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 40 – Every Disciple Is Called By Name

This week I want to do something a little different. We’ve talked A LOT about being called. We’ve said that the laity is called to: the universal call to holiness evangelize and sanctify the secular participate in our parish and help build up the Church But if we...

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Week 39 – The Mission of the Church

I think we've all been there—sitting through a homily when the "mission appeal" part comes up. Our minds drift, we hear the familiar phrases—“mission,” “help the poor,” “time, talent, treasure,” “spread the faith…” —and yet sometimes, it feels like the message gets...

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Week 38 – How to Respond to a Divided World

Division is something that seems to grow more each day. Nations, families, and relationships seem to be falling apart. In my own life, I have struggled to find something to hold on to. In weathering the storm, I often find myself grasping for anything to keep me...

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