Most days there’s a battle in my heart. When I consider the state of our world and the struggles I face, discouragement pulls against trust in God’s loving patience, provision and presence with us. When the discouragement weighs heavy, I try to remind myself that God is not looking down on us wringing his hands in worry. Jesus has already won.

We know how our story ends: Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty and will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

This is good news.

Jesus is not a distant, disdainful king who stands aloof. He loves us so much that he came to live among us, as one of us, and experienced our struggles firsthand. He knows us, understands us and, as he did with his disciples on the road to Emmaus, patiently walks with us (even when we’re going the wrong way).

Just as Jesus spoke to the disciples at the Last Supper, he says to us, “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)

When that trouble gets to me and I’m feeling the battle, I want to turn immediately to Jesus to ask for help — to know him, be more like him and follow him all the way to heaven. And I want that for you too.

Our world is hurting. If all of us grew in relationship with Jesus through daily prayer, receiving the grace available to us in the sacraments and striving to follow him, it would change the world.

It’s time to up our game and help others do the same.

This is why we created Emmaus 90 and Discipleship Training Sessions, to help you grow deeper in relationship with Jesus and his Church and help others do the same.

Emmaus 90 is a New Years-to-Easter journey of growth in daily prayer and Catholic discipleship with weekly livestream formation sessions and a community walking with you. Discipleship Training Sessions prepare ordinary Catholics to accompany others on a journey to deeper growth in relationship with Jesus and his Church through Emmaus 90 or any discipleship process.

Here are a few of my favorite stories from some of the nearly 5,000 Emmaus 90 participants in the past two years:

  • A man who had been away from the Church for many years was invited by a friend to join his Emmaus 90 Pilgrim Group where he encountered the Lord in prayer, went to confession and returned to regular Sunday Mass.
  • A high school athlete marveled that God seemed to give him the words to answer questions about the Eucharist from non-Catholic friends, who accepted his invitation to join their family at Mass.
  • A wife shared with gratitude that Emmaus 90 helped her to pray with her husband for the first time in many years of marriage.
  • A mom who gave her kids Emmaus 90 Guidebooks for Christmas shared her wonder at seeing her 7-year-old son going to a quiet corner to pray each day, her 11-year-old noticing how God was guiding her and her 3-year-old teaching her stuffed animals the importance of service. “Jesus is truly being born anew in our family and setting our hearts on fire!”
  • A lifelong Catholic who said she had struggled for years to maintain a consistent prayer life shared, “This simple process you have made for us, with Scripture selections and guidance for how to pray, has made a deep change in my prayer and in my relationship with the Lord. I’m so grateful.”

Emmaus 90 returns in 2026 with all new daily Scriptures and weekly formation sessions.

The most common reasons people tell me they don’t join us are, “it’s too much for me” or “I don’t need it because I already have a daily prayer life.”

If it feels like too much to commit to the entire Emmaus 90 journey, what could you commit to? Could you do just 15 minutes of prayer per day? Five minutes? To quote Pope Leo in Dilexit te, “it is always better at least to do something rather than nothing.”

If you already have a daily prayer life, that’s great! Who are you helping to grow in prayer? Emmaus 90 makes it simple for you to walk with someone into deeper faith. Invite one to three others and consider accompanying them on their journey.

You don’t have to join us for Emmaus 90 or Discipleship Training, but please commit today to grow in prayer and bring someone with you. Know that I’m praying for you and all of us, that the Lord will call us, form us and send us in his love to those around us.