A few years ago, when my life felt awash with babies, I spent much of every mass in the narthex. At the time, the doors to the back part of the church weighed a million pounds. The speakers for the back area weren’t great either. To hear the mass while holding onto a baby and one or two toddlers plus a stroller meant I wedged my foot in the door and peeked down at the priest celebrating. At times, I... Read more
My dad and his fishing buddies found themselves in the midst of a storm on the ocean. I’ve written about it at the Register and other places, but the bottom line is, the motor and the spare wouldn’t work. The storm began tossing the boat. They put on life jackets, messed with the radio and motor, cursed and worried. One uttered a prayer, “I wish old J.C. was here.” My dad said, “What makes you think He isn’t?” I can... Read more
This is not going to win me any points with the internet. If today you have the chance, schedule your vaccination from Covid-19. Why? It’s the Catholic thing to do. It’s a good thing. It’s an act of service, sublimation and will help you and those you love, and even those you don’t like. We’ve spent over a year trying to not get this disease. It’s clear it can be very bad. You don’t want to have it and you... Read more
We’ve spent the past year or so in the inbetween state of Covid is ever present, and we don’t know when things will return to normal. As more and more people get vaccinated, we now start to return to sort of normal, with masks and social distancing where possible. What strikes me, is how busy we all long to be, and how quickly being busy becomes unbearable. People drive faster than I remember, or I’ve become used to less traffic... Read more
Whenever there’s something big to do in my life, I usually look for a bigger project that is more immediate. Like when we were expecting Paul and found out he would need heart surgery and have Down Syndrome, I volunteered to run the Fall Carnival at our kids’ school. My eldest holds it over my head that at one point, I asked if I should coach my younger son’s baseball team. (I was five months pregnant at the time). He... Read more
Mark Wilson over at The Catholic Bard at Patheos, has assembled for your enjoyment, a virtual buffet of Star Wars related videos to amuse those in whom the Geekdom lives loudly. I felt a disturbance in the force once I finished perusing his selections, for it omitted something that should not have been forgotten. I speak of the Grudge Matches from the early years of the blogosphere, when creativity with words reigned supreme. So, in an effort to enlighten those... Read more
It’s May, the month of our Blessed Mother. What are you doing for her for Mother’s day? Our Lady loves to help with the work of her Son, the Savior of our souls, and so she spends her time in Heaven bringing our prayers and petitions to Jesus, both for the things we ask, and the things we do not know we need. We do not often know how much we need, only that we need much. So Mary, knitter... Read more
She knew from my face. A good friend of mine, who happens to be a nurse, gave me some healthy love the other day. She asked, “How much do you have on your plate?” She already knew the answer, “too much.” “Take some of it off.” she said. “What?” My brain spun…how could I, I mean I could list all that was in my life, in my head but it would cause an explosion of exposition and I didn’t want... Read more
Truckie Day is coming! We’re preparing for “Truckie” day. I first created this tradition of every few years, renting a truck, filling it with all the broken stuff and hauling it to the dump. It’s always a Saturday and we feast after having cleaned out the home of broken and outgrown things. We plan for one trip to donate and one trip to toss before we return Truckie. The kids often give the truck a grateful pat when it departs... Read more
You already have the gifts of courage, listening, understanding, humor, intellect and kindness. You show it every day with how you navigate the many personalities that live under this roof, including your parents. Choosing the Angel Gabriel is a reminder to us, of how you are a message of good news, and always have been. You also constantly teach us how to love more deeply, and that love is first and foremost and always, a choice to will the good... Read more
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