We Are All Called to Lives of Holiness
All of us who have been touched by death have days of the year that are a reminder of who we lost. August 8th is one of those days for me. It is the Feast of St. Dominic. On it, two years ago, my husband and I found out that we had lost our fourth …
Continue reading "Grief Taught Me How to Love a Little More Like Christ"
Recently I have had discussions with my husband and a close female friend of mine who is also married with children. We've been talking through the differences between the way men and women communicate and understand the world and relationships with other people. I've worked with a lot of men over the years and many …
Continue reading "Bridging the Divide Between the Sexes on Our Worldviews"
A few years ago, when The Benedict Option was becoming popular in certain Christian circles—primarily through the writings of Rod Dreher who is influenced by Alasdair MacIntyre—I was initially intrigued and drawn to this approach. The culture was, and continues to be, in a downward spiral. Anti-Christian sentiments and policies continue apace throughout the Western world, while …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: Re-Thinking the Benedict Option in Light of Lumen Gentium"
“Life is not neatly divided between beauty and ugliness, light and dark, beatitude and despair. Rather, it is a struggle and a longing, full of vicissitude and vacillation, with glimmers and glimpses which paradoxically attract and repel us, making us feel both at home and alien.” Austin Choate, "Terrence Lamick: You Will Love, Whether …
Continue reading "Will I Love As Christ Loves Or Will I Walk Away?"
Rather frequently, I hear people make arguments about aspects of the spiritual life, the Church, morality, or relationships that are predicated upon a particular individual’s feelings. Some will complain that the Mass doesn’t make them “feel” good or the Church’s teaching doesn’t cause a flood of the emotions they are looking for in their lives. …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: Put Your Faith in Christ, Not in Feelings"
“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” G.K. Chesterton Our culture seeks to hide suffering behind closed doors. The elderly are left in nursing homes while the unborn are "humanely" disposed of in abortuaries. We pretend that suffering …
Continue reading "No, We Can’t Fully Protect Our Children From Suffering"
In the past few weeks I have come into contact--both in person and in social media--with people who have felt the need to lecture me on their individual learning in areas of the Catholic faith. I stepped in at a Catholic bookstore when a man was telling a woman in full communion with Rome that …
Continue reading "The Dangers of Isolationism and the Need for Holy Guides"
One of the greatest battles we face in the spiritual life is knowing and understanding ourselves. "Know thyself" appeared on the temple at Delphi in Ancient Greece. It's influenced philosophy for centuries and it is an essential aspect of the spiritual life, as long as it is properly ordered to God and a life of …
Continue reading "Knowing Ourselves and the Battle for Objectivity"
I read an article yesterday that gave me pause. Not only because it is morally ambiguous, but because it brings into question whether or not we should cross certain lines. I don't want to wade into the moral debate right now and I know which theologians I side with in the debate. It made me …
Continue reading "God’s Will in Our Fertility and Family Size"
I had another one of those encounters that I've mentioned in previous writing with someone while I was out tonight. The thunderstorm we had knocked out the computer systems at store I was at and they discovered it right as I went up to pay. The system needed multiple re-boots and I could have left …
Continue reading "Another God Inspired Encounter with a Complete Stranger"
Swimming the Depths 