ways to Make the Days Leading Up to Thanksgiving More Balanced and Holy with Saints Martha and Mary

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Anticipating the upcoming holiday with some feelings of stress? We’ve all been there… and there are dozens of reasons why. For those who host Thanksgiving (and sometimes, even those who attend!) the “many things we are burdened with” can make us feel anxious. So how do we “choose the better part” this Thanksgiving? The sisters of Bethany could teach us a thing or two. And even though St. Mary is famous for choosing the better part by listening to Jesus, and spending prayerful time with Him, Martha is a saint, too; she was privileged to welcome and serve our Lord! The sisters represent the proper balance we need to strike between work and prayer. They themselves came to master it through the help of Our Lord. Through their intercession, I give you 5 Ways to make your holiday more balanced and holy!

1) Start the Day Strong: When things are at their busiest, we sometimes forget to pray. Ironically, prayer is the very thing we need to enable us to get everything done! But there’s a simple step we can take to actually make the day run more smoothly, and fit in more than we ever could have imagined! Before anything else, let’s start the day by thanking God for protecting and preserving us during our night’s sleep, and praying the morning offering. Here is the one I pray.

By taking time to pray this prayer, we are able to offer up our every thought, word and action of our day… and that will be a game-changer for us. Even on the busiest days, no matter what joys or challenges may come our way, we’ve already offered them up and that will make us handle them better. The precious “thank you” to God combined with the time set apart just for God that the Morning Offering provides would make Saint Mary of Bethany very proud. When we choose the better part, we may have the temptation to worry about what may be “taken” from us. But let us not be anxious: nothing will be taken from us when we choose the better part; God will see to it that things fall into place.

2) Remember God– even among the pots and pans: St. Teresa of Avila told the nuns of her convent, “Know that even when you are in the kitchen, Our Lord is moving among the pots and pans.” What a thing to remember! Maybe preparing that big Thanksgiving meal (or even just the side dish you’ve promised to bring)is exhausting, and time-consuming. But the process can be an action-filled prayer if we are aware that God is present. To help me remember this (because it’s easier said than done) I taped a little reminder inside the kitchen cabinet that I open most often. It reads: “Offer up your daily chores. Pray: ‘I offer up my daily chores for the glory of God.’” So between reaching for the breadcrumbs and the pepper… in the flash of a moment we can offer up the chores for God’s glory. Seems a lot less thankless and mundane, doesn’t it? Finally, if there’s a task we especially don’t enjoy, like cleaning a sink or mopping a floor… why not offer it up as a penance for our sins or for the conversion of sinners? I can just picture St. Martha of Bethany learning how, when she brought this spirit to her work, she no longer felt upset her sister wasn’t helping. She could choose the better part… even in the kitchen, as she prayed while making a wonderful meal… for Jesus.

3) Offer a Holy Text… on your cell phone! As the big day approaches, if you’re hosting it at your house, why not send a text to everyone who is going to attend and say something like: “Can’t wait to see you on Thanksgiving! Looking forward to welcoming and spending time with YOU!” That will set the tone for everyone who’s on the guest list to feel more welcomed, more at peace, more relaxed and excited for the big day. If you’re going to be a guest ay someone’s home… text the host and tell them how much you’re looking forward to seeing them on Thanksgiving. Offer to help, and ask them if there’s anything they’d like you to bring. That simple text can help lighten their stress and make them feel so loved and thought about. After all, the sisters of Bethany attentively welcomed Jesus and He is the most gracious guest imaginable. Let’s bring that spirit to our holiday, whether we’re hosting or visiting.

