There are some big things happening right now in the world of the family in our culture. And as much as we are sons and daughters of God, we are also children of our time, swimming in the atmosphere of our every day environments. That’s not a call to move to the mountains and become… [Read More]
Friendship with Mary: Teresian Prayer and the Rosary
The rosary has been a part of my spiritual life since I learned it from my first husband, Blaze, during our courtship, years before I was ever Catholic (or Christian at all.) It became a natural part of my daily life over the years and has grown and changed with my prayer life. As… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – October 4, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflection
October 4, 2015 Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 140 (NAB Translation) (Jerusalem Bible Translation) Reading 1 Genesis 2:18-24 This week’s first reading comes to us from the well known reading from Genesis. This is the origin story of Eve in Adam’s search for a companion. This reading can be so familiar that it’s easy… [Read More]
Build a Relationship with Your Guardian Angel [Audio]
Angels are one of my favorite topics, and I have been giving various presentations on angelology for the last 5 years. People are often surprised by how much they didn’t know about their angel. I have taken a short segment of some of those presentations and put it in audio format to share in honor… [Read More]
Faith, Consumerism, and More (Review: “The Year Without a Purchase”)
Minimalist stories don’t usually contain much God-talk. Some have hints of spirituality in their suggestions that you can declutter your soul, make time for what’s important, and find peace in a life that’s not so full of stuff. On the flip side, there is plenty of writing about how to grow in your spiritual life…. [Read More]
Mind Blown: Top Quotes from Pope Francis’ Visit to America
Unless you’re living under a rock that doesn’t get Wifi, you’ve heard about Pope Francis’ visit to the United States of America. His visit was historic. It was inspiring. It was filled with surprises and joy and humility. Everything he said could be turned into a semester-long study on theology or ecology or human rights. If… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 27, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections
[powerpress] Sunday September 27, 2015 Lectionary: 137 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for September 27, 2015, the twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we break open the Word of God to prepare our hearts and minds for this Sunday’s Mass. This… [Read More]
Lessons I Have Learned Serving in Youth Ministry
Fall is an active time around most of our parishes, and it’s a time full of incredible hope for another year of catechetics. I’ve been blessed with almost a decade of working in youth ministry and witnessing the incredible ways that the Lord can work in the lives of high school teens. As many lives… [Read More]
Soul-surviving in the wake of a family suicide
Four weeks ago the person who has been closest to me all my life, my brother, Mark, (I just called him “Brother” and he called me, “Sister,”) who was like my other self, committed suicide. We were scared and worried about him. But we didn’t think this would happen. Then it happened. He was dead…. [Read More]
Austin CNM September Lunch
Don’t have plans tomorrow? Consider joining us for our September lunch! ACNM monthly lunches are an opportunity to get together for fellowship and discussion. No agenda, just time to share ideas, talk about life & faith and hang out. It doesn’t matter if you are a contributor or a reader or listener, you are invited… [Read More]
Something Greater Than Ourselves
In a little less than 2 weeks, on October 11, Bishop Joe Vasquez will celebrate Mass at the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Schoenstatt, in honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Schoenstatt, and to give thanks for the first year anniversary of the Shrine. What might inspire us to go? What might… [Read More]
Sunday Says September 20, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflection
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 134 Reading 1 Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 This week’s first reading comes from the Old Testament book of Wisdom. This section reveals some insight into the intentions of the enemy. At this time, the Jews were experiencing great persecution, and this tries to convince them that this is not from… [Read More]
When Everything Falls Apart: A Reflection on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Sometimes things just fall apart. No matter how much you prepare yourself, how much planning you do, how much you know or how much you try, everything just falls to pieces before you. Then you are left standing in the rubble, mouth agape, and brain spinning with so many thoughts that none of them come… [Read More]
Making the Rosary Fun for Kids
