The Scapular of Saint Michael the Archangel is a sacramental of the Catholic Church. It was blessed by Pope Pius IX in 1878 and formally approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1880. The official blessing and investiture prayer found in the Roman Ritual for the Scapular of St. Michael the Archangel has seven important statements… [Read More]
Angels & Dragons XX: “War in Heaven” (Rev. 12:7)
The Book of Revelation describes the “War in Heaven” (Rev. 12:7) between St. Michael and his angels against the Red Dragon and his angels, when a vision of a woman about to give birth is shown to them. What was the first battle like? Why did it happen? What was the trial of the angels? … [Read More]
Order, Disorder and Grace in Advent
I’m looking forward to offering these thoughts to you, dear readers, to be a small light on your Advent journey towards Christ. In His Providence, all these pieces fell together over the past few weeks. That doesn’t always happen in blogging, but when it does, it gives me the sense that the Lord is up… [Read More]
One Way to Be An Answer to the Current Crisis
We’ve had a lot of difficult news to absorb these last few weeks. It would be easy to look at the Church’s current situation and wonder if we’re not splitting apart at the seams. Some have called this the US Church’s worst crisis in history (see interview below). So before sharing my thoughts on… [Read More]
Sin? Not a problem.
Sin? No problem. This Sunday we heard the Gospel reading on the Fall, of the moment sin entered creation and divided all that was meant to be united. Since then the human person has been faced with the conditions of inner division and brokenness as a personal reality and as a reality in creation. Yet,… [Read More]
The Unofficial Start to Summer: Now What?
They say Memorial Day is the unofficial start to summer. Alongside being a day where we remember those who’ve given their lives for our country, and a day where families and friends gather to celebrate at the lake, at the parks, etc, it’s also a day that signals the end of the school year and… [Read More]
The “Waze” of God
You know that moment when you plug your destination into Waze, and you hope and thinking, “Am I going to make it on time?…Waze says I’ll get there 5:23pm…but maybe the traffic will lighten up? Or it will find me a short cut??” A couple of weeks ago I was caught in that circumstance. Chugging… [Read More]
Spiritual Nourishment for the Last Week of Advent
On the last leg of this Advent journey, I’d like to share with you two little bits of spiritual nourishment that I have found really helpful along the way. We are getting closer and closer to Bethlehem now, just one week away in this shortened Advent season. Can you feel the pace picking up? The… [Read More]
Angels & Dragons III: The St. Michael Relic Stone
In 490 AD, through a series of miraculous events, St. Michael the Archangel indicated that he had chosen a cave in Gargano, Italy, to be a shrine in his honor. He appeared to the local bishop, and he explained how unique and special this cave was to him, “I am the Archangel Michael, and am… [Read More]
Masculine Spirituality Thrives in Brotherhood
Adult men often have a difficult time making friends. It’s easy to have passive relationships with coworkers, guys at the gym, or even at church, but intentional friendship takes work. This is true for both men and women, but my focus here will be particular to men. Deep Connections Aren’t Accidental It’s easy to feel… [Read More]
Summer for your Soul
In the Sunday homily yesterday, the priest preached about the relationship between the body and the soul, taking this line of scripture from the Gospel reading as a starting place: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy… [Read More]
Freedom & our relationship to God: Are we galley slaves or free children?
In the echoes of Trinity Sunday, I found myself thinking about how we are called to relate to this mystery that is the Triune God, and how we are made in the image of God. The priest reflected on this during his Sunday homily, about how it’s pretty much impossible for our minds to capture how… [Read More]
Tis Humility
A remark during the homily at midnight mass really struck me. The priest reflected how each Christmas is different, not because the Gospel story changes -indeed the story is everlasting – but because we come to Christmas each year a little bit different. Each year we bring with us the lived experiences of the whole past year…. [Read More]
Of Mary, Never Enough
“De Maria, nunquam satis!,” St Bernard of Clairvaux once said. Of Mary, never enough! In these last few days before the great feast of Christmas, perhaps you’re feeling harried or haven’t had time to prayerfully prepare, or just aren’t quite into the Christmas. Or perhaps you’re drowning in carols all day, but not feeling very contemplative or… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 25, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Sunday September 25, 2016 Lectionary: 138 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Amos 6:1,4-7 This week’s first reading is from the book of the prophet Amos. Amos was a shepherd from Tekoa (a village in the southern kingdom of Judah), but preached to the rich in the northern kingdom of Israel. He… [Read More]
A Labor of Love
We often get distracted from the best thing because we pursue many good things. This thought is the key with which Fr Patricio Rodriguez, ISP, opened up this passage from the Gospel of Luke in a recent homily: At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they… [Read More]
Goals, Plans and Motivation – Oh My!
