The Victor's Crown

Any State of Life

Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com [https://www.thevictorscrown.com/] --- Any State in Life "They learned, little by little, from the Lord that holiness doesn't reside in one state in life but in a trusting and loving response to God's call in daily life." I've been reading The Extraordinary Parents of St. Thérèse, where I came across that line. The Martin family is a remarkable example of this. Louis and Zélie Martin — now saints themselves — raised five daughters, all of whom entered religious life. The most famous is St. Thérèse of Lisieux, one of the most beloved saints in the history of the Church. Thérèse became a saint as a Carmelite nun. Louis and Zélie became saints as husband and wife, as parents. Different states in life, but the same trusting response to God's call. It wasn't the state in life that made them saints. It was what they did within it. Whatever our state in life — married, single, religious, widowed — holiness isn't waiting for us somewhere else. It's available right here, in whatever God has placed in front of us today. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, help us to follow Your will this day, in the way that best pleases You. Help us to look for You in our daily lives. In Jesus' name. Amen. Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe [https://www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Gift of God

Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com [https://www.thevictorscrown.com/] --- The Gift of God My parish is holding its 40 Hours this week. In the opening talk, a priest of our diocese said something that really stuck with me: “If you knew the gift of God.” And if my notes are right, that’s from John 4. To someone who has never known God — or who doesn’t understand the Eucharist — we might say those words as a kind of invitation. If you only knew. But speaking for ourselves, we do know. We’ve known for so long, maybe, that we’ve started to forget. The supernatural has become the natural to us. We believe that Jesus Christ — God Himself — comes to us under the appearance of bread and wine. That we receive Him. That this happens every single day, in every Catholic church, all over the world. Someone hearing that for the first time would probably say, “Wait — you believe what?” Yeah. We believe that. But do we receive it that way? “If you knew the gift of God.” We do know. The question is whether we’re living like it. Let us pray. Lord, we give thanks for the many gifts that You continue to give us. Help us to always remember that You are a generous and loving God. In Jesus’ name. Amen Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe [https://www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

A New Land

Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com [https://www.thevictorscrown.com/] --- A New Land In this time between the Ascension and Pentecost, our Lord's words come back to us: "I go to prepare a place for you." I had a moment this past week where so much of the imagery we hear in Scripture just clicked for me. Here's what I mean. Imagine a father who goes ahead to a new land to prepare a home for his family. While he's gone, he hasn't forgotten them. He hasn't left them behind. Everything he's doing — all of it — is still for their good. For their future. So they can be together. That's the Ascension. But the analogy goes even further. Because the father doesn't just leave the family to find their own way. He sends someone back to help them make the journey. And this is where it goes beyond any analogy we could construct. It's not just that our Lord sends someone. He sends His Holy Spirit. He sends Himself — to be with us, to guide us, to help us make the journey home. That's what we're waiting for in these days. He has gone ahead. He hasn't forgotten us. And He is coming. Let us pray. Lord, help us trust that You are still working, even when we cannot see it. Come, Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe [https://www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Things I Want to Do More (Part 2)

Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com [https://www.thevictorscrown.com/] --- Things I want to do more (part 2) Yesterday I talked about a daily Rosary. Today: daily Mass. And again, this comes from my own personal experience of having five kids. I do not get to daily Mass as much as I'd like to. Now, of course, I have reasons. Like I said: there are five of them, and the sixth is my wife. But, like praying a daily Rosary, it comes down to being intentional. Planning for the important things. Not letting them get pushed to the margins and fit in when you can. Now, of course, with going to daily Mass, there are some logistical aspects: the commute, the time it’s offered, etc. But I know for me I can plan that for once a week, twice a week, if not more. And depending on your work and home situation, I'd encourage you to think about it. If you don't go to daily Mass already, what would it look like for you to go once a week? Twice a week? Can you build toward that? Not because you have to. Not out of obligation or guilt. But because the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. And if we can be there more often—even just one more time per week—that's worth building toward. Let us pray. Lord, help us prioritize the Eucharist. Help us be intentional about getting to Mass. In Jesus' name. Amen. Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe [https://www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Things I Want to Do More (Part 1)

Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com [https://www.thevictorscrown.com/] --- Things I want to do more (part 1) I've thought about a series of reflections titled something like "Things I Want to Do More." And in this month of May, it might not be any surprise that the thing that I would love to do more is pray a daily Rosary. As far as the prayers and devotions that the Church in general recommends, praying a daily Rosary is near the top. A number of years ago, I actually was in a good habit of praying a daily Rosary. And like anything, I found it to be a habit that you need to go through the early stages of building the muscles —which is very deliberate, very intentional. It can be very challenging in the sense of forcing something into your routine. But the beauty of that is that, just like eating healthy or working out or getting your steps in, once it becomes routine, you don't have to think about it as much. So I'm not going to publicly state that tomorrow I'm going to start my daily Rosary routine. But it's something that I've been thinking about a lot more in this month of May. And I guess I would encourage you to do so as well. Let us pray. Lord, give us the discipline to do the things we ought, the things that You are calling us to. In Jesus' name. Amen. Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe [https://www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]