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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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…
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The Advent Lesson I Learned From My Son’s Tantrum
This week my 4 year old was drawing a picture. It just wasn’t working out the way he wanted, and thus began a tantrum. Scribbling and yelling and crying ensued. Maybe even a marker was thrown. I took away the markers and the drawing pad and put them out of reach until he could calm down. The tantrum grew worse and he tried to Spiderman his way up the fridge to get his things. I managed to say a quick prayer, because normally I don’t respond well in these situations. And next I found myself calmly rubbing his back and saying (and I can only say this was grace inspired),…
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Did Jesus Just Make a Joke?
Several years ago, I sat in a small chapel at about 11 at night on a retreat. The day had been a long and fruitful one, and I was hesitant to go to sleep and end the day. So there I sat in silence in front of Jesus, not really praying, just sitting. And I realized I was REALLY tired. So I finally said, “Jesus, I’m sorry but I’ve got to go to sleep.” The next second, without a beat, the funniest thought popped into my head. “Well, now I know how John (my husband) feels.” And when you read that, it maybe doesn’t sound funny, but as I heard…
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I Can Only Boast of God’s Grace
A couple of weeks ago, our pastor shared a quote in his homily. Maybe you’ve heard it: “There go I, but for the Grace of God.” No one is quite sure who it is attributed to, but the story goes like this. A criminal is being walked through the streets to his execution, after having being found guilty of theft. The crowds are jeering the thief. Yet one man realizes that without God’s help, he could’ve easily been that criminal being walked to his death. And with eyes raised to heaven is quoted as saying the above statement. As I listened to this story, I quickly went through the litany…
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A Lesson from St. Martha – Following God’s Will for Our Lives Will Bring us Peace
During the summer we are making our way through the largest chunk of Ordinary Time in the Liturgical year. But one of the coolest things about this time of year is the sheer number of saints’ feast days that we celebrate. July is full of them – Bonaventure, Benedict, Maria Goretti, Kateri, Thomas the Apostle, Mary Magdalene, Bridget of Sweden, James, Joachim & Anne, Martha & Lazarus, Ignatius of Loyola. It’s like a who’s who of sainthood! And it’s as if all my friends in heaven have feasts this month! Let me explain. Maybe you are not familiar with all those names. Until a couple years ago, I wasn’t either.…
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Give Thanks to the Lord, For His Mercy Endures Forever
(This post contains an affiliate link, which means I earn a small commission if you shop through the links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Have you read Psalm 136 recently? (Don’t worry – I wouldn’t have known it off the top of my head either.) In my Catholic Journaling Bible, Psalm 136 is called a “Hymn of Thanksgiving for God’s Everlasting Mercy.” This is a great description because the psalmist lists all the wondrous things God has done, followed by the phrase, “for his mercy endures forever,” over and over. FOR 26 VERSES! In an early post, I mentioned that during retreat I was meditating on…
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Why do people claim to be “Catholic?”
Last weekend, my husband and I attended a comedy show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The opener was a comedian I didn’t know named Pat McGann. His material started out funny but quickly turned ugly. He mentioned that he’s “Catholic,” the religion in which nuns beat students and priests molest children, but we don’t ever leave. As his act went on, he did a bit about Holy Communion, and made a sexual joke about receiving the Body of Christ on his tongue. And I felt PAIN! I’m not exaggerating. I felt actual pain as my heart broke for Jesus. Then my righteous anger flared and I was…
