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“And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age”
Matthew 28:20
Embrace, not Endure
We think, “No, this time I will endure. Things will be better in the future”. Indeed, they will. We think, “No, it can not be so!” We’ve defeated this demon, dealt with the night and already faced this winter. And yet— The ice pushes from the earth the stones...
Stepping Out into the Waves
Let nothing disturb you;Let nothing frighten you,All things pass away.God never changes. Since September, I’ve been in a season of transformation and transition. I decided to apply to a nursing school program I’d had my eyes on for a while, took online courses for...
Meeting God in Discomfort
This past week I was with some friends when one made a very astute observation: "We've lost the ability to sit in discomfort." Think about it. You're hungry? You can order dinner to your door in 20 minutes without even needing to get off the couch, clicking more...
Making Space
It's a feeling. You know it, and I know it. A quickening pulse, frantic glances at the time, and hurried decisions about what stays and what goes. Being over-scheduled, overworked, and overwhelmed has become commonplace in our culture. We rush from one thing...
God’s Will or My Own?
Never give up. We hear this phrase all the time. Quitting is associated with failure. Weakness. Settling. But what if the dream you’re trying to achieve isn’t God’s will? ----- As I raced through the hallways of St. Mary’s College of...
An Imminent Conversion
It was around 11:00 am and I was in the bathroom at work crying. It’s never a place you want your emotions to spill over, but these were happy tears. I had been scrolling through a photo library to find a picture of a friend to wish him happy birthday and saw a video...
Ep. 9 | A Lent Well Spent
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. Today I'm sitting down with Julie Balla to talk all things faith and work! Julie (@district__jules)...
A Lent Well Spent
I read these words written by Thomas Merton earlier this week, and I can't get them out of my head. And since I'd rather share something beautiful than try and wrestle words of my own to be even half as profound, I'm going to share them here. From No Man is a...
Creative Ideas for Lent 2021
Are you stumped for what to do for Lent this year? Sick of giving up sweets or Instagram for the third year in a row? Last year I decided to do away with giving something up and instead opted to add something new. I read Blessed is She’s Lenten devotional, began the...
The Blender in the Snowstorm
“Each time of life has its own kind of love.” - Leo Tolstoy, Family Happiness and Other Stories This weekend we celebrate the day of love, a day marked by pink hearts and chocolates and flowers. For many, it's a beautiful reminder of the love in their lives. For...
Ep. 8 | From Ideas to Action: Entrepreneurship with Confidence
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. This week, my guest is the inimitable Julie Larkin! Julie is the founder and executive director...
Celebrating the Four Loves this Valentine’s Day
I love Valentine’s Day. Anyone else or is it just me? During this time of year, red and pink are everywhere - pink is my favorite color! I love rom-coms and chick flicks - Valentine’s Day gives me a good excuse to start watching a bunch in early February, and I try to...
Patris Corde: Eight Reflections on the Year of St. Joseph
On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception late last year, Pope Francis proclaimed December 8, 2020-December 8, 2021 the “Year of St. Joseph.” He released an Apostolic Letter named “Patris Corde,” or “The Heart of the Father,” explaining how now is the time of St....
Ep. 7 | Interfaith Conversations
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. This is an episode I'm so stoked to share. My delightful roommate (and friend of 19 years) Kayla is...
The Weight of the World
I still remember the smell of stale chalk on my hands. I recall the feel of dried sweat on my forehead and the ache in my stomach as I began my gymnastics routine. My heart raced as the eyes of my friends and family rested upon me. Before saluting the judges, I always...
Ep. 5 | Dealing with Disappointment at Work
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. Tough days happen to all of us. The question is - how do you handle them? In our first minisode, I...
Ep. 4 | Joy in Seasons of Waiting
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 dear friend Sarah and I are both in the graduate school application process and we're deeeep in...
Hope in the midst of Suffering
The modern world doesn’t know how to suffer. I say that being someone who is learning how to suffer better in a time where it’s really tough to do anything but. We lose people, things, jobs, relationships, and so on and so forth and it’s almost like our brain is...
