Our Lenten Journey

The journey of Lent always seems long and arduous from the beginning vantage point.

But after many years of making this trip, I've learned that in reality the days go by quickly. And with Jesus as our traveling companion, our burden is easy and light. So may we go forth into Lent filled with longing and hope, inspired along the way by Jesus, Who is the Way, and others who became experienced guides on the Lenten pilgrimage, our popes and saints.

Here is some of their wisdom to share:

"Whoever wishes to be My follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in My steps." -Luke 9:23

"Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy." -- Pope Francis

"Lent stimulates us to let the Word of God penetrate our life and in this way to know the fundamental truth: who we are, where we come from, where we must go, what path we must take in life..." -- Pope Benedict XVI

"Look at His adorable face.
Look at His glazed and sunken eyes.
Look at His wounds.
Look Jesus in the Face.
There, you will see how He loves us."
~ St. Therese of Lisieux

So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. When you fast, see the fasting of others. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. -- St. Peter Chrysologus


Have a blessed trip!

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.

Praying for France with French Saints

People throughout the world have been praying for France and the victims of terrorism there.

As Catholics, we can turn to the saints, especially the many French saints, for intercession as we pray. And we can look to them for timeless words of wisdom and inspiration.

Here are just a few thoughts from some great French saints:

Our Lady of Lourdes:
"Pray for sinners."
"Go drink at the spring and wash yourself in it."
"Penance! Penance! Penance!"

St. Therese of Lisieux:
"I know of one means only by which to attain to perfection: LOVE. Let us love, since our heart is made for nothing else."

St. Joan of Arc:
"I fear nothing for God is with me!"

St. Martin of Tours:
"With the Sign of the Cross I shall more certainly break through the ranks of the enemy than if armed with shield and sword."

St. John Vianney:
"I tell you that you have less to suffer in following the cross than in serving the world and its pleasures."

St. Jeanne Jugan:
“He is so good ... love God very much. All for Him, do everything through love.”

St. Genevieve:
"We must keep vigil in prayer and fasting so that the Lord will find us ready when He comes."

St. Bernard of Clairvaux:
“What we love we shall grow to resemble.”

St. Peter Julian Eymard:
“Hear Mass daily; it will prosper the whole day. All your duties will be performed the better for it, and your soul will be stronger to bear its daily cross. The Mass is the most holy act of religion; you can do nothing that can give greater glory to God or be more profitable for your soul than to hear Mass both frequently and devoutly. It is the favorite devotion of the saints.”

St. Louis:
"Therefore, dear son, the first thing I advise is that you fix your whole heart upon God, and love Him with all your strength, for without this no one can be saved or be of any worth."

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:
"Hope in His goodness and redouble your confidence in proportion as your troubles increase."

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat:
"We can only save souls if we are founded in charity, the bond of hearts. If charity grows weak, all the means we employ will fail. The Heart of Jesus recognizes as His own those who put in practice His chosen commandment."

St. Jane Frances de Chantal:
"Remain in Him or near Him, in peace of mind and utter trust ..."

St. Catherine Laboure:
"One must see God in everyone."

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne:
"I am where God wills me to be, and so I have found rest and security. His wisdom governs me, His power defends me, His grace sanctifies me, His mercy encompasses me, His joy sustains me, and all will go well with me."


St. John Eudes:
"He belongs to you, but more than that, He longs to be in you, living and ruling in you, as the head lives and rules in the body. He wants His breath to be in your breath, His heart in your heart, and His soul in your soul."

St. Vincent de Paul:
"Lord, help me to make time today to serve You in those who are most in need of encouragement or assistance."


St. Hilary of Poitiers:
"Servants of the truth ought speak the truth."

St. Isaac Jogues:
“Well must we use the time that is accorded us that we must do that in our life which we would have wished that we did at the moment of our death.”

St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle:
"I will often consider myself as an instrument which is of no use except in the hands of the Workman. Hence I must await the orders of Providence before acting and be careful to accomplish them when unknown."

Saints of France, pray for us. Help us find true peace.

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.

O Lord, Draw Me

“Draw me” was a simple prayer of St. Therese of Liseux.

