Sister Catherine Holum is a religious with the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, the female portion of Fr. Benedict Groeschel’s gang of merry men and women. She is also a former Olympic speed skater. Her story is not unknown, but with the Olympics coming up, it’s nifty to share: “My mother, Dianne Holum, was an Olympic speed skater and Olympic speed-skating coach,” says Sister Catherine. “She has four Olympic medals, and she coached for 25 years, including three Olympic teams.... Read more
Back in October of 2009 I asked, Does Obama Know Who We Are? Obama is an American President who is not particularly American in character or disposition. He seems not to really understand Americans, or their way, which is a way peculiar to the rest of the word, at once shallow and heroic, capable of great materialism and breathtaking self-sacrifice. […] The American mind is a duality of sorts. A country founded by displaced nobles and built by the strongest... Read more
I think so. Joanne McPortland continues to say the stuff I want to say but so much better than I can say it: Conservative critics, especially of academia, have made much over the years of the Tyranny of Tolerance, the ways in which thoughtful exchange among those who differ is purposely derailed by accusations of privilege and claims of victim status, examined for evidence of political incorrectness with a scrupulosity usually reserved for clerks of the Spanish Inquisition. I am... Read more
When my niece was a teenager, I couldn’t tell which (or if any) of the boys in the roving gang she hung out with was a guy she was actually dating. Turned out there was one fellow who was “hers” and we had a long confusing chat about how no one “dates” anymore. People “went out”, which was different from “seeing each other” but that didn’t mean they were dating, which apparently was completely passe. I never could get a... Read more
While you’re laying on the floor groaning for all those hours? You really get a sense that the 40 year old bathroom needs to be redone. A winter project! “By my troth, Nerissa, my little body is aweary of this great world.” Read more
The lovely and tireless Sr. Mary Catharine of The Dominican Nuns of Summit sent this my way, and I knew I had to share it with you, particularly in light of all the “nun news” and the sometimes caustic remarks people can make about sisters whose communities are not habited. No one appreciates a good old habit better than I, but I know too many good, faithful sisters in streetclothes to get all uppity about it. I can’t embed the... Read more
Margaret Rose Realy is a master-gardener, and I like to read her stuff, because it seems to me she’s managed to glean some gentle wisdom while out there among the seedlings, weeds and flowers. Today, she writes of a tree she encountered along a lonely road: As I neared I saw the tree had been broken in two. The sight of a tree split in half is not uncommon, but to see one split like this and flowering profusely was... Read more
About a year ago, Pat Gohn and I were chatting via skype about work-related issues, when the subject came around to our kids. I mentioned that my older son was, that very day (and after a discouraging two year search) interviewing for a job that seemed perfect for him. Although I felt strongly that the Holy Spirit was at work, and that the job was “meant” for him, I suppose my voice still betrayed some tension; Pat picked up on... Read more
Via Read more
Happy Feast Day of Saint Benedict! Vision of Saint Benedict (c.1360). Giovanni del Biondo (fl.1356-1392). Tempera on wood. © Art Gallery of Ontario. PMA:J99.1089. Saint Benedict marvels at the smallness of the world, in contrast with the immensity and appeal of heaven. About an hour’s ride from Rome, one reaches Subiaco, and there one may visit the cave where Benedict of Norcia, 1400 years ago, spent time in isolated prayer (I touched my rosary to its walls!) and marvel over... Read more
The Anchoress
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In