It’s never too early for children to learn how to say the Rosary. Here’s some documented evidence: That was my younger daughter when she was just two-and-a-half years old. I didn’t know how (or have any desire) to say the Rosary until well into my 30s, so let’s not make the same mistake with the… [Read More]
Catholics Drink Like Saints: A Response to Discussions of Catholicism and Alcohol
I was blessed to attend a college friend’s Baptist wedding reception (and the wedding) once, and I had a fantastic time. These many years later, two details stick out (three if you count the bride’s lovely, cap-sleeved gown). First, the reception ended very quickly and much earlier than I expected, and second, the desserts were… [Read More]
Sunday Says – September 13, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflection
Sunday September 13, 2015 Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 131 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Isaiah 50:5-9A This week’s first reading from the Prophet Isaiah is part of the songs of the suffering servant. In context of the time this was written, this section probably didn’t make much sense to the average Jew. It’s hard… [Read More]
Stretch of the Heart: Why You Need Hope
Think about the fact that you have a desire to love God and follow his will. Consider the difficulty of being faithful to him when it is tiring or inconvenient. How could it be that the saints before us were like spiritual and charitable super heroes? Is there a saint medicine we’re missing out on?… [Read More]
Formed.org Review: How This Website Can Aid Your Faith
Recently I had the honor to try out a new subscription service at formed.org, that my parish has chosen to participate in. I have been using it for a week now, and I would like to share my review. Let me start by saying that this service is just beginning so its content selection is still… [Read More]
I’m Restless and Learning to Rest in the Heart of Jesus
In the past few weeks of my seminary life, I have experienced again what has become a relatively common experience – I’ve moved 5 times in the past 2 years – of packing all my stuff into a car and driving to a new place and moving into a new domicile. The process of relocating… [Read More]
Spit, Mercy and the Human Spiritual Life
What is it about Jesus spitting, putting his fingers in the deaf man’s ear? It hits on something within us, pulls on something. Some inner notion of cleanliness, of boundaries, of unworthiness. It’s uncomfortable. Unusual. Certainly not how we would expect the God-man to act. Now – to bow at his feet, to stand at… [Read More]
Chaplet of the Child Mary
The Chaplet of the Child Mary (to be prayed on ordinary rosary beads) written by me in honor of Our Lady’s Birthday Make the sign of the cross and pray the Sh’ma, a prayer the little Mary would have grown up reciting every day with her Jewish family and community. Hear, O Israel: The… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 6, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday September 6, 2015 Lectionary: 128 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for September 6, 2015, the twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we break open the Word of God to prepare our hearts and minds for this Sunday’s Mass. This week Jesus… [Read More]
A Blue Bell Faith
The state of Texas’ favorite ice cream, Blue Bell, returned to shelves this week after four months of stopped production due to a Listeria problem and 3 deaths in April. Texans mourned the loss of this important dessert, especially during the summer. Memes were created, odes were written, t-shirts printed and people fasted from ice cream… [Read More]
Walk It Out (God’s Will)
I used to spend too much of my time stressing about my future and what I was supposed to do with it. What brought me peace in that anxiety was the book of Deuteronomy. I love that book. Through it the Holy Spirit revealed so much to me about following God’s will. A few months after learning from it… [Read More]
Angels & Dragons II
What is a Dragon? The Hebrew word “tanniyn” is used to depict a mysterious and vile creature similar to a giant reptile. “Tanniyn” is found 28 times in the Old Testament, with English translations sometimes referring to it as dragon, sea-monster, serpent, whale, or jackal. In the New Testament the Book of Revelation uses the… [Read More]
Mathing Up the Faith (Review: “Arriving at Amen”)
I love a good conversion story. I’ve made a few attempts at writing my own, but I have never found quite the right angle of approach. It’s not the struggle to find something other than God in which to place my happiness, like it was for Jen Fulwiler. It’s not the attempt to make up… [Read More]
Need a Break? Top 3 Sites for Relaxation
Are you overwhelmed by work? Exhausted from life’s demands? Maybe you feel frenzied by your list of to-do’s, or super-anxious about an upcoming event. Maybe you’ve just watched/read the news and now you’re in a funk. Sometimes (a lot of times) you need a break. I’d venture to guess that you need more breaks than… [Read More]
