Not Dumb Forever
“God wounds only to heal.” His eyes were filled with compassion, as he spoke these mysterious words. Moments ago, this priest had told me that God was going to answer my prayer for joy (fulfilled first here); now he seemed…
Flowers in the Desert
“Flowers in the desert” my friends and I would call these little graces, gifts of hope or promise during times that seemed dominated by absence. They varied in nature or significance: A chance encounter on a plane. An intriguing new…
Honest to God
Years ago, I was struggling in my faith, longing for the experience of God that others seemed to have but that was lacking in my life despite years of Catholic practice. I knew by faith that God was there the…
Parented By Gratuitous Love
There are many beautiful flowers in the nursery garden, but I am drawn at once to Baby M*. Only a few weeks old, he is the smallest of all, weighing in at only 2.5 kilos—the equivalent of a small sack…
Tea Bags
“I do it myself!” On our family vacation over the 4th of July, two-year-old Zippy is declaring her independence. Her independence produces a lot of work, particularly for my brother Joe, who is a good and attentive father. “I do…
Living the Ellipses
“Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can.” God invites Abram to faith in today’s First Reading. We’ve all marveled at the night sky, contemplating its vastness and the twinkling of bodies light-years away. But some…
Mary Mother of the Church
Several years ago, as I sat praying the rosary, I was reflecting on Our Lady’s request that we pray it “for sinners.” Throughout the centuries, saints have spoken of the power of the rosary to change history, to effect profound…
The King of Glory and the Pink Bunny
I have two distinct memories of our second grade Christmas pageant. The first is of the lyrics to The King of Glory which we sang with such joyful exuberance that we were marched through the hallway to the upper grade…
Who’s At the Door?
When my little friends Nicholas (then 8) and Theresa (6) came to spend a day in New York City, the first stop was my apartment. As we ascended the many stairs to my sixth-floor walk-up, Nicholas exclaimed excitedly, “Cie-Cie you…
The Word That Heals
One day a mother overheard her five-year-old playing “hospital.” Her patient was stretched out on the couch as the little girl touched various parts of her body—head, stomach, throat—pronouncing each time “Body of Christ”, “Body of Christ,” “Body of Christ.”…