Ep. 6 | Making Decision with the Holy Spirit
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. This week I'm joined by Elli Schmidt to talk all about making decisions with the Holy Spirit!...
Ep. 3 | Creating Community
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. This episode is all about creating community! Let’s be real: it’s hard to make friends as an adult....
Ep. 2 | Faith and Work in the New Year
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. Today I'm sitting down with Julie Balla to talk all things faith and work! Julie (@district__jules)...
January Liturgical Living
Welcome to our monthly installment of Liturgical Living! It can be so easy to only focus on Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter. As we move into Ordinary Time, let’s not forget all the beautiful celebrations and reminders of our faith...
The “Work” of the Year
Sophocles once said: “Without labor, nothing prospers” and this year (more than most) has proven that sentiment to be true. While most years there is some form of “labor”, I didn’t realize that my “labor” would come in every possible form it could: internal,...
The Feminine Genius (Or why I watched Little Women 17 times in 2020)
I really, really like the movie Little Women (referring in this instance to Greta Gerwig’s 2019 masterpiece). I saw it for the first time last Christmas. At the insistence of countless friends, my mom and I finally caved in and headed to the theater. For the next two...
From Sleepless to Snoozin’
When I first moved to DC, I struggled with insomnia like never before. I would lay in bed for hours, tossing and turning and getting even more stressed out when I thought about how many hours of sleep I was losing. I felt like I tried everything – I cut out...
Gift Guide 2020
I love it when I’m visiting a new city, I stop into a cute little boutique and I see a perfect gift that reminds me of a friend or a family member. When I find that perfect gift, I snatch it right up! Seriously, I will hold on to a good gift for MONTHS if I find...
Coffee, Cardio, Community, & Christ
I am a public health professional, and let me tell you, the phrase “self-care” is one of my absolute favorites - especially during this crazy COVID season! When you look up self-care on Google, the first definition that pops up is, “....any necessary human regulatory...
On the Twelfth Day of COVID
It’s been one week since I received my positive Covid test results. Just when I thought I had squeaked through 2020 unscathed… But ‘tis the season (or rather, the year) for suffering and if you’re following along with Jane’s Advent retreat, you’re already...
An Extrovert’s Guide to Finding Community
In the aftermath of a cannonball shattering his leg in battle, St. Ignatius of Loyola was lying in bed and wondering if he would ever walk again. Was his lifelong dream to lead an army into battle gone forever? While lying in bed, St. Ignatius was brought two...
Finding Peace with Food this Holiday Season
Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I enjoyed the day with my family – whipping up apple crumble, sautéing green beans and enjoying a meal with all six of us around the table. This morning, I woke up and tried to figure out why it was such a good day. Then, it hit me....
The Pandemic Wedding
Marek and I got engaged in August of 2019. After dating long distance for the last three-and-a-half years, we were ready to start the next chapter of our life. The story behind our engagement is actually pretty funny too (it involved a hurricane.) The military life...
To Feel _____ is a Blessing
On an unexpectedly cold fall day, a gust of wind blew across my face, jostling my scarf in its tumultuous path. And for that, I was thankful. Thankful to be able to feel. Thankful for my scarf. Thankful that I was less than 100 feet away from a warm apartment. ...
Why You Should Choose a Word of the Month
At the beginning of 2020, I ambitiously announced my word of the year: lightheartedness. I wanted to live more lightly, to hold things more loosely, to experience the highs and the lows with joy. Lighthearted seemed to me a Christlike virtue that so many people...
November 4
I’m not one to make election predictions, but I do predict that on November 4, 2020, we will not know who will be the next president of the United States. I’m worried that our country is not prepared for this kind of non-result in a general election, especially this...
To Hear God Anew
Letting God in on our decisions is SO important, and there are so many decisions we have to make in this long (yet short, compared to our time in heaven) life of ours….. Whom should we marry?Where should we live?Where should we work?How many children do we want?When...
