This week, I watched “Francis of Assisi,” a film made in the early 1960s featuring an actress by the name of Dolores Hart. In the film, she is beautiful and confident, and ironically, for how her real life turned out, plays St. Clare, who joins a convent.

I say ironically because Dolores Hart, now Mother Dolores Hart, O.S.B., is a Catholic nun who before joining a religious order, the Benedictines, starred in many Hollywood films. She went from starring in the world to becoming a cloistered nun, praying for it. She has a book out, “The Ear of the Heart: An Actress’ Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows,” which came out this month and is getting a lot of play in the press. 

It’s a book that I will definitely want to check out to find out what made her leave her old life for a new one devoted entirely to God.

This book is definitely going on my summer reading list.  What about you?  Are there books or movies that you are hoping to read or see this summer that are faith-based?  Please share your ideas with others who may be searching for such a thing! 

Before I did anything, I cleaned the entire apartment from top to bottom, then I bagged up and donated everything that was going to be replaced—the comforter on our bed, our bedroom curtains, our shower curtain, and so on.  As I shopped, I imagined what our new apartment would look like because for me the redecoration meant more than new things: it meant an entirely new atmosphere and feeling in our home.

When it was all said and done, my husband looked around, examining the work, and said to me, “Everything looks much brighter.”  He was right. Bright blues and soothing cream-colored items now replaced the dark reds and browns that were once the dominant colors in our apartment. I believe I have done the same makeover within my spiritual life as well. Over the past year, I have tried to pray more, and once that was accomplished, I added in reading the Bible, and then, after that, an attempt to focus more on God each day in all I do.

Each small addition to my prayer life, just like the small additions in my home, has created a very different kind of life. I think that the change in colors, from dark to light, definitely reflects a change in my spiritual wellbeing and happiness.

Do you ever feel the need to change?  What kind of changes have you made that have impacted your life—in big or small ways?  Please share, other readers may be inspired by what you have done!

It’s true, that sometimes it is difficult to focus on the present because the present, is, well, difficult. I know how that feels.  I currently find that I am in a particularly stressful situation where the only solution is to live day by day, and sometimes hour by hour, to feel like I am going to make it through.  Perhaps you are going through the same thing.  Maybe its family drama, or a divorce, or troubles at work, or even sickness, that make each day a hard one, if not a bad one. 

I would like to share with you, and with this reader in particular, what works for me, and it is something that takes a great deal of effort. I try to focus only on those people, those things and tasks that are right before me.  And with those, I try to concentrate on the positives and eliminate any ruminations that are negative or cause my mind to wander to unwanted territory.

There is a Psalm that says, “Trust in Him at all times, O people, pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8).  I like this passage because it reminds us to give God all of our heart—the good, the bad, the ugly—and to look at him not as a solution to our problems, but a help and a refuge. He is there for us, he knows what it is like to suffer, and he wants us to rest in Him. 

What do you think of the above reflection?  Do you find it hard to focus on the present as well?  What helps you make it through each day?  Please share! 

I must admit, this is the second time that I have opened up a fortune cookie to find no fortune inside.  Is it a coincidence?  Do I have no future?  No fortune?  Was this cookie trying to tell me something by not saying anything at all?  I am joking, of course, but the incident did make me stop and think for a moment.

As I sit here digesting my food, a thought has come to my mind: I believe that this was just another way of God telling me to stop looking so hard into the future and focus on the present.

That seems to be the theme for this week for me—to focus on the present moment, to focus my thoughts on God, and to just be.  Do you ever have one of those weeks where you feel that a message keeps repeating itself over and over in various ways?  Well, for me, this week, it’s as if God is saying, “Do you hear this message, and are you letting it absorb?”

Did you ever have a week like that?  Where everything seems to bring you back to an important theme or message?  Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

When I got to the building at work, I realized my error, and walked back down the rain-soaked streets of Manhattan to pick up my wares.  I know exactly why this happened.  For the past few days my mind has been filled with too many thoughts that have taken over my mind and have left me on autopilot for many of the ordinary things I do during the day.  I have lost contact with the present moment due to worry, anxiety and stress. 

The Bible does warn us against such things, and often God reminds us where our focus should be—on Him.  However, lately, my mind has been focused on everything but where it should be, which is on God’s presence in my life.  In St. Paul’s letter to the Phillippians, he writes, for example, “Don’t be anxious about anything, but pray in everything with thanksgiving.  Then the uncomprehensible peace of God will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus” (4:6-7).

 Thankfully, I have that quote posted on my desk to remind me of that.  Do you ever find yourself so deluged with anxiety that you forget what is most important in life?  Have you had an incident like mine caused by your wandering thoughts?  Please share! 

I couldn’t help but think that perhaps he was right.  Not because the weather is getting better, but because, as one of my favorite quotes from the Bible says, God has a plan for us, “plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).  The reminder of that this morning was a good way to start the day.  After what has seemed like a long winter, both in the literal sense, and metaphorically for me, in the spiritual sense, I am ready for spring and the new life it brings.

