Equity, diversity, bias, systemic racism, institutional oppression – Quite frankly, I don’t have the education, knowledge or experience to write intelligently about racism or any of these related concepts. Although they are all important concepts that, as Catholics, we have an obligation to learn about. However, I want to discuss one concept that does directly apply to my life and that of many of my readers – “white privilege.” This is a bit of a long post, so I hope you’ll stick with me. The term “white privilege” is actually a morally neutral idea. It is simply the concept that as white people we have certain social and economic advantages…
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Am I Not Here Who Am Your Mother?
I have been having difficulty sleeping the last few weeks, as I mentioned last post, lying awake for hours in the middle of the night. During this sleeplessness I’ve begun reciting the rosary. Something about the repetition and meditative nature eventually lures me back to sleep. In his book, The World’s First Love, Venerable Bishop Sheen explains that with every Hail Mary we are essentially “saying to God, the Trinity, to the Incarnate Savior, to the Blessed Mother: I love you, I love you, I love you.” And he gives a beautiful description of the power of the rosary to calm the soul: “The very rhythm and sweet monotony induce…
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Stop Holding On To The Way Things Were And Trust in God
It’s been 10 days since my last grocery delivery, and we don’t have much fresh produce left. I had bought 4 bags of Caesar salad mix (the kids’ favorite), two heads of lettuce, 10 mini cucumbers and 2 containers of cherry tomatoes. All gone within a couple days! It’s the strangest phenomenon. Apparently, everyone in this family now wants to eat salad. Three kids who are generally good eaters, but don’t usually clamor for salad, now eat two or three helpings at a meal. I was hoping to have salad for lunches for John and I at least for a few days longer. So, if I’m honest, I was feeling…
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You Do Not Understand Now, But You Will Understand Later
Last night I went for a walk around the neighborhood, a new regular quarantine activity for me. I saw a meme the other day that said, “You know you’re an introvert when you need ALONE TIME…during quarantine.” Yep! Sounds about right! Anyway, I went for my “alone time” walk right before sunset. Despite a heavy cloud cover, there was a clear area of sky just above the horizon, and the sun was gleaming in gold and orange and pink. It was really glorious, and the sun made the Hudson Valley hills look like they were on fire in deep crimson and reds. Then I realized that the random shuffle of…
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When We Weep, It Is Our Lord Who Weeps With Us
A Reflection on John 11:1-44 Over the weekend the weight of our current situation began to take a toll on me. I felt myself on the verge of tears, and I needed some time alone. So, I went for a long walk around our neighborhood. When I walk I often use that time to pray – I pour out my thoughts to God, tell Him how I am feeling, what’s going on, asking for His help with things. This time I prayed for grace and strength, and I wept. The tears just kept coming. My mother’s heart felt burdened by the need to protect our children, overwhelmed by this sudden…
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This is Our Three Days. This is Our Holy Week.
Everything is so strange. Who can wrap their heads around what is happening right now in the world?! And now Masses have been cancelled in many dioceses around the United States, including here in the Archdiocese of NY. You must understand that I love the Eucharist, and Sunday Mass is my favorite part of the week. Without Mass, and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, I don’t know what I would do. Yet, I can understand this directive. I am one of those in the at risk population due to immunosupressing medication. I am grateful that this action is being taken. You can disagree with me. Many people do. But my…
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Experiencing the Divine Transfigures Us
My Meditation for our Lenten Lectio Divina series, Week 2, on The Transfiguration (Matthew 17) Every time I enter into the Presence of Jesus in the tabernacle, I say the same prayer, “Lord, it is good that we are here,” which is Peter’s response when he sees Jesus transfigured. I began saying this prayer several years ago, when I first used lectio divina with the passage, and that was the phrase that struck my heart. I totally understood what Peter meant when he said it. To be in the presence of the Divine is a complete gift. There is literally no place I’d rather be and I thank Him for…
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God’s Hand Rests Upon Me: A Meditation on Psalm 139
We just finished up the first week of our Lectio Divina Lenten prayer group. This week we meditated on Psalm 139. This psalm includes the very familiar verse, “You knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made.” Sometimes when a verse or story is so familiar, I worry that I won’t be able to gather anything new from praying with it. But that always proves to be an unfounded worry. The first thing I noted as I read through this psalm was that I felt comforted by the words of the psalmist. The words are showing us that God truly knows us. God is…
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A Lenten Lectio Divina Prayer Group
This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you shop through the links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Lectio Divina? What is that, you may be thinking. Well, it’s just a fancy Latin phrase that means “holy reading.” It is a traditional form of prayer during which we meditate on scripture passages. It’s really not intimidating, although it sounds like it is. I’m not going to explain Lectio Divina in depth, as you can find more than enough info in a web search. But I’d like to introduce the idea of “holy reading” as a Lenten practice. Several years ago, I began simply reading the…
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You Have Received a Spirit of Adoption
I recently saw an acquaintance at Mass whom I’ve never seen at our church before. She was waiting near the sacristy and was holding her infant, so I was pretty sure she was meeting with our pastor to discuss baptism. When I next saw this woman, she began to tell me that our pastor is strongly suggesting that they return to Mass before baptizing the baby. Her negative tone of voice and body language makes me certain that she was expecting me to commiserate with her situation. A few months ago, when my husband John and I were assisting at a parish baptism prep classes, we were talking about how…