Sunday Says – August 30, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflection
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 125 Reading 1 Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 In the first reading from Deuteronomy, we hear a distinct joy and pride that the Lord has chosen the Hebrews to receive the word of God in His law. He expresses the centrality of obedience to the law to their identity as the… [Read More]
Metanoia Explained by Cats
Catholics have a whole vocabulary that is unfamiliar to most people. Most of it is words that have stuck from the original greek or latin and are usually needed because there really is no other way to say it (e.g. Transubstantiation). In many recent conversations with other millennials, I have found that seeking purpose and… [Read More]
Asking Back: Asking Jesus His Own Question
We are sitting in a bar on a hot summer day. I stare at my dejected feet on the bar stool, then out the door at the hot day, the burning sidewalk, the occasional overheated human being passing by. I don’t want to look at him, though I am relieved by his presence. I glance… [Read More]
Back to Busy – Inspiration for Fall 2015
Fall is in the air! Well not actually in the air weather-wise – I wish! But despite Texas’ insistence outdoors that summer persists, this week kiddos are loading back into school buses, parents are cheering, teachers are groaning, and the boost of energy and activity seems to pervade many realms of economic and social life…. [Read More]
Sunday Says – August 23, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflection
August 23, 2015 Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 122 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Joshua 24:1-2A, 15-17, 18B This week’s first reading from the Prophet Joshua is an idealized telling of the story of the people choosing to follow the Lord. In all likelihood, it wasn’t as organized as it sounds in this reading, but… [Read More]
Our Lady, Consoler of Souls – When You See A Loved One Suffer
When I was burdened with the cross of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, my mother, who loved me dearly, was heartbroken. She saw that I was mocked by bullies, lived in fear, and how much I wished death upon myself. She did anything she could possibly do to help by taking me to therapy, finding… [Read More]
Parish Spotlight: St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Parish Spotlight is an Austin Catholic New Media series dedicated to highlighting and sharing information about the various parishes in the Austin Diocese. Did you know the diocese is home to 127 parishes? In this series, we hope to bring not just facts to your attention, but a sense of community that will help you… [Read More]
Marriage Advice for Singles: Scott Stanley on How to Lower Your Risk of Divorce
In case you were wondering, I am still not married. Thus, I still keep my eyes and ears open for marriage advice to tuck away for later (thanks, secret Pinterest boards!) and for advice on how to become unsingled. That’s like a conscious uncoupling, but in the other direction. Not all of the advice I… [Read More]
Why Kids Are Pro-Life
Yesterday afternoon, while walking through HEB with my family, a hurried mom with her two little girls rushed by us in the coffee aisle. The mom didn’t look at us or say anything as she moved past us, but one of her little girls (probably 4 or 5), stopped and said, “I like your baby!”… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – August 16, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections
[powerpress] Sunday August 16, 2015 Lectionary: 119 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for August 16, 2015, the twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we open up the Word of God to prepare our hearts and minds for this Sunday’s Mass. This week… [Read More]
The Beauty of The Dark Night
Saint John of the Cross has a reputation for being a guy who does not care much for your feelings. His name sometimes sounds like a penance. People hear “dark night” and think of an isolated exile with little or no hope. While I cannot correct that error in a short article, I would like to… [Read More]
Binge Watching is Holding You Back
We need to have a talk about viewing habits. Netflix and other streaming services have become the new staple in media consumption because of it’s low prices and on-demand access to massive collections of media. For just a few dollars a month, we have access to more media than we could actually consume in a… [Read More]
Agnostic Modernists vs The Church
Modernists and modernism have left a significant impact upon our post-modern world. One major impact has been the increasing prevalence of agnosticism or practical atheism within the world’s population. Agnosticism is the belief that man is unable to know whether God exists. Practical atheism is the resulting ethic or morality which is derived from such… [Read More]
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