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…

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…

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…

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…

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…