The Church does not reserve the call to holiness for the cloister. Jesus Christ in Scripture is plain: the greatest commandment is love of God and neighbor, and every baptized person is to strive toward its perfection. Perfection is possible. Not as the world sees it, but as God sees.

In this episode, we take that command seriously through the witness of two Carmelite Doctors of the Church—St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. John of the Cross. Thérèse’s claim that she was love wherever she was sounds simple, just as she was. John’s warning that we will be judged on love in the eve of life is not to be daunting, but to be freeing. We are all capable of loving, no matter our job, social status, intelligence level, or any other worldly measure.

Kathryn speaks with honesty about how these two quotes and an encouraging friend helped her to increase her charity through grace. The pride, the unforgiveness, the friction with people she couldn’t easily love were surmounted in a short and honest prayer.
She didn’t find her way through feelings or self-improvement. She found it by asking Christ to be love through her, one room at a time.

This episode is for the woman who knows the distance between who she is and who she is called to be—and who hasn’t given up on closing it.