The Christophers: Jesus Every Day, Every Way

Toni Rossi

Director of Communications

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Lisa Hendey looks back at her breast cancer surgery and radiation treatments two and a half years ago as having been physically arduous but spiritually beneficial. She came to realize that she was just “going through the motions” in her daily prayer life rather than connecting with Jesus on a deeper level, so she made some changes that reinvigorated her relationship with God and helped her to better see His presence in the people and world around her. Lisa has now written a devotional called, “Jesus Every Day, Jesus Every Way,” to help others who find themselves stagnating spiritually.

Lisa has always found God at “Mass, in church, and in sacred places,” but her time in radiation oncology centers led her to “see the world differently,” she said during a “Christopher Closeup” interview. “Encountering Christ in the everyday sacred is so much more present in my life now than it was.” The process that helped Lisa do that is Lectio Divina, “which is Latin for ‘Divine Reading,’” she wrote. “[It] teaches seekers to come to know God’s word by praying over it methodically, purposefully, and slowly.”

Lisa not only prayed over and meditated on a particular Scripture passage each morning, she printed out a copy of it and took it with her to reread during slow points in her day, like standing in line at the grocery store: “I found myself making those connections between what Jesus was saying to us…[with] those regular places of [my] life, in the front seat of my car, or at the hospital when I’m volunteering…Jesus is there with me.”

Lisa shares numerous stories throughout her book, including one about a trip she took to Colombia to observe the work of Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Lisa and the team of journalists she was with met a young woman named Maria, who had benefited from CRS’ annual Lenten appeal, Operation Rice Bowl, which provided her with a scholarship for job training so she could contribute financially to her family.

Lisa explained, “[Maria] and her family welcomed our traveling group of journalists and one priest, Father Rafael Capo…into their home for a beautiful breakfast one morning. That year, [Maria’s] picture was actually on the Rice Bowl box, so her story was being told, and we brought those materials.” Lisa noted that Maria’s family’s home was made mostly of tarps, but due to her job, they would soon be able to build a brick wall. This was a point of pride for Maria, who expressed genuine thanks for the help she received.

“After the meal,” Lisa recalled, “Maria came up to Father Rafael with the Rice Bowl box. On the side of it, she had written their family’s names. And inside of it were a few simple coins. She gave it to [Father Rafael] and said, ‘Padre, we can’t give much, but we know what this has done for our family, and we want to help other families around the world just like ours. So please accept this gift. It’s not very much money, but it’s from the heart.’”

“Father Rafael…is a big, burly, weightlifting priest,” Lisa continued. “He was moved to tears, and I was, too…[Father Rafael said], ‘I’ll never preach again on the parable of the widow’s mite without thinking of this moment, where someone is giving not from their excess, but from what they need in their day-to-day life—and doing it with such love and such compassion for other people.’ You don’t see that and walk away not changed.”

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For free copies of the Christopher News Note NURTURING SEEDS OF FAITH AND HOPE, write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th Street, Room 603, New York, NY 10018; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org