She had a knack for seeing the deep mysteries of our faith in down-to-earth simplicity. And this prayer is just one example. In two words she expressed her desire to be completely united in love to Christ – and to include everyone she prayed for in that union. She explains the prayer in her autobiography, “The Story of a Soul.”

In praying for others, she recognized that “the days would be too short to ask in detail for the needs of each soul and I am afraid I might forget something important. Complicated methods are not for simple souls and, as I am one of these Our Lord Himself has inspired me with a very simple way of fulfilling my obligations.

“One day, after Holy Communion, He made me understand these words of Solomon:
‘Draw me: we will run after Thee to the odour of Thy ointments.’ (Cant. 1: 3.)

“O my Jesus, there is no need then to say: In drawing me, draw also the souls that I love. The words ‘Draw me’ suffice. When a soul has been captivated by the odour of Thy perfumes she cannot run alone; as a natural consequence of her attraction towards Thee, all those whom she loves are drawn in her train.

"Just as a torrent carries into the depths of the sea all that it meets on its way, so, my Jesus, does the soul who plunges into the shoreless ocean of Thy Love bring with it all its treasures. My treasures are the souls it has pleased Thee to unite with mine. . . ."

“In asking to be drawn, we seek an intimate union with the object that has led our heart captive. If iron and fire were endowed with reason, and the iron could say, ‘Draw me!’ would this not prove its wish to be identified with the fire to the point of sharing its substance? Well, such is precisely my prayer. I ask Jesus to draw me into the fire of His Love, and to unite me so closely to Himself that He may live and act in me. “I feel that the more the fire of love consumes my heart, the more frequently shall I cry, ‘Draw me!’ and the more also will those souls who come in contact with mine run swiftly in the sweet odour of the Beloved.”

What a simple and ingenious prayer.

St. Therese, pray for us!
O Lord, draw me!

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.

A Feast in the Midst of our Fasts

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." -- Luke 9:23

Welcome to Lent.

Below is a feast in the midst of our fasts: Lenten prayers and words of wisdom from saints and others, to feed us on our journey.

“As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus’ thirst. . . . ‘Repent and believe,’ Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor – He knows your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you.” – Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

 “Nothing, how little so ever it be, if it is suffered for God’s sake, can pass without merit in the sight of God.” – Thomas a Kempis

“Lent stimulates us to let the Word of God penetrate our life and in this way to know the fundamental truth: who we are, where we come from, where we must go, what path we must take in life. . .” – Pope Benedict XVI

“Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor. . . . Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.” – Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

“Christ, like a skillful physician, understands the weakness of men. He loves to teach the ignorant, and the erring He turns again to His own true way. He is easily found by those who live by faith; and to those of pure eye and holy heart, who desire to knock at the door, He opens immediately.” – St. Hyppolytus

"We can think of Lent as a time to eradicate evil or cultivate a virtue, a time to pull up weeds or to plant good seeds. Which is better is clear, for the Christian ideal is always positive rather than negative. A person is great not by the ferocity of his hatred of evil, but by the intensity of his love for God. Asceticism and mortification are not the ends of a Christian life; they are only the means. The end is charity. Penance merely makes an opening in our ego in which the Light of God can pour. As we deflate ourselves, God fills us. And it is God's arrival that is the important event."  – Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

“Look at His adorable face.

Look at His glazed and sunken eyes.

Look at His wounds.

Look Jesus in the face.

There, you will see how He loves us.” – St. Therese of Lisieux

“My beloved Jesus, Your face was beautiful before You began this journey; but now it no longer appears beautiful and is disfigured with wounds and blood. Alas, my soul also was once beautiful when it received Your grace in Baptism; but I have since disfigured it with my sins. You alone, my Redeemer, can restore it to its former beauty. Do this by the merits of Your passion; and then do with me as You will.” – St. Alphonsus Liguori

“Are you capable of risking your life for someone? Do it for Christ.” – St. John Paul II

“Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy.” – Pope Francis

“Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.” – Pope Francis

May Christ bring us closer to Him this Lent!

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.

St. Thérèse

Blessed Mother Teresa and St. John Paul II were widely admired in their lifetime. In contrast, St. Therese of  Lisieux (whose Feast is today) was known by few people when she died at age 24 of tuberculosis. Due to her autobiography, she became a very popular saint.

Susan Szalewski wrote about some of her philosophy on our blog last year.