Here’s a glimpse at a few of the books I’ve been reading this summer. I hope these short reviews are a helpful inspiration on your journey. Edith Stein: The Life and Legacy of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross by Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda I had long heard of Edith Stein, but had done no serious… [Read More]
The Betrothal and Love of Joseph and Mary
As the Solemnity of Saint Joseph approaches let us contemplate the betrothal and love of Joseph and Mary and how it can help couples today. It is mentioned very little in scripture. Yet it was the foundation for the family into which Jesus Christ was born. Blessed Pope John Paul II says in the church… [Read More]
St. Therese Day Family Traditions
Here is how my daughters and I celebrated St. Therese day, (October 1) when they were growing up, and we still do! After dinner on the evening of St. Therese day, we read the book God’s Little Flower, the story of St. Therese. Even after the girls were “too old” for this book, we… [Read More]
A visit to St.Mary Magdalene
I have come to the top of the mountain to a place we now call, St. Baume (Holy Balm) * to visit my patroness, St.Mary Magdalene. I am not in as good a shape as I used to be. Getting myself up this mountain was not that much fun for me, plus I’m very banged… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – January 15, 2017 Mass Readings and Reflections
The Second Sunday of Ordinary Time Sunday January 15, 2016 Lectionary: 64 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Isaiah 49:3,5-6 This week’s first reading is from the forty-ninth chapter of the book of Isaiah. This chapter introduces us to the “Suffering Servant” whose vocation was to liberate the people of Israel and bring salvation to the whole… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – August 14, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time Sunday August 14, 2016 Lectionary: 120 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Jeremiah 38:4-6,8-10 This week’s first reading from the book of prophet Jeremiah recounts for us the challenges we may be faced with when conveying God’s truth when the message is unpopular. In this passage Jeremiah is accused of demoralizing… [Read More]
Saints Who Gave Satan Big Trouble
I had written an article on Saints with Sass, particularly against Satan, awhile back and decided to write a “spiritual successor” to it. In the events I mentioned in “Saintly Sass” post, I talked about how the Devil was utterly humiliated by snarky comments, from Saints, directed at him. In this article, I want to… [Read More]
Bubble-wrapped Saints
Bubble-wrapped saints? Let’s take in that image…bubble-wrapped saints! How ridiculous, right? Saints are brave, tough, warriors and queens who sweat through struggle and shed blood fulfilling the will of God, steadfast and stouthearted no matter how difficult the task! But wrapped in insulating bubble wrap…? But, if you think about it, if we carried our… [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]
Do Catholics Need to Believe in Saint Miracles?
There are some topics in the faith that are a little confusing and even hard to believe. Saints are certainly of particular interests. We are blessed to live in the communion of saints that surrounds us to encourage and intercede for our intentions. To be a saint, a person must have completed their life on… [Read More]
Contemplative Prayer as a service to the Church
“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]
All Saints Day
“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” “Follow me, as I follow Christ.” This call of St. Paul to the Corinthians is high. Notice he does not encourage the community (in this passage) to seek the straight and narrow pathway of the Christian life alone, nor does he give a list of vague… [Read More]
The Catholic Roots of Halloween
Every year the questions about the acceptability of celebrating Halloween arise in Catholic and Christian circles: Can my family to celebrate Halloween? Is it okay for my child to dress up and trick-or-treat? Is Halloween a pagan, satanic or secular holiday? These, and a myriad of other questions about Halloween haunt the consciousness of Catholics… [Read More]
Misconceptions About Death, Angels, and Dia de Los Muertos
I’ve been intrigued by how much interest there is about angels in the world today, especially from the secular world. In fact a 2011 poll found that 77% of Americans believe in Angels. Which is somewhat surprising considering that there is a growing number of people that don’t believe in God today. Sadly enough, angels are… [Read More]
