On September 22, 1966 a little boy was born in Minnesota. His mother, for reasons unknown, was unable to keep him and left him in the hands of a group of nuns who devoted their work to the care of children without parents. Unbeknownst to the boy and his mother, there was a young couple… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – October 12, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflection
Sunday October 12, 2014 Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 142 (NAB Translation) (Jerusalem Bible Translation) Reading 1 Isaiah 25:6-10A This week’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah, is a great setup for this week’s Gospel, but it also stand alone as a beautiful prophetic vision of what the Lord promises. The prophet promises that… [Read More]
Immigration – St Ignatius Martyr Parish Social Ministry Council Panel Series
This year the ACNM in partnership with Saint Ignatius Parish Social Ministry Council is excited to be hosting a monthly pot-luck speaker series featuring the many social ministries in Austin Texas In our first panel which took place September 30th we discussed how Catholics are responding to the needs of immigrants in our nation and how you can be… [Read More]
Prayer Breakfast for Life Featuring Hosts from Catholic View for Women
Two amazing and heroic Catholic women in the fight for life are coming to the Austin area to speak about the current events happening in the pro-life movement. Join the community at a Prayer Breakfast for Life hosted by Heroic Media. Fr. Dean Wilhelm at St. Williams Catholic Church will open the event in prayer… [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]
Satisfaction Guaranteed or Taste and See
In our consumer culture, we’re used to investigating products before we purchase them. We want our satisfaction guaranteed before we commit to spending the money. Makes perfect sense from a market standpoint. It is safe and healthy to be a bit critical (and very healthy to practice daily discernment), but this structure of trying to guarantee satisfaction first… [Read More]
Friendship in Two Words: Part 2
In my previous post, friendship was presented as necessitating, or defined by, two qualities: listening and reciprocity. There were tensions and faults brought up throughout the article as they relate to listening and reciprocity. Each person fails in certain, and with some frequency, habitual ways in friendship with another. The faults and sins may not… [Read More]
Confession, Interrupted
The Catholic sacrament of reconciliation evokes a wild ride of emotions. Waiting in a long line outside the confessional feels like a roller coaster slowly creeping up a steep incline. You’re nervous and perhaps a little scared about what’s about to happen. But suddenly when you’re absolved of your sins you get that exhilarating rush… [Read More]
Can the Old Be Made New Again? (Review: “Restoring the Sacred in Omaha”)
You know we are living in strange times when an article is shared on Facebook 2,800 times yet I only see it because an old friend posted it. I was intrigued because I keep my eyes open for new perspectives on books or ideas that have already crossed my mind. In this case, it’s my… [Read More]
5 Relationship Myths Debunked
Cinderella. Belle. Jasmine. Disney’s version of Rapunzel. Disney’s version of Ariel. All of these love stories have their struggles – what with missing glass slippers, evil sorcerers, solitary confinement and being half-fish – but they all end the same way: happily and without problems. Hundreds of other movies and songs tell us the problems in… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 28, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflection
Sunday, September 28, 2014 [powerpress] Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 136 (Jerusalem Bible Translation) (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Ezekiel 18:25-28 This week’s first reading from the prophet Ezekiel sounds very harsh on first read. To put this into better context, we have to look back in the chapter to see that the prophet has… [Read More]
John Paul II Life Center’s 4th Annual Benefit Dinner November 7
Join the John Paul II Life Center for their fourth annual benefit dinner, Today is the Day!, withTeresa Tomeo, Jennifer Fulwiler, and music from Greg & Lizzy. This social night gathers other pro-life supporters from the area for a dinner, presentation, fellowship, and prayer. They will also be honoring Msgr. Louis Pavlicek, Dr. and Mrs. Tom… [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]
Come and You Will See
The tents are packed up; the rented chairs have been stacked and taken away. The land is empty and yet not quiet. Mulch covers large patches where grass will need to be planted. Bricklayers come each morning and work on finishing the main walkway. You can usually see the builder around finishing this or… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 21, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
[powerpress] Sunday September 21, 2014 Lectionary: 133 Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for September 21, 2014, the Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we begin preparing our hearts and minds for Mass by previewing and reflecting on the readings. The selected readings… [Read More]
First Comes Love, Then Comes…
This past Saturday Pope Francis presided over a Mass during which several couples celebrated the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony (aka, Marriage). What made these couples “unique” according to social understanding of the Catholic faith is that all of these couples were either living together or who have had annulments. It seemed odd to the media… [Read More]
September Announcements
This week we have replaced Trenton’s usual blog post with a series of important announcements. Lets see if anyone notices. My post might have been about spiritual seasons. For everything turn turn turn there is a season turn turn. A time when the Holy Spirit shifts your energy to focus on a new way to… [Read More]
My Restless Augustinian Heart
St. Augustine is no stranger to widespread devotion. His incredible conversion story (pagan, playboy, convert, bishop, Doctor of the Church) is known and admired by many a convert and cradle Catholic alike. My favorite band has a song inspired by his well-known Confessions, and they’re not even Catholic!1 Everybody loves Augustine. I especially love him,… [Read More]
The Psychology of Terrorism and What We Can Do About It
Unless you’ve been living under a rock without cable or wifi your entire life, you have most likely heard about and been horrified by the plethora of terrorist attack stories lately (and since the dawn of mankind, really). Barbarism – acts that include severe cruelty, not the male hair-cutting profession – have daunted us from… [Read More]
Copyright and the Ease of Stealing
Did you know there is a commandment that is considered ethical to break in very select situations? The seventh commandment, “You Shall Not Steal” is just as important as any of the other commandments, and it would compromise the whole set to say that 10% of the whole does not hold any weight. In almost… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 14, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflection
Sunday September 14, 2014 [powerpress] Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Lectionary: 638 (NAB readings)(Jerusalem Bible Readings) Normally, this feast falls within the week, but this year, we celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in place of the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This will make for another uncommon… [Read More]
Austin will have a Marian Shrine – Tomorrow!