The Strength of Surrender
I grew up an athlete in Chicago, and to say that I am competitive? That would be an understatement. My six siblings and I are naturally competitive. I was particularly driven to succeed in every aspect of life, whether it was school, work, sports, family, or...
Choosing Greatness
The heart of the Christian life is intimacy with Christ on the cross. This past weekend I went on silent retreat, and throughout it all, the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI came back again and again: “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for...
He Saw Her
When I started watching the first few seasons of Downton Abbey in the early 2010s, I remember being struck by Lady Mary’s composure and her reserve. I, by contrast, have always tended to wear my heart on my sleeve. As a consequence, this often made me the target of...
In the Orangery
“Jesus, I surrender myself to you - take care of everything.” // The Surrender NovenaI come back often to this place, one of my favorites in DC. It the “orangery” of the famous Dumbarton mansion in Georgetown. When it gets cold, the flowers and citrus plants from...
The Unpopular Virtue
"Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. There is no getting away from it; the Christian rule is, ‘Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence.’ Now this is so difficult and so contrary to our instincts, that...
A Weekly Pilgrimage
Have you ever had a profound conversation in the most mundane place? God can work anywhere. I was at the hair salon and I pulled out a rosary to pray as my hair dye set in. Jesus had other plans because as soon as the hairdresser saw it, he immediately asked me...
How Tithing is Teaching me to Trust God
At the beginning of each new year, I, like many of my friends, choose a Word of the Year. Essentially, it’s word or phrase intended to capture a vision for the year ahead – what I want to focus on or where I feel called to grow. Toward the end of 2019, I started...
The COVID Contemplatives
We are in the midst of a pandemic. It has uprooted just about every facet of our lives, and we are still adjusting to this new normal. What does this mean for our spiritual lives? How are we to strive for sainthood when we can sometimes barely even plan our meals for...
Praying to a Quiet God
As far as I can tell, I have never been directly spoken to by any form of divinity. God is very, very quiet with me. God does not flip open my Bible and highlight the Scripture I should read in times of crisis. God does not respond to my questions of suffering with...
Wayward Buddies: What the graduate school application process taught me about God, discernment, and competition
As fall rapidly approaches and I settle in to begin my first year in my graduate program, I find myself thinking back to this time last year. I was refining my CV, fastidiously researching programs, attending virtual informational sessions, soaking in advice from...
The Beatles, Surrender, and Cantio Divina
Full disclosure: the first time I went to Adoration, I was a mess: excited, anxious, and not fully sure I believed in how transformative it was supposed to be. I spent the entire afternoon researching what exactly I was supposed to do when I got there--I mean, do you...
When can I stop discerning and start doing?
"When can I stop discerning and start doing?" Do you ever get stuck in the cycle of discernment, looking for a sign or some roses or a billboard that will tell you which way to go (ps if you want to hear an epic story about that rose⬆️, send me message!)? If...
September Liturgical Living
Week of August 30 - September 5 Begin the novena to Our Lady of Good Health on August 30th. Whether for victims of coronavirus, ailing family members or friends, or your own mental health, good health is a true privilege. Let’s entrust our intentions to Mary today. ...
Called by Name
I was talking with a friend recently about a conversation she had with a religious sister about her name. They happened to share the same Baptismal name. The sister said she felt that the name she received at the profession of her first vows was not a replacement of...
Eyelash to Eyelash
Last month, my mother spent 3+ weeks in two hospitals with a rare autoimmune condition. The beast wreaked havoc on her arteries and organs, inflicting so much pain and damage that one of her doctors told us last week, she’s a “miracle.” Mama’s road to recovery could...
Five Things I Wish I Knew When Starting my First Job
Starting a your first post-grad job? Feeling nervous/excited/ready/unsure? I've been there, and I've learned a lot along the way! Here are five things I wish I knew when starting my first job: 1. You're here to learn how to work In my opinion, our first...
5 Tips to Transform Your Next Interview
I recently started a new job (!!) at the Atlantic Council, the culmination of three years of hard work and prayer (more like begging) for a career that would fulfill me, excite me, and allow me to make a difference. Unfortunately along the way, writing cover letter...
