Happy new year of grace to you and to all whom your ministry serves! We complete the Octave of Christmas as we open a fresh page of a new calendar. This month contains two solemnities: Mary Mother of God, which is also the World Day of Peace (1); as well as Epiphany, which is Orthodox Christmas as well as the traditional day for the Blessing of Homes (7).

One of my favorite teachings from the epistles is almost a throwaway line from Colossians 3:21: “Fathers, do not nag your children, lest they lose heart.”

When my previously confident, vivacious 16-year-old daughter developed an eating disorder, our entire family was plunged into a frightening underworld. Darkness descended in the form of psychotic episodes, suicidal ideation, hospitalizations, and her paranoid conviction that we were conspiring to hurt her instead of help her.

Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to hear God's voice and celebrate the sacred mysteries.

Do not go in pursuit of [God] outside yourself. You will only become distracted and you won’t find him, or enjoy him more than by seeking him within you.

Browse our library for additional Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B material.

View the Take Five weekly for January 28, 2024.