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 47 – A Dominican and A Fortune Cookie

In college, I once went to a Chinese restaurant with a Dominican priest.  I was part of a group that brought Catholic speakers to campus, and after one talk, Father graciously joined us for dinner. When the waiter brought out fortune cookies, Father began unwrapping...

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Week 46 – Holiness Found in Work

​​This nation was built by tireless, hardworking people—a spirit of determination we’ve proudly inherited. There’s a lot of goodness in that. But sometimes, without realizing it, this work ethic can lead us to a dangerous trap: believing our worth comes from how much...

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Week 45 – Human Dignity Can Never Be Taken Away!

A couple of weeks ago, I went on a pilgrimage to Rome, unsure what I was looking for—peace, clarity, maybe both. But as God often does, He surprised me. I met a priest who shared something that cut through the noise of life: no matter what divides us—politics,...

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