… sometimes I think God purposefully isolates us so we are forced to turn to Him for lack of an earthly confidant. At least I tend to think that is how He reaches the more stubborn of His children… myself included. Also, in the silence of forced solitude is when we hear Him best. Read more

Andrea Previtali Read more

… with the Catholic Church! What’s not to love? She has everything. There is a feast day for every occasion, a patron saint to invoke for intercession from everything to cheese to menstrual cramps. There are even devotions galore to suit every spiritual type and need. You could never bore of Her or lament “I have nothing to do, nothing to read, and no one to pray for”. If you do you aren’t trying hard enough. Oh, and She’s diverse.... Read more

… whenever I travel I have a decision to make. Which parish to attend to fulfill my Sunday obligation. This can be a particularly risky venture when visiting a church you are not familiar with. You never know what you’ll get… tambourines and dancing women balancing bowls of incense on their heads. It’s a crapshoot…. if you are a Roman. Being Eastern Rite this isn’t an issue. A Divine Liturgy is a Divine Liturgy is a Divine Liturgy. It saddens... Read more

… poor dear. So misunderstood, even by myself. Out of necessity my life is more as Martha’s; there is always something that needs to be done, cleaned or cooked. I have found my response under fire to grow resentful and look, not without a tad of jealousy, at the contemplative lives of nuns… the Mary’s. Ignorance on my part prevented me from seeing that one is not superior to the other. Just as there is a balance in religious communities... Read more

… more stuff of priests. Pictured barefoot, Capt. Bill Carpenter and members of the 101st Airborne attending an outdoor Catholic mass, Vietnam circa 1966. Officiating priest, Fr. Bruno Mosotti. Read more

… my cousin & I are diabolical when it comes to devising punishments and teaching consequence. Her kids and The Boy lament the unfairness of it all that so many adults should conspire against them. Admittedly, it one of the joys of parenting. Over the years we’ve come up some wonderful doozies; I’ve taken the boy to school in his underwear for refusing to get up and dressed for school on time, her kids have worn light switch plate necklaces... Read more

… I fight my son over the use of his own Nintendo DS to play Harry Potter Lego. Competitiveness reigns supreme in the Crescat Casa. And no. I never let him win. It’s a tough world out there. Read more

… I know it’s not bird seed, but these gals could use you kind financial support. can you imagine… “The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate have a goodly number of vocations; especially sisters who at the moment belong to the “active” branch who have a vocation to the contemplative life.” Photo source. Recipe for a “goodly number of vocations”; some habits and a dash of Latin. Voilà! Read more

… again, not really. Anne Rice is quitting “Christianity” after she reverted to Catholicism from Atheism… what, yesterday. Rice said she was “out”. “In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen,” the author... Read more