I like to think I have some powers of persuasion, that I am good with words. But still, the fact remains: I have never succeeded in converting another person. A few years ago, I nearly severed a close friendship in my enthusiasm and zeal over Theology of the Body and Church teaching on contraception. Conversion isn’t…
Plant seeds and leave it to the Holy Spirit
Sharing Mary
Sometimes, it’s far easier for me to talk about my faith than it is to live my faith. Take Mary, for example. I have a huge and ever-growing devotion to the Blessed Mother, and I’ve even written quite a bit about her. Most weeks, at my blog, I do a whole post about her or…
Star of the New Evangelization
The stars were GPS for the sailors of many years ago, and Mary is our GPS when it comes to the New Evangelization. Her perfect knowledge of Jesus will lead us closer to Him, if only we let it. We can look to her example and find inspiration and revival. She shows us how to…
It takes a village…a parish…a FAMILY
When I left my job in marketing and advertising for the parish office, I might have had a secret plan to bring some glamour to the three-bedroom house that then served as headquarters for the parish staff of three. Now, eight years, three kids, and four additional employees later, I can laugh at who I…
Smile while you evangelize!
I’m late, by at least two months, getting to Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s speech from February about New Evangelization. If you haven’t already, do read it all. In the first mention of New Evangelization, Dolan, who already had my attention, grabbed it even deeper: The New Evangelization became the dare to apply the invitation of Jesus to…
Making an Old Story New
When I stand in front of my fifth grade class as a catechist, animated and enthusiastic, and mention “Easter,” I can see their eyes start to glaze over. “Isn’t Easter just about coloring eggs and icing cookies?” their initial reactions seem to say. ”Isn’t it a chance to eat chocolate and see family? Isn’t Easter just an…
Defining New Evangelization
There sure is a buzz about New Evanglization. Everyone seems to be talking about it, doing it, or talking about doing it. And it has made me wonder: what, exactly, is the New Evangelization? What I mean is, how do I make it apply to the people in my life who are just learning how to…
The Most Important Work I Do
Time for a guilty confession: I like to think I’m important. In my defense, I am. The problem is, I like to think I’m important to people other than my husband and my kids and my family and friends. In my self-importance, I get caught up in what I’m doing: the work of writing and blogging, the…
Finding Balance Doesn’t Always Mean “Giving Up”
If you’re reading this, you’re probably not in the club of people who have given up social media for Lent. I’m with you. I’ve discovered that maybe what I need isn’t an all-or-nothing approach. Maybe what I need is balance. One year, about halfway through Lent, I felt very convicted that I needed to institute Offline…
Sharing the Sacred with Social Media
Social media…that force which keeps me connected…and isolated, if I let it. Social media…that interruption that reminds me of the weather, my frustrations, and so many blessings. Social media…that mixed bag that enhances my life even as it threatens to take over. I’ve come to realize, in the years since I’ve been embedded online, that…