Need a useful prayer tip? Listen with the ear of your heart
Listen. Stop reading this article for a moment and just listen. What do you hear? Birds singing in the trees? Rain pattering on the window? A cooing baby? A barking…
Into the desert with St. Francis de Sales
Lent holds a special opportunity to pursue Christ into the desert and, in uniting more closely with him, to return on the other side with abundant fruits. For those, however,…
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…
What starry nights, church ceilings and St. Elizabeth of the Trinity teach us about eternity
Occasionally when I witness a particularly breathtaking starry night, I recall the phrases from Coldplay’s song, “Yellow” — “Look at the stars — look how they shine for you” —…
Finding God in the most unlikely place: My marriage
“I think that’s a lie.” She said it gently, but still it pulled me up short. My new spiritual director shifted in her seat and smiled. I had been talking…
The book that taught me ‘everything is grace’
When life smoothly sails along and everything seems to be going according to plan, it is easy to fall into the temptation that we are blessed and open to God’s…
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,…
What Jane Austen teaches us about virtue
We’ve all heard St. Paul’s famous verse from 1 Corinthians: “Love is patient, love is kind.” He takes care to equate love with patience because they are both virtues and…
Why women need the Eucharist, according to St. Edith Stein
“All you need is love, love, love is all you need.” Like a lot of people, I grew up listening to The Beatles. My dad is a massive fan, and…
Like the saints, we are not meant to be photocopies
Years ago I went on a silent retreat where I had a lot of time in prayer and silence before the Blessed Sacrament. At the time, I was homeschooling my…