Combatting comparison with the help of the Blessed Mother
“You have Mary’s eyes.” My friend leaned across the cafeteria table, holding my gaze and smiling as the noisy, post-Mass Sunday-brunch crowd wove around us. She had been telling me…
How to fit more devotions into our busy lives
Pope Francis recently visited Fatima, Portugal, where he spoke to 200,000 pilgrims. While there, he proclaimed a new devotional title for Mary, “Our Lady in a Hurry.” While this title…
Praying with the Seven Sorrows of Mary
I was raised Southern Baptist, with an aversion to the Catholic faith. When I met and fell in love with a Catholic Marine, I was as horrified as my parents….
Ladies, we are made to be resilient like Mary
All Catholics, particularly Catholic women, are called to emulate Mary. In his “Letter to Women,” Pope St. John Paul II wrote, “The Church sees in Mary the highest expression of…
What Our Lady of Lourdes can teach us during Lent
Our Blessed Mother appeared in a radiant light to St. Bernadette on Feb. 11, 1858. Most people know about the healing waters at Lourdes, but do you know what Our…
Letter to a young bride
Dear Bride, I’ve been married for a long time. I won’t tell you how long because Radiant’s readers are young, and I’m afraid you’ll think I have nothing to offer….
Grandma’s dresses: A Christmas reflection
During my conversion to the Catholic faith, I found myself in a bit of a conundrum figuring out what to wear to Mass for the first time. I ended up…
Allowing ourselves to be weary pilgrims this Advent
Displayed in a small side chapel of Sant’Agostino in Rome is an arresting painting by the great Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The work, “Madonna of the Pilgrims,” shocks…
Books on my journey from daughter to bride (Part 1)
During my recent move from one apartment to another in preparation for my fast-approaching wedding, I realized once again how many books I own. While I’ve promised Dominic, my soon-to-be-husband,…
The 54-day Rosary novena is the best cure to a painful breakup. Here’s why
During my teenage years, I was in a relationship with a handsome young guy whom I was convinced I was going to marry. I had it all planned out in…