Sometimes, we have to be open to the signs from God, even if they come from random places—the words from a stranger, a bumper sticker on a car, or even a random item in a store that reminds you of the good things in life.  When I am in a depressed or sad mood, which a friend of mine refers to as “painting the room blue,” it is often hard to recall happier times and remind myself that things were happier, better or easier than they are now, and that there is the possibility for those times to return again.  In other words—hope.

Today, I will try to remember the words of this stranger, and say a thank you to him, and to God, for reminding me that no matter what struggles or obstacles come in our way, there is always the possibility for hope.

 Have you had a recent experience like mine?  Please share! 

St. Joseph is my favorite of the saints. His dedication to family and work is one that I admire. I have often prayed to him for family and friends to find work or get through tough times at work. In the Bible, St. Joseph is a man of no words—he is not quoted in any of the Gospel stories.  However, his character comes through loud and clear through his actions as the foster father of Jesus, and the protector of the family.  Perhaps that is why I admire him so much: he was a man of action, and how one acts as opposed to what one says tells a lot about a person’s character.

When I pray to him, I often picture him listening to me as I vent about any work or family related frustrations.  In one way or another, I know that my prayers through him to God will be answered. 

I have on my desk at work a prayer card for St. Joseph, and on it is a prayer from Pope Pius XII. On a beautifully sunny day like today, it is hard to keep my mind fixed on work. Perhaps for others reading this blog, the day is hard because you are out of work, or at a job that you don’t love.

In any of those instances, there is a prayer that is fitting on the back of my prayer card, part of which I’d like to share: “Obtain for us  from our Lord, O beloved protector, humility and simplicity of heart, attachment to work, benevolence towards those who work with us, compliance with the divine will in the difficulties of this life and joy in bearing them…”

 There are many other prayers and novenas to this special saint. If you know of any or would like to share a St. Joseph story, please comment below! 

 It made me think that if Jesus were around today, he would totally be into Twitter.  The social media tool is a wonderful way to connect with others in a community based on similar interests. It’s also a great way to stay on top of news and events in your local community. And it’s a wonderful way to share messages of faith and hope.

But for me, I have found the greatest blessing to be the amount of inspiration I get from people who post messages and stories about their own personal lives, or quotes that are meant to uplift people in a world where many messages bring you down.

Today, for example, in my online adventures, I came across this beautiful quote from Thomas a Kempis, a late medieval writer best known for his book, The Imitation of Christ.  The quote was this: “If you carry your cross joyfully, it will carry you.”  It was the perfect message for me and I’d like to share why. Oftentimes I forget that we can choose to respond to our struggles with a sense of hope, and even though it is often hard, even happiness and joy, especially when we remember that Jesus went through his own struggles too.  It’s a message I hope to carry with me for the rest of the day.

Have any of you found sources of inspiration online? 

 Also, if you are interested, you can follow Catholic New York newspaper @Catholic_NY.

You can also follow me @JulieDosSantos6. 

The day was a perfect one for a ball game, and besides for a few dirty looks and a few quizzical expressions on some of the fans who were there cheering on the Yankees, a good time was had by all.  We were there to watch knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey in action, after both of us read his book last summer. From the start, I found his story to be one of inspiration in overcoming difficult obstacles both in his personal and professional life.  In his own life, he suffered from sexual abuse; and in his professional life, he had to find his place as a knuckleball pitcher and an older player.

His story is one of hope.

Seeing him play had been one of my goals since I first read his book.  But, going through some difficulties of my own last spring, I missed the final games he pitched when he was on the Mets because I was in the hospital. Even though his team lost the game, he’s a winner to me.

Ever since I read his book, he has been a hero of mine.  As a Christian, he explained in his book how he found his faith and overcame his past.  Something anyone could be proud of.

Is there anyone that you admire?  If so, why?  Please share!

As St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well” (Romans 12:6). We have all heard it said that everyone has different talents and gifts and that we are all unique and special in some way.  Even though I have heard that message time and time again, it wasn’t until I reached my late 20s that I realized that to be true, and it wasn’t until I was into my 30s that it really sunk into my being.

I came into my career later in life than some people. And by career, I mean a job that utilized the talents that God had given to me. During high school and college, and even shortly after college, I floated around from job to job trying to find my path in life.  It wasn’t until I landed at my current position as a newspaper reporter with Catholic New York that I felt like I found my “calling.”

Earlier in life, I did not realize right away that finding a use for your God-given talents brings true happiness. I thought jobs were merely a means to an end.  Sometimes, I realize, that jobs have to be just that—a way of surviving.  But at this point in my life I am fortunate enough to have found a way to do more than survive.

The other day, I was assigned to write an article on the High School Senior Mass.  During that Mass, Cardinal Dolan told the young people “Your life is a continual journey back to Him.”  Now I have found that God has prepared me for that journey by giving me gifts to get back to Him, and he has done the same for all of us.

What gifts has God given you to share with the world?  Please share!