At Easter Vigil we hear how God opened the doors to set captives free. In the Collect for Easter Mass, we hear how God opened the doors to eternity. They are the same doors!

As Resurrection people, we, too, are made new creatures, called and equipped to carry on the mission of Jesus.

How many times have you been a patient sufferer? How many patient sufferers do you know? What if our patient suffering is what makes us partakers in Resurrection Glory?

I'm not going to ask for extra suffering, but I will use what I have much more efficiently!

Did Jesus need to be convinced or did He eagerly desire to be our salvation? Of those two, which one do we ask for in this week's Collect?

I remember learning about transcendentals a long time ago, so this prayer was a fun refresher.

Originally named by Aquinas and Plato, these original three, truth, beauty, and goodness tell us what God is. (See my blog post for definitions)

It made me think about how often we look for the goodness of God. Something is good when it fulfills what it is intended to do. For example, a car that has terrible gas mileage and doesn’t start is not a good car.

However, God, in his goodness, who fulfills what He is, offers us mercy and when His mercy lifts you up, He lifts you up for good.

"Listen to Him" wasn't just for Peter, James, and John. Jesus is talking to us, too. God speaks to us in the same ways he spoke to the disciples, we just need to know how to listen and receive.

Check out the verbs in this prayer - how the world would change if we had a heart completely open to receive!

In this week's prayer, we find the word "observances" when we pray about this year's holy Lent. Looking at the Latin form of the prayer, however, we don't just observe, for us Lent is an exercise. We are in training.

What our time in Lent should bring forth in us is that we grow in the understanding of the riches hidden in Christ and by worthy conduct pursue their effects.

Remember, that the majory of the Christian life is in the unseen and those are our hidden riches.

I used a math trick for the prayer this week. In math it is called rearranging equations, where you cross off like numerals on each side of the equals sign to simplify finding the answer.

In the prayer, I crossed off like phrases to get to the heart of the prayer, that we come to rely ONLY on the grace of God.

Your moning tea (or coffee)? It's all grace! (Thanks be to God!)

In this week's prayer, we hear the words, "one Bread," "one Chalice," and "one in Christ." The Father delights when his children can play together, however, we must also realize that there is an enemy that working against us.

Why do we strive to become better versions of ourselves when we really need to consider becoming the person God created us to be? This week's prayer tells us that this process begins in our mind and heart.