Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Mark 9:38–43,45,47–48
In high school, I was a wannabe popular girl. I desperately wanted to be part of the elite social circle of the prettiest and most athletic girls, and I spent my high school days slowly climbing the social ladder until, [...]
Dig Deeper into this Sunday’s Gospel: Read Mark 9:30–37
This time of year is particularly rough for me, spiritually and emotionally.
As the calendar inches toward October, a season of holiday planning and preparation for many, I find myself bracing for the emotional challenges that lie ahead. [...]
Dig Deep into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Mark 8:27–35
Every Sunday after Mass, my husband and I join my parents for breakfast at a Connecticut diner—the restaurant known for its giant cow on the roof. It's not our style of decor, but boy, do we love the eggs and coffee! [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Mark 7:31–37
As the mother of five small children, meltdowns are expected. What isn't expected, however, is that I, the mother, the adult, should be having them, but that's what happened yesterday. My family was doing fine as I embarrassingly and humiliatingly melted down over what should have been a joy-filled day. [...]
Dig Deep into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Mark 7:1–8,14–15,21–23
Whenever Jesus addresses the Pharisees in Scripture, my conscience is pricked, and my heart is stirred. My love for tradition, ritual, and rules can lead me to be overly scrupulous of myself and others, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 6:60–69
My fourteen-year-old son is in a really fun phase of adolescence. Please note my sarcasm.
He loves to ask, “Why?” when either my husband or I ask him to do something like finish a chore he already knows he has to do, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 6:51–58
A photograph hangs on my office wall. It is a snapshot I was grateful to capture just steps away from my front door: a nest of three baby birds, featherless and fragile, with eyes looking toward heaven and beaks wide open. [...]
Dig Deep into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 6:41–51
As I contemplate tomorrow’s gospel passage, I keep being drawn to the word “murmur.” Perhaps it’s because I find myself murmuring, or complaining, more often than I’d like to admit.
Murmuring—a complaint uttered in a low and indistinct tone; [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 6:24–35
Hunger pangs. We’ve all felt them. At one point or another, we’ve all been that girl sitting in the middle of a meeting or a test, embarrassed and red-faced because those loud, obnoxious growling noises aren’t somebody’s pet chihuahua hiding under the table. [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Mark 6:30–34
It’s summer! And so we must be sipping iced tea, having manicured nails in lovely shades of pink, achieving a perfect golden bronze tan. We must also be watching sunsets, anticipating our family vacation to the Cape, eating ice cream while maintaining the ideal figure, [...]
