At 12:55 a.m. this morning, I sent a draft of my dissertation to my advisor, who will send it along to the committee. It was a small action, simple, and done without anybody else even knowing what was going on. Elena, starting to come down with a cold, was sleeping. Faustina, Chiara, and Therese were all asleep in their rooms. Karol had woken up at about 11 p.m. and was…
This weekend I attended a women’s event co-founded by Jennifer Fulwiler and Hallie Lord called the Edel Gathering. The people in my life had a lot of questions. What is an edel? Named for the gathering’s patroness Venerable Edel Quinn (P.S. Has anyone else ever noticed that the word patroness looks a lot like patronus?) According to Jennifer Fulwiler’s radio interview with my boss, the name “Catholic Lady Gathering”…
You know, words are a funny thing. That’s important to remember when we ask questions about Catholics and Yoga. That’s because, I think, much of the problem will come down to what we mean by the word “yoga.” I can’t speak for other languages and cultures, but American English at least has a pretty nasty track record of dragging words through a whole bunch of meanings before leaving them, muddy…
Two weeks ago I found myself arriving at the last possible minute to the last chance mass in town. Rolling in at 6:59PM, I took my seat on the floor in the lobby with the other standing-room-only mass attendees (I counted over 100 of us lining the back walls, the hallways, and the lobby floor by the time mass was over). It happens. Listening to the mass without seeing the…
Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more, See, Lord, at thy service low lies here a heart Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art. Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived; How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed; What God’s Son has told me, take for truth I do; Truth himself speaks truly or there’s nothing…
As the plane backs out of the Atlanta airport gate, I’m reminded (thanks facebook On This Day) that I was in this same airport exactly 4 years earlier about to embark on a fabulous pilgrimage (read: vacation) with my “second family” the Metrejeans. But this story really starts in 2012. I changed jobs, got unengaged, put an offer on a house, and travelled overseas for the first time all within…
Okay, I have a confession… I’m already behind on my Holy Spirit Novena… you know, the O.G. Novena… the reason we pray novenas… the novena that calls to mind those original 9 days that Our Lady sat with her son’s bffs as they waited for the arrival of the Holy Spirit… yeah, that one. Already behind. It’s Day 3. My Sunday was a day like no other in my life… I…
Taking a break from what had been a 60+ hour work week, I headed south to my second favorite city in the world, New Orleans, LA, for some much needed entertainment and inspiration. Little did I know that sitting down to enjoy an original musical production from my friends at Dumb Ox Ministries would rock my world (literally) and move my heart so deeply. Inspired by the writings of St….
A few years ago I offered a college women’s book study based on Dr. Ted Sri’s work The New Rosary in Scripture. I supplemented Sri’s delightful introduction to the mysteries of the rosary with the Venerable Fulton Sheen’s Life of Christ. The combination was life-changing for several of the young women in my group. For the next 5 Fridays, I invite you to join me in taking a deeper look…
Three months ago I shared with you a post entitled “St. Lucy, Patroness of the Smartphone Generation.” It focused on my desire to take a step back from screentime in Advent (or Lent-lite). Now that Lent is here, I thought it may be a good time for me to revisit my own advice. For my own Lenten journey I have discerned and decided that I need to detach from my…