4) Plan a break: Make a plan that on Thanksgiving, you will set aside even 15-20 minutes to be completely, fully present to the moment…and grateful. If you’re the cook and host, plan for at least 15 minutes to leave the kitchen and just visit and participate with your guests. If you’re the guest, be sure you give at least 15 minutes helping the host or really listening to someone else talk… bonus points if it’s someone who no one else is talking to! Be a good listener. See who might need someone to sit with. My grandmother had six kids and twelve grandkids and she was accustomed to hosting big gatherings and making all feel attended to and welcomed. But on her last Thanksgiving, at 101 years old, she still found a way to welcome, and it wasn’t even in her own home. She noticed how busy I was, looking after my small children. Out of the blue when the appetizers came out, she said to me, “Annabelle, get a plate for us, and we’ll share it and sit together and talk.” I did just that, and the blur of activity seemed to fade away as we just laughed and chatted. The kids were just fine, and my grandmother and I had such a great time. Little did either of us know, she would pass away in a matter of weeks. I’ll never forget that Thanksgiving.

5) Invite Our Lord to your Thanksgiving: How can we do this in truth? Let’s up our game for the way we pray grace this year! Let’s pray with gratitude for those who are gathered around the table; and pray by name for those by name who aren’t there; and the souls of the faithful departed. Let’s really welcome Him in officially. How to do this? Perhaps have a Sacred Heart candle or picture in the middle of the table, or an icon or holy card of Our Lord framed and set amid the candles and decorations. Finally, to prepare our hearts to welcome Him into our Thanksgiving preparations more fully, let’s learn from the examples of Sts. Martha and Mary by invoking their assistance in prayer.

Sign up here for a nine-day novena to Saints Martha and Mary, to be delivered to your inbox: It will only take 9-12 minutes a day so in its brevity it will still allow you to get all the items of your to-do list done… but will also allow that they’ll be done in the most beautiful spirit of prayer and joy.

Saints Martha and Mary of Bethany, pray for us!

How Prayer is a Mother’s Best Helper

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Spoiler alert: this article includes a discount code and free shipping on a must-have resource for mothers!

I once heard my grandmother ask, “How do mothers go through life without praying each day?” Then she added, “It would be impossible.”

I come from a long line of praying mothers. My great-grandmother was famous for singing hymns while she scrubbed the laundry. My grandmother led her children in prayer before she had surgery. My mother left me little daily notes in the kitchen during my high school and early adulthood years, telling me she was praying for my latest exam, job interview, or challenge. The note would often include a quote by a saint, or a line of Scripture. The Family Rosary I pray with my husband and kids is not only one of my favorite times of day; it makes our family stronger.

The Catechism teaches that prayer is a means of obtaining God’s grace and it is necessary for salvation. “It is He,” the Catechism teaches eloquently, “who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him” (2561). And prayer is the “go-to” helper for any Catholic mom who knows how to keep her head above water AND enjoy the swim.

Just as our children turn to us for their every need, we may turn to God for the family’s needs, and He will provide. This reminder is a grace. I think the answer found in 1 Corinthians 3 sheds much light on this. St. Paul, speaking to men he called “infants in Christ,” wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” As mothers, we are working hard in the fields, planting and watering but it is God alone who causes the growth. Whenever I recall that verse, I can feel a burden lifting from my shoulders.

Ave Prayer Book for Catholic Mothers

To help offer a plethora of ways to lift that burden from our maternal shoulders, there is the new Ave Prayer Book for Catholic Mothers. This beautiful but easily portable book is is equally at home on your coffee table or in your workbag. It’s filled not only with a huge compendium of traditional prayers, but also the writings of real-life mothers discussing how they pray and how it affects their lives. It includes over seventy Catholic writers sharing their favorite prayers and #prayerstories. It offers serenity for busy new moms and a welcome gift of thanks for the seasoned mothers in our lives. There are reflections to see old prayers in a new way and new prayers to help you express just what you are feeling… today. There are a wealth of prayers for every possible need and each touchstone on the journey of a mother.

