The Providence Podcast

As we bear the crosses in our own lives, we may have to dig down deep to find hope, but resurrection is on its way. God makes all things new.

For God, no one is insignificant and everyone is worth finding. No one is beyond reach; no one is irredeemable. The so-called sinners that Jesus hangs out with, well, they’re not so bad either. Maybe they’re just a little lost.

Brokenness is real, but it is redeemable. As community, we can bring our woundedness together, owning our incompleteness, and drawing near each other. God is present when we come together in our brokenness, God who has chosen to be vulnerable too.

We stay open to what comes, enjoying the heights, living into the depths, and being present to where God is moment by moment, even when the ground is just . . . level. 

The call I hear is to try and recognize what leads me: is it the Spirit of God or something else? If it’s the Spirit, then I am on the way toward God and toward good. If what is leading me is not of God, then I can always change directions.

We each have the ability to produce good fruit, to act out of the goodness – the God-ness – inside of us. But we also have it in us to act out of what’s not of God. My decision to do good, to move in the direction of the Spirit, (or not) reflects on who I am as a person.

We are lavishly loved and blessed. What we put out into the world may have a cause and effect dynamic, or it may not. However, the more good we do, the more we become people who do good, and the more we become magnanimous, like God is.

God calls us to keep moving toward trust in God and relationship with God. Sometimes we do that when we notice our blessings, and sometimes we even grow stronger roots during the hard times. Maybe growth in hard times is a blessing too.

Our mission as Christians is not about success and numbers. It’s about following Christ. That’s not usually easy. On the other hand, discipleship promises unexpected abundance, a life of community and communion with God, and witnessing God’s slow but sure reconciling of all things.

Jeremiah and Jesus are pretty clear about God's will for them, but it can be harder for us to figure that out. How do we discern God's call for us, and what do we do when other people in our lives feel the need to weigh in? 

God has cared for us by designing our bodies in such a way that our most vulnerable body parts are protected; could we care for the Body of Christ in the same way?

This Sunday's reading from First Corinthians tells us that "there are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit," and that sounds very nice. However, how does this actually manifest in communities and families? Do we really affirm the gifts in each each other? Do we appreciate our own gifts? Let's reflect on all this a little more deeply . . . 

Each time the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord comes around, we hear this invitation to see ourselves mirrored in Christ, in all of Christ’s belovedness. Each time we have an opportunity to trust a little more deeply, not in ourselves, but in God’s profound and grace-filled love for us.

Like the Magi, we have each other as travel companions, standing together beneath the night sky, gazing at signs from God, and following where they lead. Let’s use our wit, as well as our energy, vision, and desire for God, to move forward as one.

None of our families is ideal, and each of them is holy. Our broken and imperfect families, our grieving families, our struggling families are holy in our striving, not in our perfection. It’s God who makes us holy.

4th Sunday of Advent: Prophets don’t predict the future. They speak a word of hope. God keeps making promises, and when those are fulfilled, God makes more promises. Blessed are we who believe. 

God is near, and the peace of God will guard us, even when we feel anxious. Gaudete Sunday, 2021 Phil 4:4-7

Our prophet’s vision is not a false peace, but a genuine end to the oppression that held people captive, a real gathering of community, and a life of peace and justice together. Many of us long for this in our day too, and those who long for the peace of justice are likely also called to work for it. How can we make the way easier for each other? 

In this season of hope, God promises to be with us, and this promise is being fulfilled right now.

As we elevate this simple but divine man from Galilee, I hope we don’t lose sight of the point he’s trying to make in this Gospel – that we belong to Christ and we belong to the Kingdom of God that we’re living into now.

Welcome to National Vocation Awareness Week. We can think about our vocation as our call from God to love in the world. God calls each of us as Christians to love, and the way each one of us loves is not in general but in particular. God calls us to love in the way that also makes each one of us happy. Religious life is a pretty unique calling. It’s somewhat rare, although God is definitely still...

Escuche cómo Hermana Paula Gohs y Hermana Kay describen su amor por la comunidad, la oración y la misión. ¿Quiere aprender más sobre cómo Dios podría estar llamándolo a amar y servir? Reúnete en Zoom el 21 de noviembre a las 4 p.m. Regístrese aquí: https://tinyurl.com/QAwithSisters o envíe un correo electrónico a la Hermana Leslie a vocation@CDPKentucky.org para obtener más información.

Jesus uses the meager contribution of a poor widow to show what it looks like to give out of your whole livelihood. How are you living into this? How is God calling you to give all with generosity and trust?

In this culture that glorifies busyness to the point of burnout, how do we follow God's commandments to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength? How do we love our neighbors, and how do we love ourselves? 

On this 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we get to spend some time with Bartimaeus. What can we learn from this disciple’s encounter with Jesus, and how would you answer Jesus’s question: “What do you want me to do for you?”