“Pray without ceasing,” St. Paul urged his fellow Christians in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Today we honor a woman who did just that: St. Monica, who prayed through years of tears and against all odds for her pagan husband and wayward son. That son, who became Saint Augustine, later wrote gratefully of his mother: “She said […]
THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, & WHY OF POWERFUL PRAYER
Have you ever been so buried with worry or sadness that you couldn’t move? I guess some people go running, or chop wood, or get busy doing anything to take their mind off their trouble, but I tend to freeze. My mind shuts down except the part that circles around the problem, and around, and […]
IT’S YOUR CHOICE TO REJOICE
My mom had a no-fail way of dealing with grumpy, complaining, mopey kids: she’d send us to our rooms with one command: “come out when you’re ready to be happy!” Typically I would stomp off full of whatever grievance I was nursing, only to come out soon after, having laid it aside. Not that the […]
NEW RELEASE! Becoming Women of the Word: How to Answer God’s Call With Purpose and Joy
Have you ever wondered how to follow God and trust him, even when you don’t know where you’re going … or you feel inadequate … or you’re alone or your world is falling apart? How do you DO that? How do you know you can trust God? In Becoming Women of the Word: How to […]
A MOTHER’S DAY GREETING FROM ST. PAUL
Reading the end of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, the part where he lists everyone he wants to greet, I was struck by verse 13: “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine” (NABRE). Is that one woman or two? The English Standard Version, while not as literal, gets across what […]
WHO DESERVES MERCY?
The man lies on a stretcher, desperately in need of medical attention. He’s not far from the door to the hospital, but no one will admit him. It’s a Union army hospital—and the man is a Confederate soldier. A nurse tries in vain to get him help. Finally she cries out, fiercely, “Everyone deserves mercy!” […]
HOW WILL YOU BE REMEMBERED? – Dorcas’ Life of Charity
My great-grandma Jennie’s life is packed inside a single word: “Hallelujah!” She typed that on a thousand tiny strips of paper and tucked them into cracks and books and under dishes as she prayed. She died many years years ago—but even now, finding one of those Hallelujahs brings her back in an instant. Who was Jennie, […]
THE PARADOX OF THE CROSS: Learning from Mary on Good Friday
Above the altar in the Chapel of the Crucifixion in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre — traditionally recognized as the spot where Jesus was nailed to the cross — is a mosaic. A life-sized Jesus lies spread out on the ground where the soldier has just finished hammering nails into his hands. A woman […]
THE DISCIPLES AT THE WELL: A Fresh Reading of John 4
Nobody ever talks about the disciples at the well in Samaria. Everyone zeroes in on the woman, and understandably so: with her many past husbands and her daily slog for water, she represents that “God-shaped vacuum” in all of us that can’t be filled by anything (or anyone!) but God. We all want what she […]
MARY & MARTHA: FINDING THAT “BETTER PART”
I always want to jump to Martha’s defense, when I read Jesus’ response to her complaint. Her sister has left her to do all the work, and the Lord seems to dismiss her worry. “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried,” he says. “There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part […]