New Sacred Art Installed at St. Vincent de Paul
Sometimes we Catholics take the beauty of our churches for granted. In our tradition, we believe that the house of God deserves our best and our first. Often we’re criticized for this because it is thought by some that the money invested in the beauty of a sacred space could be spent on helping causes for… [Read More]
10 Amazing Miracles of Scripture (Outside of Jesus)
Even though it was the Church that gave the world the canon for the scriptures, it’s almost depressing to see how little most Catholics know the Bible. Recently, I’ve been focusing many of my personal prayers on the great power of God and reflecting upon the way the Lord is deeply involved with creation. The big… [Read More]
John Paul II – Our Digital Patron
It’s almost strange to think that a Polish priest became one of the main intercessors and patron saints of a group of group of people in Texas on their computers. Yes, John Paul II was pope when the internet was coming of age, but he was born in the 1920s and he barely ever even… [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]
More Than Preaching to the Birds (Review: Francis of Assisi: A New Biography)
I really like saints. This is fortunate, because I am a Catholic and can therefore experience the fullness of communion with those brothers and sisters in Christ that have gone before us. I have my extra-special favorites and my preferred companions, and then there are saints that I’m pretty apathetic about. For me, St. Francis… [Read More]
Short Meditation on Saints
The other evening I watched the biographical movie of Saint Hildegard of Bingen. As I sat there and watched this very beautifully made movie about the inspiring life of this very wise and holy Saint, I began to think how by today’s standards all the Saints that had heavenly visions, the mystics, would be considered… [Read More]
Our Good Friend, St. Philomena
Once upon a time in Rome, during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian (in the third century), a young girl gave her life in witness to Christ under harrowing circumstances hard to imagine. She did this in spite of frightened parents, repeated and successively more cruel tortures, threats and even persuasive words and temptations… [Read More]
A Single Gal’s Girl Code
[girl·code] n. the unwritten understanding between girls (If you haven’t already figured out, this one is for the ladies. Sorry gentlemen.) My friend and I’s “Girl Code” from the third grade probably contained the following nuggets of wisdom: Boys have cooties. Stay away from them unless you’ve got your cootie shot. Don’t reveal who-likes-who when sworn… [Read More]
Meditations on Mama Mary (Review: “The World’s First Love”)
Oh, May: the month of flowers, of the fullness of spring, of mothers, and especially of the Blessed Mother, Mary, the Mother of God. I must confess that I didn’t quite realize the convergence of these annual symbols when I selected my next book for this column; the Holy Spirit surprises me like that sometimes…. [Read More]
To Be a Saint
This should be read as a meditation. There is scripture mingled in and cited, but not always directly quoted. Who am I to be a saint? Am I tired? Am I afraid? Am I inadequate? Moses was inadequate; he admitted it (Ex. 4:10, 13). And what of fear? Will my friends forget me or leave… [Read More]
What to say (and not say) to someone who is depressed
Part One of a series about reaching out to and understanding those who cope with depression. Recently my book club read “Never Give Up: My Life and God’s Mercy” by John Janaro. Among some amazing insights, we had some very fruitful discussion about depression and its elusive, sneaky nature. We heard from a number of people… [Read More]
The “Odd” Things of the Catholic Faith
I love our Catholic faith. There’s beauty in it, there’s wisdom in it, there’s love in it, there’s joy in it, there’s an acceptance and reason for pain and suffering, there’s forgiveness in it, there’s purpose in the rites and rituals in it and there’s so, so much more. There are also some very “odd”… [Read More]
Holy Innocents, Then and Now
The past few years a feast day in the Catholic Church I had paid little attention to began to stand out to me: The Feast of the Holy Innocents. I don’t know why this Feast Day began to stand out to me a few years ago. Perhaps it is the reminder of innocent lives lost,… [Read More]
Beauty of Truth Podcast – Ep 16 – Are supernatural events real?
