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; [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 5:13-16
As a freshman in college, my faith hit rock bottom. The middle school and high school version of myself, who volunteered to teach faith formation and who looked forward to religion class, seemed like a distant memory. Instead, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 5:1-12
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”[1]
These lines from C.S Lewis’ beloved book, The Lion, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 4:12–23
I was just starting to take my faith seriously in my late 20s. I joined the mom’s group at my parish so I could be encouraged (and influenced) by women who seemed to have the Catholic thing down. [...]
