We’ve been stuck inside for a long, long time, and tempers can flare and maybe we don’t feel as sorry as we should but then Mama calls us in for supper and we run right in or at least we try. (Yes, I actually had to get her unstuck. That mud is not fooling around!) P.S. No sisters were harmed in the making of this photodrama. But they did get muddy. Really, really muddy. Read more
I don’t have the mental energy to rehash everything that’s been said by me, Emma Smith, Leticia Adams, Calah Alexander, or anyone else in the debate over how to talk about fidelity in marriage. If you missed it, you can probably count yourselves lucky! It was a doozy. But for anyone still standing, here’s what I keep thinking of: a passage from The Screwtape Letters. The “patient” — the soul the devil is trying to win — has converted, then failed, then returned... Read more
PIC annunciation From John Herreid, here’s a painting I’ve never seen before: The Annunciation by Master of the Retable of the Reyes Católicos (15th century) Here is a detail, showing the Word of God proceeding from the mouth of the Father: Cross already in hands. Oh, Mary. And a short interview with my daughter, who is almost 5. I am not sure why the conversation started with a discussion of her rabbit Daffodil’s eating habits; and YES I fluffed at... Read more
She unmade the darkness. Read more
I love converts. Doesn’t matter how long you’ve been Catholic, you will learn something by witnessing someone discover the beautiful truths of our faith. Check out this blog I recently discovered, Mackerel Snapper, by Matthew Tyson, who is a young husband and father, a convert with a conservative fundamentalist background, and a man on fire to share what he now knows about the Catholic Church. Read more
PIC split tree bound back together Every day, I bless a merciful God that there was no internet to speak of when I was younger. This means there are no insanely humiliating photos of me in a crop top and acid wash harem pants. It also means that I never published an article like this one in Catholic Exchange: Marriage Is Work. In this piece, which I absolutely would have written as a newlywed, the earnest, not-yet-married Emma Smith hears... Read more
Not gonna write about frozen garbage today, just little green shoots in a cold world. Read more
From “Who is that guy? He looks like a vampire!” to “Fulton Sheen brought my dead son back to life.” Here is my interview with the delightful Bonnie Engstrom of A Knotted Life. Read more
The other day, I was amazed and delighted to hear that I had won second prize in Catholic Vote’s contest. First prize was a trip for two two Rome for the upcoming beatifications, which would have been niiiice, but I am beyond thrilled at what I did win, as top referrer: a spiffy new iPad Mini! PIC iPad “At first I was going to give it to someone, and then I thought I would raffle it for a good cause,... Read more
I bet your husband doesn’t make a recording of it, like mine does. Read more
I Have to Sit Down
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