It’s really happening – tomorrow, Bishop Joe Vasquez will dedicate the first Marian Shrine in the Diocese of Austin! And you’re invited to come! For all information about the Shrine Dedication, including event schedule and off-site parking, please see the website! (And if you can’t come, watch it on live streaming!) God is doing something amazing… [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]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 7, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
[powerpress] Sunday Says Podcast – September 7, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections Sunday September 07, 2014 Lectionary: 121 Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for September 7, 2014, the Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we begin preparing our hearts and minds for… [Read More]
Friendship Defined in Two Words
Those in friendship must have the capacity to listen to one another. Second, there must be reciprocity in friendship. Can something so widespread and diverse be articulated and contained in two words? Friendship can be pleasurable, utilitarian, or virtuous (taken from Edward Sri). If it is pleasurable, the friendship has its foundation on some common… [Read More]
The Church and Mental Illness
A little over three weeks have passed since the tragic death of Robin Williams. Although most of us did not know Mr. Williams personally, many of us have felt moved by his work. As an actor and comedian, he made us laugh, made us feel; sometimes he made us think. In passing, his decision to… [Read More]
A Response to “Why Nuns Don’t Have Mid-Life Crises”
I probably watch more YouTube videos than I should, and I probably also think about nuns more than your average YouTube video viewer. I love it when those sides of me unite, though. In my wandering about the Internet, I stumbled across a delightful video from a TEDx talk at Virginia Tech, “Why Nuns Don’t… [Read More]
Don’t Read This Blog: Enjoy Labor Day Unplugged
We live in an overstimulated society. Between TV screens, phone screens, computer screens, tablet screens, phablet screens, laptop screens, and movie screens, are brains are just plain ol’ overloaded. Just for fun, think back to your last work day. How many hours were spent looking at a screen? What about when you got home? If… [Read More]
Making Friends As A Young Adult
When you are in school it is easy to meet other people with similar perspectives and interests because the educational systems categorize and do the grouping for you. For most of us, it’s so natural that we miss how easy it makes it to begin friendships. Once you leave school, making friends is a very… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – August 31, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflection
Sunday August 31, 2014 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 124 (NAB Translation)(Jerusalem Bible Translation) [powerpress] First Reading Jeremiah 20:7-9 In this week’s first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, we hear some of the personality that earned him the nickname the “crying prophet.” Living a prophet’s life sounds like it would be blessed since it… [Read More]
Late Have I Loved You
Yesterday I found myself bringing St Augustine’s Feast Day to a close by reciting passages from his writings with a small gathering of friends; we raised a glass to the Doctor and Saint, and celebrated this man who was so dearly human. The passage I recited had been had been reverberating in my mind since that… [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]
Sunday Says Podcast – August 24, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
[powerpress] Sunday August 24, 2014 Lectionary: 121 Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for August 24, 2014, the Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we begin preparing our hearts and minds for Mass by diving deeper into the Word of God. … [Read More]
Meet a Saint: St. Brother André
St. Brother André Bessette, C.S.C. was a pretty amazing man who is the first saint from the Congregation of Holy Cross. He lived a life of humility, prayer, devotion to St. Joseph and comforting the sick. Through his intercessory prayers to St. Joseph, many people have received healing. Born in Quebec in 1845 as Alfred Bessette, he… [Read More]
What If?
The more I get to know myself, the more I’ve learned that I have been a person who can not leave worries behind me. I’ve clutched them as though they were “my precious” and carried them in my purse at all times. And if could be out for coffee with a friend, on a date… [Read More]
A Manifesto for the New Revolution (Review: “A Return to Modesty”)
My journey to embracing modesty would be incomplete without “the step, step, pull down” and Wendy Shalit. I have had three major clothing conversions in my life. The first was when I acknowledged that, although I could get attention from men based on my body, that was not the kind of attention I wanted, so… [Read More]
Pray on Sunday, Cuss on Monday?
Shut the front door because we need to get real about our speech. This isn’t a flippant or unnecessary discussion about language. We are living in a time of dangerous persecution and wars, so it seems like this topic may not be as important, but our words are always needed and used, so it remains… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – August 17, 2014 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday August 17 2014 Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 118 (NAB Translation) (Jerusalem Bible) Reading 1 Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 The first reading from the prophet Isaiah, we hear a message about God’s intention to have a select people. Israel was centered around their identity of their faith and inheritance as God’s chosen people. At… [Read More]
The Presence of Mary
Mary has a presence all her own. I didn’t always know that – I didn’t always know her. I remember distinctly the first time I really felt her near. I was on a silent retreat, the first I’d ever attended. It was a 3-day experience of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. During the Exercises, you spend… [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]
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