God's will is written on our hearts ❣️ as today's Minute Meditations explains!
March 12, 2025
Dear John,
This week we are highlighting our second theme of Rebuilding God’s Church: Healing Our Relationships with God and Others. We are in the process of organizing our resources around these themes to better accompany you on your faith journey. Healing takes place when wrongs and wounds are honestly addressed. Literally, we start to “dress” our wounds when we “ad-dress” (with ad being the Latin preposition “to/for”) them. Denial only serves to perpetuate the hurt. Healthy hearts and healthy relationships are those that live in the light.
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With profound gratitude,
Deacon Matthew Halbach, PhD President & Publisher,
Angela served Christ and Christ’s little ones with all her strength.
Born in Siepraw, near Kraków, Poland, she was the 11th child of Bartlomiej and Ewa Salawa. In 1897, she moved to Kraków where her older sister Therese lived. Angela immediately began to gather together and instruct young women domestic workers. During World War I, she helped prisoners of war without regard for their nationality or religion. The writings of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross were a great comfort to her.
Angela gave great service in caring for soldiers wounded in World War I. After 1918, her health did not permit her to exercise her customary apostolate. Addressing herself to Christ, she wrote in her diary, “I want you to be adored as much as you were destroyed.” In another place, she wrote, “Lord, I live by your will. I shall die when you desire; save me because you can.”
At her 1991 beatification in Kraków, Pope John Paul II said: “It is in this city that she worked, that she suffered and that her holiness came to maturity. While connected to the spirituality of Saint Francis, she showed an extraordinary responsiveness to the action of the Holy Spirit” (L’Osservatore Romano, volume 34, number 4, 1991).
Reflection
Humility should never be mistaken for lack of conviction, insight or energy. Angela brought the Good News and material assistance to some of Christ’s “least ones.” Her self-sacrifice inspired others to do the same.
We sometimes submit to the Lord’s will begrudgingly, as if it were something burdensome—a sacrifice we must make for the kingdom of God. However, as we grow as God’s children, we begin to realize that his plan for our lives always corresponds to our heart’s deepest longings, to what will truly bring us fulfillment. Though at times very demanding and involving great sacrifices, God’s will is not simply an ethical test we must pass or an external code of behavior to which we must submit. Ultimately, God’s will is written on our hearts and is meant to lead us to a profound peace and happiness, even in the face of trials and sufferings.
May we, like Mary, actively desire God’s will to be fulfilled in our lives. May we joyfully embrace his plan for us, not simply as a religious rule to obey but ultimately as the divine pathway to our hearts’ deepest and most noble desires.
Margaret Carney weaves together the story of Clare and Francis and draws special attention to Clare’s significant contribution to the Franciscan world in the many years following
Sometimes it is not uncommon for little children to be afraid of the dark. While the darkness can feel scary or uncertain, the light brings clarity, a new way of seeing. Jesus, our God, is a flashlight in the darkness. He gives us a new way of seeing, relating, and living in the world.
Pray
Jesus, you are the bright light that pierces into every dark space of my heart. You always enter into the moments and spaces of darkness in my life and bring light into them. Into any darkness of my life, I ask you to come and bring your light and presence. Come be my light. Amen.
Act
What areas do I need God to bring the light in? In what ways can I bring light to the lives of others? Jot down some notes as ideas come to mind.
Today's Pause+Pray was written by Patricia Breen. Learn more here!
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