Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Mark 10:46–52
Growing up, my family would hold hands and say grace before dinner. We'd pray the familiar, "Bless us, O Lord" and then go around saying our own prayers of thanksgiving and petition. During my 8th grade year, my aunt and her three children came to live with my family for six months. [...]
Dig Deeper into this Sunday’s Gospel: Read Mark 10:42–45
My morning routine is similar to many other women's; there's nothing particularly special about it. Arising before dawn, I take our dog for a nice long walk and then return home to prepare for my family’s morning rush: ensuring backpacks are good to go, [...]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Mark 10:17–30
I was doing everything right—okay, not everything, but most things. I prayed every morning, no matter how exhausted I was. I hauled myself to daily Mass, no matter how inconvenient. I thoroughly examined my conscience, noting the number of times I fell short of God's glory. [...]
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 Deeper 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 Deeper 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. [...]