What is your goal? During this time of Easter we read story after story about the life of the early church and more precisely about the lives of the apostles. What made them so effective? What motivated them? Thousands of people converted in a single day, people were cured and they faced persecution bravely. I… [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]
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]
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]
Mass As Gift: Receiving The Father’s Love
Here’s the point: we don’t need to ask for more grace. We need to be open to the grace God gives. Were you ever part of the “Mass Is Boring” Club? There were some requirements for membership. You were not supposed to pay attention to the readings in Mass. You were supposed to mumble the… [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]
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]
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]
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]
Clothesline (a Summer Poem)
The hours of this day stretch out before me Like sheets on a clothesline. I know I need to take them And fold them, Arrange them neatly, That they might fulfill their purpose. But I am mesmerized by their gentle movement in the breeze, By the white morning sun’s shimmering glow on them as they… [Read More]
“Everything is Connected” – The Ecological Spirituality of Laudato Si
“Everything is connected.” This phrase of Pope Francis could be the link that ties the whole of “Laudato Si” together and also communicates the core of his message. “Everything is connected,” he says, in such a way that as humans and the earth are a part of the same ecological fabric, our actions in one part of… [Read More]
Lectio for Lovers: Praying Lectio Divina as a Couple
In silent open-ness to God, we set aside our own agendas and open ourselves to God’s agenda, which is always love, love, and more love. What could be better than that? Lectio Divina (Holy Reading) is an ancient Christian way to pray the Scriptures. It involves reading a passage of the Bible, listening to God… [Read More]
Becoming Fearless Women’s Conference – July 18th
Women’s Conference Becoming FEARLESS is a conference for Christian women who are discouraged by the times we live in and are concerned for the future of their children. It is designed to show women that with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be much braver than we feel and can widen our sphere… [Read More]
Mary, Sister of the Carmelite Soul
We are holding hands as we walk together along a rocky path on a hot July evening. We are talking about this and that. She asks me questions, listens thoughtfully as I talk about my life. She has a lot going on too, these days, and she unburdens her heart to me about her work,… [Read More]
Easy Green: A Reflection on Ordinary Time
My daughter, Maire, got in trouble at her Catholic middle school for wearing green nail polish, which was against the rules. (Only clear or light pink nail polish allowed, if I remember right.) When asked about her indiscretion, she said, “It’s for Ordinary Time!” I laughed hearing about that. At least she remembered what season… [Read More]
Midwifery and Hospice: Andrea’s Spirituality of Service
Seventeen years ago, my youngest daughter, Roise, (pronounced “Rose,”) was born at home, at sunrise. My dear friend, a nurse and midwife, Andrea, put her on my stomach. My baby looked up at me with frightened eyes, and said “Oh! Oh! Oh!” As her dad, who was in our bed holding me, sobbed with joy,… [Read More]
What Are You Ordering for Lent?
What are you ordering for Lent? The blue-plate Friday special with a big t-bone steak! Ha, just kidding! That’s not the kind of order I meant, but I couldn’t resist the silly pun. What are you ordering for Lent – in your life? In my last post I wrote about how changeful my Lenten season is… [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]
Sunday Says Podcast – February 15, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday February 15, 2015 Lectionary: 77 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for February 15, 2015, the sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we break open the Word of God for this Sunday’s Mass so that we can prepare our hearts… [Read More]
Prayer without “Praying”
“Today, the vegetables would like to be chopped By someone who is singing God’s Name.” ~ Hafiz A few mornings ago, sitting at the table with my coffee, looking out over the meadow, I noticed with a smile, the moon in the brightening sky. It was a rich gold, shining out momentarily as the… [Read More]
A Bobly Day of Skin Religion
He was feeling more emotional than usual because of a new seizure medication we were trying, and a steroid he had to take for brain swelling. We decided a brisk night walk would do both of us good, so he put on his big poncho, I put on my coat, and we headed out. In… [Read More]
Shopping with Jesus
“When Black Friday comes, I’m gonna dig myself a hole, I’m gonna lay down in it ‘till I satisfy my soul.” -Steely Dan The Advent Season is at the same time as the Shopping Season. I wish it wasn’t so. I wish, when December comes, that I could spend my Advent and Christmas as a… [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]
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]