Contributions in the book include prayers and stories about praying them ranging from the Angelus to the Anima Christi, from the Psalms to the Rosary. There are younger moms and older moms represented in the book; as well as spiritual mothers and adoptive mothers. My writings in the book cover the many stages of motherhood: from praying while in labor, to consecrating our children, even praying now for our children’s lifelong faith in God. Here’s a trailer for the book:

I asked the editor of the Ave Prayer Book for Mothers, Heidi Hess Saxton her opinion of why moms need to pray every day and what made her want to lead this project and get this book in the hands of as many mothers as possible. This was her answer:

I grew up in a Christian household and was taught to believe God answered prayers, who is always ready to meet an urgent need or work a small miracle in a dire situation. And to be honest, I’ve had more than my fair share of small miracles.
It wasn’t until I became Catholic in my early thirties that I realized God doesn’t always ‘grease the wheels’ for us. Great mercy can come out of great suffering, and there is a dark side to expecting God to provide not only my daily bread, but the margaritas and cake as well. In reality, it is when we are at our weakest and neediest that we can best hear the beat of the Sacred Heart. That has been the experience of every great saint … and that became my experience when I became a foster mother at the age of thirty-eight to three little kids under the age of five. I prayed in the shower, in the rocker, anyplace I could catch my breath because I KNEW I didn’t have strength to do this on my own. And that is why I wanted to do this book – to help ALL mothers, to keep them company when they are struggling to find the light.

The Ave Prayer Book for Catholic Mothers helps remind us in wonderful, life-affecting ways that it is “God who causes the growth.”

Until December 25, Ave Maria Press is allowing me to share a discount code for this book. At checkout, enter the promo code “MOSELEY” and that will give you the discounted pre-order price.

Ave Prayer Book for Catholic Mothers

May each mother who reads it be greatly blessed!

Ease Your Burdens and Find Hope through The Seven Sorrows of Mary

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September is the month in the Catholic Church that is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Mary. It is amazing that this devotion, focused on Our Lady’s Sorrows can truly help uplift us and reduce the anxiety or burdens we carry. In the words of Pope St. John Paul II, “Turn your eyes incessantly to the Blessed Virgin; she, who is the Mother of Sorrows and also the Mother of Consolation, can understand you completely and help you. Looking to her, praying to her, you will obtain that your tedium will become serenity, your anguish change into hope, and your grief into love.”

Sure enough, as we journey with Mary in her pain, we come to realize three beautiful lessons:

  1. Mary understands our pain so completely and offers compassion and graces to us that will truly heal our broken hearts.
  2. The sufferings we endure can be used for good; can be offered up in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary; and can help us grow in compassionate love for all Mary endured.
  3. Uniting our sorrows to the sorrows of Mary not only prevents a lukewarm heart, and sets a fire of love ablaze in us, but also makes us more joyful as we grow accustomed to turning sorrow into meaning through prayer.

The Seven Sorrows devotion involves praying seven Hail Mary’s a day, each one while meditating on one of Our Lady’s Seven Sorrows, which are:

  • The prophecy of Simeon.
  • The flight into Egypt.
  • The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple.
  • The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.
  • The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus.
  • The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross and preparation for burial.
  • The burial of Jesus.

Here’s an online prayer companion for the Seven Sorrows Devotion, featuring beautiful art and reflections for the required seven Hail Mary’s and corresponding reflections.

And the Seven Sorrows Rosary involves dwelling upon each of the seven sorrows as you would one of the mysteries of the Rosary, with seven Hail Mary’s instead of a decade. Begin each sorrow with an Our Father. As you contemplate the sorrows, imagine walking with Mary and offering her your loving presence and support, your willingness to stay with her as she watches her beloved Son’s suffering. Here’s a moving prayer companion for the Seven Sorrows of Mary Rosary, complete with meditations, art and music, also on YouTube.