Into the Unknown
Ever since I was young, I have felt pressure to be successful and work in a practical and lucrative industry. I am an immigrant - and the daughter of an immigrant - so the expectation for me to succeed and honor the sacrifices that my parents made to come to the...
The Joy List
Today I was walking around my neighborhood and came across a house that was fully decked out for Halloween. It was the whole shebang: cobwebs on the fence, skeleton ghost in the tree, and a black cat on the front door. I couldn't help but think - isn't it a little too...
August Liturgical Living
August Liturgical Living Weeks of August 1 - August 8 The month of August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Spend some time this month inviting Mary into your every day, whether that’s thinking of her when you do the dishes (how did she survive...
Setting Boundaries at Work
Spoiler alert: the only person who has the ability to set and enforce your boundaries is you. I remember starting a job where I felt like I needed to be ON 24/7. At first, it was exciting. I was always on call, always needed, always in on the action. But after...
Don’t Be Shark Bait
In 2017, my youngest brother, Cooper, and I went through a SCUBA diving certification course together. We sat through classes and took quizzes. Four days in, we were beyond ready to drop the pencils and get in the water. But even though we passed those tests with...
Get Your Learning On
Today’s #WorkWellWednesday is all about online courses! When I realized that we’d probably be in this for a longer haul, I started to think about how I’d like to spend my summer quarantine weekends and hours saved from commuting into my office. I saw some people...
The Glory and The Garden
The Transfiguration pulled me in this morning (Matthew 17:1-8). As I was reading through the notes, I learned that this was not the only time that Jesus takes Peter, James, and John apart to pray with Him in scripture. He invites them to do so again: in the Garden of...
Letting Good Things Bloom
“There’s no shame in needing to let things go.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve needed to remind myself of this fact. I’ve always been able to recognize when a relationship or friendship has served its purpose, and when it was time to move on. However,...
Goodness in the Pandemic
A mere five months ago, the streets of DC were bustling with busy Washingtonians rushing from work to networking events to happy hours, squeezing in workout sessions at Orange Theory, and strictly 45 minute coffee meet ups. Conversations with passersby whom you...
Feeling Stuck
It's #workwellwednesday, and this week's topic is one I've been messaged about for weeks: Stuck-ness. We're going on month four of Quarantine, with virtually no end in sight. For months, we've worked away in our homes, sitting on Zoom meetings and trying to...
Wisdom from the Epitaphs
Every once in a while I find myself wandering into a cemetery. DC is littered with them. Every few blocks, a gate springs up protecting the resting place of 19th and 20th century doctors, politicians, and pioneers who were among the first to build up this city and...
The Hunger for God
I know what it’s like to struggle with habitual mortal sin. I know what it’s like to justify it, play it off and keep the shame locked inside. When I was 14, in my last month of eight grade at my small Catholic school where I had been since I was 9, I was...
When the “Real World Calls” – Pride, Perspective, and a Ph.D.
I have a dream and goal of being a great clinical psychologist. I went to a university where we were treated as autonomous, intelligent beings, able to be trusted and treated as full-fledged professionals by our senior year. As a psychology major with my...
Love and the Long Loneliness
Growing up, being Catholic was pretty easy-- I went to Catholic schools, my family was Catholic, and many of my neighbors were either Christian or Catholic. I attended a Catholic college, where nearly every building on campus had a chapel in it. To be Catholic was...
Three Books Every 20-Something Needs to Read
Please note - this piece contains affiliate links. Your purchase will help support the work of The SundayMonday. After graduating college and starting my first job in 2017, I was faced with an unsettling question: Now what? I had walked the path, I had earned a...
He Made You for More
In a two-week period this winter, I went from looking at engagement rings and picking a wedding date to single and searching. Not for a man, but for a lost identity. For most of 2019, I struggled with despair and general blech. Circumstances at work and in my...
Finding Purpose at Work through Efficacy Projects
The most common reason that many of us struggle with finding meaningful work is because we lack something called efficacy. Efficacy is having "the ability to produce a desired or intended result." I.e.; you can set a goal, create a plan and achieve it. You have a...