Ep 16 – Are supernatural events real? Questions 1. Why did some saint encounter strange supernatural things like levitation? 2. Does the Catholic Church believe that apparitions are real? 3. How do we know when these things are real? Catechetical Moment CCC #584 Living the Truth How can we defend Catholicism as… [Read More]
How to Create a Family Litany
All Saints Week – here we are! A week of beauty, starting with Halloween full of fun costumes and candy, All Saints Day with our holy heavenly friends, and ending with the ever hopeful and solemn All Soul’s Day, praying for those we love who have died. What a great time for our families to… [Read More]
Flesh-eating Bacteria & Leprosy: The Stories of Two Saints
I first heard about a young woman named Kateri Tekakwitha in 2002, when I was in Toronto, Canada for what would be Pope John Paul II’s last World Youth Day (WYD). I didn’t pay much attention to her then, but did keep her name in the back of my mind for future reference. A few… [Read More]
Good Where We’ve Been Good Where We’re Going To
When you say yes to something you say no to something else. I learn this adage at a “Protecting Your Goals” class I had the honor of participating in last year. Whether you are addicted to volunteering or superbly balanced in your calendar-planning, this phrase is worth reflecting on. How do your time commitments reflect… [Read More]
When to Shepherd, When to be Sheep
Last Sunday’s readings were full of shepherds – bad shepherds who didn’t care for the flock, the Lord our Shepherd who would leave us wanting for nothing, God’s promise to send a good shepherd who would care for his people, and Jesus’ gaze upon the people, who moved him, because they “were like sheep without… [Read More]
Lessons from the Giving Tree and Thorns in our Side
Growing up did you ever read the Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein ? In this sad-for-a-kid-but-wonderful book, a tree and a boy become friends and the tree gives all it can to help the boy be happy. Here’s a video version if you haven’t read it, narrated by Shel). I’ve liked sappy stories my whole… [Read More]
With This Cross, I Thee Wed
Today my husband and I celebrate our 4 year anniversary! It seems like our wedding was just yesterday! With marriage comes a lot of unknowns. Saying “I do” in some ways is like walking the plank without knowing whether the plank gets you to land or to a long drop into the ocean! None of… [Read More]
A Halo with Some Smudges (Review: “The Possibilities of Sainthood”)
We are all called to be saints. I’ll say that again, with help from St. Bernadette and a friend’s email signature, “I must become a saint. My Jesus demands it.” Most of us aren’t actively working on that, but some must be. In my never-ending quest for good Catholic YA, I picked up The Possibilities… [Read More]
Holiness: The “Problem” with Catholic Virgins
I have bad allergies. Really bad. So bad that when I finally started seeing an allergist a year ago he told me there are about 4 weeks in the year, two in the summer and two in the fall, when I’m not allergic to things in there air. But I didn’t realize my allergies were… [Read More]
Furrgivness is Divine
So the kittens have taught me another lesson. (I can only reasonably promise that this blog won’t turn into a Cat-holic blog :)) This past weekend they had a fight. I’m not sure what started it, but I noticed that Boomer did not want to share her cool new toy with her sister. After trying… [Read More]
Jesus Had Battle Scars, Too (Review: “My Peace I Give You”)
Some things are difficult to talk about. There’s an adage that some things should never be discussed in mixed company: sex, politics, money, and religion. Well, I work in religion, and this is a Catholic blog, so brace yourselves. Now that the Church is ten years from the horror of the public revelation of the… [Read More]
God Has a Problem: It’s You (Review: “Sinner”)
I struggle a lot with my faith life. Many people think that I am somehow better or holier because I work for the Church. Correction: I am not. If anything, being so closely connected to the inner workings of my sort-of parish makes me more aware of how much of a mess I am (and… [Read More]
Well blessED your heart, you’re a SAINT now!
Earlier this week, Pope Benedict XVI recently approved a series of decrees by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. In short, this means that a group of seven candidates were approved by not only the pope, but also passed the authenticity of a miracle attributed to their intercession, paving the way for the final… [Read More]
