Lisa Brenninkmeyer's Blog, page 16

For Your Weekend: What Sets Your Heart on Fire?

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 24:13–35

How often does Scripture really make sense to you? Honestly, it’s not something that happens easily or quickly for me. I can read the same verse or passage over and over again and not really “get it.” I know there’s so much goodness and truth in the Bible, but sometimes it’s a struggle to figure out what it means for me personally. Can you relate? 

Recently, I had a moment when Scripture was broken open for me in a new way. It happened at a reg...

For Your Weekend: When God Shows Up for Everyone But You

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 20:19–31

A young Catholic wife and mother used Instagram to document her husband's journey with brain cancer. Illness took him far too soon, leaving her with the daunting responsibility of raising four children while simultaneously picking up a million shattered pieces of the life she loved. The details were raw, and she didn’t whitewash the truth; there were days she could not breathe. But her faith never wavered. And I was riveted. 

After a break from...

For Your Weekend: The Grave and the Glory

Dig Deeper into this Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 20:1–9

My husband and I recently visited the beaches of Normandy. On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces stormed the beaches to overtake the German troops which occupied France.

As we drove toward that sacred site, we told stories that we knew about the war. I remembered what I had read in the book Unbroken, the biography of Louis Zamperini, the Olympic runner turned Air Force pilot. While fighting the war in the Pacific, he crashed his plane and survi...

For Your Weekend: The Cry of Trust

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 26:14–27:66

One of my favorite things about being a woman is the way in which our universal experience of both heartache and joy can connect our hearts even when we don’t know each other well. I just had that kind of an experience with a woman long dead, one who knows nothing of the daily complexities of the 21st century, yet nevertheless would understand the ache within a mother who is longing for a miracle in the life of her child. I was at a paris...

For Your Weekend: The Vulnerability and Divinity of Jesus

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 11:1–45

As I wrestled with my faith as a young twenty-year-old, one of the things I had trouble grasping was the concept that God knew and loved me personally. I had no trouble accepting that there was a God, a Creator. But that He could know me and see the depth of my heart, my fears and failures, my hopes and dreams—that seemed impossible. In a sense, what I was grappling with was the goodness of God. I know I am not alone in this. From my time in par...

For Your Weekend: Jesus Draws Close

Dig Deeper into this Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 9:1–41

I walked out on God. On Easter Sunday. 

I was sitting in Mass, my husband at my side. The pews were full, as was usual for Easter Sunday. An infant behind us let out a wail just as we stood up for the processional hymn. My husband and I were asked to squeeze further into the pew to allow more room. I turned to see this beautiful family about to enter: a father, his young son, and a very pregnant wife. And that’s when I lost it. Instead of mo...

For Your Weekend: Searching for Outsiders

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 4:4–42

I recently started leading a middle school discipleship group at my parish. Being with 11- to 13-year-olds (two of whom are my children) has reminded me just how much we all have a need to belong. Arguably no one deals with insecurity and the need to belong more than middle schoolers. These tweens come to our meetings with defensive walls and false masks that they have constructed as a result of living in our broken world. They keep these securel...

For Your Weekend: The Mountaintop Reveal

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 17:1–9

The summer before my senior year of college, I was interning for a member of the U.S. Congress when our office was ushered in to hear a guest speaker on Capitol Hill. Erik Weihenmayer had endured a difficult childhood, losing his eyesight at the tender age of thirteen. Amazingly, even with his handicap, he took on one of the fiercest physical challenges in the world. In 2001, Erik became the first blind person to climb Mount Everest.  

I remem...

For Your Weekend: The Lie of Temptation and the Freedom to Fail

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 4:1-11

Brené Brown confessed on her Unlocking Us podcast that when praying at Mass, she likes to change the words of some of the prayers so that they make more sense to her. “I always say in the Lord's prayer 'deliver us from fear and shame' instead of 'deliver us from evil.'” She agreed with her guest that “lead us not into temptation implies that God leads us into temptation.”[1] I can understand how people often misinterpret the Bible, but it is n...

For Your Weekend: Above and Beyond

Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 5:38-48

Would you rather simply fulfill an obligation, check a box and move on, or exceed expectations and go above and beyond?

When it comes to gift giving, I’m all about fulfilling the obligation and no more. I do the bare minimum for Christmas and birthdays to ensure that my loved ones aren’t disappointed. This normally includes one of Amazon’s first three birthday options and a card. Most of the time, I don't even wrap it. I hold the gift behind ...