Everything, This is Gonna Change Everything

No doubt this past year has been unprecedented in countless ways, not the least being it is just plain ol’ strange. As one who works in church ministry, whose daily tasks and overall flow of life center around the liturgical year, I should be gearing up for Lent, but some time since the beginning of…

From Accuser to Advocate, I am a Work in Progress

Being born into an American household of predominantly Irish lineage, it was kind of taken for granted that we could explain away our worst family altercations by placing blame on the old Irish temper. It was just accepted as fact that we were all a bit fiery on the inside. When our passions were stoked,…

He Had Been Made Known to Them in the Breaking

The Road to Emmaus is a story contained in the Gospel of Luke that takes place just three days after the Resurrection of Jesus. Two followers of Christ are traveling to Emmaus from Jerusalem. They are discussing all that had taken place, from Jesus being handed over to the chief priests, His condemnation to death,…

When What We Consume Consumes Us

Aday or two before the dreaded time change back in the beginning of November, I threw out a few questions to my Facebook friends in regards to how to face the dreaded darkness that was about to descend upon us:  What are your most successful coping strategies for adjusting and thriving? Or even just surviving?…

Sweetness of Body & Soul Found in the Embrace of My Enemy

Continued from Embracing the Unlikely Culprit that Unshackled My Soul When after years of struggle I finally made the decision to follow in the footsteps of St. Francis, climb off my proverbial horse and embrace the leper in my life, my interior shackles began to loosen. That which predominantly tormented me spiritually and emotionally was my…

Though Stripped Bare by Life, She Clothes Herself with Strength and Dignity

Sometime during my years of teenage angst, when daydreams of my future husband seemed to fill endless hours of my existence, I recall asking my dad to tell me about the first time he saw my mom. Immediately, an affectionate grin crossed his face, a sparkle entered his eye and without hesitation, he reminisced. As if he were watching a…

Blessed Brokenness

For some reason, even though Mother’s Day was a week ago, just this weekend in my Facebook feed was a video about mothers, produced by Pampers. It features very sweet mother-child moments, along with thank yous from moms to their kids for the ways in which they have taught them and made them better women. Towards the end the…