Well friends it’s been a minute since I’ve been in this space, after my sudden pause in writing. And then right as I was about to pick it up again, a series of unfortunate events occurred at my kids’ hybrid school leaving me with a decision to make. I have since stepped into some new roles that have been good, and beautiful but have also left me reassessing my time, energy, and how I can still faithfully show up here for you.
For the foreseeable future these posts will be going out on Sundays so that I have time to write quality work for you. I often say writing is thinking, and mercifully Saturday offers just enough time for me to think. So I am sitting here, at my kitchen table, in the early morning with half a cup of coffee, eager to dive in and share so much with you!
Before I do, there are many new faces who have joined us here. So I want to take a minute to orient you all to this newsletter. I have two sections: The Weekly Wildflowers - Catholic reflections, current topics of the day, plus a fun community poll, and Monthly topic driven articles - which dive deeper into our faith and traditions.
You can control which you’d like to be subscribed to, maybe both, by following this link.
I want to say thank you to all of you for being here, and for being patient as I find my footing again. The internet is a big place, but I pray this tiny corner brings you so much peace and I look forward to continuing to journey with you.
Let’s dive in!
AMDG
3 Quick Takes
Advent is right around the corner, and as the rest of the world runs headlong into the syrupy sweet season of commercial Christmas, Catholics and some of our Christian brethren will choose to hold off on celebrations to first pause, and make room in their hearts. To reflect deeply on the longing of a messiah, the groaning and the ache that all of creation felt while waiting for Him. The pause with the world holding its breathe as God became Man, stepping foot into time and creation. It makes the celebrations of Christmas truly beautiful and full of meaning, something to delight in and take rest. I’ve found that music is one such way I hold Advent in its proper place. So much so that I have created a playlist with beautiful music to highlight the season. You can find that playlist here.
And while we’re talking about Advent, did you know that Advent is a penitential season? Historically, the Church even called it “St. Martin’s Lent1” beginning a 40-day fast from Nov. 11th, as recorded by St. Perpetuus of Tours and later councils like Macon (581). The Church still uses the violet color during Advent for the same reason is uses it for Lent — it is a color that signals repentance and spiritual preparation. Even the lectionary reinforces this tone through Isaiah’s prophecies and John the Baptist’s call to conversation “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Early Christian practice included fasting, abstinence and acts of self-denial to prepare for Christ’s coming. Today the Church emphasizes that Advent’s penance isn’t sorrowful but in fact hopeful. In other words, Advent still asks us to turn inward, to pause, to make room, and prepare our hearts but with joyful expectation.
Finally, I am not a fan of the over-commercialization of our faith. I strive to avoid it, both with my social media platform and here. Simply put we are inundated with products, constantly sold to all the time, and with ever more clever efforts pulled into thinking we need this product or that to live out a richer and more full faith. I work to provide a reflective space to grow our relationship with God. Still, I see the value in supporting Catholic businesses and the families who are behind them. It’s a difficult balance to strike isn’t it? So when I do come across items that have aided my faith, and my family’s I share it here. And when I can, I do share small Catholic businesses. So that is what this quick take is about. There is a beautiful and fun Christmas Catalogue that has small Catholic businesses listed with their Christmas offerings. It is also completely free! You can find the digital catalogue here.
P.S. Don’t forget to participate in the community poll at the end! It’s a fun way to see how we are all way more alike than we realize. Let me know if you’d ever be interested in suggesting a poll. Sometimes it’s hard to think of these!
Quote of the Week
“Arise soldiers of Christ, throw away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light!”
- St. Cecilia of Rome
Devotional Corner
The faith of a mustard seed. I really thought I knew what that meant, but God in His way has been showing me the incredible power behind those words Jesus spoke nearly 2,000 years ago.
It has been a week — three exhausting weeks really. I am now teaching a class and helping out in new ways that I hadn’t expected at my kid’s hybrid school. I don’t say this often, but there is a spiritual battle waging around this school, and there have been some heartbreaking casualties. Yet the mission of this school is profound, desperately needed, and called into existence to serve. I knew immediately I would be stepping up, but I didn’t know exactly how, or in what ways.
As I was advising another to trust God wholly, even when it feels hopeless, I found myself questioning how this would all work out.
“For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20
So as I crawled into bed after my second day of teaching, I began my prayers as I often do and then prayed “Lord, I don’t know how I’m going to do all of this.” And as God has so sweetly and gently done on this journey of faith, I was reminded of the verse about a mustard seed.
I was nearly falling asleep as the words drifted into my mind, followed immediately by peace and well-being — His hallmark signs.
Friends, I’ve shared with you over the years how I’ve struggled in the past with trusting God fully. I know I’m not alone. It’s hard to trust, especially when we look at our fallen world, where trust has been trampled, bent, and even broken regularly by real people that we thought we could truly trust. If our only experience of trust is that, with maybe some unbroken trust sprinkled in, how can we be expected to fully trust a God who many feel is distant, aloof, or possibly even not really there at all?
And yet faith requires a certain amount of trust doesn’t it? It requires that we believe God is who He says He is. It requires that we believe Jesus is the Son of God, not a madman or a liar (as C.S. Lewis so elegantly states). It requires that we place our well-being, our will, and our souls in the hands of the One we believe loves us more than we can fathom.
This is the invitation of a mustard seed faith — that even the tiniest, most honest yes we can give God is enough for Him to move in us and through us. Not a fake it until you make it, but a real “Lord, I’m not sure I can trust you. Help me trust you more.”
It is an invitation to realize that our faith alone will never be enough apart from Him, that our faith alone with never move mountains. Yet with His grace we are made able to love Him fully, to trust Him fully and yet, to even move those mountains in our lives.
This week, I’m choosing to rest in this truth — that God isn’t distant, but walking beside us, offering us His love and His grace, every moment, every day. That in those moments He is inviting us to realize we can trust Him fully. All we have to do is turn towards Him and say “yes.”
To offer our Fiat, and let that be enough, because with God nothing is impossible.
Love what you read? Sharing is one of the best (and free!) ways to support this work. Text it to a friend, post it in a group chat, or share it on Instagram or Facebook — wherever your people gather. Thank you! It helps me so much!
How’s your relationship with laundry right now?
When the poll was put out, I was squarely in the “Washed but not folded” camp. But recently, in the last month, I changed out our laundry baskets for smaller ones that have a netting inside that can be pulled out to bring the dirty laundry to the laundry room. Somehow, the small baskets mean I wash more frequently and actually manage to fold the laundry more often. I don’t know… I’m still skeptical that this is actually working. Will update at a later date!
Check out the poll for December’s Weekly Wildflowers — we’re traveling for Thanksgiving so I’m being realistic about my energy levels and will be back to regular writing after the holiday.
https://aroundtheyear.org/st-martins-lent/
perhaps the question for the survey should be when does your tree go up! as a family we had a tradition that no decorations could go up until the house was cleaned and tidied for Xmas which means it generally goes up around December 21 and comes down around Little Christmas