Hiding in the beautiful wounds of Christ
The first Catholic book I ever read was an old prayer book from the early 1900s. It was a small, red-linen-bound, falling-apart devotional all about the blood of Jesus. At…
God is not limited
I felt like a kid throwing a tantrum: “I can’t do this, God!” I thought back to the previous day’s Sunday Mass — our parish priest preaching from our television…
It’s time to awaken
I was speaking to a friend on the phone who is expecting her first child. Her voice broke as she cried, “I’ve been waiting so long for this baby, but…
Reclaiming the simple life
In perhaps the most beautiful passage in his Confessions, St. Augustine writes, “For behold thou wert within me, and I outside … .” The great Doctor of the Church, reflecting…
A moment of gratitude
If there was ever a time for the world to hit the reset button in our lives, Lent seems to be the most appropriate time. And this year, in the…
Walking together: When we’re all pilgrims
“You should go eat dinner on the other side of the lake; it’s cheaper over there.” Standing at the top of the Alps, my friend and I absorbed the man’s…
God, reorient my desires
“At all times bless the Lord, your God, and ask him that all your paths may be straight and all your endeavors and plans may prosper” (Tb 4:19). Gazing upon…
To be a faithful lover
“He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God” (Ps 98:3). When we look…
Finding joy in our complaints
Maybe it’s the early onset of fall this year, or the stress of tackling a new semester in grad school, or the quiet misery of a recent 30-day detox diet,…
The strength in my weakness
I sat in the bathroom sobbing. There was an emptiness, a numbness that was consuming my heart and at times my marriage. It was a slow, engulfing despair that sought…