Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 20:19–31
A young Catholic wife and mother used Instagram to document her husband's journey with brain cancer. Illness took him far too soon, leaving her with the daunting responsibility of raising four children while simultaneously picking up a million shattered pieces of the life she loved. [...]
Dig Deeper into this Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 20:1–9
My husband and I recently visited the beaches of Normandy. On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces stormed the beaches to overtake the German troops which occupied France.
As we drove toward that sacred site, we told stories that we knew about the war. [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 26:14–27:66
One of my favorite things about being a woman is the way in which our universal experience of both heartache and joy can connect our hearts even when we don’t know each other well. I just had that kind of an experience with a woman long dead, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 11:1–45
As I wrestled with my faith as a young twenty-year-old, one of the things I had trouble grasping was the concept that God knew and loved me personally. I had no trouble accepting that there was a God, [...]
Dig Deeper into this Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 9:1–41
I walked out on God. On Easter Sunday.
I was sitting in Mass, my husband at my side. The pews were full, as was usual for Easter Sunday. An infant behind us let out a wail just as we stood up for the processional hymn. [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read John 4:4–42
I recently started leading a middle school discipleship group at my parish. Being with 11- to 13-year-olds (two of whom are my children) has reminded me just how much we all have a need to belong. Arguably no one deals with insecurity and the need to belong more than middle schoolers. [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 17:1–9
The summer before my senior year of college, I was interning for a member of the U.S. Congress when our office was ushered in to hear a guest speaker on Capitol Hill. Erik Weihenmayer had endured a difficult childhood, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 4:1-11
Brené Brown confessed on her Unlocking Us podcast that when praying at Mass, she likes to change the words of some of the prayers so that they make more sense to her. “I always say in the Lord's prayer 'deliver us from fear and shame' instead of 'deliver us from evil.'” She agreed with her guest that “lead us not into temptation implies that God leads us into temptation.”[1] I can understand how people often misinterpret the Bible, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 5:38-48
Would you rather simply fulfill an obligation, check a box and move on, or exceed expectations and go above and beyond?
When it comes to gift giving, I’m all about fulfilling the obligation and no more. I do the bare minimum for Christmas and birthdays to ensure that my loved ones aren’t disappointed. [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 5:17-37
I’ve been walking through a set of circumstances where I’ve had a really hard time knowing the right thing to say and do in my interactions with people I love very much. This has been a strange thing for me; [...]
