Blog
This Evangelical Gets It
I remember the longing for motherhood deep inside my bones. The countless negative pregnancy tests. The baby showers I skipped because I couldn’t hold it together. The pithy platitudes that felt like daggers. The dreaded holiday seasons. The depression I tried to mask with a smile. Infertility feels like a death, over and over again.
Chucking Amazon Prime
When we saw what Balenciaga was marketing, we were horrified, but while I’m still shocked to see the occasional Balenciaga sweatshirt, what is Prime but my middle-class version of that indifference?
Taking Captivity Captive
Despite her recent hardships and a horizon darkened by impending challenges, the Blessed Mother is always depicted as looking upon her beloved Child with a face suffused with peace. In addition to her awe over the events leading to the Nativity, she also was deeply gratified to know our liberation was at hand.
Clarifying Francis’ Comment: “The Church is Woman”
The Holy Father speaks truth when referring to the Petrine Church and the Marian Church. These two images of the Church do not contradict, but live in harmony—both true, both profound sources of meditation, and both when combined illustrating the layers of God’s revelation that sweeps all of creation into the divine embrace.
Mothering Sunday — Then and Now
Since the Middle Ages, the Church, in seeking concrete ways to honor the stupendous moment of the Incarnation, established that a Sunday close to the Annunciation would be called Mothering Sunday. The beauty in this concept is that not only was it to commemorate that our gift of salvation was made possible by the conception and birth of a child, but to teach us that the Virgin Mary would also be an icon of the Church that would embrace all who sought to love and serve her Son.
Today’s Babushkas
In the spirit of the babushkas, I am launching a prayer project for our own [ahem] mature women, specifically those who are empty nesters and have finished the bulk of their work in the family, but who naturally remain tied by those maternal heartstrings.
Thoughts on Marie Kondo
I wouldn't have commented on Marie Kondo (whom I haven't read or watched in any format) except that Simcha Fisher did, and she likewise has not read or watched her. So this is certainly a meta-post (a post on an article on a book by a woman!) Simcha, delightfully...
Walking Confidently in the Darkness
Pope Benedict XVI touches on the darkness that often shrouds the path before the children of God, even Our Lady who was full of grace. “She must continue along the path that leads through many dark moments—from Joseph’s dismay at her pregnancy to the moment when Jesus is said to be out of his mind right up to the night of the cross.”
USCCB’s Respect Life Committee November Prayer Intention
Death is a decisive moment in our encounter with God the Savior. Helping our neighbor to prepare for this moment is a supreme act of charity, encompassing the patient with the solid support of human relationships to accompany them and help them be open to hope.
Elizabeth R and the Commonweal
Thanks be to God, circumstances allowed for the most widely broadcast event in human history to remind us that authentic communion grounded in Christ can reinvigorate bonds capable of enveloping a fragmented world.
“Take Comfort, My People”
We often look for the quickest fix, especially when we see those we love suffering, or when we ourselves find a situation unbearable. Truth be told, the greatest saints were forged in such suffering by turning to Scripture and the Sacraments, and by undertaking works of mercy.
Our Challenge
While we rejoice in the possibilities of a post-Roe America, it must be remembered that children are still at grave risk when the adults around them refuse to acknowledge reality.
