Tear the Heavens Open!

“Christ is bathed in light; let us also be bathed in light.” St. Gregory of Nazianzus said that.   But what does that mean in our daily lives? 🤔   One of my New Year’s resolutions was to think only positive thoughts. Trying to wean myself from the false belief that negative thoughts are part of being “realistic.”    Who runs the universe? I’ve now come to believe that because God is running the universe (not I!) that I can leave the negative stuff to him and focus only on the positive.   No more dreading what I have to do today, no more judging others, no more frustration over the way people I disagree with behave, no more discouragement on how I’ve fallen short of my own expectations. God’s in charge of outcomes. I’m only in charge of doing good in this moment.   I want my default to be prayer, not negativity.   Don’t block the sun I’ve come to believe that negative thoughts are like clouds that block the sun. They trap us into thinking we’re going to solve the humanly unsolvable, instead of doing whatever good we can do in the moment and leaving the heavy lifting to God.   Negative thinking blocks us from being bathed in the light of Christ. It blocks us from being happy and content with what we have in this moment. Because in the end, this moment is all we have, right?   3 practical tips Here are three tips for staying in the light: 1 If you’re thinking angry or judgmental thoughts, say a quick prayer for that person. Ask that God give them the same blessings you desire for yourself. Be specific. 2 Don’t take personally what other people say or do. I love the reminder that “hurt people hurt people.” That is, most offensive behavior is coming from unhealed wounds and doesn’t have anything personally to do with us. A well-known poster reminds us that others’ behavior is between them and God. “It never was between you and them anyway.” 3 It’s between us and God, too. Taking our focus off things we don’t like and, instead, developing a consistent and intimate connection with God in prayer replaces fear, perfectionism, and judgmentalism. It gives us a calm confidence. Learning how to trust God more by deepening our prayer life is the best way to stay bathed in the light of Christ.   Looking for peace of heart this Lent? 🎉 You’re invited to my 6-week Lenten Book Club when we’ll unpack the wisdom of Fr. Jacques Philippe’s modern classic, Searching for and Maintaining Peace and discover how to apply it to our daily lives.  Click here for details on the Lenten Book Club.❤️ Rose

“I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).   Everyone knows this quote. But do we really believe it? 🤷🏽   Do we believe it when we get a disappointing diagnosis? When our car breaks down? When our children leave the Church?    Katie used to cry during Mass because her children were no longer sitting in the pew next to her. But she held firm to God’s will, prayed, and waited for him to act. As it happened, all six adult children are back in Church, praise God.    During her time in the desert, Katie had faith that the suffering that God was allowing was helping her and her children get to heaven.    Let’s ponder today how much we trust God’s benevolent will when our will is contradicted.   Favorite faith quote Ven. Thecla Merlot wrote:  “Believe it! Make an act of faith now! We never have enough faith, because we always think the best way to do a thing is the one that suits us best. Isn’t that really the problem?”    Um…..yes. 😐   An invitation Please join me for my 6-week Lenten Book Club where we’ll unpack the wisdom of Fr. Jacques Philippe in his classic Searching for and Maintaining Peace.    Current members say they feel "comforted" and "encouraged" by the book and our friendly zoom meetings. There's nothing like hanging out with like-minded Catholics in a supportive group -- laughing, sharing, and getting closer to God together. Comment below if you’d like to learn more! 🙋

I gave an “Intro to Prayer” talk at my parish OCIA class last Sunday – and enjoyed it so much, I’m turning it into a free workshop – so stay tuned for that!One of the candidates asked me a great question and I want to share the answer with you. Wendy asked me if she should start the decade over if she zones out on the Rosary.“I start over,” she said, “when I really wanted to pray for someone – and don't want to miss the chance to do that.” That’s a good reason to start over -- because it comes from a peaceful, generous place. But it’s not always helpful to start over if you're just worried that you've done it wrong — or that God’s going to be mad at you if you don't pay perfect attention every moment. I have short zone-outs all the time. And I just move ahead with my prayer. In fact, I consider it a victory to pull my attention back – because I didn’t let our enemy shame me into giving up! It’s a chance to take a little sip of God’s mercy. A friend said, “There’s not that much difference between my ‘great’ prayer and my ‘poor’ prayer anyway.” LOL -- he’s right! We’re not impressing God with our prayer one way or the other. A priest said, “God is pleased if we just do our best.” Scroll down and share in the comments your experience with a wandering mind in prayer. What helps you? 

