Lay Life in a Year

52 Reflections on JPII's vision for the Laity

Week 16: Temples of the Spirit

Have you ever lost your keys and ended up searching all over the place? Maybe you even look in the same drawer two or three times? You know they’re around, but they just don’t seem to be anywhere.

Well, sometimes this is how it is with God too.

We know He is everywhere. We know that because of Confirmation and Baptism, He is even in our souls. But we don’t always experience it. It can often feel like God is a stranger in our souls. We don’t hear Him. We don’t see Him. We don’t always even feel Him.

It can be hard to admit, but searching for the Lord is tough. And, just like checking the same cabinet over and over again to find the keys, looking for God in our souls can feel pointless, or even like a waste of time. So sometimes, we even stop looking.

But Jesus tells us that “the one who seeks, finds” (Mt. 7:8). Do we really believe Him? Are we prepared to keep looking for Him even when we can’t seem to find anything? Living with faith isn’t about things feeling good, or getting immediate results. It’s about seeking even when it feels pointless. It’s about trusting even when it seems hopeless.

Constantly searching for the Lord in our hearts and in our lives can be grueling. But sometimes, even though you’ve already checked the drawer a thousand times, you look again and find the keys sitting there ready to be grasped. ​

Lay Life in a Year Overview

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Week 19: The Sacrifice of Spilled Cereal

It was a hard morning with the kids. The oldest didn’t listen and spilled his cereal all over the floor. I was upset, but surprisingly, my wife wasn’t. She refilled his bowl, patted him on the head, and then quietly got down on her knees to clean up his mess. It was...

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Week 18: Continuing Christ’s Mission

You may have heard St. Paul’s shocking words: “We make up for what is lacking in the suffering of Christ.” (Col. 1:24) Is he saying Jesus isn’t enough? It’s a bit like when my 4 year old helps me cook. Well, he feels like he’s helping, but mostly I let him add some...

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Week 17: Being Christ In The World

Charles was an older man who spent the whole day working with us on a project. It was touching how often things reminded him of his wife. Flowers he brought to their first date, the time she was in the hospital for a week, and her kindness, joy, and patience. After 55...

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