“Our Lord has so many enemies and so few friends, I was determined the friends he had should be trusty ones.” When St. Teresa of Avila wrote those words, she was in great distress for the Church, for the schism happening within it, for the attacks against it, and she wanted to defend it. So… [Read More]
Contemplative Prayer Workshop
The Secular Discalced Carmelites of the Diocese of Austin will hold a workshop on contemplation and prayer at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church in Pflugerville in honor of the 500th Anniversary of the birth of Doctor of the Church, St. Teresa of Jesus (St. Teresa of Avila), Carmelite reformer and co-foundress of the Discalced Carmelites, to… [Read More]
Parenting teens with mace… I mean, GRACE
After a fierce conflict on the battle- field that parenting a teenager is at times, I was standing in my front yard trying to calm down. I was furious, so calm was not easy to come by. I tried to look around and notice my surroundings, to take refuge in the present moment. It was… [Read More]
5 Things to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do: A Survival Kit
When you are in a time of intense suffering; grief, dread, or emotional overload, when you are walking around the house just staring at things, when getting through the day seems impossible, and you don’t know what to do with yourself, read this: 1. Do the next right thing. This might be eating a sandwich,… [Read More]
Prayer without “Praying”
“Today, the vegetables would like to be chopped By someone who is singing God’s Name.” ~ Hafiz A few mornings ago, sitting at the table with my coffee, looking out over the meadow, I noticed with a smile, the moon in the brightening sky. It was a rich gold, shining out momentarily as the… [Read More]
“What do nuns do for Christmas?” Learning about Consecrated Life
During Advent, I asked the Friars, Priests and Sisters what they do for Christmas in their communities. I called a cloistered Carmelite convent and asked what the nuns do for Christmas. I read accounts in articles and on web sites of Christmas at monasteries. I didn’t really know why I was doing it, or… [Read More]
A Bobly Day of Skin Religion
He was feeling more emotional than usual because of a new seizure medication we were trying, and a steroid he had to take for brain swelling. We decided a brisk night walk would do both of us good, so he put on his big poncho, I put on my coat, and we headed out. In… [Read More]
Shopping with Jesus
“When Black Friday comes, I’m gonna dig myself a hole, I’m gonna lay down in it ‘till I satisfy my soul.” -Steely Dan The Advent Season is at the same time as the Shopping Season. I wish it wasn’t so. I wish, when December comes, that I could spend my Advent and Christmas as a… [Read More]
Gratefuls and Wishes: a Thanksgiving Tradition
Our family has, in spite of our quaintness, some of the same traditions at Thanksgiving as everyone else. We generally have eaten the usual things everyone does (except for myself and my daughters – vegetarian, no turkey for us.) My mom always spent days preparing the meal- stuffing and green bean casserole from scratch, “smashed”… [Read More]
Roses are healing: a story of remembrance
When mom and I got out of the car, at the Antique Rose Emporium* it was as if she shed her dementia and I forgot all about it. We wandered into a timeless, and for us, almost mythical place. Roses are healing. She walked, smiling, down the lovely rose-lined paths with her now faltering steps,… [Read More]
When the Time Comes: Accepting Death Together
The room smelled like essential oils– the ones Peter brought to help Bob breath and to help with pain and anxiety: Eucalyptus, frankincense, myrrh, Inspiration (a blend), myrtle, peppermint. Every nurse who walked in commented on how good it smelled. I had continued the routine of rubbing them on Bob’s chest every 20 minutes or… [Read More]
One Love: the Diamond Gift of Chastity
A good book I am reading* begins by saying that the legend of the origin of the Indian Koohinoor diamond is that Krishna gave it to one of his disciples in response to his meditations. I tried to imagine Jesus giving me a diamond. “Have you ever given me a diamond, Jesus?” “If so, what… [Read More]
Spiritual Combat: Fight Like a Catholic
I remember coming away from a conversation with a very holy person years ago, feeling thoughtful. I was much inspired to pray. At the same time I felt like cranking up the Led Zepplin in the car for some relief from too much holy. The friend I was with asked, “What did you think?” I… [Read More]
Jesus in the Pressroom
