Welcome to the Easter Triduum. As we enter the holiest days of our Church, it is good to reflect on our world and how we can have an impact. Using the power of the happiness effect, I encourage you to continue your Lenten sacrifice, especially if it has made you a better Christian. The happiness effect is research by psychologists that claim if you want to rewire your brain to do something, you need to continue that practice for at least 21 days in a row. After that, your brain is rewired to the new habit. With all of the negativity we see on the daily news (both video and print) is it any wonder that negativity reigns supreme on earth? In order to change that paradigm, you need to replace the negative with the positive. Try it yourself. Pledge to send someone close to you a daily text for the next 21 days. In that text you need to say at least two things you are thankful for that day. Have the other person repeat the process to you. See what kind of difference this can have in your life. If it works (and it will), pay it forward. Have a happy and blessed Easter!
Born during the turbulent era of the French Revolution, Saint Jeanne Jugan rose above hardship and a lack of formal schooling to become a profound vessel of Christ’s mercy. After losing her father at a young age and working through her youth as a kitchen maid and nurse, her life radically changed one freezing night when she encountered a blind, paralyzed elderly woman with nowhere to go. Jeanne carried the woman back to her own home, placed her in her own bed, and began a lifelong mission of radical hospitality. This act of profound love blossomed into the Little Sisters of the Poor , a thriving community dedicated to sheltering and honoring the destitute elderly. Despite later facing heavy trials—including being unjustly sidelined and stripped of her leadership by a controlling chaplain—Jeanne accepted her obscurity and exile with a joyful spirit, resting her complete trust in God's hidden providence until her death in 1879. In our daily lives, Saint Jeanne Jugan invites us to lo...