When, in our humanity, we are like three-year-old’s, so caught up in our own suffering that we can’t see straight let alone pray straight, what does Mary do?

She tenderly picks us up and carries us straight to Our Lord. And in doing so, He is “magnified” in our own hearts.

Cranky toddlers may eventually calm down without a parent’s tenderness, but how much quicker they find peace when a mother is nearby with two arms ready to embrace!

So it is with Mary. Like a good mother, she wipes away our tears so our blurry eyes can better see Christ.

Her time of waiting to enter Carmel was not wasted. Saint Elizabeth realized that just as we must seek to tend to sacred spaces like churches and chapels, we must also tend to the sacred spaces within our hearts.

We must not forget that the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Let us make a safe place for Our Lord to dwell. Remember that no matter where you are, no matter what you are doing, no matter how ugly the situation you are in, you have a cloistered place of prayer within your own heart.

Your Beloved waits for you….you need not go far.

Your sacrifice can be a song, though no one may hear it.

Your sacrifice can be a work of art, though no one may see it.

Your sacrifice can be a means of salvation, though no one may understand it.

No...your talents are not collecting dust.

They are not being hidden under a bushel basket.

You have given them back to the Lord to be polished like fine pearls. And now they reflect a Light much brighter than before.

It was my first time taking a boy to Mass with me. I had been seriously considering religious life at the time, and was confident that NO human being was going to stand in the way of me and a religious habit unless he be the spitting image of “John-boy Walton” himself: bare feet, book in one hand, writer’s notebook in the other...

He didn’t exist, which was good, because I was going to be a nun.

But this boy sitting next to me in the car on the way to Mass? He brought a book with him wherever he went and wrote at least one poem every single day.

Hmmm…2 points for him, I suppose.

So once again, God had to speak to me through my children.

When I overcomplicate matters….He makes them simple.

And what better way to make things simple than through the eyes of a child? Or in this case…a children’s book….

All of the sudden, the lights in the auditorium went out, save one. And guess who just walked right out of thin air?

Matt Maher of course.

He started singing, and people lost it. I, not knowing who Matt Maher was at the time (a contemporary Catholic musician), just stood there with my mouth agape. All of the adults and chaperones had obviously withheld the fact that an all-out concert was to take place after Mass.

In all honesty, I hardly remember any of Matt Maher’s singing from that evening…but there is one moment I remember clear as day. One that changed my life.

When dealing with an idea that has yet to be fully formed,  like this commission, the process becomes a bit tricky, as ideas typically start off blurry and gradually gain clarity with time and prayer.

It’s not like the Saint Clare rush-order I completed a couple months ago, which required me to dress up like a religious sister, snap a pic…and paint!

This commission required phone calls, emails, many small mockups, and of course…prayer. But, with time, what was once a vague idea gradually became clearer.

Another dad joined the struggle as he swayed a sobbing toddler back and forth the entirety of Mass as well. Our eyes met briefly at one point, and I saw the same yearning in his own face as he said, “Not how you’d expect Christmas Eve Mass to go, huh?”

His voice choked at the last of these words…

A little over a year ago, I first heard about Our Church’s call for a National Eucharistic Revival, and I knew I wanted to do my part with the help of my trusty paintbrushes, but had no idea what to paint…

There were plenty of Catholic artists creating beautiful pictures of Monstrances, the Blessed Sacrament, etc.

And here I was suffering from extreme postpartum brain fog after the birth of our third baby. I have never experienced brain fog so bad in my life…I seriously felt like I had lost half of my mind.

12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus + Catholic Valentine’s Day Gifts that spread the Love of Christ!

It can be difficult for me to see my work as “Sacred Art” since I often create these paintings among what I’m sure looks like utter chaos. I mostly paint while my kiddos are sleeping, but I’m still met with MANY interruptions from children who need help going back to sleep, using the bathroom, etc.

As I stare at the frayed ends of all my tiny detail brushes, I realize it’s time to call it quits on what has perhaps been the hardest paintings I’ve completed to-date. I repainted the flames on the Sacred Heart of Jesus four or five times. Maybe more…I honestly lost count as I added layer upon layer of paint. I probably spent more time painting just the flames on Jesus’ Heart than I did on the entire heart of Saint Joseph, lilies and all.

And the amazing thing? All those lines met right in front of the tabernacle. Right where that little white dot was painted in our priest’s hands. Right there in a tiny host we believe to be the Body of Christ.