Something really important is happening tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that. A sneaky question in a priest’s homily a couple of weeks ago ties in perfectly with today’s Gospel reading. It was a first communion Mass for an enthusiastic group of second graders on a Saturday morning. During a wonderfully interactive… [Read More]
Redemption Through Reflection (Review: “Remembering God’s Mercy”)
We all have memories of things we’d rather forget. Some things are embarrassing. Some are painful. Some are traumatic. Dawn Eden is no stranger to the latter, as she revealed in her previous books about chaste love (The Thrill of the Chaste and its recent Catholic edition) and about healing sexual wounds with the help… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – April 24, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
Fifth Sunday of Easter Sunday April 24, 2016 Lectionary: 54 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Acts 14:21-27 In this week’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles Paul and Barnabas continue their first missionary journey where they experience both opposition and acceptance in their efforts to evangelize. Through preaching, prayer, and fasting they are… [Read More]
ATX Catholic Meetup and Day of Reflection April 30
Join us for a day of reflection at Our Lady of Schoenstatt Shrine on Saturday, April 30, 2016. We are hosting a meetup at the beautiful grounds of the Schoenstatt to take a day to come together in community. There will be presentations, time for reflection, prayer, optional Holy Mass, think tanks, snacks, and networking opportunities with… [Read More]
St. Joseph: The 2nd Greatest Saint
St. Joseph is a well-known Saint in the Catholic Church mainly because he is the Foster Father of the Jesus, Redeemer of the world, and spouse of the co-redeemer, Mary. He never has any spoken words in Sacred Scripture, but he does have noble actions. Let us explore through Sacred Scripture, Church Tradition, and credible… [Read More]
Selah: pause, lift up, praise
I was a young widow running through the house kicking toys out of my way, spilling my coffee, responding to a loud crash at the other end of the house. I had been cooking, having invited somebody over for dinner, (what was I thinking,) my toddler was running from the scene of the crime, my… [Read More]
The Healing Path of Catholic Psychotherapy – Quick takes
These are my take-a-ways from the annual Catholic Psychotherapy Association Conference, The Face of Mercy: The Healing Path of Catholic Psychotherapy, which happened in Austin this past weekend. I’d like to distill a bit of the core message I experienced, and at the end, I’ll also share a few of the great resources we were given (Disclaimer – these… [Read More]
How Bad Catechesis Happened and How to Fix It (Review of Msgr. Charles Pope)
You can take the teacher of out of the classroom, but you can’t take the teacher out of the heart. It has been many years since I taught full-time. I still have the heart of a teacher. My work with RCIA while I was in campus ministry was one of the best ways I’ve discovered… [Read More]
Revive Youth Rally 2016
Revive Youth Rally will be here before you know it! Are you ready? Youth in grades 6-12 are invited to join Jackie Francois, Bobby Angel, comedian/musician act POPPLE, and Dave Moore for a day of outdoor concerts, faith-based talks, and the Sacraments! This year’s theme at Revive is PROVE IT! and our speakers will be… [Read More]
Carmel-covered: My life as a Carmelite
During my years of Carmelite formation, and through my time since I made my final promise as a Discalced Carmelite Secular, my spiritual life has changed immeasurably. I feel I could say, as Alice did to the caterpillar, “I really don’t know, Sir! I’ve changed so many times since this morning, you see.” I sometimes… [Read More]
A Litany of Mercies
If there is one way that we let Divine Mercy Sunday impact our daily lives, let it be this: a litany of mercies! Let us learn to lift up each night before bed, a litany of mercies! So often when we climb into bed, we are proclaiming a litany of worries. All that we didn’t get done… [Read More]
The Divine Mercy Image: A Heavenly Sign
Throughout history, Christians have always had a heavenly sign to lead them. Seventeen hundred years ago, the Emperor Constantine’s insignia was the Sign of the Cross from a heavenly sign in the sky, which put a stop to the persecution and martyrdom of Christians. Five hundred years ago the heavenly sign was the image of… [Read More]
Your Flight to Emmaus Is Now Boarding
It’s a long road to Emmaus. I walk it each and every day. Like the two disciples in today’s Gospel reading, I would love to run into Jesus during my travels. But I fear that as Celopas and his friend did, I won’t recognize Jesus. I was thinking about the story of the Road to… [Read More]
We Are All Teachers of Virtue (A Response to Archbishop Cordileone’s “Knowledge, Virtue, and Holiness”)
You may remember the news headlines about Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. They focused on the bristling of some archdiocesan school teachers at the prospect of having to sign a statement affirming their support of the Catholic faith. As a former Catholic high school teacher myself, I thought it was much… [Read More]
Depression and CBT, Part One
Feelings, and feelings, and feelings. Let me try thinking instead. – C.S. Lewis Clinical depression is a beast. It’s like waking up with the flu and then someone makes you run a marathon with a pile of rocks strapped to your back. It’s physically and mentally exhausting. There are a number of reasons why depression… [Read More]
Interview with The Ministry Institute of Christ the Servant
The Ministry Institute of Christ the Servant is a group dedicated to serving and forming those that work in ministry. Recently, I had the opportunity to ask Brandon Harvey, the founder and director, a few questions about the work that they do. Brandon is a husband and father. He has served the Church as a Director… [Read More]
Feel Like You Failed Lent? I do!
