Several years ago now, when my husband and I were living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, we made an epic journey together to Hell and back. Now, I’m not trying to evoke a metaphor here to refer to a tumultuous time in our lives. Rather, I’m speaking about our trip to Hell, Michigan, a small and unconventional community in Livingston County. Whenever I think back to this trip, I am reminded of important life lessons on trust and encountering God in all circumstances.

In this personal reflection on the feast day of St. Faustina, we are reminded to commit ourselves to the Lord as she did. Despite dealing with ridicule and doubt, and ultimately dying young after a painful illness, St. Faustina left a life that serves as an example for us all.

Getting laid off hurts. There is nothing — and I mean nothing — quite like hearing that your role is being eliminated and immediately wondering whether it means you weren't valuable. But, friend, a layoff has far less to do with you than it does with a company's budget, priorities, or organizational chart.

Everywhere I look on the Catholic interwebs the past few weeks, I see one major theme: leisure, or purposeful and restorative rest for our bodies and souls. From Pope Leo XIV to my favorite Substack writers to witty reels on Instagram, we are suddenly laser focused on leisure time.

Do you have a patron saint for your business? If you don't, you should. One way to find one is to look for a saint connected to the work you do.

We've all been there in one form or another: a misunderstanding with a team member, a week where every deadline seems to fall, a project that just seems to meet one obstacle after the other. During challenging times at work, we can lose sight of the big picture and get stuck dragging our feet through the muck.