LETTER FROM KATIE • April 1, 2026
Dear Holy Comforter,
One of the most arresting moments of Palm Sunday is when we cry out, “Crucify him!” and acknowledge that we are not only the ones Jesus comes to save, but also, in our own ways, the ones who help drive the nails. We are both recipients of his mercy and participants in the world’s sin—caught up in patterns we cannot fully untangle, and desperately in need of God’s rescue.
LETTER FROM KATIE • March 25, 2026
Dear Holy Comforter,
I have really enjoyed our times of silently praying the Examen together on Sunday. I couldn’t believe how quiet it was (for a congregation that is 50% children) as we prayed the entire Examen for five minutes this past Sunday.
LETTER FROM KATIE • March 18, 2026
Dear Holy Comforter,
When I was reflecting on the fourth step of the Examen—Sorrow for Sin—I was struck by this insight from Joseph Tetlow, a Jesuit priest who has been teaching and praying the Examen for decades:
“Never, never start examining yourself until you have thanked God for the gifts that God is giving to you—not in general, not in the past, but right now, today.”
LETTER FROM KATIE • March 11, 2026
Dear Holy Comforter,
Lent carries a quiet sorrow. As we slow down and pray, we begin to see more clearly the ways we have turned from God and from one another. That realization can bring a certain sadness—not the sadness of despair, but the sorrow of love.
LETTER FROM KATIE • March 4, 2026
Dear Holy Comforter,
I have really enjoyed the silence during our services this Lent as we’ve taken time to pray through the steps of the Examen Prayer together.
LETTER FROM KATIE • February 25, 2026
Dear Holy Comforter,
I closed my sermon this past Sunday with a prayer for Recollection from Teresa of Avila.
Gracious Friend, give me the grace to recollect myself in the little heaven of my soul where You have established Your dwelling. There You let me find You, there I feel that You are closer to me than anywhere else, and there You prepare my soul quickly to enter into intimacy with You…
Experiencing Lent With Our Children
Dear Holy Comforter parents and families,
It was good to see many of you at our Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner and our Ash Wednesday service.
Lent has begun. This season is similar to Advent in that it’s a season of waiting and preparation, and both share the color purple in the liturgical calendar.
LETTER FROM KATIE • February 19, 2026
Dear Holy Comforter,
It was great to see so many of you Tuesday night at our Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner (Thank you to Elena and Tom Benning for helping us pull it off.) and last night at our Ash Wednesday service.
I encourage you to take a look at my letter from last week and Matt Wooldridge’s letter to CHC families which you can find here, to explore the ways we’ll be preparing for Easter together.