April 30, 2026

Simple things can set our day on edge. Wednesday night and Thursday morning, I had several emails from folks wondering about a suspicious email that I had sent. Thank you for your care and concern. Never will I email you asking for special favors or gift cards. Yet, these types of emails are on the rise as people or bots or something else try to lure us into believing the request is authentic. Most often the email has misspellings, language that is not in alignment with the person writing and an overall suspicious tenor.

​After this interruption was resolved, it took a moment for me to recenter myself. Recalling my phone conversation with Sr. Mary Luke earlier in the morning, helped. The sisters at Our Lady of Grace Monastery are moving into the new building this week. Amid the overwhelm of packing, moving, and unpacking, there are simple tasks. The need to have food delivered while the kitchen is dismantled, moved, and set up, not to mention getting one more load of laundry washed before the machines are relocated. What supports the sisters is how they always stop for the Divine Office. Three times a day, morning, noon and evening the sisters gather in the chapel for prayer. They pray the Psalms, meditate on scripture, sing and offer prayers of intercession.
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Prayer is always accessible to us. When life gets unruly, and our days blend into a mushy mess, prayer is our resting place. It is the one thing we can return to repeatedly. These next two weeks we will hear portions of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse, the final conversation with his followers. He is clear on his departure and reminds them (us) that he is with them as their constant companion. He promises to provide rest and assurance when life gets difficult. The image that has floated in my mind this week is swinging in a hammock with Jesus by my side. The comfort of a companion who journeys with us, the peace of slowly rocking back and forth and the beauty of nature surrounding us. When events in your day set you on edge, may you find comfort in the Constant Companion who journeys with us. May you turn toward prayer, knowing that whatever we ask will be heard. The prayer may not be answered as or when we want, yet in the asking, we trust that our prayer is known by the one who loves us no matter what.