For 30 years, Jesus lived quietly in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph; his “hidden” years. Through his normal day-to-day living of going to school and having friends and putting in a hard day’s work, Jesus made sacred the hidden space.
That hidden space is where most of us live most of our lives — out of the public eye, going about our everyday without much notice by others. Hidden from the world, but absolutely seen by the Father in that uniquely silent space that is set apart. In our busyness, we need to follow Jesus into that place with his Father. It’s different than running away. It’s not hiding from our problems…it’s hiding with the Lord. It’s a holy kind of hiding.
What does this mean for mission? During those private decades, Jesus knew his mission and was patient in waiting for it. He didn’t rush. And so for us, Nazareth gives us permission to let the Lord lead; to let the Lord form us. It’s ok that this takes time.
Sneak peak: a series on the Litany of Trust (from the Sisters of Life) will begin next week. If you want to follow along, you can purchase the book at https://stpaulcenter.com/trust10/
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The Father’s Banquet (Lent 2026)
Have you ever struggled to receive love that you feel you don’t deserve?
As the Lenten journey through the Prodigal Son continues, the friars turn to one of the most striking moments in the parable, the Father’s banquet. What should be a moment of pure joy is, for the son, also deeply uncomfortable. After everything he’s done, he’s not just welcomed back, he was celebrated.
In this episode, the friars reflect on the tension between shame and mercy. What does it feel like to be fully seen, fully known, and still fully loved? Why can receiving God’s love sometimes feel harder than earning it? And how do we begin to live as sons and daughters again after we’ve fallen?
Join us as we enter into the mystery of the Father’s banquet, and discover a love that doesn’t just forgive, but restores, celebrates, and calls us back to life.
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Intimacy with the Bridegroom
The world is a crazy place. There’s always the temptation to hide, run away or to fear Love. There are distractions and lies—the lie that we cannot do it, that we may lose ourselves, that our love won’t be reciprocated. But we are made to be in love. First and foremost with the Lord, Jesus the bridegroom, who comes to save, to love, and to die for us, His bride. And from this love we are called to lay down our lives and give ourselves fully for a bride or bridegroom.
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C’est La Confiance
Are you worried for 2024? Worry is a lack of confidence, and we can be worried about much stuff. The invitation from St. Therese and our Lord is to have confidence in Him. We who run in the way of love shouldn’t be thinking of suffering that can take place in the future. That’s a lack of confidence. The complete trust that becomes an abandonment in love sets us free from obsessive calculations…
