Speaking of the Devil, and Aliens

Last updated on: June 5, 2026 at 1:19 pm By Mary Pezzulo

The talk on social media has been about demons, and aliens. We all know that, due to my upbringing in the Charismatic Renewal, talk of demons makes me twitchy. But this particular discourse stopped being frightening and went all the way over into broad comedy. It seems that there was a “celebrity exorcist,” two words that shouldn’t ever go into the same sentence, in the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, who was being particularly ridiculous. Celebrity exorcists are always ridiculous. In... Read more

The Name of the Rule is Compassion

Last updated on: June 4, 2026 at 7:22 pm By Mary Pezzulo

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Willow the cat lives under the porch. I pretend not to know she is there. I can’t possibly afford another cat. I really can’t even afford Charlie the traumatized cat who came to live with me last April. Technically, this house is not even supposed to have a cat, but the landlord smiled when he met her. She lives outdoors guarding the garden during the day, and comes in the side door to sleep in the cellar at night.... Read more

On Orange Juice, Neighbors, and Vocation

Last updated on: June 3, 2026 at 11:55 pm By Mary Pezzulo

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I was just sitting down to write when there was a knock at the door. It was The Princess, in yet another ballet tutu and mismatched Crocs. “I’ll bet you’d like a Popsicle again,” I said. “No,” she said, grinning. “I want orange juice.” We did happen to have some orange juice. I fetched her a cup, and got back to work for approximately five minutes. Then, of course, the shrieking started, and I had to go back out. Jimmy’s... Read more

On the Death of Joe Negri

Last updated on: June 2, 2026 at 12:05 pm By Mary Pezzulo

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I saw on the news that Joe Negri had died. I wasn’t exactly surprised. He was nearly a hundred years old, after all. It’s surprising that he’d lived that long. Still, I was terribly sad. I’ve written so many times about how much Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood affected me, as a child. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on the rug, uncomfortably close to my father’s fuzzy old television with the two dials instead of a remote, watching... Read more

Pope Leo is Talking, and the World is Listening

Last updated on: May 31, 2026 at 12:33 am By Mary Pezzulo

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I am reading “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding The Human Person In The Time Of Artificial Intelligence,” Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical. It’s very good. I am reading extremely slowly because I have other deadlines this week, but I hope to talk to you about it in a few days. Just now, I only want to react to the way people are REACTING to “Magnifica Humanitas.” This post is not about the encyclical, only the dialogue. EVERYONE has an opinion... Read more

To be Catholic is to be Yourself

Last updated on: May 28, 2026 at 9:32 pm By Mary Pezzulo

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Wednesday Was the Eighth Grade Graduation. Adrienne has done wonderfully. Once I pulled the plug on homeschooling and put her in a public school, she began to shine. She taught herself ways to get around the dyslexia that astonished me, and quickly became the fastest reader with the best comprehension in class. She was moved from the normal classes up to the honors section and still maintained that flawless academic record. She tested into 100-level college courses which the... Read more

To Worship, And Doubt

Last updated on: May 19, 2026 at 11:26 pm By Mary Pezzulo

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A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew: The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to... Read more

On Sacraments, Lemonade, and the Ascension of the Lord

Last updated on: May 18, 2026 at 11:51 pm By Mary Pezzulo

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Nothing went the way that it should, and that was a mercy. It all began with the catalytic converter– or, rather, the lack of a catalytic converter. Jimmy was curious as to why my car still ran so loudly and smelled so terrible after the engine replacement last year. He examined the underside of the car, which is when he found out that I did not have a catalytic converter, just a pipe. Ohio doesn’t have emissions inspections, so... Read more

The Princess of LaBelle

Last updated on: May 14, 2026 at 11:34 pm By Mary Pezzulo

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The Princess first came to LaBelle last summer, and stayed for months. She was a tiny little girl, barely bigger than a toddler, the granddaughter of a friendly man who lives down the street. Every single day she would wear some emblem of royalty with her clothing: a plastic crown from the dollar store, or a pair of gauze fairy wings, or a pink satin dress-up princess dress over fuzzy pajamas. She never left the house without her... Read more

The River, the Kingdom, the Cliff

Last updated on: May 13, 2026 at 11:48 pm By Mary Pezzulo

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I met a new friend at nearly midnight, last weekend. Michael had just gotten off a late shift. It was quite dark and chilly. One of his regular customers was still in the restaurant as he ate his dinner after a twelve hour shift. The customer was on the phone, arguing loudly with a cab company. I suppose that Steubenville is the only place on earth where you can’t get an Uber or a Lyft. Back when I didn’t have... Read more

What Christian tradition is noted for its belief in nonresistance and simple living?