Welcome to the fourth week of Lent, and it's a special one: Today is Laetare Sunday. Laetare means "Rejoice" and, similar to Gaudete Sunday during Advent, this is a milestone that we're more than halfway through Lent 😱 It doesn't feel possible, but here we are. The liturgical color for today is rose, so I wore my pink sweater to Mass this morning as I am a huge Catholic nerd.

Note: I am opening up the weekly Lenten emails to the entire Fiat Sanctum newsletter list, so if you're new here then welcome! I email each Sunday with a themed challenge and inspiration to help you navigate the Lenten pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I'll also have a fun option for you to engage with for Holy Week coming soon!

Our weekly challenge theme is to practice surrendering ourselves in trust to God. Today's Gospel reading was the story of the man born blind whose sight was restored by Jesus. Healing requires great trust: trust in our bodies, trust in ourselves, and, most importantly, trust in God. If you love a checklist, like I do, then I've made you one for this week to focus your Lenten devotions.

Weekly Prayer Challenge: Pray the Surrender Novena

I've always been Type A. I like to plan. I like to know what to expect. And I like to be in control. Call it a mixture of nature and nurture, but I have always struggled with allowing God's plan to take the place of my own. I'm also inclined to anxiety, so feeling in control helps me think that I feel less anxious. But ultimately we are not in control of our lives, no matter how much we think that we are, and sometimes we are forced to confront that reality in a painful way.

Discovering the Surrender Prayer and Novena was absolutely life-changing for me. As an anxious person, the premise felt absolutely ridiculous. I'm supposed to tell Jesus to "take care of everything?" What?! I prayed it for a couple of days without really feeling it, because I didn't believe it.

Eventually the prayer wormed its way into my heart, and I found how helpful it was to me, especially as someone who struggles with anxiety, in moments of stress. I prayed it over and over, for example, during turbulence on an airplane, or during an excruciating migraine that just wasn't going away. I can repeat it continuously when I feel out of control, and it helps me get through hard time. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything. O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything.

Try it for yourself and see how it changes your heart. If you enjoy praying along with audio, the Hallow app has a beautiful version narrated by Jonathan Roumie, and they have a text version on their website, as well.

This week, pray the Surrender Novena or pray the prayer over and over during times of anxiety. I promise you, it will change your life and your faith in God's will.

Weekly Fasting Challenge: Outsource it to Jesus

Around the same time the Surrender Novena was rocking my world, I began practicing some metaphorical trust falls with God. If I felt an extreme amount of anxiety about something, I would take it off my To Do List and put it on Jesus'. Running into a brick wall looking for a place to live in Spain while my husband was in grad school? Outsource it to Jesus. A few weeks later the perfect place came up in the same building as someone we knew, so she was able to scope it out for us and make the arrangements. Passport applications separated and delayed while running out of time to submit Visa paperwork? Send a Hail Mary of a letter to the Houston Passport processing agency and Outsource it to Jesus. And St. Jude, too, just for good measure. Our completed passports were in the mail within two days. Whoa.

If we truly believe that Jesus is who He says He is, then that means that we also believe He is capable of miracles. Yes, even for us. So let's start acting like it. This week we're fasting from anxiety over what is out of our hands.

This week, pick one thing that's been weighing you down and stressing you out, and Outsource it to Jesus. Looking for childcare for a new baby? Outsource it to Jesus. Praying for your spouse's conversion? Outsource it to Jesus, because He's the one that needs to move in your partner's heart, not you. Applying for a new job? Send in your application materials and then Outsource it to Jesus. It's utterly freeing to begin this practice. We don't need to fix everything. We don't need to do everything. In fact, we shouldn't be. So let Jesus help.

Weekly Almsgiving Challenge: Care for Immigrants and Refugees

The plight of immigrants and refugees is a cause that has always been near to my heart, and it's unfortunately an issue that continues to grow. This issue can feel very much out of our control, and to a large extent it is. But there is still much we can do for those traveling to other countries in search of a better and safer life for their families.

Who are the immigrant or refugee communities near you? Research where these families have come from, and why they have fled their home countries. Next, find how you can help. Catholic Charities does the lion's share of resettling refugees in the U.S., so find your local division's website (where I'm located, for example, Catholic Charities of Maine has its own organization) and look for ways to assist. For example, I served as a Catholic Charities volunteer for one year and spent time with a refugee family from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I visited the family each week, answered their questions and helped them navigate the frustrating and complex systems of immigration, education, and financial assistance. I made flashcards to help the kids learn a little English. And I made some amazing friends. Catholic Charities often has "refugee kits" that you can put together for donation, which is great to go in on with another family or two. You can also give money to the organization. Add these families into your prayers this week, as well.

Song and Ambience of the Week

Song: Holy is His Name by John Michael Talbot, OCP Choir from the Into the Desert Playlist​

Ambience: Flicking Candles, Crackling Wicks from the Lent Ambience Playlist​

It's a Marian-themed music and ambience week, as the feast of the Annunciation is this coming Saturday, March 25!

Have a blessed fourth week of Lent. Easter will be upon us soon.

Shauna'h