I found out today that a baby had died alone. It was all over the news after I got back from running an errand. Parents from downtown Steubenville are accused of leaving a two-year-old child alone in his crib from two in the morning until noon over the weekend. At noon they found him dead, and then the mother went shopping. The judge asked if that mother had any other children, and the answer was yes. She had eight… Read more
August 18, 2020
In Spite of Christians
August 18, 2020 By Mary Pezzulo
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A reading from the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians: If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship… Read more
August 15, 2020
Pavone’s Tweet Is Sacrilege and Bishops Must Act
August 15, 2020 By Mary Pezzulo
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I was going to write about the Virgin Mary today. It’s the Solemnity of the Assumption and I wanted to write one of my weird interesting local color posts about honoring Mary in Steubenville during the pandemic. I still hope to do that, after we pray along with our livestream Mass. But I’m going to have to take a moment to talk about my least favorite topic in the world. Ironically, it’s become the topic that I am most famous… Read more
August 13, 2020
One Last Request for the Summer
August 13, 2020 By Mary Pezzulo
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Hi guys, this is not a real blog post, this is just my monthly reminder that Steel Magnificat and my family run almost entirely on gratuities. I get a tiny paycheck from Patheos for clicks in the United States, which probably won’t even be a hundred dollars this month, and the rest of my living is tips from satisfied readers. Some people tip sign up to tip monthly at the same time like a Patreon, and some people just… Read more
August 12, 2020
The Lady of LaBelle
August 12, 2020 By Mary Pezzulo
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I was at the bus stop with Rosie. Someday, when this is over, I will take her on field trips to Pittsburgh to see the zoo and the dinosaur museum. Now, we go on field trips to the grocery store every so often, carefully masked and stinking of hand sanitizer. It’s the only trip out of the house we have. The grandmother of the Baker Street Irregulars came out of her house with one child. She shouted “Hi, Miss… Read more
August 10, 2020
To Bow and to Bend
August 10, 2020 By Mary Pezzulo
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I have a new garden friend now. I haven’t seen him, but I know he’s there. The other day, I moved Rose’s Fisher Price turtle sandbox which wasn’t filled with sand. She doesn’t play with it anymore, and it had a nice hole in the bottom, so I dragged it into the fenced garden patch and filled it with potting soil to grow carrots. Carrots need nice loose soil or they only grow tiny nubbins instead of long stems…. Read more
August 9, 2020
Christians Must Not Seek Power
August 9, 2020 By Mary Pezzulo
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Today I read an excellent article in the New York Times. You’d be well served to read it yourself. It’s called “Christianity Will Have Power,” a line taken from a speech Donald Trump gave in 2016. The article is an in depth look at the culture of Evangelical Christians in Sioux Falls, Iowa, who have embraced the president as a protector. They seem to feel that their whole culture is in danger, and Trump makes them feel safe. Having a… Read more
August 4, 2020
As the Water Rushes In
August 4, 2020 By Mary Pezzulo
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When I was a little girl I had a picture book of odd children’s stories. One of them concerned a naughty mouse who ended up getting stuffed in a pasteboard box and thrown in the river to drown. The box dissolved as it sunk in the river, and the mouse was able to swim to safety at the last moment. He went back to the house he lived in, and reformed his life. This summer, I feel like my entire… Read more
August 3, 2020
Saint Therese, Stella Immanuel and the Charismatic Renewal
August 3, 2020 By Mary Pezzulo
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You’ve surely all heard by now of Doctor Stella Immanuel, who was praised by certain conservatives for a hot minute when she said she’d cured “hundreds” of people with a certain non-FDA-approved COVID treatment, only to become a laughingstock when more about her eccentric beliefs was made known. She professes that there’s a government conspiracy to develop a vaccine against religious beliefs; she also believes that a host of gynecological sufferings are caused by people having sex with demons and… Read more
July 31, 2020
During a Dangerous Year
July 31, 2020 By Mary Pezzulo
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Rosie is completely over her virus now. She’s out of danger– nothing left but a little fatigue, and a back and shoulder cramp that woke her up last night and hurt again this morning. Those are also much less than they were. She’s going to be fine. A lot of people are not going to be fine. Here in tiny Jefferson County, we’re still getting between two and ten new confirmed COVID cases every day. The gossip on the… Read more
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