"For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be."
Favorite content this week
My Bible study has been doing Walking With Purpose’s “Keeping in Balance” study. It’s been wonderful so far. Each week ends with a Scripture study focused on a single verse in their own Lectio Divina format. This week was a single line from the story of the Woman at the Well: “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
Upon reflection—and consultation of the Word on Fire’s commentary on this chapter—I realized that what Jesus is telling the Samaritan woman (and us) is twofold: (1) If we cling to rituals and rules without being first grounded in relationship with God, we are missing the point. (2) We worship God and must attach ourselves to God—not to anything that we find solely on Earth.
It’s a constant struggle for me—and, I suspect, for you—to be more attached to God than I am to other things. Whether it’s my family or my work, I am constantly tempted to put a vocation above Him. He’s given me these callings, true; and it is because they come from Him that I must put Him first. Otherwise, how can I truly follow the path He’s led me on? How can I truly serve Him and His children through my work? And, ultimately, how can I join Him one day in Heaven if my eyes aren’t focused on it now?
I’ve written about this topic for Catholic Women in Business and Radiant Magazine, and I suspect I’ll never stop learning, talking, and writing about it. This week’s Scripture study—not to mention today’s Gospel reading*—were a good reminder.
*“Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Matthew 6:21).
Here’s the content I found interesting this week:
I recently reviewed The Anxious Achiever*, a book by
, for Catholic Women in Business. She also has a great podcast, and this interview with Dr. Michael Freeman, a psychiatrist and professor who studies mental illness and entrepreneurship, was fascinating. (In particular, the idea that entrepreneurs without mental illness are still more likely to have family members with mental illness was so interesting.)I loved working at Training Industry, Inc., but I still was eager to leave for the next step in my career (part-time work and full-time caregiving). In light of my own experience, this Fast Company article by Shanna Hocking—on the penalty women pay for loyalty to their employer—was interesting.
“Why am I still Catholic?” is a question that many of us have probably asked ourselves in light of the sex abuse scandals of the last couple of decades. For me, the answer has been, “because Jesus created this Church, and the Holy Spirit is guiding it despite the broken humans—and Satan—who have tried to destroy it.” Throughout history, there has been so many mistakes made by Church leaders, small and large. One, at least in the U.S., was the Church’s participation in the slave trade. This New York Times editorial (gift link) by Rachel L. Swarms is an unflinching look at this history—and why she, a Black woman, is still Catholic. I’m adding her new book, The 272: The Families who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church*, to my TBR.
I’m not normally a fan of The Guardian—or of Hilary Clinton—but this article on a new endometriosis documentary co-produced by Clinton was great. The documentary aired on PBS this week. I’m not really in an emotional place where I want to watch a documentary about endometriosis right now, but I’m hoping it will still be available in the future, because I’ve heard good things—and I’m grateful this conversation is happening.
Books I’m Enjoying:
I received Little Monsters, by Adrienne Broeur, in a Goodreads giveaway, and while I enjoyed reading it at times, I only gave it two stars on Goodreads. The story kept me interested, but ultimately I was disappointed in the characters and the resolution, as well as the over-the-top attempts to be politically cool. (I don’t have a problem with political books; I have a problem with writing that is trying to preach rather than tell a story.)
I’m halfway through All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition and the Ways We Strive*, by Rainesford Stauffer, and have mixed (very positive and fairly negative) feelings about it so far. Stay tuned for a review on CatholicWomeninBusiness.com…
I’m also still reading The Perfection Trap: Embracing the Power of Good Enough*, by Thomas Curran, and am really enjoying it so far! I keep getting sidetracked but will have a review of it soon as well.
*Affiliate link