This is a story of a love that grew between a very Catholic thirty-something widowed mom and a crew of very rough men who were not only physically dirty but rough in all the ways blue collar guys can be. They drank, they cussed, they smoked (and not only cigarettes), they did other things… [Read More]
12 Things to Wear to Mass
My dear friend, Jocie, worried about showing up to daily mass in flip-flops, asked Fr. (now Bishop) Mike Sis if he thought her flip flops were disrespectful to wear to church. He said, “ I was just in the Sudan, where they had no other shoes to wear but flip flops to church. You can… [Read More]
Facing Death Together: A reflection on my husband’s death
Over all these put on love, the perfect bond. I checked his blood oxygen level. I brought him medicine, kissing him when I gave it to him, as I always had. He responded feebly with almost imperceptible nods. He had become too weak to even raise a trembling hand anymore. I held him, caressed him,… [Read More]
A Gospel Midrash on Martha and Mary
Sometimes after mass, my husband, Blaze, and I would act out the Gospel story of the day with our then four year old daughter, Maire. One Sunday, when the reading had been about Martha and Mary, we talked about the story a little bit in the car, and when we got home, we decided who… [Read More]
The Communion of Saints and the Life of Heaven: A Bed Time Story in Rose
Once upon a time, a time called “forever now,” there were some beautiful old roses that could talk in beautiful ways through a special root system they had underground. They looked as if they were planted far apart but really under the soil their roots were intertwined and they heard everything each of the others… [Read More]
Elijah and the Widow of Bryan
When I answer the door, a wild- looking old hippie guy standing on my porch asks me for some water and a sandwich. I don’t actually have much food in the house right now, as it’s a few days until Pay Day. I’m trying to think what to give him, remembering I am down to… [Read More]
Holy Spirit hide-outs
Driving around Bryan’s neighborhoods, my husband, Bob, would point out from time to time, “Catholic yard. There’s another one. That’s a Catholic yard.” Some of these lawns’ signs of Catholicism were obvious: a statue out front, a home made shrine. Some were less obvious but he was no less sure. I asked him how… [Read More]
We should do this more often
As he often does, Pope Francis is doing something we all know is right to do, but we forget. He is bringing leaders of two peoples locked in conflict, who have a painful past together, to pray with him, just pray. It is the perfect thing for a Pope to do, and it is… [Read More]
The Sacred Heart of Jesus, the sacred heart of you
Biblically, the heart is the center of the human being, the seat of decision, the place of prayer to which one withdraws. It is where God comes to make His home in us. The heart is the place of longing, and spiritual thirst, the place of encounter, the place of union.* Incarnate in Jesus,… [Read More]
Meditating on the Word
The Eucharist is the Word of God made flesh that we take into our bodies and souls with greatest reverence. As Jeff Cavins says, The Bible is “… the Word of God made text,” that we take into our eyes, ears and minds. We are to let it dwell in us richly, living and active… [Read More]
Travel by heart
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness… wholesome, charitable views… cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner …” ~Mark Twain This is true. However, one can travel without leaving town. Consider the borders of social and economic boundaries, roles we occupy that keep us from knowing one another, our self protective measures… [Read More]
Miriam Among the Lilies: A Poem for Easter
All night … I looked for the one my soul loves; I looked for him but did not find him. I will go through the streets of the city, I will search for him my soul loves. The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. I asked them, “Have you seen my… [Read More]
Stations of the Cross with love from Mary
After Christ’s Ascension, Mary, the mother of Jesus, would go out and walk the way of the Cross again, the way of our salvation and hers. She could be seen sometimes in the early morning, walking slowly, pausing.”He fell here. And again here. He spoke to the women here.” Her prayers of Good Friday… [Read More]
A Poem for the Annunciation
How do you think Mary felt When I infused her body and soul With Myself And she became the Spirit’s Bride? She had always lived innocently In My presence But I had never touched her soul Until I sent an Angel into the arc of her beauty to inquire of her gentleness If she would… [Read More]