I had the best of intentions. I really did. Despite the stress from recent major life changes (getting married, moving three times, having a baby, leaving a job, starting a business and buying a house, all within 18 months), I set myself up for a Lent of awesome fasting, prayer, and spiritual reconnection with my… [Read More]
Popular Misconceptions About the Catholic Mass, Part II: Ad Orientem
“Many Catholics are unaware that priests are not required to celebrate Mass facing the assembly.” In the second of a series on popular misconceptions about the Catholic Mass – particularly a few widespread changes in practice since the Second Vatican Council that many assume to be required – I would like to address the issue of… [Read More]
Your Battle Plan Against Porn (Review: “Cleansed”)
I hate pornography, so I am a fan of resources for people who also hate pornography but have a better sense of how to fight the good fight than I do. I’m not foolish enough to think that the problem of porn addiction is going to quietly disappear from our society, so I keep my… [Read More]
Stabat Mater: the strength to be still
She remained still, even inside herself. She was still because she was listening for God, and she was occupied with His will, and, because of her love, being completely present as the unthinkable happened to her Son. The Scripture says only that she was there. There was no way her instincts as a mother were… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – March 13, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
Fifth Sunday in Lent Sunday March 13, 2016 Lectionary: 36 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Isaiah 43:16-21 This week’s first reading is from the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. This passage from Isaiah is a message of hope directed to God’s people who are in exile in Babylon. It is a reminder that… [Read More]
Weeping For Our Sins
An older friend, whom I consider a mentor, once told me, “there is no shame in weeping. Crying only means that we have loved and continue to love something or someone.” We weep on occasions when, from our human perspective, the beloved is irretrievably lost. We weep at evil; evil and it effects, committed by… [Read More]
A Message in the Desert
When your heart says to God, “you have cut off my life like a weaver severs the last thread, “ when you’re alone in the desert on a cold night with no fire, and you’ve never known such emptiness or alienation and you say in your alarm, “no man can can be trusted!” When your life is… [Read More]
Keep Worship Weird
You might say that the speed at which “Keep Austin Weird” took off says something about how innate this motto is to the nature of our city. It captures in a just few words one essential part of that “something else” about the this town that keeps native here and draws new neighbors in droves…. [Read More]
The Mountain vs. The World
As Christians striving for holiness, we can say we have encountered the Lord in some way, whether it was at mass or in prayer, or in another person. And in one of my encounters, though it was very brief, Jesus revealed a little bit of His glory to me. Just a glimpse – and my… [Read More]
A Fast Food Lesson in Prayer
“If there’s time to lean, there’s time to clean.” This old adage from the restaurant industry is frequently attributed to managers at McDonald’s. The idea is that if you are a fast food employee and are not particularly busy at the moment, then instead of just sitting around – or leaning – grab a broom,… [Read More]
The Last Stand (Review: UnDivided)
It’s bittersweet when a journey comes to an end. I loved the ending of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I was sad to watch that chapter of my life (pun intended) come to an end, but I was very satisfied. I feel the same way about UnDivided, the final book in the Unwind “dystology”… [Read More]
Need Some Humility in Your Life? Become a Parent!
