Finding God In Sunshine
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When winter is dark and long. My reflection for Ignatian Spirituality on Finding God in Sunshine
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Sharing the Love on Valentine’s Day
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On the first Valentine’s Day I spent with my husband after we were married, he handed me a small package wrapped in pink tissue paper, tied with a white bow. I pulled the ribbon and gently peeled back the paper to find two different types of vegetable peelers.
Read MoreAn unlikely location for a lesson on the Holy Spirit: In the back of a taxi
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The back of a cab seems an unlikely place to get a lesson on the Holy Spirit, but that’s what happened one evening after a girl’s night out with two of my Catholic friends.
Read MorePrayer of Thanks for the Drive Through Car Wash
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Find joy in life’s small moments of wonder.
Read MoreSmall Changes for a Big Year: Choose Silence
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Sometimes it is a small change that makes the biggest difference in our mindset for a new year
Read MorePrayer without ceasing through the Psalms
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“When St. Paul says to “pray without ceasing,” I think to myself, “That’s all well and good for you, St. Paul, but I am just a regular person.” I have carpool and Costco and an overflowing calendar. “
Read MoreJagged Prayers
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“You once said that if you didn’t write, you’d wash your hands all day. This is true for me too, though it manifests itself in other ways: list-making, organizing, cleaning until I see disorder in every inch of my house. Writing becomes a compulsive behavior too, a way of finding clarity, of moving through the pain into something beautiful.”
Read MoreGerrit Van Honthorst's 'Adoration of the Child'
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The "Adoration of the Child" is depicted in this 17th-century painting by Dutch artist Gerard van Honthorst. In "Adoration of the Child," light is reflected off the faces of those gazing at the Christ Child.
Read my reflection on this art piece for Catholic News Service’s Faith Alive series
Read MoreMind Games
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Hold on to your hats and glasses, cause this essay is going to be a bumpy ride.
This isn't like what you have read from me thus far.
Our Happy Jar and a New Year's Fresh Start
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“A few years ago, when my elder son was newly able to write his name and a few other scribblings of words, my family started a tradition called “Our Happy Jar.” I cleaned out a large Mason jar and filled it with colorful scraps of paper. “
Read MoreAdvent meditation: Dreaming with St. Joseph
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You speak to us in dreams. Sometimes it is the only occasion you find us still and quiet. Quiet enough to hear your voice. Still enough to grab our attention.
You whisper to us throughout the day, reminding us you are present and that you delight in us. But we cannot hear you.
Read MoreEbenezer: Marking God’s Protection with a ‘Stone of Help’
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I was driving home on a major street in downtown Seattle when a middle-aged man riding his bike to work slipped on a light-rail track. He, along with his bike, tumbled across the double yellow line and into oncoming traffic — specifically, my car.
Read MoreTo Give and Not Count the Cost
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My heart always sinks at the line in the Prayer for Generosity, “to give and not to count the cost,” because if I am truly honest with myself, I know I am always calculating the cost.
Read MoreFamily Thanksgiving Rituals
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Read how families can create sacred moments at Thanksgiving. Read my article for Loyola Press here.
Read MoreOur Guardian Angels
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October 2 is the Feast of the Guardian Angels. Read my reflection on Guardian Angels and how I’ve experienced my own in this essay for Catholic News Service’s Faith Alive series.
Read MoreSharing a Moment with a Stranger on Vacation
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Entering Westminster Abbey on vacation with my 10-year-old son, I overheard a man with an American accent ask, “Can we take photos?”
“No, sorry, sir,” the docent apologized.
I remembered being disappointed my last visit when I realized no photos were allowed.
Read MoreMade For Love Podcast: The Catholic Family on Vacation
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I was interviewed for United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Made For Love podcast after my essay on vacations in Busted Halo. Host Sara Perla did an amazing job editing me. I sound like a lovable neurotic which is exactly me. Listen and Enjoy here.
Read MoreA Friendship Formed in Silence
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Delighted to have my writing published in Relief Journal for the first time. “Shemaiah Gonzalez paints a Eucharistic portrait of the tenuous first steps to human connection.”
Read MoreHow I Learned to Let Go of My Worries on Vacation
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I can't be the only one who stresses out on vacation, right?
Read MoreFour Hidden Places I’ve Found God
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In my practice of looking for God, it’s rarely in the spotlight moments that I find him. It’s in the small, hidden places that God chooses to reveal himself. Here are a few I noticed.
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