Whether is it on the topic of books or anger or fear or sleep, Montaigne seems to meander his way through these various topics, giving the reader the sense that he is simply gabbing. It helps that Montaigne is well read and educated, so even in this wandering, the reader is learning, growing, and thinking.
Read MoreScroll, refresh, click, repeat.
After an hour of this, I don’t feel any smarter, wiser, content, or connected. I just feel empty.
Read More"Marked by the Spirit with that indelible birthmark, as the Priest wanders, he wanders towards God instead of away. Perhaps Graham Graham too felt this relentless pursuit as an agnostic Catholic, felt the pull of a God who will not let you go."
Read MoreThere are two kinds of people in the world; those who were born and raised in New York City and those who wish they were. Pete Hamill’s A Drinking Life is a great book for both kinds of people.
Read MoreA year ago, during the first months of the pandemic, I filmed a video for my parish. A love letter really. To encourage believers and to remind myself of what was true and real.
I shared that even in the midst of isolation I hadn’t lost my joy.
Read MoreI have grown weary of doing good.
Of reaching out. Of pursuing. Of waiting. Of praying. Of standing firm.
Even if I do all these things I am still alone, tired and discouraged.
Read MoreIs it just me or does every mother feel as if we are just winging it? Motherhood is the ultimate "on the job training." We read all the books, ask advice from more "seasoned" mothers than us, but nothing could have prepared us for mothering this year. There isn't an issue of "What to Expect When Parenting Through a Pandemic."
Read MoreFor 40 essays, Diane Ackerman speaks to, about and on the subject of the sunrise. It is astounding how she can describe the beginning of the day in so many ways.
Read MoreEven in pain and sickness and exhaustion, my neighbor radiates God’s love to others. She feels Christ close to her, and in turn, we feel him close too. She is unafraid, for she truly believes what she has always said she believed.
Read MoreWell, I did it! I graduated! I now have an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction.
The highlight of my last residency was reading some of my work for my graduate reading.
Spring is here!
I know it happens every year but every year I am flabbergasted by the gloriousness of it all. I want you to know that it is not wasted on me. I see it all and I want to say “Thank you!”
Read MoreSt Paul was on house arrest for 2 yrs. Sound familiar? And yet, he chose joy. I look to him for inspiration during this seemingly, never-ending lockdown.
Read MoreRembrandt’s “Christ Crucified Between the Two Thieves” brings Christ down among the spectators. Soldiers, horses, mockers and followers are pressed upon each other. Horses seem to spill upon the crowd.
Grievers hold their bodies in wretched poses. The two thieves flank Christ on either side. They are within speaking distance of him, not shouting distance, as I imagined.
Read MoreI wrote this as a love letter to the Church I am so mystically connected to.
Read MoreGod shows us that anger is necessary to move away from that which is unholy and turn our eyes toward him. When our eyes are on God, we find grace and mercy and love and kindness there. Not more anger.
Read MoreDeath has been at the forefront of our thoughts for the past year, no matter how we try to push it away. My review for Christiana N. Peterson’s Awakened By Death for U.S. Catholic.
Read MoreI’ve missed kindness this past year. We were stingy with our kindness, saving it mostly for those who clearly shared our values. And when I say “we,” I mean “me.”
Read MoreMy 11-year-old son asks the best questions. …The other night at dinner he asked, “If you could ask God anything, what would you ask?” Our normally verbal family was silenced for a few moments
Read More“Just when I think St. Clare is too lofty for me, when I think she couldn't understand what the past year has been like for me and others, I read of the time she was infirm and bedridden. She could not join her sisters for Christmas midnight Mass, so she was miraculously treated to history's first livestreamed Mass on the wall of her room. Yes, she is the patron saint of television.”
Read MoreFour years ago, we were in Mexico City for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. I finally got around to writing about it for Busted Halo . Read about it here.
Thrives on moments where storytelling, art and faith collide.
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.
If you know me, you know I love encounters with strangers. Here is one that left me encouraged.
First time writing for Catholic World Report. I have wanted to tell this story for a long time. Read my essay on the theology of the body as it pertains to our last moments here on earth.
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.