'We’re not that kind of parish' is a response that should inspire change
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My personal essay for Our Sunday Visitor on being the hands and feet of Christ.
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Why I’m Most at Home in a Library
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Libraries hold magic for Shemaiah. Not only are they doorways to new stories and worlds & characters, but as a bookworm, she feels at home being surrounded by books and fellow readers. For her, the library is more than a place — it’s an opportunity for community.
Read MoreA Space Where Strangers Become Friends
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"Hospitality is not about changing people or bringing them to your side but about creating a space where they can be their authentic selves, the person they were created to be."
Read MoreWhen Your Life is in Ruins, Simple Companionship is Such a Gift
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Shemaiah’s world fell apart when her fiancée left unexpectedly. The next day, she crossed paths with a work acquaintance who had the vision to see that she was in distress. His simple gesture was enough to help her return from the margins of grief.
Read MoreWrap Each Other in Courage
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In the New Testament, encouragement is always spoken of as a community event. We don’t need help being discouraged but we do need help being encouraged. We need each other. We cannot do it alone. It happens in community. We are to envelop, enfold, wrap each other in courage.
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 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 MoreHow Can I Keep From Singing?
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My young sons cannot, will not, be silent.
It’s not that they talk a lot, though they can and do. It is that they sing — all the time.
Read MoreThe Hope of Sidewalk Victory Gardens
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“I love the sheer audacity of these gardens. In the midst of a global pandemic and civil unrest, there are people who endeavor to thrive.”
Read MoreQuarantine Notes: Inside/Outside
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These quarantine notes, called Inside/Outside were inspired by the Japanese poetic form Haibun.
Stripped down to its essentials, Haibun uses detached language, no personal pronouns and concentrates in sensory details.
The Body Of Christ Speaks: Where Did You Find Joy Today?
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I had so much fun writing this piece and then making this video for my parish, St James Cathedral in Seattle. I hope you enjoy it just as much. And let me know, where did you find joy?
Read MoreReal presence is the heart of Catholicism
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I was completely honored to be asked by U.S. Catholic magazine to write the companion essay for their reader survey on being Catholic in the US.
Read how the Eucharist connects us, not only to Christ, but to each other, locally, globally and through the span of history.
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 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 MoreWaiting in Liminal Space
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“There have been times where liminal space became more like a burial shroud than a cocoon. I stayed in a relationship, friendship, or in bad habits, waiting in this space for as long as I could, never pushing forward, until I grew used to my surroundings in languish. Even in its awkwardness, there is a sacredness in liminal space."
Read MoreA Familiar Comfort From Our Lady of Guadalupe
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Read how Our Lady of Guadalupe connects me to my past and my future.
Read MoreWhy is Loneliness Difficult to Confess?
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Olivia 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 MoreBut Really? How Are You? --A Reflection on the Past Year
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“How you holding up?”
Holding up? I didn’t know what they were referring to. It was as if someone died. Maybe someone did and I didn’t know.
Read MoreHow I Keep My Chronic Depression in Check
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My chronic depression is here to stay, but with these components, I keep the monster from visiting so often.
Read MoreDepeche Mode: Becoming Part of the Mass
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My whole body is goosebumps as I hear the songs I listened to secretly on my Walkman, late at night as my parents would fight outside my room. These songs made me feel like I wasn’t the only person who thought things weren’t right in this world.
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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.