Win and Give the Gift of Beautiful Catholic Music

Last updated on: March 12, 2015 at 4:47 pm By Lisa M. Hendey

The Missouri-based contemplative nuns Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles were named Billboard magazine’s Classical Traditional Artist 2012 and 2013. It’s the first order of nuns to ever win an award in the history of Billboard magazine. The Sisters were recognized for their two bestselling albums, ANGELS AND SAINTS AT EPHESUS, which spent 13 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Classical Traditional Music chart, and ADVENT AT EPHESUS, which spent six consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the same... Read more

Confessions of a Harvard Mom

Last updated on: March 12, 2015 at 4:47 pm By Lisa M. Hendey

The “to do” items on my Monday list are far from being ticked off as “done”. I’ll admit it — waking to the news that there’s a bomb threat at your kid’s college is a rattling experience. Since our Eric is a senior at Harvard, today’s news from Cambridge hit close to home. As I write this, the official Harvard website (which is the source I trust), indicates that three campus buildings have been re-opened and one building, the Science... Read more

Evangelii Gaudium – A Tardy Update

Last updated on: March 12, 2015 at 4:47 pm By Lisa M. Hendey

I wanted to offer a procrastinator’s apology for the obvious drop off of my reflections on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel. While I’ve truly been enjoying my daily readings of the document, all of my “words” have been going toward the book project I’m working on. In an effort to stop feeling guilty about something that is intended to inspire, I’ve decided to give up on trying to “keep up” and to simply point... Read more

Are Humility and Forgiveness Related?

Last updated on: March 12, 2015 at 4:47 pm By Lisa M. Hendey

Today, I am writing in my manuscript on the topic of forgiveness. One point I’ve been mulling is the connection between humility and forgiveness. I’m asking myself if my inability to forgive certain infractions against me — or perhaps even more frequently against my loved ones — has to do with a lack of humility. Additionally, when I refuse to forgive myself, is it my vanity that blocks me from accepting God’s grace? I’d love to hear your thoughts on... Read more

Top 5 Surprises from the Papal Interview

Last updated on: March 12, 2015 at 4:47 pm By Lisa M. Hendey

While I haven’t read the book personally yet, I’m very interested in the new book from America Magazine, A Big Heart Open to God. In the following video, Fr. Jim Martin, S.J., America‘s Editor at Large, describes five striking aspects about the interview recent interview with Pope Francis conducted by Antonio Spadaro, S.J. Video Link A question for you: What most surprised you about this interview with Pope Francis? Read more

Sweet Tweets for 12/13/13: Person of the Year

Last updated on: March 12, 2015 at 4:47 pm By Lisa M. Hendey

It’s been an exciting week. Not only are we fully in the midst of the beautiful season of Advent, but we had the big news of Pope Francis’ selection as TIME’s Person of the Year. There were many other important stories, so I hope you find this week’s Sweet Tweets a helpful recap of all the news. Thanks to John Clem, the Director and Media Minister at Catholic Web Services (http://catholicws.com/), we’ve got a full recap of all of this week’s most... Read more

Question the Beauty – It Bears Witness!

Last updated on: March 12, 2015 at 4:47 pm By Lisa M. Hendey

Inspired by St. Augustine’s sermons, a modern-day Youtube rendition provides a brief respite in the midst of a crazy day: From the Vatican website: “Question the beauty of the earth, question the beauty of the sea, question the beauty of the air, amply spread around everywhere, question the beauty of the sky, question the serried ranks of the stars, question the sun making the day glorious with its bright beams, question the moon tempering the darkness of the following night... Read more

Humility: Constructing Solid Foundations

Last updated on: March 12, 2015 at 4:47 pm By Lisa M. Hendey

Today, in work on my book project (which may still be the early death of me) I am writing on the topic of humility. In my research on the topic — since I truly have a lot to learn — I ran across the most beautiful quotation, attributed to St. Augustine: Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher... Read more

Integrity: Is It Even Possible in Today’s World?

Last updated on: March 12, 2015 at 4:47 pm By Lisa M. Hendey

I’m writing today about Integrity and would love to hear your thoughts on the topic. What are some of the challenges you face in your world that perhaps keep you from living a life full of integrity? How does today’s society challenge us in this virtue? What’s a success story of a time you or a loved one acted with integrity? Thanks in advance for helping me to brainstorm around this important topic! Read more

Evangelii Gaudium Days 6, 7, & 8: The Catch Up Edition

Last updated on: March 12, 2015 at 4:47 pm By Lisa M. Hendey

Today, I continue my reflections upon Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel. Find daily reflections on this teaching by a variety of Catholic authors and speakers at KellyWahlquist.com. So if you’re paying close attention, you’ll note that my daily reflections took a serious hiatus this past few days. I’ve read them each day, but simply haven’t found time to sit at the keyboard and type out my reflections. I’ll be back in earnest tomorrow, but... Read more