“Don’t waste your suffering!”

JP2 once said this to a man with a broken leg who came to him for a blessing. I love it. It’s a great reminder to not just grit your way through pain, but to join your sufferings to Christ on the cross and transform them into powerful prayers for others. Big or small, physical or emotional, any bit of suffering you can hang your hat on – do your best to offer it up. It’s never fun, but it’s always transformative!

I had knee surgery about 9 hours ago and during my post-surgery anesthesia-induced half-delirium (say that 3 times fast!) I recorded a short video message for you. If you have a second, I’d love for you to watch it!

I have already received a number of prayer requests (thank you!) and would love to receive many more. Simply hit reply to this email and let me know how I can pray for you, your loved ones, your students, or really anything currently weighing on your mind or heart. I want to dedicate myself to praying for you more and so am happy to offer up these prayers for you both during my recovery and after as well.

“In bringing about the Redemption through suffering, Christ raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his sufferings, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ.”

– Pope St. John Paul II