Have you ever looked yourself in the mirror and wondered why you have four “frown lines” for every laugh line? When was the last time you gut-laughed? Do you slip into your daughter’s room late at night, and wish you’d spent as much time enjoying her as you did lecturing her? Do you ever wonder […]
I attended two New Year’s events this season that featured bonfires. At each gathering, we were encouraged to say goodbye to anything negative that happened in 2012 by burning lists or symbolic items. These annual cleanses resonated with me because I believe that God taught me some huge business and life lessons last year. I […]
It’s a rhetorical question, really. I could also ask: what’s hanging on your wall; what are you wearing around your neck; what does your bumper sticker say? Once a month, I visit a patient who lives in a B’nai B’rith sponsored family apartment building. There’s no mistaking that all the families living there are practicing […]
If you knew beforehand that a gunman planned on going to a kindergarten class at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, would you do everything in your power to avert the violence and save innocent lives? During a news conference on January 16, President Obama expressed that if we could save even one life […]
With the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade approaching, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about a post I read last month over at the popular atheist blog “Love, Joy, Feminism”. The article asserted that most pro-life (or anti-abortion) ads portray photos of already-born babies and pre-born fetuses, while failing to depict the mother. Libby Anne therefore concludes that […]
Set Free Genevieve Kineke Servant Books 2012 Forgiveness: been there, done that! I wondered where Genevieve Kineke would take this “old, old story” in her new book, Set Free. Needless to say, she surprised and edified me! Set Free is a comprehensive and deeply Catholic treatment of the work of forgiveness, focusing on the special […]
What comes to mind when you think of “temperance”? Designated drivers downing pints of O’Douls or virgin daiquiris? The thrill of moral victory from leaving that last bite of chocolate cake on the plate? Lent? The other day I came across an article by MaryEllen Tribby (Founder and CEO of WorkingMoms.com) entitled “The Success Indicator,” […]
I’m working my way through a book called Everyday Sanctity, written by Schoenstatt Sister of Mary, M. A. Nailis. With texts from it’s founder, Fr. Joseph Kentenich, this volume addresses one of the pillars of the Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement, everyday sanctity, which is the practice of giving everyday life the character of holiness. Although it’s become […]
(Okay, so that’s really an 8-book list.) If you listen my podcast, Among Women, you know I have a passion for three things: first, to encourage women to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ and their Catholic faith; second, to celebrate the beauty and genius of their womanhood; and third, to call women to […]
I was warned. My mom used to complain how “time flies” the older she got. In my youthful mind, with three little ones under my feet, I scoffed. Silly me. Today, January 4, 2013, would have been her 82nd birthday. I guess that has gotten me to thinking of all she wisely told me. […]
“Is this all there is?” Colleen Carroll Campbell found herself asking that universal question midway through college. Every generation needs to discover the role of faith in their lives and to seek answers to the hard questions such as the meaning of life and the role of suffering. While human nature may remain fairly consistent, […]
My initial response to the outcome of the election was visceral. Fixing my eyes on the heavens, tears pouring down my cheeks, I searched for answers in the night sky. I did a lot of praying for this election. Issues that should abhor any God-fearing human didn’t seem to sway, move or even nudge the […]
Most of us make and break the same New Year’s Resolutions each year: eat less, exercise more, spend less, get out of debt. . . and on and on. My resolutions, while well-intentioned, often fall away by the end of January. This year, I’ve decided to do things differently. Instead of putting all the emphasis […]
With nothing but the angel’s words as confirmation of her condition, she hastened toward her cousin’s house to see if the impossible had indeed come to pass. It had. Amazingly, inexplicably, the devout old woman positively glowed as she regarded her much younger kin, at once gratified and awestruck at the hidden miracles that rested, […]
During the early years of Facebook mania, I posted pics of my kids, events, travels, anecdotes and chanted with the universal FB voice: “Look how great I am; how amazing my life is; how many people like me!” While I really wanted to post about how great God is, a social network broadcasting my religious […]
How many books begin with an invitation to a slumber party? This one does! Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle’s richly personal, but powerfully catechetical new book, Rooted in Love: Our Calling as Catholic Women, is as delightful, intimate, and honest as a 3 a.m. chat with your best friend over a cup of hot chocolate, and I can’t […]
As I head out for a weekend in Georgia, to celebrate my parents’ 50th anniversary, I wanted to leave with you a recipe I usually make for a small group of friends the third weekend of each Advent, for Rose Sunday. For so many of us, Advent is merely a time to get ready for […]
Our pastor shared this story at Mass on Sunday: As many parishes do at Christmas time, a parish in New York was having a pageant acting out the Nativity story. A little boy named Tom was taking part. He was mentally disabled, but was very excited to be in the pageant. He was playing an […]
“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers,” drawls Stella in Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.” And it’s particularly true if you have a large family. Strangers as well as friends often provide our large family with their extras – a wonderful, win-win redistribution which helps level our budget shortfalls. But true giving […]
No family really lives a Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving. Life is easier once you accept that. Then the unbearable happens. We lose someone in our family’s holiday portrait. The first year is the hardest. The bigger the presence, the bigger the gap. Sometimes at that first holiday we feel as though we will never laugh again. Joy […]
I reinvented Thanksgiving dinner 3 years ago, and not by choice. Thanksgiving dinner is one of my favorite dinners to fix for my family. Three years ago, things changed. I was recovering from major surgery, forbidden from driving, forbidden from lifting more than 5 pounds, and needed to sit more than stand. My husband and our […]
It’s busy season for debates over the role of women in Christianity. First, there was the so-called “war on nuns,” the high-profile skirmish between the Vatican and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Then followed Harvard divinity professor Karen King’s revelation of a now widely discredited papyrus suggesting that Jesus had a wife. Now comes […]
I’m entering a new phase of my life . . . the “hot” zone. One minute, minding my own business, typing or reading or just hanging with family — the next, the heater kicks in and my face has little rivulets of sweat. One minute I’m sound asleep, cuddled in my fuzzy armed sleeper, the […]
I don’t watch The View. I tried a few times, many moons ago; but found that even with the presence of conservative Elisabeth Hasslebeck, I couldn’t stomach the show. I’m also a huge fan of Ann Romney. Huge. But even her guest spot on The View couldn’t entice me to tune in. Appearing the same […]
