Monthly Archives: August 2018

Living the Beatitudes at Home – Part 7: Holiness and the Habit of Not Screaming at My Children

A friend and I were walking through a summer market today when we spied a t-shirt that read: “Patience is what you have when there are too many witnesses.” My friend giggled and said, “That’s true!” I smiled. For the … Continue reading

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Finding the Center in the Christian Faith

The Second Coming – Williams Butler Yeats Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and … Continue reading

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The Wounded Bride and the Word of God

Angry, heart-broken and sickened over the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, I have been fairly speechless since the news broke. I have read the first 50 pages of the report, and I felt like I was punched in the gut by … Continue reading

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Living the Beatitudes at Home – Part 6: Holiness and the Annual Family Intention

Several years ago, some new friends we’d met through church invited our family over for supper. On the wall of their home, my husband and I noticed a large sign that read “God, Golf, Disneyworld.” Curious, we asked the couple … Continue reading

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I Don’t Have to Go to Church

It was a strange, unexpected feeling. The timing was ridiculous. It was August 15, the Feast of the Assumption (and my daughter’s birthday). My wife, mother-in-law, and I were getting ready to attend 7 p.m. Mass on this Holy Day. … Continue reading

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Living the Beatitudes at Home Part 5: Holiness through the Teenage Years

We have three teenagers in our family right now. This was something I swore would never happen; having been an irritable and defiant teenager myself, I’d always asserted, half-seriously, that I would somehow find a way to have my children … Continue reading

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Worrier or Warrior?

This seems like a good week to moderate my social media intake if ever there was one. From vicious politics, to scandals in the clergy, to confusion about Church teaching, my feed is full of worrying. It’s important to understand … Continue reading

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Living the Beatitudes at Home – Part 4: Holiness Amongst the Shadows

It is said that the traditional greeting among the people of the Masai tribe of Africa is Kasserian Ingera?, which translates as “And how are the children?” Whether or not this greeting is still used amongst the Masai today, it’s … Continue reading

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Tolerance vs. Approval

Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. – G. K. Chesterton I have new neighbors who are instructing me in the fine art of tolerance. In our quiet little neighborhood in Chicago’s distant suburbs, we’ve been blessed to … Continue reading

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Living the Beatitudes at Home – Part 3: Holiness for the Overly Optimistic

The Beatitudes certainly don’t get any better as you go along. As Christians, we’re called to be poor, meek, and now to mourn (spoiler: it only gets worse).                      “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”  I remember … Continue reading

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