Welcome to Holy Week
Sending a little early this week so you can get a resource below if you’d like to!
One of the most profound truths of our faith is the reality that we are constantly in a cycle of death and resurrection: “We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)
Holy Week hits me at a different place in that cycle every year. I’ve had Holy Weeks that were jubilant – my eyes fixed on the glory of Jesus’ resurrection, overcome with His love and tangible goodness in my life. I’ve had Holy Weeks of sorrow, my heart deeply and intimately united with the suffering of Jesus, His agony in the garden, the betrayal He faced at the hands of his friends, His loneliness and heartache. I’m not sure where you’re at this Holy Week, but I know that Jesus has good and beautiful things for you here, and He’s just waiting for you to open the door of your heart to Him.
If you’re looking for some ways to enter more deeply into Holy Week this year, here are some ideas:
- Read Consoling the Heart of Jesus. I re-read this book every year during the Triduum. It’s organized as a three-day retreat, which is perfect for Good Thursday – Easter Sunday! This book always reminds me that the greatest gift we can give the Lord is our heart, and that, especially this week, we can love Him so well by simply sitting with Him and loving Him.
- Go to confession. As Catholics, we’re asked to go to confession at least once a year. Lent is the perfect time to go, and every single church in NYC is open for confession today (Monday) from 2-4 and 6-9. You can literally go to ANY church and receive the abundance of grace that we are offered through the sacrament.
- Attend Holy Week Services. These are my favorite services of the year! Holy Thursday mass, with the feet washing, followed by late night adoration… truly beautiful. Every Catholic Church hosts Holy Thursday and Good Friday services and I highly recommend attending, especially if you’ve never been before.
- Honor Good Friday. If you’re able to take the day off of work (or a half day) on Friday, I would really encourage you to do so. Even if you can’t take the day off, make time to pray the Stations of the Cross (I love this version from St. Faustina), keep silence for the afternoon, complete the Good Friday fast (two small meals, one large meal), sit in a church, pause at 3pm to remember Christ’s crucifixion, watch The Passion of the Christ, and/or pray the sorrowful mysteries.
- Take part in the Easter Vigil! This is my very favorite mass of the year. It’s glorious. Heaven meets earth. 🥹 If you’ve never been, I cannot recommend it more! If you’re in NYC, reply to this email and come with me 🙂
- Rejoice! When Easter Sunday hits, rejoice. Just like the flowers appearing all over New York City this week, Easter is an annual reminder that the winter ends, the darkness breaks, and Jesus comes bearing light, overwhelming beauty and abundant life. When we unite our sufferings to His, when we trust that He is with us and guiding us and He sees our pain, we can have full and total faith that He will meet us in the Resurrection. We are an Easter People!
Praying for you as you walk into this week! Please email me with your intentions – I want to do a lot of intercessory prayer this week, and would be honored to pray for you.
In Christ,
Jane
Prayer Requests
- For a blessed and prayerful Holy Week
- For all those entering the church
Episode 96| Behind the Scenes of the SundayMonday
Have you listened to our podcast yet? Find it on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts! A full directory can be found here. We're back for a new season, and since we're almost to 100 episodes, I wanted to take the opportunity to...
Straws and Crosswalks
A few years ago, I bought a reusable straw in a valiant attempt to save the sea turtles I was probably killing with my abundant plastic straw use. My straw (and its cute little carrying case) came everywhere with me, and I used it in my iced coffee, my sparkly waters,...
Big Hearts, Little Hearts 💕
This weekend, I was catching up on Fr. Mike's homily podcasts and finally listened to his episode from a couple of weeks ago. In it, he said something that stopped me in my tracks: When we talk to God, when we have some pain, some kind of thing that's distressing...
Control and Abandonment
Hi friends! On Sunday afternoon, I returned home from an incredible four-day silent retreat. We stayed in an old English manor nestled in the blue hills of Virginia... If anyone is in the DMV area or wants to make a trip, I cannot recommend Longlea more! It had been...
Doing Hard Things
Happy Tuesday, friends! Let's talk about doing hard things. We swim in a culture that proclaims "good things are hard," and that anything worth doing or achieving is usually difficult. I have worked for things that required immense sacrifice, discipline, and...
In Whose Orbit?
A few years ago, my good friend Bridget and I were having a conversation about sin, and she said something that has stayed with me since: "All sin is simply a result of us grasping at a good thing that we don't trust God wants to give us freely." Oof. I have seen...
Be a Good Loser
Last week on the podcast, I shared my word of the year for 2024: fun. As usual, this word has many "satellite" words that accompany it, including childlike, trust, freedom, joy, play, etc. In my prayer, I've come to see that there are countless ways this word can...
Episode 95| 2023 Recap and 2024 Word of the Year Announcement!
Have you listened to our podcast yet? Find it on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts! A full directory can be found here. My girly Erica is back and we're reflecting on 2023 (and our words "abundance" and "providence") as well as...
In: Humiliation
Let's talk about everyone's favorite subject: humility. To be totally candid, I have an ideal vision of humility, and it looks like this: [Zoom in on an open floor office plan. Jane and her colleagues are working at their desks, diligently. A partner from the firm...
New Year, Same God
Happy New Year! 2024 – can you believe it? Although not much has changed in the past two days, January 1 always reminds me that God "makes all things new," and that He is "doing a new thing." Because it's the truth! He's always doing something new, something beautiful...
More Like This
The Ultimate Pacer
This past weekend, I ran the DC Rock N Roll half-marathon with my little brother and a bunch of friends. My goal was to run it in 2 hours (cutting about 5 minutes off my previous time from almost 10 years ago!) But about two months ago, I hurt my knee and had to sit...
It Matters to God
I love nothing more than a deep convo with a good friend. Inevitably, at some point in the conversation, they’ll share something they’re going through – a suffering in their life, an annoyance at work, a personal situation, or some other difficulty. My response is...
Matchmaking and a Snowstorm
"You are sleepless; you want to judge everything, direct everything and see to everything and you surrender to human strength, or worse—to men themselves, trusting in their intervention—this is what hinders my words and my views. Oh, how much I wish from you this...
Jane was born in Australia, raised in California, and is overjoyed to now call NYC home. She graduated from UCSB with degrees in Political Science and Communication and spent the past two years working in criminal justice reform. She is currently an MBA student at NYU Stern, focusing on entrepreneurship and strategy.