As a convert, close spiritual relationships with my Catholic sisters-in-the-Lord are among God’s most treasured and healing gifts. One Catholic sister-in-the-Lord, is dying of brain cancer. She’s the Grateful-for-Adversity Grandmother I wrote about last year. I went to visit her…
A New Catholic Sister
Why Do We Have to Die?
“Why do we have to die?” This is a question that many of us wrestle with for as long as we’ve understood the concept of death. It is that thing that so many of us fear above all things. But…
Pentecost: The Difference that the Spirit Makes
As a teen, I thought the clergy were supposed to do everything. We laity were just called to pray, pay, and obey. Oh yes, and keep the commandments, of course. The original 10 seemed overwhelming enough. Then I discovered the…
The Spiritual Flash Mob
Our times, they are contentious. Believers are being attacked in favor of secular agendas. Prominent Catholics make heretical statements, crowning themselves as representative of Church teachings. Faithful journalists offer rebukes of both the attackers and the Church for what they…
In The Game of Life, The Rules Are God’s Will
This game of life we’re playing is really God’s game. Creation and our role in this world are based upon God’s plan and essentially His will. Everything that happens, good or bad, planned or unplanned, new or old, is either…
God Is Not Fair and Other Reasons for Gratitude
Two thoughts from reading the title of this book drew me to it immediately. One, I thought,” thank God he isn’t fair” and two, “I need to practice more gratitude.” If you are interested in thinking deeply about living as…
Seeing as God Sees
For the past week-and-a-half I’ve been travelling the same route to and from work, through the densely populated outskirts of Accra, Ghana, via bus or taxi each day. There’s a tedium to it, yes, but it’s counter-intuitively captivating at the…
The Feast of the Ascension
Sunday Readings for the Feast of the Ascension The celebration of the Ascension used to leave me a bit flat. It was clear what Good Friday did for me. And Easter Sunday’s benefits were indisputable. But as for the Ascension,…
Confession – A Cleansing of the Soul
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity….
Compassion
Tell them not to speak evil of anyone, but to be peaceful and friendly, and always to show a gentle attitude toward everyone. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. Titus 3: 2-3a It’s so hard to keep…