To Give, To Pray, To Read

Ways to help when you’re feeling helpless

What’s happening in Ukraine right now calls upon each of us to pray, reflect, give, fast.

If you’re searching for what to do to help, please join us in supporting Catholic Relief Services and Caritas Ukraine. We’ve started a special fundraising effort in memory of our twin daughters Maggie and Abby, whose birthday is tomorrow. They lived only 1 and 2 days, but their lives changed our own and call us to work for justice in the world.

Each year we remember them with a fundraiser, and you have blown us away with your support in the past. (Last year we raised nearly $40,000 for Second Harvest Heartland.)

This year I kept praying about what to do in their honor, but nothing rose up. Then when war erupted this week and my friend Rahki shared about the work of Catholic Relief Services, it was a lightbulb moment. My husband and I always donate to CRS for natural disasters and humanitarian crises because we trust its work aligns with our values.

Catholic Relief Services and Caritas Ukraine are working directly to provide emergency relief across Ukraine and in bordering countries, to meet immediate needs and provide ongoing support: safe shelter, hot meals, hygiene supplies, fuel for warmth, transportation, counseling, and more.

Please give whatever you can: $5, $10, $50. Click here to join us.

To pray with Ukraine

My friend Annie and her husband wrote a beautiful novena for Peace in Ukraine. Sign up here to pray with them each day.

Kayla Craig put together a care package of prayers from Liturgies for Parents.

The poetry of Ilya Kaminsky (a Ukrainian-Russian-Jewish-American poet) is essential reading right now. We Lived Happily During the War is one place to start.

My friend Timothy Johnston at the Archdiocese of Washington shared these prayer images. Feel free to share.

Books

Meg Hunter-Kilmer has taught me more about the saints than anyone else. Her latest book Pray For Us: 75 Saints Who Sinned, Suffered, and Struggled on Their Way to Holiness is now available from Ave Maria Press—perfect for Lenten reading or Easter baskets. You can get your copy for only $16 (and free standard shipping!) with code LAURA0222 here through 4/15.

I shared 52 Sundays on social media this week, a fantastic resource for families from the Archdiocese of Detroit. This book is smart, engaging, and easy: creative ideas for unpacking the Gospel and celebrating Sundays at home. Highly recommend.

Between traveling and trying to cut down on doomscrolling (ha, good luck), I tore through many books in the past few weeks. If you adored or hated any of these, I’d love to hear it:

• Textbook Amy Krause Rosenthal—huge fan of her clever kids’ books Chopsticks and Spoon. This whimsical memoir-ish book was a fun grown-up read.

• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reed—can’t stop thinking about this novel. Whew.

• Two-Part Invention by Madeleine L’Engle—worthy of a re-read every decade. One of the best books on marriage.

• The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris—thought-provoking but the twist at the end left me wanting more.

Essays

This riveting reflection from Lyle May: “I’ve been on death row for 23 years. Catholic Mass gives me hope in the midst of my suffering.” (Shoutout to the Catholic Community of St. Francis of Assisi in Raleigh, NC, with whom I was honored to work in the Communities of Calling Initiative.)

Dr. Sunita Puri’s essay on grief and Covid is a must-read. She puts into words what I’ve felt this whole pandemic: much of today’s societal anger springs from grief. “Our collective grief, varied as our reactions to it may be, can bind us together when it seems like nothing else will.”

The Age of Anti-Ambition from NYTimes Magazine was a provocative read (anyone else addicted to analyses of the Great Resignation?). Only when I checked out the author at the end did I realize my cousin Noreen Malone wrote it.

Free events for you

The Collegeville Institute is offering a free reflective writing hour with the delightful and wise Carol Davis Younger on March 2nd: Praying with Our Pens on Ash Wednesday.

Ava’s Grace, a ministry of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, is offering a free retreat at Notre Dame on March 5th for couples who’ve experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss. Details here.

Register now for the free Lenten Retreat I’ll be giving online through Boston College’s C21 Center from March 8-11: Along the Way!

Peace,

Laura

Find my books here: Everyday Sacrament | Grieving Together | Prayers for Pregnancy & Birth | To Bless Our Callings | Living Your Discipleship

Connect with me on Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

This post contains affiliate links.