Two weeks into Lent. How's it going?

I wrote something vulnerable this week. It's about the tension between faith and pragmatism - and what I heard Jesus say to me in Adoration before a Confirmation Mass.

On the Blog: No Backup Plans

You can feel it everywhere right now. The uncertainty.

In times like this, the instinct is to grip tighter. To seek more security. To delay any risk until things "settle down."

Suzanne and I are in a season of discernment - whether I step away from stable employment to build Domus Formation full-time. Every pragmatic muscle says wait.

And then, kneeling in the last pew of the Cathedral before our third graders' Confirmation, I told Jesus the thing I'd been afraid to say out loud: "If I really go forward with this, I only hope I'm able to keep providing for my family."

And I heard Him say back, clear as day: "You've never been the one who provides. I provide."

That landed hard.

Read the full post: No Backup Plans →

This Week's 2 Minute Homily

Third Sunday of Lent — USCCB Readings

The Woman at the Well. She came at noon because she was hiding - avoiding the other women. She was ashamed.

And Jesus was already there. Waiting.

He didn't have to go through Samaria at all. But He went. And He waited. For her.

We're halfway through Lent. If you haven't been to Confession yet - this is your invitation. He already knows everything you've done. And He's not there to condemn you. He's there to offer living water.

Watch: He Waited →

What I'm Reading

The Theology of Kneeling — Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) on why kneeling matters. "The man who learns to believe learns also to kneel, and a faith or a liturgy no longer familiar with kneeling would be sick at the core." This hit differently after my Adoration moment. Read it →

Eight Characteristics of a Culture of Lay Formation — John Cavadini at Notre Dame on what it takes to form laypeople in the faith. His key insight: formation isn't primarily about programs - it's about creating a parish culture that makes Christ's formation more available to everyone. Very aligned with what we're building at Domus. Read it →

Pope Leo XIV: "The Gospel Calls Us to Dare to Trust" — From the Pope's Angelus in January: he warned that fear and excessive caution can leave Christians "paralyzed by indecision" rather than ready to follow Christ. Timely. Read more →

This Week's Catholic Cartoon

A Final Word

"Take courage! Without fear! Many times in the Gospel Jesus says: 'Do not be afraid.' We need to be courageous in the witness we give, with the world and above all with life: giving life, serving, sometimes with great sacrifices in order to live out this very mission."

— Pope Leo XIV, Homily in the Crypt of St. Peter's Basilica

Until next Wednesday,

Saint Joseph, pray for us. Saint Michael, defend us in battle.

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Deacon Michael Halbrook serves at St. Elizabeth Parish in the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois. He's a husband, father of four sons, and writes about faith, family, work, and life at DeaconMichael.net.