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]
Embracing God’s Response To Prayer
In prayer, I often find that I seek answers in life. I know that this is a totally uncommon practice (wink wink) but questioning God and His Will, at least for the past few years, has been incredibly involved with seeking answers. There are so many questions that we become obsessed with that, I would… [Read More]
DCYC 56: Ablaze
The annual Austin Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference (DCYC) was last weekend, January 17-19, 2014 in Waco, Texas. Nearly 2400 teens from around the Diocese participated in DCYC, making it the largest DCYC ever. This year’s theme, Ablaze, was a fitting conclusion to the Year of Faith which ended this past November, reminding teens that, “If… [Read More]
Another Dating Blog: Grief-Riddled Wedding Brain
I don’t even know how to describe the state I’m in right now. I want to cry and/or throw stuff and/or scream and/or burrow beneath my blankets and hide for awhile. I want people around me and/or I want to be alone. I want to plan my wedding and/or I never want to see another… [Read More]
Are You the “Disciplinarian” in Your Family?
The description of someone as a “disciplinarian” carries certain connotations. Typically, the “disciplinarian” in the family is considered to be the person who administers punishment, who is considered the more strict of the parents. You may remember when you were a child hearing your mother say (after disobeying her or talking back) something along the… [Read More]
Don’t Just Read the Bible; Pray It (Review: “Praying Scripture for a Change”)
Praying is hard. I’ll admit it: I find it difficult to pray. Do you? Whether you struggle to pay attention while praying (“Lord, I know I need to—hey, what’s that noise?—focus more”), you don’t know what to pray about (“Let’s see…. Hmm. Am I supposed to pray about what to pray about?”), or you don’t… [Read More]
It’s Christmas Eve: Bust out the Cake & Candles!
Christmas Eve only means one thing: a baby is about to be born! The excitement is crackling in the air. Can’t you feel it? A birthday to celebrate. A new life to love! Many of my most favorite family traditions center around Christmas Eve. Yes, we attend Mass, have a delicious Christmas Eve dinner, open… [Read More]
Empty Waiting
Wait. Just wait. It is this word that characterizes the Advent season – waiting. We wait for, we anticipate, we long for the coming of the Christ Child. That’s what ” advent” means: the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. So during advent, we’re celebrating waiting for the arrival of Christ. The season of Advent has been… [Read More]
Lying, Confession, and St. Andrew
Lying Have you ever lied to someone? Did you mean to? Did you feel bad afterwards? What about during prayer? A friend and I recently shared a conversation about lying. In our own way, we each had entered into a state of sin; we fell short of our call to holiness and virtue. We shared… [Read More]
Another Dating Blog: Anatomy of a Stupid Fight, The Finale
This is part two, the finale of “Anatomy of a Stupid Fight.” Part one can be seen here. Welcome back for part two, the last piece of the stupid fight. We left off with what appeared to be an easy truce between Danger and I, though there still was a hint that something was still… [Read More]
The Year of Faith: What’s Next?
Growing up in a family whose roots are deep in the small Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago I’ve always heard December 31st referred to as “Old Year’s Night” instead of “New Year’s Eve.” I’ve always kind of liked calling it “Old Year’s Night.” Calling it that, in a way, gives us an opportunity to… [Read More]
Pope Francis and Parenting by Example – Part 2 of 6
Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2223) From the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has led by example. He has put flesh on the message, so to speak. He as our “Papa” has taken ideas, concepts, and truths and concretely put them into… [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]
Finding Peace As a Mom of 5
I’m not sure Hail Mary’s are supposed to be yelled. Perhaps it’s a new way of praying them? For the last several months (years), I’ve struggled with finding peace in multiple areas of my life, at the same time. Maybe that’s my problem. I try to find too much peace, too many places and it’s… [Read More]
The Soul’s Movement at the Moment of Communion
Consider this article as a monologue or an interior thought, as if someone was thinking out loud and searching for an answer within themselves. At some points, I address the soul as “her,” instead of “it.” I do this partly because St. John of the Cross uses that kind of language in his writings. It… [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]
#prayforpeace and #fast4syria
“Let the cry for peace ring out in all the world!#prayforpeace” –@Pontifex, Pope Francis, Twitter, September 4, 2013 This past Sunday, September 1, during his Angelus Address, Pope Francis called upon Catholics around the world to observe a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Syria on Saturday, September 7. As Pope Francis made… [Read More]
The Catholic Student Backpack: 5 Things You Should Have
Say it isn’t so. Even though the pool is still cold and the heat index over 100, the start of school is in the air. I know this because of all those back-to-school commercials that started in July. Thanks, Target. Last August, I shared five things every Catholic family should do before school begins. We… [Read More]
Prayer and Self Confidence: An Interior Reflection
What does it mean to be humble? What kind of self-denial (Lk 9:23) does that entail? Is the desire for humility contrary to that of self-confidence? Is one good and the other beautiful? I’d like these thoughts to continue in the Comment section. Does prayer nurture my humility? It would seem so – that the… [Read More]
Five Minute Mystic
The Church remembers Our Lady of Mt. Carmel today, Patroness and Exemplar of the life of the Carmelite Order, which began on Mt. Carmel in Israel 800 years ago and is still with us now. We have received a great treasury of Saints, of wisdom on prayer, and the map of the lived experience of… [Read More]
Thanksgiving and Detachment
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad! Did you read what happened in that verse? The author acknowledged God’s work of creation and God’s work in creation. What follows when God is acknowledged? His creation is glad and rejoices! We are glad and we rejoice. The heavens declare… [Read More]
Stay With Me: How to Find Comfort in Chaos
Have you ever had one of those moments when life seems to be truckin’ along as usual – then BAM – something comes out of left field, leaving your world completely shaken? You stand there blinking, looking around like nothing looks or feels the same anymore. Suddenly you remember, with 3D technicolor clarity, that life… [Read More]
Your Birthday: A Day To Celebrate or To Dread?
