The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ [Jesus] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little. To him be dominion forever. Amen.
~1 PETER 5:10-11
Our diocesan Eucharistic Congress is coming up next weekend. We attended last year and it was so beautiful and edifying to be amongst all the people, young and old, striving to learn and grow in our faith. There were so many great truths shared and one of them that stuck with me is the stability of Jesus' true presence in the Eucharist. Christ has been truly present with us, body, blood, soul and divinity, since He instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper over 2,000 years ago. He has not changed. His presence in the Eucharist is the epitome of stability because of the unchanging nature of God's love for each and every one of us and the unchanging truths of the faith. This is a constant source of comfort and stability in an uncertain world.
Our greater Church community relies on the Eucharist as its foundation to bring stability and consistency. By partaking in the Eucharist together as the universal Church, we are united in our faith and in our commitment to Christ. This unity and common purpose provide a sense of belonging and stability that is often lacking in our individualistic, self-centered and fragmented society.
The Eucharist also inspires us to use our gifts and talents to live lives of meaning and purpose. As we receive Christ's body and blood, we are called to be His hands and feet in the world, to do His work and to spread His message of love, mercy and compassion.
This sense of comfort, belonging, unity, purpose and mission freely given to us through the Eucharist, provides stability and direction that leads to a simple yet full life.
Check out your diocesan website for information on a Eucharistic Congress near you. It is so worth the effort to go and be a part of this movement to revitalize the source and summit of our faith - the Eucharist.
spiritual
Do you have an opportunity to attend daily Mass this week?
These last 2 weeks of Lent, I challenge you to add a daily Mass to your schedule. If you already attend one daily Mass, go for two. If you attend 2 daily Masses regularly, go for three. You get the idea.
This is because it is a proven fact that in receiving the Eucharist more frequently, our lives begin to change for the better. We are just shy of 2 weeks before Easter. Let's show Jesus that He is a priority in our lives.
If we get in front of the sun, we get sun tans ...
but when we get in front of Jesus in the Eucharist, we become Saints.
- Blessed Carlo Acutis
self
Reminders:
40 minutes of daily intentional movement
3 Hail Mary Wall Sit
Grayscale your phone
Maintain your personal sacrifices
Declutter your mind
(Give it all to Jesus and don't take it back!)
Give up what is lesser to get more of the Greater.
Less is more God.
Note to Soul:
Declutter
what fills your mind,
fills your screens,
fills your heart.
Less is more God.
Your loves alone limit how much of God you have.
You have as much of God as you actually want.
~Ann Voskamp
service
We have been talking a lot about interior simplicity and all the facets involved in growing in this virtue. There are many aspects of external simplicity as well. One being our homes and how we clean and organize. Just typing those words make me feel a big "UGH" in my gut because I have a storage room, laundry room, closet and office that need a good purging. My original thought at the beginning of Lent was to do a little bit of decluttering in these areas each week. Well, that has not been going very well as I have totally dropped the ball.
Do you have a Lenten commitment to yourself and your family to clean and organize part of your home? Have you done it yet?
If so, WOO HOO!!! I am celebrating you!
Or, are you like me and need a little kick in the pants to get it going and get it done well? One thing that usually works for me is to set a timer for 15-30 minutes (depending how much time I have) put on some upbeat music and get to work. When the timer goes off, I usually invest a little more time to either get to a good stopping point or finish the job completely.
today's recipe
AIR FRYER HAMBURGERS
Did you know you can cook perfect hamburgers in your air fryer? We recently discovered how quick and easy this is and will be using this method when it's too cold or rainy to use our outdoor grill.
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Buns
your favorite condiments and burger toppings
INSTRUCTIONS
*Place the ground beef in a bowl and break it up a bit with your hands. (Don't be tempted to season your meat before making the patties. The salt will actually draw moisture out of the burger leaving it dry.)
*Divide meat into 6-8 even portions, depending on how big you want your burgers to be. (Hint: prior to shaping burgers, wet your hands with cold water and the meat will not stick to your hands as much.) Shape your burgers, making them about 1" thick. Gently press a little divot into the center of the patty. This helps it keep its shape and prevent shrinking while cooking. Place burgers in the fridge to keep cool as the air fryer heats up.
*Heat air fryer to 350. Once heated, season the burgers with salt and pepper and immediately place them in the air fryer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, open the air fryer, flip the burgers and cook an additional 5 minutes. Make sure the internal temp of the burgers is 160 before consuming.
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