 A deacon friend asked a devout co-worker if he had ever considered being ordained a deacon. “I’m unworthy of that,” the man replied.    Unworthiness was the subject of Wednesday’s Bible sharing group at a local parish. A lady in the group said she had always felt she needed to be perfect before God could love her. A man said he felt discouraged in his faith because he wasn’t able to come close to the holiness he strives for. Then someone pointed out what we pray, echoing the Centurion in scripture, at every Mass: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul will be healed.” Do we believe it or not? Do we believe that God wants to heal us? Do we believe that God can heal us? Yes!   Relax in His arms So why don’t we relax and live the healing that we have already received? A sense of unworthiness can be a good thing, because it’s true. But our enemy twists that truth to separate us from God—the original lie from the father of lies. The more we can live the whole truth of our unworthiness in the light of God’s limitless mercy (by receiving God’s limitless mercy!), the more we’re prepared for the attacks of unworthiness that come every day, and especially at death—our enemy’s last chance to convince us to choose hell over heaven!  St. Louis de Montfort countered these bouts of unworthiness on his deathbed. His last words were, “In vain do you attack me—I am between Jesus and Mary!” Only the goodness of God could protect him from the fearful memories of his own failings being hurled at him at such a vulnerable moment. God’s mercy must be our focus, now and always. St. Paul writes of a God “who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Jesus is the Truth. For us, Mercy is the ultimate reality of God—and we have met Mercy incarnate. With the look of love from Jesus’ two human eyes overflowing from a human heart, mercy is no longer “out there,” but in Jesus, mercy has become personal and immediate—always there for the asking.   Radical dependence The hard part in accepting mercy, though, is that is involves radical dependence on God— constantly sipping from the “living water” of his mercy. Constantly acknowledging that our unworthiness is made whole only by Him and in Him. The inability to heal ourselves by ourselves seems somehow like we’re doing something wrong. But we need to get over that and make a habit of letting God do the healing; let him “make up for” our unworthiness every day. St. Paul reminds us that “power matures in weakness.” The abyss of mercy Elizabeth of the Trinity put it this way: “We must descend daily this pathway of the Abyss (that is, the “Deep”) which is God; let us slide down this slope in completely loving confidence. ‘Deep calls unto deep.’ It is there in the very depths that the divine impact takes place, where the abyss of our nothingness encounters the Abyss of mercy.” Better in 2026 One of my New Year’s resolutions is to be more dependent on God and less on myself. Will you join me in letting God take the wheel more in 2026? One way I can do that is to be less ambitious about what I expect to get done every day.Scroll down and share one way you could “let go and let God” in 2026!

Just got back from Orlando, Florida, for a family gathering – and prayed for you at the Shrine of Our Lady, Queen of the Universe! 👑You know that I pray for you every day – and I think way more about your future (and doing what I can to help us all get to heaven) than I do about my past. But maybe it’s time to let you in on what led me to help my readers and clients lead holy, peaceful lives – and why I feel such an urgent need to do that.A podcast I recorded recently covers all that – and I want to share it with you.In a wonderful chat with Carol O’Brien on her “God is Good” podcast, we talk about how my years of ignoring God, and the misery it caused, finally drove me to connect closely with him – and later to help you to do the same.    Here’s a link to that 30-min eye-opening conversation:Rose's Story: Mirroring God's Love Pssst… … and if you’d like to know the 5 simple steps I use to stay close to God in prayer, register for my free workshop: rosefolsom.com/training Love always,❤️ Rose

My Rosary began as usual -- with the Creed. And my mind got stuck on “The third day He rose again.” I started thinking about the time between Jesus’ death and resurrection -- and how much those three days of unknowing pertain to our daily lives. That space of time makes us think about the Israelites in the desert. Those three days are the “All is lost” space. Those three days are the “What's the use?” space. They are the “I was a fool to believe” space.   Hope in the desert St. Ignatius Loyola reminds us that even when things feel at their worst, there is an end to the worst and a new beginning will follow. The desert will end; the promised land will appear.  It is our enemy who tries to convince us that the worst will last forever. Because he wants us to lose hope in the power of the Resurrection. He wants us to lose hope in the promises of God. If you've ever experienced that desert place, you know that there's only one way out. And that is to connect with God to revive your hope.  That’s what I want to help you do. So, if you're having trouble connecting, if you wonder if you're “doing it right” – or you’re not sure that it's God you're hearing in your prayer –  I have good news.   Bringing you hope In my free 60-minute workshop, you’ll discover my 5 simple steps to connect with God (the same steps I use every single day) -- and keep that connection for life -- in a way that works for you. ➡️ Register here for free. It’s coming up soon, so do it now!   You’ll walk away with insights to help you: Be rooted in your true value and worth Handle the lows with a new sense of hope Discern and live out your true purpose Banish fear and anxiety Radiate the love of Christ   Register here! Hope to see you on the inside! ❤️ Rose

