Franciscan Media

There has always been a diverse group of personalities at table with the Lord. At this time in history, you and I now are present. We, like the apostles, are unreliable and weak and afraid. We are inconstant in our devotion to our Lord. We deny him, we betray him. But Jesus is I Am. He is constant.

– from Meeting God in the Upper Room: Three Moments to Change Your Life

I want to be a woman whose faith in God’s promises holds no matter how long there is no visible evidence of it—a woman who uses her voice to bring hope to the weary and to rejoice with those who rejoice. I want to proclaim God’s goodness and faithfulness steadily, with great joy, regardless of what the world around me looks like—because when it is darkest, that is when my voice is most needed. 

In every sick person, there is Christ who is suffering! In every poor person, there is Christ who is languishing! In every sick person who is poor, Christ is doubly there! 

– from: Padre Pio: A Personal Portrait 

Think about it. If we’re spending a lot of time taking, editing, and posting selfies, isn’t it pretty obvious who is the center of our universe? It’s not God. It’s not even family. It’s me, myself, and I. Given the size of the actual universe, the view from your cell phone or latest post might make you feel popular, attractive, and sexy, but it also leads nowhere, unless you consider Facebook or Instagram a worthwhile destination.

We are entangled and bound up together, not as in a net in which we are trapped, but in a network through which we are nourished and find our health. It is humility that teaches us the good of this entanglement while pride tries to escape our embeddedness, mostly by ignoring it and sometimes by violently wrestling free.

– from the book: Wendell Berry and the Given Life

The support of friends, especially in times of crisis, is vital to helping us through the emotions that flood and fuel our hearts. They will help us see clearly enough to move through mourning, provide lighter moments, too, especially if we might seem to teeter on the edge of truly losing hope. They will be the personification of God’s unconditional love and help us find even greater spiritual depth.