We had it all planned out: My husband and I would leave our little girl with my mother on Friday night. We’d drive to Houston and stay in a nice hotel for TWO. WHOLE. NIGHTS. Two whole nights of sleeping straight on through until we felt like waking up, be it 8 AM or noon…. [Read More]
Accountability to Faith: Romans 1-3
Saint Paul makes some pretty dramatic points in this letter. Some of them are so dramatic, different Christian groups and denominations have based their theology on those few statements. The first three chapters have some of those verses: “ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature … has been clearly perceived in the… [Read More]
Like A Runaway Train
So, my last couple of Lents have been, lack luster, so to say. I mean I went through the motions and all that but have just had the sense that I could do more / better. A couple of weeks before Lent this year, I started praying and planning how I was going to make… [Read More]
Let yourself be loved: a challenge for Lent
The sunlight obscures him in its intense brightness on the horizon, but I can still see his figure walking ahead as I follow at a distance. I have to run a little just to keep him in sight. I am wondering if he wanted some desert alone time and whether I should let him… [Read More]
The Mystery of Iniquity – Rejoicing in weakness
Each Lent it seems I come back to this theme – how do we think about sin and weakness? It’s been helpful for me to examine my own understanding – I can’t make much sense of redemption if I have a distorted view of the sin and weakness that necessitated such a Savior. And an unhealthy view… [Read More]
Iron Sharpens Iron – 2016 Catholic Men’s Conference
Calling all Catholic men. We have a wonderful opportunity to be a part of a movement of men that want to make a real difference in the Church and in the world. We know how difficult it is to live out an authentic Christian witness in our world, and there is a true crisis of… [Read More]
Dominican Sisters Golf Tournament, Dinner and Auction – March 7
The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist invite you to their Open Wide the Doors Golf Tournament On Monday, March 7, 2016 This event benefits the building and expansion of their Texas Priory. Mother Assumpta Long, Prioress General and Foundress, will be present as well as the 13 Sisters who are serving in… [Read More]
Opening My Mind to Cardinal Avery Dulles’s “Catholicism and Capital Punishment”
I like to read, and I don’t like the death penalty. Thus, I like to read things that are about abolishing the death penalty. (I’m so unpredictable.) As I mentioned in my review of the remarkable book Change of Heart, by Jeanne Bishop, I acknowledge that Catholics are allowed to support capital punishment without considering… [Read More]
How to Stay Motivated During Lent
If you’re anything like me, you get to Day 6 of Lent and you start amending your sacrifices, making them easier and less painful. You may even have a conversation with yourself that looks like this: Scene: I’m quietly engaged in a task. My brain is wandering in thought. Suddenly, Brain taps me on the… [Read More]
Lent, Baptism, Gift and our Will
Today, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of Lent 2015. Lent is a time of liturgical preparation for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery during the days of the Holy Triduum. However, it’s purpose is not limited to actions to get us ready for yet another remembrance of these holy and saving truths of the faith…. [Read More]
Tending the Souls of Aggie Catholics: an interview with Sister Celestina Menin of the Apostles of the Interior Life
Recently, St. Mary’s held a “School of Prayer.” This was a series of talks on various forms of prayer as a response to popular request from the students. The Busy Student’s Retreat is largely based on daily spiritual direction over a week’s time, and is very successful here. I asked Sister Celestina if that enthusiasm… [Read More]
Paul, Mercy, and Providence
Recently God has inspired me, through a variety of means to reflect on the action His merciful providence in my life. I have made many mistakes in my life. I have done and said things that have hurt my communion with others and with God. I have at times, with varying degrees of my will,… [Read More]
The Greatest Adventure
We are humans. We are people of adventure. Just about all of us can look back to our childhood, when our imagination was endless. We were able to turn monkey bars into vine ropes that swing over lava. The pit of colorful balls we had to swim through became a pool of piranhas, just a… [Read More]
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