Welcome to “Your Yes for 2015”! I pray that the next fifteen days will be a transformative journey for all of us as we endeavor to more fully give our unique “Yes” to God in the New Year. Today, I want to start by sharing my goals for this project. I’d like to answer one recent social media commenter’s question: “What is this, and how much does it cost?” That person’s query helped me to realize that before we dive... Read more
I recently had the great chance to be interviewed by Patheos’ own Thomas MacDonald for his very cool “How I Pray” feature. If you haven’t checked out Tom’s interviewees (including Elizabeth Scalia), be sure to check here for some inspiration. The interview left me thinking about how I’d like to be more organized about my prayer resources in the New Year. One of my many goals for 2015 is to increase the time I spend reading pages and decrease the... Read more
I’m easing my way back to my desk today by opening mail that came in during Christmas break. My favorite surprise of the day is this: Officially, per the listing at Loyola Press, this great product is “A Child’s Bible with a plush figure of Jesus the Teacher”. While the Jesus figure was designed especially for children with special needs, we also heard from parents and teachers stating that all children would benefit from these visual, moveable, and tactile ways... Read more
Friends who follow me on Facebook saw a status update a few days ago that intrigued them. I posted a very unflattering photo of myself decidedly not smiling. That’s unusual for me: In reality, it was truly hard to contain my smile in that photo. The purpose for an updated passport pic is my big news. I needed a visa photo for an upcoming January trip with Catholic Relief Services to the country of Tanzania! For the record, no smiling... Read more
In his tweet for this week, Pope Francis sent a message that is helpful to remember during the busy Christmas season: Today, as I worry about Christmas presents to purchase and holiday parties to dress up for, I’m asking myself if I’ve misplaced my priorities, if I’m serving the wrong “master”. While my intentions for gifting may be “good”, have I given in to the lure of treating this holiday season as a commercialized endeavor? Fortunately, I still have a... Read more
This has been a busy week for Bishop Oscar Cantú, who is Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace. Just yesterday, I posted his statement on the torture report. Today, we have his statement (included below for your reference) on the release of American Alan Gross from Cuba and the shift in the Administrations policy toward that country. Bishop Cantú’s statement shows the strong recommendations of the USCCB to encourage both countries to work together on behalf of those who... Read more
Have you sat down and watched television lately? I mean, really, truly watched it? I’d guess that I’ve spent approximately ten hours in the last month watching TV. That figure comes from my estimated five hours of watching my favorite show, Survivor, and five hours of sitting next to my husband working while he watches football. Aside from these two tv pastimes, the bulk of my viewing happens commercial-free and on demand. This frees me from the relentless Viagra commercials and... Read more
Bishop Oscar Cantú, chair of the USCCB’s Committee for International Justice and Peace offered a formal statement from the USCCB on the U.S. Senate Select Intelligence Committee Report on Torture “The Catholic Church firmly believes that torture is an ‘intrinsic evil’ that cannot be justified under any circumstance. The acts of torture described in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report violated the God-given human dignity inherent in all people and were unequivocally wrong. Congress and the President should act to strengthen the legal prohibitions... Read more
Consistently on my personal “must do” list for the last five years have been four few simple words: Learn to speak Spanish! In crafting my list of “resolutions” for 2015, the words are there again. Living in California and endeavoring to serve my Church reminds me at least once per week that to communicate effectively with about half of the people I desire to serve, I should be speaking Spanish. The USCCB realizes this as well. For the last few... Read more
From the Archdiocese of Sydney’s website: While a hostage siege continued in Sydney’s CBD for most of the day Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP called for prayers for the hostages and their families and for a peaceful resolution. Archbishop Fisher said; “We are all shocked and saddened by what is happening in Martin Place today. My thoughts and prayers – and those of the entire Catholic community – are for the hostages and their families, and for our police officers who... Read more
Lisa Hendey
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