July Liturgical Living
July Liturgical Living Welcome to our monthly installment of Liturgical Living! Below, find a few simple tips to help you live your faith year-round and celebrate the little things: Week of June 28-July 4 June 29 is the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. St....
The Perfect Toolset
I believe that success is found when we discover our unique, personal charisms and use them to serve others. For a long time, I thought that saintly success had to mirror the deep poverty, endless charity, and exhausting hardships of our greatest saints. For example,...
Is it Prideful to Ask for a Raise?
Is it prideful to ask for a raise?Our faith teaches us to be humble, grateful, and peaceful. The idea of asking for a raise, which necessitates confidence in our value and assertion of our needs, can seem counter to these values. But is it?The Lord commands us to...
A Lesson in Humility at Trader Joe’s
A few months after graduating college, I was in a downward spiral. I had completed an incredible internship researching, writing, and editing speeches for the Vice President of the United States, but no other employers seemed to care. No matter how many jobs I applied...
Facing Spiritual Attack
“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." - Charles Baudelaire My very favorite author of all time is C.S. Lewis. Clive Staples has written countless classics, but among them is a true treasure everyone should read: The...
I Lost My Job During COVID-19
Most Mondays are a struggle for me. I either find myself snoozing the alarm one too many times or turning it off completely and sprinting down the hill to my WeWork office to make up for lost time. But this Monday was different. Instead of waking up in my 7’x7’ San...
10 Minute Prayer Challenge
Praying is hard. The actual act of praying - being completely enveloped in the Holy Spirit, filled with peace, resting in the Word - that's beautiful. Sometimes, it's easy to fall into the arms of God and rest with Him. Sometimes (more often, at least for me) it's a...
Rethinking “Follow your Passion!”
Just before graduating from college, I was convinced I had a foolproof career plan. My plan was to aggressively pursue a job in publishing, what I deemed my impossible dream job. Since it was unlikely that God would open those doors for me right off the bat, then I...
Made for the Infinite
How do you define success? Podcasts explore it. Experts debate it. My friends and I often fall into circuitous discussions, trying to untangle a word that has so many of us chasing mirages that move as soon as we get close. This Defining Success series...
Living Order in Chaos
What does it mean to live order - especially in a world where so much is available at our fingertips, boundaries are fading and almost nonexistent, and comfort is so much more attainable than greatness? Living order in daily life is hard. Living order in the time of...
Liturgical Living – June 2020
Week of May 31 - June 6 Welcome to our weekly installment of Liturgical Living! It can be so easy to only focus on Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter. As we prepare to move into Ordinary Time, let’s not forget all the beautiful celebrations and reminders of our...
June Liturgical Living
Week of May 31 - June 6 Welcome to our weekly installment of Liturgical Living! It can be so easy to only focus on Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter. As we prepare to move into Ordinary Time, let’s not forget all the beautiful celebrations and...
Learning Surrender from Lemons
When life hands me lemons, just about the last thing I want to hear is make lemonade. It feels trite. How could watering down the problem and masking the bitterness with sugar or artificial sweetener possibly be a good solution? You see, I never wanted this lemon in...
Come as You Are
When I felt God calling me to become a missionary after college, I was convinced He had the wrong girl. Some wires must have gotten crossed somewhere, I thought. But, after I said “yes” and took a leap of faith to see where He would lead me, God continued to find ways...
Stalked by St. Joseph
When I was a little girl, every time I prayed the “Our Father,” I thought of St. Joseph. I often struggled to remember that the prayer was about our Heavenly Father, and not the pleasant-faced man whose statue stood on the right side of my church growing up—St. Joseph...
The Boulder Prayer
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 We live...
Discipline
“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose...
Can I Quit?
We swim in a sea of instant gratification. When we are hungry, tired, or bored, our satisfaction is just a few clicks away. It doesn’t take too long to satisfy our cravings, and we’ve grown used to this cycle of longing, taking action, and addressing every need with a...