My Best hour: Making the most of Adoration this Lent
“I will lure her into the desert and speak to her heart,” says the Lord. (Hosea 2:14.) In a world that often seems like an unpleasant mardis gras, it is easy to see why God would want to call us aside for some quiet time with Him where He can be close to us… [Read More]
The Prayer of Dreams
“I was asleep but my heart was awake. A voice! My beloved was knocking: ‘Open to me!” (Song of Songs 5:2a) Have you ever had a dream that seemed to be from God, one that helped you understand something about yourself, reassured you He was there, or helped you know His will for you?… [Read More]
Praying the News With the Heart of Mary
I was a conscientious objector to the world as soon as I was old enough to notice how it was going, and how apathetic everyone else seemed to be about it all. “What’s the matter with you people,” I used to think. Engaging in the news just made me feel overwhelmed by the suffering of… [Read More]
Guru Macaroo
His mother calls him “Pete,” (for “Sweetie Petey.) His dad calls him “Macaroo.” Meet Mac. I know he didn’t say anything you recognize as “How do you do?” But he knows you’re here, and that you are a new person in the room. I wonder what he thinks? I like to tell him he’s my… [Read More]
Veiled Question: An Exploration of the Re-emergence of an Ancient Custom
The young people at St. Mary’s in College Station have a flare for making old things new again, for transforming customs and practices that could be considered old fashioned or obsolete, into fresh, passionate expressions of the uniqueness and beauty of our Catholic faith. Aggie Catholics tend to add flourish to their devotion. Several of… [Read More]
In Living Reparation: The Mother of God Revealed
I have to kneel at her bedside since it is just a mattress on the floor. When she nods a go-ahead to me, I peel her blankets carefully aside. I am moved to see that underneath these she holds a wall crucifix against her heart. I smile. “Jesus!” I exclaim, and she smiles hesitantly back… [Read More]
St. Nicholas, Friend of Children and of the Poor, Master of Sneaky Good Deeds
I wanted Santa to be real to my daughters forever, not only when they were small, but always. I accomplished this by teaching them about the original Santa Klaus, St. Nicholas, Friend of Children and of the Poor, Master of Sneaky Good Deeds. As a Saint he is forever accessible to us who believe. Very… [Read More]
Getting Back Into the Box; a Reflective Guide to Confession
When I first came into the Church, the Sacrament that stumped me the most was Confession, the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It wasn’t the idea of it. It wasn’t the theology of it. It wasn’t even claustrophobia. It was learning how to contain myself into this little ritual. This was difficult for me because of my… [Read More]
Graces of the Child Mary: a Reflection on Our Little Mother’s Presentation in the Temple
When I was a kid, I loved looking at pictures of my mom from when she was little. Not only could I see hints of who she would become–those eyes, that smile…those knees…. That spunk! I could also more easily see the ways I looked like her. I could compare pictures of the two girls,… [Read More]
How and why I came to love cemeteries
I remember noticing my first cemetery as a very young child and asking my mother what it was. I couldn’t believe they buried people. I was horrified. I felt so sorry for them. My mom said to stop crying, that the dead people in the graves didn’t care and didn’t even know they were… [Read More]
A Little Story About the Rosary, Love Stronger Than Death, and the Communion of Saints
It was almost my wedding anniversary and my husband, Bob, had just died a couple of weeks before, of Brain Cancer. I dreaded that “birthday of our marriage” even more because I remember how terrible it felt last time that first wedding anniversary after the death of my first husband, Blaze. I knew that it… [Read More]
An Interview with St. Teresa of Avila
I’m a tiny bit late. She has already ordered her usual black coffee and has obviously charmed the pants off the waiter. He continues to smile and wave at her from behind the counter from time to time throughout our stay. I’m happy to see she brought her tambourine like I asked, even though she… [Read More]
Taking Up the Name of God
Eastern religions make use of mantras. We do too. We may not realize that we Catholics have some mantras as well, and that we could put them to good use in our spiritual lives. This is one way to pray without ceasing, one way to occupy the mind properly during a difficult temptation, or slow… [Read More]
