Listeners remember the foretelling of the Christ Child in the Old Testament as we hear references to those holy texts. We sense the longing of those waiting for Christ. That longing mirrors our own
Read MoreEach opening sentence of Uwem Akpan's short stories in his debut collection "Say You're One of Them" pull the reader into the story:
"Selling your child or nephew could be more difficult than selling other kids."
Or "Now that my eldest sister, Maisha, was 12, none of us knew how to relate to her anymore."
Each of these five short stories is told from the perspective of a child, and with the first sentence, Akpan demands your attention.
Fear attached itself to our ability to experience happiness, as did a sense of guilt. Who am I to be happy when people are dying? When others are unhappy?
But who are you not to be?
Read MoreBenvenuto di Giovanni’s painting “Christ in Limbo” captures the split second before these faces realize who is standing before them. Who has come to save them.
Read More“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,/ prone to leave the God I love.”
This line from the hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” rings true to me.
Read MoreThe Christmas song that always slays me, jolts me out of my secular complacency and reminds me that this is an absolutely sacred moment in the history of mankind we are celebrating here, is the carol, “O Holy Night.”
Read MoreWhat if we reframed the act of waiting -- as a gift?
Read MoreI have a theory. It is very unofficial. I haven’t done any scientific research on it. I wouldn’t even know where to begin – well, especially since I am not a scientist. Here’s my theory: Those people who go around the table and say what they are thankful for at Thanksgiving dinner – they are happier than those who don’t.
Read MoreAs Catholic Christians we seem to be most comfortable sharing our faith by our acts of service. This year Pope Francis challenges us to share our stories. Stories is how the church began.
Read MoreThis year, we all became bird-watchers from our windows, on those long walks we found ourselves on more frequently and when we learned we really didn't have anything better to do than to sit and stare at a body of water.
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 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 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 MoreImagine: You are bundled in your warmest coat, hat and gloves. It is the week before Christmas in 1938 and you are shopping for the perfect gift for your loved ones along Fifth Avenue in New York City. You peak into the S. H. Kress & Co. department store window for a few ideas and instead come face to face with this early 16th-century painting, “The Adoration of the Shepherds” (1505).
Read MoreI really enjoyed the process of writing these poems about the miracle of birth, hope growing in darkness and the journey to Christmas.
Read MoreI wrote about finding encouragement during the pandemic from St. Paul and some ways to keep connected to Christ during a pandemic.
Read MoreWe are waiting. Waiting for what? We don’t really know.
We used to wait in line, on hold, in traffic. We waited with anticipation for dinner with friends, our cousin’s wedding or that big vacation. Now, waiting for a routine cleaning at the dentist office sounds like a luxury.
Read MoreWrote about Joan of Arc with Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel’s exquisite panels as illustrations to her life story.
Read MoreThrives 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.