This past weekend, my husband and I trekked to my parents’ house on an island in New Hampshire. My daughter, son-in-law, and grandson came up, too. My parents–G.G. ( for great grandmother) and Big G, collectively known as the Double Gs–had only met the Very Best Baby briefly, a year ago, when he was just a few months old and the world wasn’t in a pandemic lockdown. Now a toddler, the fella is, well, busy. The Double Gs made... Read more
Working in the church sometimes makes it difficult to remember what the church is for. It can certainly make God feel far away. Sometimes I envision God trapped on the floor of my office, buried under the pile of curriculum magazines, apostolic exhortations, diocesan memos outlining new COVID-19 protocols, and the stagnant energy of all the conflicts that have arisen throughout the week. Sometimes I see him there and try to help him up off the floor. I... Read more
What a week! As I point out to my preschoolers, who are just figuring out how to manage in this world, it is hard work to feel all your big feelings. Let’s just say I worked very hard this week: My daughter eloped. It did not come as a complete surprise, there had been hints for a long time. Still, I was rattled by the shock of emotion at the news. I must confess that there was sorrow at... Read more
When I was a child, we attended Mass at a Dominican convent the next town to the North. The nuns had a different visiting priest almost every week; they came from all over, and brought with them many different traditions, cultures, and approaches to Mass. Two things were always the same: Sister Suzy’s painful organ playing, and the pure white, perfectly round communion wafers, each stamped with a cross. Then, one week when I was about 12, we met Father... Read more
This is the next installment of the Sick Pilgrim series of reflections during this Year of St. Joseph. The Need for Foster Care Foster care serves as a temporary, emergency place for children to safely be cared for while the situation with their biological parent(s) is stabilized. There are many reasons why a child would be removed from their home. Often, a family has a short term crisis–parental illness, incarceration, unemployment, or homelessness. Other families face more complex issues such... Read more
Memorial Day Weekend Nor’easter It is Memorial Day here in the United States. This is the day we honor those we lost serving in our armed forces. Traditionally, there are parades, wreath-laying ceremonies, and somber remembrances. It is also, as my local news station put it, the “Unofficial Start to Summer” marked with barbecues and camping and opening up beach houses for the season and such. Only, here in New England, we have been experiencing a rare spring Nor’easter—a storm... Read more
Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live? (Deut. 4:33). Last Sunday morning, I reflected that it would be the first time in twenty-five years as a Catholic that I wouldn’t be receiving Communion during the Easter season. The dispensation is still in effect in the Diocese of San Diego, so this wasn’t as bad as it sounds, but it was still a jolt to me to... Read more
It feels like we are ALL graduating this year! You may know that my day job is teaching at the lab school of a Highly Respected University in the Northeast, where I teach preschoolers, and supervise undergraduates who work or observe in my classroom throughout the year. My side gig is as an adjunct professor at the State University where I earned my master’s degree, teaching undergraduates and graduate students in the education department. I’ve been an educator for... Read more
“Granted, this is not a world that keeps us. Granted, there are some sadnesses in which I do not long for God.” – Mary Szybist I’d run out of Mass again. The third Sunday in a row. As the liturgy of the word gradually unfolded into the liturgy of the Eucharist, the bile rose in my throat. An apologetic look over to my then-husband, who was wrangling our three young children, and I bolted to the back. In the... Read more
Ever have that feeling that you can’t shake that you forgot something? Ever wake up in the middle of the night realizing that for the second week in a row you completely forgot to write your weekly Things Keeping Us Going post? I have no excuses to make. I have reminder notices, a publishing calendar, and a co-editor/sisterfriend who works with me to keep track of all of this stuff. I just blew it. Twice. I have no idea why.... Read more
Sick Pilgrim
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