Check out this book for more specific ways to contemplate, pray and dwell more deeply with the seven sorrows of Mary:

Finally, what could give greater joy to our Heavenly Mother’s Sorrowful Heart than consecrating ourselves to her Son’s Sacred Heart? Here is a link to a free 33-day consecration to the Sacred Heart that includes prayers and reflections delivered daily to your inbox – all leading to personal consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The next group consecration starts on September 15th!

As We Celebrate Mary’s Immaculate Heart this August… We Give Our Hearts

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August is the month dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the feast day has traditionally been celebrated on August 22. We can put our anxieties aside by resting in Mary’s Immaculate Heart. After all, the Memorare reminds, “Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgins of Virgins, Our Mother.” So in a more profound way this month, let’s fly to our Mother’s Immaculate Heart!

Our Lady of Fatima asked us to pray the Rosary every day. In the words of St. Padre Pio, “Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother. Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.” Happily, there’s ways to keep your Rosary fresh and charged with new levels of love. This book, Sacred Braille is filled with ways to honor Mary’s Immaculate Heart and to breathe new life into your Rosary. Whether you pray the Rosary daily, sometimes, or rarely, it will forever cure you of any impulse to think of the Rosary as “monotonous” and replace it with a renewed excitement. The book also includes devotions to the Seven Sorrows of Mary. And here is a set of Rosaries you can pray online that feature beautiful art and meditations.

Our Lady of Fatima requested the First Five Saturdays devotion as an Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For five months in a row on the first Saturday of the month, make an act of reparation to Mary by receiving Communion, praying the Rosary, keeping Mary company for another fifteen minutes by meditating on the Mysteries, and going to Confession within 8 allotted days. If you are reading this after the first of the month, mark your calendar and resolve to start next month! It’s a beautiful devotion that never fails to produce rich rewards. Here’s more about how to do it.

Our Lady of Fatima famously told us, “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” She also said, “Don’t lose heart… My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.” August 22 is not only the traditional feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, (which is where the August devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart comes from) but also the feast of the Queenship of Mary. This reminds us that we should honor our Blessed Mother’s royalty through being loving servants to her even as we are her children.

A wonderful way to serve and love the Immaculate Heart of Mary more deeply is by doing a Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus — especially one that also promotes devotion to Mary. This 33-Day Consecration to the Sacred Heart is available online, and sends free daily emails for each day of the Consecration, complete with prayers, reflections, beautiful Catholic works of art, music, and even a daily podcast directly to your inbox. These guided daily devotions take so little time (10 to 15 minutes total) but will be time well spent. They can aid and inspire us to better prepare our hearts for Jesus and honor His Mother’s Immaculate Heart. At the end, you’ll consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. August, the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, is a perfect time to begin.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary protect and bless you and your family!

Find Refuge in the Sacred Heart of Jesus Through This 33-Day Consecration

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Ever hear the timeless expression, “wear your heart on your sleeve” to indicate showing vulnerable love? In the image of the Sacred Heart, what I find so poignant is how Jesus points to His revealed, unguarded Heart, leaving Himself vulnerable out of His desire to give His heart to us and to receive ours in return. He truly wears His heart on His sleeve, so to speak.

Colloquial expressions can be taken for granted, but I dig deeper when I hear an over-used expression, such as,“Home is where the heart is.” I ask, whose heart? I say our home is where the Heart of Jesus longs to live. The Sacred Heart should be that from which our earthly home forms its beat. In my new book, Our House of the Sacred Heart, the red house (pictured on the book’s cover and described in its pages) serves as a concrete metaphor for this reality ― that the Sacred Heart is our true home sheltering and embracing us no matter what befalls us… if we invite Him. “Say to the Lord my fortress, my refuge, my God in whom I trust!” (Psalm 91:1-2)

