SIMPLE40 - Day 37 - Learning to Love
- Katie Donahue
- Mar 31
- 5 min read
Wednesday of Holy Week - Spy Wednesday
God, the one thing necessary, is the One we are called to love with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.
If you have been walking through these days of Simple40, you have likely begun to notice this quiet, steady truth rising to the surface: when God is first, everything else finds its rightful place.
Loving God simplifies life. Not because everything suddenly becomes easy, but because everything becomes clear. You begin to recognize what truly matters, and what doesn’t. Prayer is no longer optional, it is essential. Growth becomes intentional. Your gifts are no longer hidden or misused, but offered with intent. Service becomes a natural response rather than an obligation. The noise, distractions, and trivial pursuits start to lose their pull.
And yet, loving God is not something you will ever completely master, it is something you continue to practice. Daily.
Some days you move closer, drawn in by grace and desire. Other days you may feel distracted, tired, or even distant. And if you are honest, there are moments you choose yourself over Him. But this is the beauty of the journey: you are always invited back. Always able to begin again.
To love God is to live with purpose. This gives direction to your days and steadiness to your steps. You are no longer drifting, reacting, or grasping, you are responding. Seeking. Trusting. Even in suffering, you know where to turn. Even in uncertainty, you know Who holds you.
And slowly, over time, a deep peace begins to take root because your foundation in Him is firm. There will still be hardships, oh yes...but be they big or small, when you love God above all things you can trust that He will sustain you and give you every grace you need for the next thing. This is where living simply becomes real, where joy becomes lasting and where peace and love are found.
The love God asks of us is total, absolute love.
It must be unconditional.
We should love him in any and every circumstance;
in prosperity and adversity;
in health and sickness;
in peace and war;
in joy and sorrow...
~Monsignor Fernando Ocariz
spiritual
Today is often called Spy Wednesday, the day Judas Iscariot quietly agrees to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
It’s a hard moment to sit with.
Because Judas was not an outsider, he was close to Jesus. He walked with Him, listened to Him, witnessed miracles, and still chose something else. Chose lesser things. Chose himself.
And that’s where this day gently turns toward us.
If God is truly the one necessary thing, then Spy Wednesday invites us to ask:Where am I tempted to trade Him for something less?
Not in dramatic, obvious ways, but in the quiet compromises:
choosing distraction over prayer
control over trust
comfort over surrender
self over love
Judas’ betrayal did not begin with thirty pieces of silver. It began with a divided heart. This is why the call to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength matters so deeply. Anything less leaves space for compromise. Anything less makes it easier to drift.
But today is not about guilt, it is about awareness and noticing where our love has grown divided…and gently returning to the One who is always faithful.
Take a few minutes today to listen to Jimmy Akin from Catholic Answers as he walks through the events of Spy Wednesday and answers common questions about Judas. Let it deepen your understanding, but more importantly, let it draw your heart back to Christ.
Because even on the day of betrayal…Jesus still chooses love.
And He invites you to do the same.
ACT OF LOVE
O my God, I love you above all things with my whole heart and soul,
because you are all good and worthy of all my love.
I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you.
I forgive all who have injured me
and I ask pardon of those whom I have injured. Amen.
self
As you move through your day, be intentional about what you allow into your mind and heart. Spy Wednesday reminds us how easily our attention, and affection, can be pulled in different directions. So today, choose to create space for what draws you back to the One necessary thing.
Instead of filling the silence with noise, let it be filled with beauty.
Put on some simple, reverent Lenten music, something that quiets your thoughts and gently leads your heart toward God. Let it accompany your ordinary moments…driving, cleaning, walking, working. Let it become a kind of prayer woven into your day.
Notice what shifts when you do this. Notice the peace. The clarity. The re-centering.
Your heart was not made for distraction or division, it was made for love.
Let us love, since our heart is made for nothing else. ~Thérèse of Lisieux
Take a few minutes today to simply receive that love…and allow it to draw you back again.
service
Friendship is one of the most beautiful expressions of human love because it calls us out of ourselves and into a love that is mutual, intentional, and life-giving.
And yet, today, on Spy Wednesday, we are reminded that even friendship can be wounded when love becomes divided.
Judas Iscariot was called a friend…and still chose otherwise. This is not meant to discourage us, but to sharpen our awareness: real, faithful love flows from a heart rooted first in God. Because the truth is, we love because He has loved us first.
When we stay close to Him, the One necessary thing, we receive the grace to love others with sincerity, loyalty, and depth. It won't be perfect, but it will be intentional and generous.
So today, make space for friendship.
Reach out. Send the message. Make the call. Offer your presence, whether in joy, encouragement, or simply listening. And if you feel like you don’t need it, consider that someone else might. Love is never wasted.
In giving, you receive. In showing up, you are strengthened too.
And speaking of faithful friendship, take a moment to revisit the life of Michelle Duppong. Her life was a quiet witness to what it means to love well, to be present, faithful, and rooted in Christ above all else. Let her example inspire you to be the kind of friend who doesn’t trade love for lesser things…but chooses it, again and again.
Check out the website for her cause:
The secret of everything
is to let oneself be carried by God
and so to carry Him to others.
~Pope St. John XXIII
simple recipe
EASTER TWICE BAKED POTATOES
This recipe comes from my mother-in-law. She got it off the back of a box of instant potatoes when those were popular years and years ago. I have since modified the recipe to use real potatoes rather than instant and increased the garlic a bit! This is always a much anticipated recipe on Easter (Thanksgiving and Christmas, too).
10 boiled potatoes
1 stick butter
1-8 oz cream cheese
1 beaten egg
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp dried minced onion
2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded and divided
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Boil potatoes until soft. Place in mixing bowl and add butter and cream cheese. Begin to mix, adding milk to thin if necessary. Add remaining ingredients, half the cheese, and mix well. Pour into buttered casserole. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 min.
Can make ahead and keep in fridge for up to 3 days before baking.
May God Bless Your Holy Week!
Thank you for following along.
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