Poet John O’Donohue defined beauty as “that in the presence of which we feel more alive”. But not only that, beauty is a connection, that when we experience it, we feel a sense of love, the presence of God’s love.
Read More“What’s holding you back?” she asked over a turkey sandwich.
“I not sure if I believe in Transubstantiation.” I said solemnly over a sip of tomato soup.
“Ha!” she laughed, her mouth open, revealing the unchewed bite of sandwich in the side of her cheek. “That’s not it!” she said loudly drawing a few looks from the other patrons at the bistro.
Read MoreHe seemed to enjoy the presence it gave him, the space he took up, in our lives and in the world, as he used his size to frighten his wife, his children and anyone else who encountered him.
He would not be ignored.
Read MoreI think of their gifts for Christ: gold, a symbol of kingship; frankincense, a symbol of his priesthood; and myrrh, an embalming oil, a reminder of his death to come. A baby born to die.
“What gift would I give Jesus?” I wonder.
Read MoreCurled up with the book one evening, I listened to the sounds of my husband opening drawers and stirring pots in the kitchen. My soon to be 7-year-old, came over for a snuggle. He grasped the book from my hands as he curled into my lap. I had just started the first story and my son read to me in his little voice sounding not unlike a Peanuts character. I stroked his hair as he rubbed his foot against mine.
Read More'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel' is a somber sounding hymn, made more solemn in the darkened church, lit only with candles as we wait for Christ's birth.
Read MoreImagine the delight of my devout Native-Mexican mother-in-law when her sixth child, my husband, was born on December 12, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Read MoreHushed whispers echoed around me as tourists watched through the bars of Islip Chapel in Westminster Abbey where I knelt before an Anglican priest inside. Her words of prayer dropped on me like love.
Read MoreI love sharing where I have been finding inspiration. These posts might become a habit as I share some of the ins and outs of my daily life with you.
Read More“I will send down a shower of roses; I want to spend my Heaven doing good on earth.” St. Thérèse’s feast day is October 1st! Here’s what her faith story might mean for yours.
Read MoreIt is rare that I’ll remember a sweet memory associated with my father. Most of my memories of him are intertwined with fear and anxiety. And yet...
Read MoreGod and the maintenance man: my reflection on finding grace in an unexpected place.
Read MoreWhy I taught my kids to call our homeless neighbors 'Peace Men'
In these women and men I see my sister, myself, my God.
The night I found out my childhood friend, committed suicide, I listened to Iron & Wine’s song The Trapeze Swinger on repeat--for hours.
Read MoreEven as a Seattle Art Museum member it took me a few months to secure tickets for the Yayoi Kusama, Infinite Mirrors exhibit.
Did you get tickets? Have you gone yet? friends would ask.
The hype was palpable.
Read MoreWhen I started attending St. James Cathedral in Seattle 11 years ago, I said to a friend, “St. James? Which one is he again?”
“He’s one of the Sons of Thunder!” she said, a little too loudly with a sort of spirited superhero look on her face.
I nearly spit out the double tall vanilla latte I was sipping, doubling over with laughter. “Sons of Thunder?” I asked.
Read MoreWill he come to me when he doesn’t make the team or when his first crush turns him down? Will he look to me for comfort? I imagine a basketball player of a boy, my lap overflowing and know he will not draw to me in this same way for long. Yet I hope I can always provide a safe place for him to land, to renew.
Read MoreOlivia Laing describes loneliness as “difficult to confess; difficult too to categorize. Like depression, a state with which it often intersects, it can run deep in the fabric of a person, as much a part of one’s being as laughing easily or having red hair.” Laing’s words left me gasping, like a sucker punch to the gut.
Read MoreScripture says that at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit enabled the Apostles to speak in other languages, previously unknown to them. Native speakers heard the stories of kindness, peace, love, and redemption in their own languages.
Read MoreFrom experience, I know I couldn’t stay home during Spring Break with my boys. I knew my husband had to work and wouldn’t’ be able to go anywhere with us, so I made it simple, returning to our happy place, Orcas Island.
Read MoreThrives on moments where storytelling, art and faith collide.
I always come to this prayer time with auspicious expectations. I know God is going to show up. I just don’t know how. I am always surprised how he does.
If we keep our eyes on Jesus, small acts of service and love, like those lived out by St. Francis Xavier, will reap more rewards than we could ever imagine.
I must pinch myself that I am part of this collection from Ignatius Press ! It comes out next month but is available for preorder now.
How easily we forget that we are, at every moment, shaped with care by a Creator. Artists, however—who know intimately the blood, sweat, and tears of the creative process—can help us sense how marvelous it is to be created: the patience, the detail, the joy. In this essential collection, thirty-one Christian artists from various disciplines, from music to poetry to film to sculpture, offer personal essays on the strange experience of following God’s lead by making beautiful things.
Goldberg is much more practical than many of the texts that I have read. She gives you much to hold onto.
I wrote about waking to a grace filled day.