S19 E5 - Sacred Elements: Clay

In this episode, we begin a three part series about different elements found in Scripture and today focus on the Potter and clay in Jeremiah. God is constantly forming us, meeting us in the ordinary moments of life and inviting us to trust that His hands are always shaping and building us up. We reflect on how being unfinished is not the same as being abandoned, the ways we can become more open to the Lord's work in our hearts, and how even difficult seasons can reveal the growth He is bringing about in us. The image of the Potter and clay invites us to bring our wounded and unfinished places to the Lord, trusting in His desire to restore us with great care.

Heather's One Thing - 2026 Hallow Summit
Sister Miriam's One Thing - Her Pilgrimage to Medjugorje
Michelle's One Thing - UNC vs Chapel Hill Game and the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh

Journal Questions:

• What does the Lord want to reveal to us in the ordinary moments of our lives?
• Where do you notice God's fingerprints in your life?
• In what areas of your life do you feel unfinished?
• What areas of my life am I hiding from the Lord or others?
• Where in your life are you struggling to see good fruit?

Discussion Questions:

• How is the Lord shaping you in this season?
• How is the Lord holding you in your brokenness?
• Where in your life are you trying to do too much without God's help?
• What empty promises are you believing?

Quote to Ponder:
"Let us hold on firmly to this basic principle of Catholic cosmology: The devil doesn't have his own clay. All he can do is take God's clay—all of which is "very good" (Gen 1: 31)—and twist it, distort it. The good news is that Christ came into the world to untwist the clay that sin and the devil twisted up. While our understanding of eros is badly in need of rehabilitation, the good news, as papal preacher Raniero Cardinal Cantalamessa reminds us, is that Christ has "come to save the world, beginning with eros, which is the dominant force." (Eating the Sunrise: Meditations on the Liturgy & Our Hunger for Beauty by Christopher West)

Scripture for Lectio:

"The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: "Come, go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me: "Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done?" says the Lord. "Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel."" (Jeremiah 18: 1-6)

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