Category: Sacred Moments

Unbeknownst to him, the Lord was not asking Abraham for his son’s life. It was Abraham’s life that the Lord still wanted, Abraham’s trust that he still had not received. Abraham, the Lord was asking, can you let me take your life into my hands? Will you entrust your entire life and future unconditionally to me, now when it seems everything has ended? “I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore” (Gen 22:17).

From the book Making Peace with Yourself

Abraham was available to God’s voice when it came. When God asked him to get up and move, he did so. He didn’t project his fears into the plan based on his experiences of the past. He simply moved where he was called, trusting that the God who was with him in the present, would be with him in each present moment of the future. You are important enough for God to speak with also. God is speaking with you. Being present to each moment and to your inner truth in each moment is the first step in hearing God’s voice. God’s plan for you will always be a blessing, both on you and on others.

From the book Surviving Depression

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing (Gen 12:1–2).  The Lord is always calling us forth from where we have become settled, complacent or resigned. He promises to bless us and to make of us a blessing for others.

From the book Surviving Depression  

If we have faith, if we keep loving and hoping through the tears, the joy of the resurrection, the glory of the God who is with us, will transform our sorrow into a calm and radiant certainty of God’s love. Though now we cannot see the ultimate victory—on this earth we still live in a vale of tears, and unhappiness is a part of our human reality—sadness will not remain the last word because we are with someone who has already conquered death and pain. All pain Jesus has transformed into victory. This is our faith. This is our truest certainty.

From the book Surviving Depression

Each day our Baptism brings us again to a radiant newness. Sin and evil can no longer dominate us, because within us is the One who conquers evil; the One who took all sin, all tears, all sickness, all evil upon himself. Baptism transforms the entire being of the person. You become nothing less than the home of the Holy Trinity, the temple of the Holy Trinity, inhabited by the Most High God. All of heaven is within you!

From the book Surviving Depression     

Have you had to be strong, even as you bore great sorrow in your heart or suffered with depression? Have you watched new dreams and relationships and futures come to birth in the ashes of something you have lost? Gather, as the others beneath the cross, around Mary. Watch and listen. Share with her the burdens you carry. What does she say to you?

From the book Prayers for Surviving Depression