What inspired me to write Our House of the Sacred Heart was the realization that I had been experiencing the presence of the Sacred Heart at work in my life all along and that the devotion had been handed down through five generations of my family. I spent so much time as a child in the house of my grandparents. It was a red house, brightly painted, the same color as the Sacred Heart. Inside it, I encountered a strong, time-tested faith that spanned many generations and left a big impact on me. This house became a metaphor for the refuge Jesus’ Heart provides. It taught me through the signal graces I experienced there that I can trust in Jesus no matter what. I started writing Our House of the Sacred Heart not long after the 2020 lockdowns had begun. Suddenly no one was visiting each other’s houses… everyone was just sheltering in place. I thought of how the heart of Jesus welcomes everyone. In my book, Our House of the Sacred Heart, the reader is invited to journey more deeply into that heart. We journey through 33 life lessons shared, each based on one of the lines in the Litany to the Sacred Heart. Each lesson includes an unforgettable story connecting moments in Scripture to our contemporary lives; inspiring prayers; devotions; discussion questions; and full-color classic art.

The way I’d sum up the message of these life lessons is this: I teach how to do what the hymn “O God beyond All Praising” advises: “whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill, we’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still… to marvel at your beauty and glory in your ways and make our joyful duty a sacrifice of praise.” Seeking refuge and closeness to God in The House of the Sacred Heart brings us greater faith, hope, love… and joy. The book offers practical ways to consecrate your heart and enthrone your home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

If you work to become what I call a “student of Grace” you’ll train your ear to hear the Sacred Whisper and train your eye to be attentive to the clues God leaves in each of our lives, like breadcrumbs leading us home to heaven. This goal might sound difficult or lofty but it is actually practical. I call it “the gift of the poet’s eye,” to pay attention to how the Word made flesh, the Author of Salvation, is calling you to see the poetry in your life… the symbols of faith, the beauty that comes through challenge.

The book gives practical tips for how to make YOUR house a house of the Sacred Heart. It teaches how to plan an Enthronement ceremony, led by the priest or father of the home, making Jesus the King of your home, and Mary the Queen. The details of how to do this are outlined in one of the chapters in my book and once you enthrone your house to the Sacred Heart, you’ll notice it’s a game-changer! Other tips for how to make your house a house of the Sacred Heart include ways to decorate and devotions to incorporate and the book gives those in detail. Our House of the Sacred Heart is available on Amazon and anywhere books are sold.

I invite you to join a growing community that is embarking upon the online 33-Day Consecration to the Sacred Heart! At the time of this writing the Feast of the Sacred Heart is coming up this Friday… (June 11, 2021) but anytime is a blessed time to draw closer to Our Lord’s Heart! Sign up there with your name and email and for 33 days you’ll get brief, guided podcasts emailed to you each day!  It won’t take a lot of your time each day but it will be time well spent. Can you spare 10 minutes for God? Then, you’ll be praying the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, while also journeying a work of reparation one day at a time, and at the Finish Line on Day 33, Consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There’ll be stunning art, music, beautiful prayers and reflections. Can’t wait to journey with you! I hope you’ll register today.

Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.

Looking for God? Now is the Time.

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We have all heard the warning about “living in the past.”  It’s not a wise thing to do.

I know that I often catch myself dwelling on this or that decision from years or even decades ago.  When this happens I find myself rehashing my reasons and rationales like some broken record.

There is no doubt that 20/20 hindsight can be a cruel partner, poking us every now and then.   Armed with the clarity of knowing results and consequences we torture ourselves wondering how we could not see the results of our actions or decisions way back when.

Not to be outdone, of course, are the ever-popular apprehensions about the future. After all, is not the future merely a blind curve teeming with unexpected traps and problems? Yet we rush  toward manholes and cliffs we will not see until it is too late.

Between the haunting past and the foreboding future, we have a ready-made plate of worries and ruminations at our disposal.  What we need to realize sooner better than later, however, is that God is neither in our rear-view mirror nor is He at the end of the blind curve that is our future.

Dwelling In The Past

There is a clear distinction between dwelling in the past as opposed to learning from the past.  The word “dwelling” means a home or where one resides or lives. It is not constructive, and it’s even destructive, to constantly live in the past.

