We Catholics (and especially Catholic Workers) talk a good game about radical living and countercultural witness. But without grace, it’s only talk. Without grace, we’re just hippies in cassocks. Only grace can look at a sinner and say, “I see the real you beneath that.” Read more
I am the last person who would have expected to agree with Russell Brand on many topics, let alone the topic of sex. But his comments on the craze surrounding Fifty Shades of Gray had me furiously nodding my head in surprised agreement. Read more
Rev. Michael Messner, the pastor of Sacred Heart in Lancaster Pennsylvania, a church where two Daughters of St. Paul grew up, is in critical condition after a serious fall from a second floor balcony. Pieces of a broken railing were found around him and Father Michael was discovered lying on the ground between 3:30 and 4AM early Sunday morning. Read more here… Please keep Father Michael in your prayers. Let’s just take a moment to pray a Hail Mary for his recovery:... Read more
At one stop a young man entered the subway car and told the priest to hand over his wallet. When the priest explained that he did not have a wallet with him, the young man made him empty everything he had on the subway chairs. The priest emptied his Mass kit which included a little silver box of ashes. Read more
When I was young, my mother called me "The Lent Police" because I not only kept track of my own business during Lent but I also kept tabs on my siblings. I would regularly yell things like, "Mom, David is eating a cookie and it's Lent!"( I was a real pain in the bum. I am surprised they still speak to me.) Read more
This past week here in the church we had a holy hour of adoration. During the middle of the hour, we invited the children to come near the sanctuary and to kneel and pray to Jesus. One of the children began to blow kisses to Jesus. My heart pretty much melted right then and there. And I needed that. I needed my heart to melt. Read more
God has the best lemonade stand ever. He brings good from the bitterest of experiences. He enters our hells, takes us by the hand and leads us out. Read more
I am getting ready for a big blizzard in Boston after a wonderful week here promoting my book The Prodigal You Love: Inviting Loved Ones Back to the Church. Lots of good things have been happening with this book that I never imagined I would write until my sisters asked me to give it a try during my novitiate. One amazing thing that I am excited to share with you is that the first print run of the book has already run out in... Read more
When I lived in the Bay Area in California I visited a women who was experienced in herbal medicine. She was the third in a line of family herbalists. She was not Christian and yet when I mentioned St. Hildegard, her eye’s lit up with delight. She told me that classes for herbal medicine still read the saint’s classic writings on medicine. I have always loved St. Hildegard of Bingen, even when I was away from the Church. I think that... Read more
The recognition of Romero's martyrdom is another acknowledgement that "hatred of the faith" is not limited to "hatred of Christian teachings." Oscar Romero being named as a martyr has real implications for everyday Christians all over the world. Read more
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