How We Can Be a Blessing to Others
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Poet John O’Donohue said "It would be lovely if we could rediscover our power to bless one another." I've been trying to discover it for myself.
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Grace in Laughter
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I’m in my home office. I can hear my sons laughing in the room above me. My younger son, more in control of his emotions, delivers great one-liners with a straight face. My oldest absolutely delights in his brother and cackles like some sort of Amazonian bird. It’s a loud laugh — always louder than the joke calls for — brassy, joyful and free.
Read MoreRachel Cohen: Austen Years: A Memoir in 5 Novels
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Jane Austen’s novels conjure up images of country ball rooms, empire waist dresses and teatime in the parlor---not grief. Yet Rachel Cohen’s biblio-memoir, Austen Years: A Memoir in 5 Novels, does just that. Cohen looks at the well-loved British novels through the lens of grief, mirroring Cohen’s own in her in the death of her father. Walking through Austen’s work with Cohen, one will wonder why they never looked at this literature in this way before.
Read MorePeter Schjeldahl: Let’s See
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Turns out, writing about art doesn’t have to be as technical as one might think. Which makes sense because so much about art is how it makes you feel. Peter Schjeldahl who writes on art for The New Yorker uses metaphor and similes to convey how art makes him feel.
Read MoreMichel De Montaigne: On Solitude
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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 MoreScreen Time and St. Ignatius
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Scroll, refresh, click, repeat.
After an hour of this, I don’t feel any smarter, wiser, content, or connected. I just feel empty.
Read MorePower Made Perfect in Weakness
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"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 MorePete Hamill: A Drinking Life
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There 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 MoreLetter to the Church
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A 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 MoreLet Us Not Grow Weary of Doing Good
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I 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 MorePandemic Parenting Requires Families to Adapt to New Narratives
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Is 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 MoreDiane Ackerman's Dawn Light
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For 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 MoreOur Neighbor
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Even 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 MoreMy MFA Graduate Reading
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Well, 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.
Prayer for Spring
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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 MoreWhat St. Paul Can Teach Us About Christian Joy
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St 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 Crucified Christ
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Rembrandt’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 MoreThe Weight of Attending Mass For Those Who Cannot
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I wrote this as a love letter to the Church I am so mystically connected to.
Read MoreAnger is Not a Fruit of the Spirit
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God 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 MoreBook Review: Awakened By Death
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Death 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.
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