Author Archives: kmwanek

In today’s Gospel (1/12), we read about the call of the first disciples.  The one part that caught my attention when reading the passage is, “Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mark 1:17).  These words from Jesus have two parts.  Jesus asks His disciples to followContinue reading “Come After Me”

In today’s (1/6) Gospel passage from Mark, we read about the miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. There are a lot of messages we can get from this passage. Just as Jesus takes the small amount of food and multiplies it, He can do the same in ourContinue reading “Multiplying our Offerings”

Recently, an extended family member greeted me by confidently saying, “Hi, Abbey!  Merry Christmas!”  This wasn’t the first time this family member called me by my sister’s name.  As this family member has been part of the family for more than 28 years, since before I was born, it seems kind of strange to getContinue reading “The Power of a Name”

The Christmas season is always a beautiful time in the Church. The 4:00 PM Christmas Eve mass I attended was full, which is always a great sight to see. The birth of Jesus is one of the most significant events in history and one of the most important parts of our faith. If we trulyContinue reading “Christ the King”

On Sunday morning, I was at mass at a church in North Carolina.  I arrived 20 minutes early and the parking lot was already filling up.  By the time mass was going to start, the church, which can seat 750 people, was full.  It was to the point that ushers were walking around finding spaceContinue reading “A Deep Inner State”

Winter is in full swing here in Wisconsin.  And that means cold and snow.  I will quickly admit that winter is not my favorite season.  I prefer warmth and sunshine and enjoy the heat of summer, which is always much too short.  Winter brings slippery roads, getting stuck, and shoveling.  But the long winters weContinue reading “Like a Snowfall”

Today’s Gospel reading reminds us of the importance of child-like faith.  God reveals Himself to us in so many ways, but we need to have eyes of faith.  We need to have trust and open hearts, willing to recognize all the ways He is showing up in our lives.  Are our eyes open to everythingContinue reading “Eyes that See”

Memento mori.  This latin phrase means “remember your death.”  Sometime in college, I came across the twitter account of Sister Theresa Aletheia, a sister with the Daughters of St. Paul.  She used this phrase as a hashtag daily and shared reflections on what it means, while also keeping a skull on her desk.  Her dailyContinue reading “Memento Mori”

In a confession I had last month, the priest talked about writing down 20 different things I was grateful for and doing that for a week.  I think this practice, even just thinking of these things and not writing them down, is something that would be beneficial for all of us.  A huge part ofContinue reading “Acknowledging our Blessings”

Last weekend, working on a TEC retreat, it was a powerful reminder that there is nothing or no one except for God who can transform people in such a short amount of time, in a matter of three days. To watch the retreatants arrive on Friday morning and to see their transformation as the weekendContinue reading “Transforming Hearts”