Whether we constantly reflect on positive or negative memories and experiences, the mere fact that we keep re-visiting that past takes away from our focus on the present.  Spending all day thinking about my great high school experiences does little to improve my present situation.  Likewise, obsessing over the mistakes or poor choices I made in the past only tends to beat me down.

Of course there is nothing wrong with mentally glancing back at our past highlights or low points. The problem occurs when we dwell or entrench ourselves in a time which we cannot change now.  We gain nothing, and even retreat, when we define ourselves by our past, bad or good.  When we define ourselves by our past, we perpetuate that past far beyond its beneficial role in our lives.  The past should inform, and not define, our present and future.

Learning From The Past

God wants us to learn and grow toward our destiny with Him. But we cannot learn and grow if we wrap ourselves in our past.  Obsessing over past glory only invites complacency, presumption, stagnation, or even arrogance. Obsessing over past stumbles or hurts only brings  depression, resentment, regret, and even bitterness.  No matter how you look at it, the past that is obsessed over is a moral minefield most mortal humans cannot traverse safely.

We should use the past as a teacher for enhancing our future. The only thing worse than a mistake is a mistake one does not learn from and may even repeat.  Reflecting on past errors and taking steps to avoid those errors again is never a bad thing.  When we reflect on our past mistakes, we bring the wisdom of the past to our present.  When we dwell on the past, however, we drag our present to that past.

The Past is an Unhealthy Neighborhood

The past can be dangerous turf teeming with regret, remorse, resentment, revenge, bitterness, and ingratitude.  Armed with 20/20 hindsight, we see results and consequences that we could never have anticipated back then. Obsessing over what we should or could have done or what we did not do goes way past the productive stage.

Forgiving others or ourselves can be very difficult, if not impossible, for those wrapped in the past.  It is also practically impossible to appreciate the present if we are preoccupied with the past.  The devil wants us to sink in the past’s cesspool of vice and hopelessness.

Ultimately, those mired in the past cannot let go because they cannot trust in God’s mercy.

Leave The Future to God

Dwelling in the past is an invitation to be ungrateful for what we have and mistrustful of God’s Divine Mercy. At the same time, worrying about the future can be an invitation to be mistrustful of God’s Divine Providence.

While there is nothing wrong with glancing at our future and reflecting on our plans and hopes, this is very different from being anxious or even petrified of what that future will bring.  If the past is teeming with the potential for regret, then the future is overflowing with the potential for fear.

God wants us to learn from our past and plan for our future with joyful trust, acceptance, and gratitude for His many blessings. We are closest to God when we humbly ask for forgiveness for our stumbles and humbly embrace God’s Will for our lives.  Learn from your past and leave it to God.  Embrace your future and entrust it to God as well.

“Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.” (Mt 6:34)

Find God in The Present

Fulton Sheen once observed that much of our unhappiness stems from excessive concentration in the past and extreme preoccupation with the future.  We cannot change the past.  We only have the potential to either simmer in it or learn from it.  Similarly, we cannot predict the future.  We only have the opportunity to become paralyzed before it or to embrace it by trusting in God.

God is found in our present moments.  He is present among the countless souls we daily encounter in great need for kindness, compassion, and love.  He is present in the wonders of nature that surround us each today.  Each moment is an opportunity to get closer to God in small and immense ways.  We can only relieve pain, loneliness, hopelessness, and sorrow in the present.  We can only reach out to wandering hands in search of a caring touch in the present.

Prayers about the past tend to apologize or hope. Prayers about the future tend to petition.  Prayers in the present, however, are the most opportune way to praise and thank the Creator.

Embrace each moment as an opportunity for salvation. Sanctify each moment with humble contentment and acceptance. Do not waste or tarnish each moment with apathy, or ingratitude.  Let God always be your answer to now.

2020  Gabriel Garnica