Birthdays can be such a beautiful thing. Until they aren’t. We celebrate the milestones, like the first birthday, with much fanfare. Cake, friends, gifts and joy permeate the air. The first year is complete! Then there’s double digits, entrance to the teenage years, sweet sixteen and glorious 21. And then it stops. We start to… [Read More]
Meditation: A Lot Harder Than It Looks
Whenever I think of meditation, I immediately have thoughts of old, wizened yogis, sitting in lotus position, possibly floating off the ground, and saying “Huuummmm…”. Which then reminds me of the Red Robin commercials because I’m convinced they’re saying, “Red Robin, HUUUUMMM!!!” Which then reminds me of how someone recently told me that the commercials… [Read More]
Cracks in the Sidewalk
I should really let it go, in the grand scheme of things it’s not that big of a deal. For me, there are an estimated three inches that have the possibility to ruin a perfectly good three mile workout. It’s one tiny bit of an uneven sidewalk. And as silly as it sounds, those three… [Read More]
The Pilgrimage of Prayer
Actually, the Catechism has a section titled The Battle of Prayer. We have God the Holy Spirit and Michael the Archangel to help us. Here’s a perspective of pilgrimage: ever since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, humanity has been on a pilgrimage. Pereginus (from the Latin) is one who comes… [Read More]
A Meditation on the Immaculate Heart of Mary
In contemplating the Heart of Mary, we enter into her interior life, symbolized by the beautiful image of her heart. It is often depicted as pierced with a sword, in flames, wreathed with roses or with the crown of thorns of her Son. Mary’s pure and open heart is the reflection of our beautiful Christian… [Read More]
Schoenstatt Spirituality in a Nutshell
I first learned of the Schoenstatt Movement through articles written by my friend and fellow contributor Rachel. After reading excerpts of Fr. Joseph Kentenich’s book, “Everyday Sanctity”, I’ve gained a greater understanding of the rationality behind the movement. Schoenstatt was named after a place in Germany of the same name, meaning “beautiful place”, and the… [Read More]
Confession and Pentecost; Grace and Power
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. -Proverbs 3:5-6 This verse is not like Confession; this verse is Confession. Four things happen. I entrust myself to God through a spiritual father, a… [Read More]
Don’t Call Me Crazy: A Christian Response to the Stigma of Mental Illness
“That’s so crazy!” “You must be crazy…” ‘Crazy’ is a word we hear thrown around often in our culture. We even have multiple variations now, with ‘craziness’, ‘crazy sauce’ and ‘cray cray’ floating around online and in person. I myself am guilty of using this word flippantly to describe anything from intense stress to something… [Read More]
Dealing with Suffering
I’ll admit I have suffered much in my life, I would even say I suffer often. The truth is we all do. We all experience intense suffering, whether it is physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual. If one part of our body is suffering, other parts are almost always affected as well, just as deeply. What… [Read More]
Finding Your Inner Chapel Through Journaling
Long before I heard of my good friend St. Teresa of Avila, and threw myself into Carmelite spirituality, I met a really weird guy named Morton T. Kelsey in a book called The Other Side of Silence. If I hadn’t met Kelsey in his books I’m not sure I could have ever taken to the… [Read More]
Ora et labora, aka Work and/as/in Prayer
Driving home from class last night, as I offered a decade of the rosary to help calm my mind, what was the first thing the Spirit brought to my calm mind but a friendly reminder – don’t forget your blog post tomorrow! Oops! I had forgotten! This week has been crazy, and though I’ve been… [Read More]
Finding Solace in Silence
I’ve never been able to appreciate silence as much as I wished I could. Last week, I spent way too much of my time reading news, refreshing my twitter feed, listening to NPR and the talking heads on the news networks. I blame the overwhelming curiosity on journalism classes and my career choice. With those… [Read More]
No, no, no
All week long I’ve been trying to write about Boston, attempting to write some words of sense that are born out of a senseless situation. When sidewalks are awash with blood, an eight year old boy, among others, is dead, and limbs are lying on the ground, there is no sense. All I have are… [Read More]
Agony & Chalice, Freedom & Love
Christ’s words in Gethsemane have been echoing in my heart for months now. And today, this most solemn Holy Thursday, Maundy Thursday, is the day when we are called to be with Christ in His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. We have begun the Triduum; we walk towards the Resurrection. These are the… [Read More]
Fraternity: A Place of Charity and Indulgence
What does it take to be a man of God? The place of fraternity cultivates what we as men aspire to, masculinity. It sounds easy enough, but we don’t always cultivate the word of God in our heart (Col 3:16). We don’t always act in charity toward our brothers, sometimes we indulge in sin. Sometimes… [Read More]
Be still: Finding God amidst the mayhem.
As I write this, the wind outside howls and spins, causing the trees to throw up their branches in helplessness, and the walls of my apartment to tremble. It’s disconcerting, this wind. It came out of nowhere this morning, gaining intensity and speed throughout the afternoon, until it began to blow cars off the road,… [Read More]
Prayer before Coffee
As I’ve written before, I am not a morning person. I am however a faithful Catholic and sometimes my love for Jesus requires me to do things I don’t want to do. One of these is wake up with enough time to do a morning prayer. It was the First Sunday of Lent and the… [Read More]
Prayer and Temperament
This week has reminded me of Ecclesiastes 3:8. There has been a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. Many of us are still processing the resignation of our Holy Father Pope Benedict the XVI… and with Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Valentine’s day and the… [Read More]
