First off, let me thank you for tolerating the week of silence here on A Good Measure. Like most of you, I took the past week off to celebrate Christmas with my family and am now dragging myself, kicking and screaming, back to my keyboard. I hope the Octave of Christmas has been as beautiful for you as it has been in our home! I want to write a bit today about what I heard at yesterday’s Mass for the... Read more
I’ve already mentioned here on the blog how challenging, in fact heart-wrenching, it can be to try to blog in the aftermath of tragedies like last week’s devastation in Connecticut. Yesterday, I was reminded personally how swift the transition from national outrage to finger pointing can really be. It’s not surprising, perhaps, that in the wake of the shootings, a debate over the topic of assault weapons would take center stage. As the Editor of a website that is not... Read more
It’s already working. The Holy Father (aka “Pontifex”) is already reaching millions with his presence on Twitter. Today’s two tweets, timed in conjunction with the Wednesday audience, were destined perfectly for those of us desperately seeking answers in a time of national mourning. I’ve been carrying around a great personal weight today. I don’t feel up to sharing the details, but will say that one of Pope Benedict XVI’s tweets felt destined just for me: On a day when I... Read more
Is your calendar as crazy as mine is this week? We’ve got a slew of “holiday parties”, many of them professional responsibilities, that involve dressing up in high heels and going out when I’d truly rather snuggle up in PJs and finally watch the finale of Survivor (and no spoilers please!) Normally I love parties, but for some reason this year I’m less enthusiastic. The kicker came Friday night when our attendance was required at a really lovely party that... Read more
When I look back at and reflect upon my professional objectives for the year 2012, one of the greatest “accomplishments” for which I give thanks is the relationships I’ve built this year. A few stand out in my mind — including my growing friendship with my mentor and editor Elizabeth Scalia here on Patheos (which is fodder for a post itself). Also notable are the partnerships I’ve worked to build this year with a few specific entities: the USCCB, Catholic Relief... Read more
Today is a challenge. We crowd into our churches to celebrate the Mass. We light a rose colored candle on this third Sunday of Advent — Gaudete Sunday — and “rejoice” as our hearts journey closer to Christ and the celebration of Christmas. Today is a moment set aside in the midst of Advent to ponder with great anticipation the reward that lies ahead of us at Christmas, but even more so with Christ’s second coming. And yet our hearts... Read more
I’m just arriving home from an extended meeting and — like the rest of you — am trying to digest the horrific act of violence perpetrated today at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. No words could ever restore what has been lost, so I will simply ask our readers to join me today in a moment of fervent prayer for today’s precious lives lost in an act of incomprehensible violence. We pray for the children and adults who have... Read more
OK, let me preface this by saying officially this is not a review of The Hobbit. I’m about to admit something that may get me “unfriended” by my many Tolkien-loving Facebook friends and kicked out of the Patheos Catholic Channel for lack of street cred. Here goes: I have never read The Hobbit. or indeed any of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I vaguely remember “Cliff noting” some Tolkien in high school days (don’t tell my teenager!) and I... Read more
It’s 3:01 am in California on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I just finished watching a historic moment as Pope Benedict XVI concluded today’s Wednesday audience with the first official tweets from his newly christened @Pontifex twitter account. Here’s how the moment played out on video: Pope Benedict XVI Sends First Tweet from Rocco Palmo on Vimeo. In the moments leading up to that first series of tweets, Twitter’s consultant to the Vatican Claire Diaz-Ortiz @Claire reported (via... Read more
Let me introduce my friends here to one of the most precious joys of my life: my niece Elsa Beatrice. The first girl baby born to my family in her generation (after enough boys that we’d given up), she’s been the pride and joy of our family. This past weekend, little Elsa celebrated her first birthday. Her aunties wished from afar that they could be present for the celebration. Gratefully, Elsa’s mommy is a top notch photographer who immediately shared... Read more
Lisa Hendey
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