"When Love Surrenders Its Own Way" Artwork

"Your Faith Anew!"

Your Faith Anew! exists to help souls grow in their knowledge of the Catholic Faith, strive to remain in a state of grace, and encounter the transforming joy of the Gospel. Its mission is simple yet eternal: to save souls, glorify God, and become saints.

Hosted by David Russell, this daily reflection podcast draws deeply from Sacred Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the writings of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta—especially The Book of Heaven—guiding listeners into a deeper understanding of living in the Divine Will.

David is the author of four spiritually rich works: Magi Theology: The Essence of Illusion, The Little Magician – Discovers Bigger and Better, Our Pilgrimage with the Pilgrim Virgin, and his newest release, Our Mother in the Divine Will. With a lifelong fascination for the mystical, David discovered a profound connection between the art of illusion and deeper spiritual realities—an insight that inspired both his theological and children’s writings. His work Magi Theology received both the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur from the Diocese of Knoxville.

In 2010, David was introduced to the writings of Luisa Piccarreta, which deeply resonated with his own spiritual insights. This encounter helped shape the foundation of his ministry.

In 2017, he founded the Your Faith Anew! prayer and study group to help Catholics rediscover and fall in love with their Faith. At the heart of his message is this conviction:

“The Catholic Faith prepares us to receive the Gift of Living in the Divine Will—and this Gift enables us to live our Faith in a divine manner most pleasing to God.”

Join us daily as we seek not only to understand our Faith—but to live it fully, joyfully, and in union with the Divine Will.

Song: Buddy Comfort - vocals and guitar from the album, "Brother Sun, Sister Moon", www.buddycomfort.com

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"Your Faith Anew!"

"When Love Surrenders Its Own Way"

August 31, 2026 • David Russell

0:00 | 10:36

NEW AUDIOBOOK! "LIVING IN DIVINE WILL - Returning to the Purpose of Our Creation" click here

August 31, 1899 – Volume 2

Luisa writes,

After the confessor gave me the obedience that, when Jesus would come, I was to say, ‘I cannot speak, move away’, I took it as a joke, and not as a formal obedience. So, when Jesus came, almost neglecting the order received, I dared to say to Him: ‘My good Jesus, look at what father wants to do.’

And He said to me: “Daughter, abnegation”.

And I: ‘But, Lord, this is a serious thing. This is about having to not want You; how can I do this?’

And He, for the second time: “Abnegation”. And I: ‘But, Lord, what are You saying? Do You perhaps know that I can be without You?’

And He, for the third time: “My daughter, abnegation”. And He disappeared.

Who can say how I felt in seeing that Jesus wanted me to dispose myself to the obedience?

– Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta

Buddy Comfort – vocals and guitar from the album Brother Sun, Sister Moon, www.buddycomfort.com, words and music by Donovan Leitch.

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Welcome, this is David Russell and Your Faith Anew, Daily Reflections Guiding You to Live in the Divine Will. Today's reflection is from the Book of Heaven by the servant of God Louisa Picaretta, august thirty first, eighteen ninety nine, volume two. Let us begin in the will and name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lord Jesus, draw my heart close to yours. Free me from the quiet desire to arrange everything according to my own understanding. Give me the grace to trust you when your path is clear, and also when it costs me something to follow. May I seek you above every consolation you give, and love you enough to place even my deepest desires into your hands. Let your holy will become the peace of my heart. Amen. A reading from the first book of Samuel chapter fifteen, verse twenty two. But Samuel said Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to the Lord's command? Obedience is better than sacrifice, to listen better than the fat of rams. The catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in Paragraph one hundred forty four. To obey in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard. Because its truth is guaranteed by God who is truth itself. Abraham is the model of such obedience offered us by the sacred scripture. The Virgin Mary is its most perfect embodiment. There are moments when love is revealed not by what we are permitted to hold, but by what we are willing to place entirely in God's hands. Louisa writes After the Confessor gave me the obedience that when Jesus would come, I was to say I cannot speak, move away. I took it as a joke, and not as a formal obedience. So when Jesus came, almost neglecting the order received, I dared to say to him My good Jesus, look at what Father wants to do. And he said to me Daughter, abnegation And I But Lord, this is a serious thing. This is about having to not want you. How can I do this? And he for the second time Abnegation And I But Lord, what are you saying? Do you perhaps know that I can be without you? And he for the third time My daughter Abnegation and he disappeared. Who can say how I felt in seeing that Jesus wanted me to dispose myself to the obedience? There is a subtle temptation in the spiritual life. We can become attached not only to created things, but even to the way we experience God. We naturally cherish moments of consolation, when prayer seems alive, when God's presence feels near, when we understand what he is doing. These are genuine gifts. But the gift is never meant to replace the giver. At some point, Christ leads the soul deeper. Think of Abraham climbing Mount Moriah. Isaac was not something evil that Abraham needed to renounce. Isaac was God's own gift, the son of promise. Yet Abraham was asked to trust the God who gave the promise more than his own understanding of how that promise must be fulfilled. This is a demanding kind of faith. Sometimes what God asks us to surrender is not sinful at all. It may be something beautiful, a plan, a ministry, a relationship, a hope, a spiritual consolation. Even our expectation of how God should make Himself known to us. The question becomes Do I love what God gives me? Or do I love God enough to let Him remain Lord of His gifts? This is where obedience becomes something far richer than simply following a rule. Christian obedience is rooted in faith. The catechism teaches that obedience of faith is our free submission to the truth revealed by God because He is truth itself. And Jesus shows us what such obedience looks like when it becomes perfect love. His whole earthly life is directed toward the Father. He does not cling to his own way, he receives everything from the Father and returns everything to him in love. Living in the divine will draws us toward that same interior freedom. We begin to say, Jesus, I want you more than I want my own way of experiencing you. I want your will more than my preferred outcome. I trust your wisdom more than my understanding. That surrender may sometimes leave us feeling empty for a moment. Yet the emptiness is not necessarily an absence. It can become room, room for God to be God. And perhaps some of our deepest encounters with Christ begin precisely there, when we stop telling him how he must come to us and simply remain available to him. Nothing grasped, nothing demanded, only a heart quietly saying Jesus, however you desire to lead me, I am yours. Let us pray. Jesus, you are greater than every consolation, every answer, every blessing, and every experience of your presence. Purify my love. When I quietly insist upon my own way, teach me to trust you. When surrender costs me something, keep my eyes upon you. When I cannot understand what you're doing, remind me that I do not need to understand everything in order to belong completely to you. Take my plans, my expectations, my fears, and even the good things to which I become too attached. I place them before you without conditions. Jesus, I desire neither to run ahead of you nor hold back from you. I want to live this day within your divine will, receiving each moment from your hands and returning it to the Father with you. Be enough for me, Lord, and when everything else grows quiet, let my heart discover the freedom of simply being yours. Amen. Thank you for joining your faith anew today. Until tomorrow, stay in his will, and your faith will be made anew.