Day 1 is coming to you early so you can prepare for tomorrow and get a little taste of what your daily messages will be like. Thank you for letting me into your inbox this Lent! Please share with a friend if you think they could benefit.
HOPE IN GOD'S PROMISES
"Even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your hearts and not your garments." ~Joel 2:12-13
God’s call in this passage is deeply personal. He desires your heart, not just outward expressions of repentance. He invites you to return to Him fully, trusting in His mercy. True conversion is not about appearances but about an interior renewal, a surrender of pride, distractions, and self-reliance. The Lord is always ready to receive you with compassion, no matter how far we’ve wandered.
LET US PRAY:
Lord, You call me to return to You with my whole heart. Help me to surrender my pride, my distractions, and my will. Fill me with Your mercy so that I may love more deeply and give more fully. May my hidden sacrifices today be a quiet offering of love, drawing me closer to You and to those around me. Amen.
Reflect on this passage and prayer throughout the day, calling to mind how you can completely surrender your heart to the Lord this Lent.
HOPE for your Health: Laying the Foundation
Your Intermittent Fasting journey begins today with a 12 hour Fasting Window.
Count 12 hours from when you last ate on Tuesday night and do not eat until that time has passed today. (e.g., 7 PM - 7 AM) Make sure you stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water, herbal tea, bone broth or black coffee. This beginning 12 hour fast should come pretty easily, as hopefully you were sleeping through most of it.
When it is time to eat, keep the fasting and abstinence recommendations in mind since it is Ash Wednesday.
Fasting – Required for Catholics ages 18-59
One full meal, two smaller meals (together not equal to a full meal)
No snacking between meals
Abstinence from Meat – Required for Catholics 14 and older
No meat (beef, pork, poultry)
Fish, eggs, dairy, and plant-based foods are allowed
Tomorrow is another 12 hour fasting day, so you will fast for 12 hours from the time you have your last bite tonight until tomorrow morning.
Refer back to the Intermittent Fasting 101 document if needed.
HOPE For Your Marriage: Foundations
Just as God calls us to "rend our hearts, not our garments," marriage, too, is about authentic love, not just surface-level gestures. True love requires daily, hidden sacrifices—choosing patience over frustration, forgiveness over resentment, and attentiveness/presence over distraction.
Marriage Enrichment Challenge: "Hidden Sacrifice of Love"
Challenge: Choose one hidden act of love for your spouse today—something they may not notice or acknowledge, but that strengthens your heart in love and self-giving.
Examples:
Hold back a complaint and replace it with a word of encouragement.
Do a chore they dislike without mentioning it.
Pray for them in silence instead of seeking recognition for your efforts.
Listen fully without interrupting or offering solutions.
Offer up a small sacrifice (giving up coffee, social media, or a comfort) for the good of your marriage.
Reflection: At the end of the day, reflect on how this small sacrifice impacted your heart. Did it make you more patient? More aware of your spouse’s needs? Did it bring more peace to your marriage?
Spanish Chickpeas and Spinach
5-8 ounces fresh baby spinach (it cooks way down!)
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 small white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (or walnuts)
sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Rinse the spinach and set aside.
Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add in the garlic, paprika, cumin and stir to combine.
Add the still-wet spinach to the pan, cover with a lid, and wait for 1-2 minutes until the spinach has wilted. Add the chickpeas. Then continue to cook for 1-2 minutes, until the chickpeas are heated through.
Taste and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Serve warm, garnished with toasted pine nuts or walnuts, or both!
We enjoy this quick and easy dish as a stand-alone meal, but also like adding salmon glazed in balsamic vinegar. (The frozen salmon burgers from Costco are wild caught and super quick and easy to add to this meal if you are looking for a bit more protein.)
Life is often a desert, it is difficult to walk in life,
but if we trust in God, it can become beautiful and wide as a highway.
Just never lose hope, just continue to believe, always, in spirt of everything...
Each one knows what desert he or she is walking in -
it will become a garden in bloom.
Hope does not disappoint.
~Pope Francis
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