It can be hard to find the heart-space to yearn for God during Advent, right? When our Christmas to-do list is eyeing us judgmentally from the kitchen table. I know.  Why does this precious season of anticipation come during the busiest time of year?   St. Anselm to the rescue I love sinking into the soothing Advent prayer of St. Anselm (1033-1109) − so I’m sharing it with you today!  It’s a nourishing done-for-you meditation that will nestle your heart deeply in the Advent spirit. Into longing for God who is inapproachable, yet closer to us than we are to ourselves. Come, Lord Jesus!   Psst…registered yet? Note that if you registered for my 6-week book club where we’ll unpack the wisdom of Jacques Philippe’s tiny-but-powerful book, Searching for and Maintaining Peace, you got this meditation as a bonus audio file. Haven’t registered yet? You deserve more peace in the New Year! Learn more here.  Now for the prayerful words of longing-for-God written by St. Anselm over a thousand years ago, fresh for you on the 4th Sunday of Advent 2025:    Escape from your everyday business for a short while, hide for a moment from your restless thoughts. Break off from your cares and troubles and be less concerned about your tasks and labors. Make a little time for God and rest a while in him.Enter into your mind’s inner chamber. Shut out everything but God and whatever helps you to seek him; and when you have shut the door, look for him. Speak now to God and say with your whole heart: I seek your face; your face, Lord, I desire.Lord, my God, teach my heart where and how to seek you, where and how to find you. Lord, if you are not here where shall I look for you in your absence? Yet if you are everywhere, why do I not see you when you are present?    I have never seen you, Lord my God; I do not know your face.Lord most high, what shall this exile do, so far from you? What shall your servant do, tormented by love of you and cast so far from your face? He yearns to see you, and your face is too far from him.    He desires to approach you, and your dwelling is unapproachable. He longs to find you, and does not know your dwelling place. He strives to look for you, and does not know your face.Lord, you are my God and you are my Lord, and I have never seen you. You have made me and remade me, and you have given me all the good things I possess and still I do not know you. I was made in order to see you, and I have not yet done that for which I was made.Lord, how long will it be? How long, Lord, will you forget us? How long will you turn your face away from us? When will you look upon us and hear us? When will you enlighten our eyes and show us your face? When will you give yourself back to us?Look upon us, Lord, hear us and enlighten us, show us your very self. Restore yourself to us that it may go well with us whose life is so evil without you. Take pity on our efforts and our striving toward you, for we have no strength apart from you.Teach me to seek you, and when I seek you show yourself to me, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, nor can I find you unless you show yourself to me. Let me seek you in desiring you and desire you in seeking you, find you in loving you.   Excerpts from Cap.1: Opera Omnia, Edit. Schmitt, Secovii, 1938, 1, 97-100 / iBreviary.com

There’s a moment every December—usually right around the third Christmas party, the seventh batch of cookies, and the fifteenth Amazon delivery—when a Catholic woman looks up and thinks: “Lord … is this what Advent is supposed to feel like? Because I’m somewhere between ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ and ‘O Come Get Me Out of Here.’” The holidays have a way of turning even the best-intentioned woman into a spiritual overachiever with a to-do list long enough to make St. Martha sweat. Let’s call it “Original Temptation.” That’s when we enjoy the ego-gratification of planning something, but we don’t consult God about it first. When I “forget” to ask God what he thinks before I make a commitment that’s going to cost me time and attention—it’s because I’m secretly worried he’ll disagree with what I want to do! And it’s even worse when I don’t check in with myself about my real motives. Which is like driving in the dark without headlights. And then I wonder why I’ve crashed out emotionally. It’s because I’ve made external things more important than keeping peace of soul.   What God wants God wants us to keep the peace he offers us at every moment. Because if we do, we can be most fully ourself and most fully like him, the Prince of Peace.  A woman I coached just before Thanksgiving said, “I have to have the perfect meal, the perfect table. And meanwhile, I barely take a mouthful.”  Many of us can relate to over-doing so that others will think highly of us and we’ll be proud of ourselves. Don’t get me wrong—creating something good and beautiful is godly. But if it causes us to snap at our sister for basting the turkey wrong, it’s time to re-think our priorities.   Reality check It dawned on me the other day that God loves me way more than I love myself—way more than I could ever love myself! Which got me wondering why I would ever put off asking the One who loves me for guidance, and instead barge ahead with my own plans—and without even asking myself what my real motive is for it.   Give Him room No innkeeper would make room for Jesus that first Christmas Eve. Let’s make time this Advent to prepare a place in our hearts—and our to-do list—for the peace Jesus came to offer us: the peace that the world tempts us to give up. Think of one thing you had planned to make or do this Advent that you could let go of and spend that time instead in silence, letting God’s love soak into you. Moments connecting with the One who loves us soften the soul. They reset the nervous system.They create room for God to get a word in edgewise. Because the truth is…peace doesn’t come from getting everything done. Peace comes from giving God room to guide us, protect us, and love us—in this moment. Our Lady of Advent, pray for us.   SPECIAL OFFER! Speaking of peace—would you like to walk together through the modern classic Searching for and Maintaining Peace? It’s a tiny but powerful book packed with the spiritual wisdom of Fr. Jacques Philippe.  We’ll meet weekly for 6 weeks on zoom starting in January.   You’ll discover: What inner peace consists of – and what it doesn’t (this secret alone will save you so much turmoil) How to maintain peace even in stressful situations How the saints cultivate inner peace. And much, much more.  Join me in kicking off 2026 by learning from a modern-day spiritual master how to keep our peace in the noise and chaos of the modern world. We’ll share our wins and struggles – and grow together in peace of soul – with a community of like-minded Catholics – for just $77. Scroll down and leave a comment, and I’ll send the details right over! ❤️ Rose