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Do We Recognize Jesus?
This week’s Gospel (Lk 24:13-35) features Jesus and two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus walks with them and talks with them and still, they do not realize who is in their midst until he breaks bread with them. One thing the Resurrection appearances of Jesus have in common is that those who first […]
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Book Review: Partners in Holiness
Partners in Holiness: Guardian Angels in the Lives of the Saints by Melaine Ryther I have always found stories of Guardian Angels fascinating. For this reason, I was very excited to have the opportunity to review “Partners in Holiness,” a new ebook by Melaine Ryther that focuses on the role of Guardian Angels in the […]
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Why is St. Anthony’s Help Sought in Finding Lost Things?
Have you ever prayed to St. Anthony to help you find a lost item? This is a practice I learned from my mother when I was a little girl. Whenever something was missing, she encouraged me to seek his intercession. Over the years, St. Anthony has helped me find many, many things. He hears from […]
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Learning to Trust Like St. Joseph
Being a woman, I tend to focus on Mary rather than Joseph when I look at the Holy Family. However, in the season of Advent, Joseph has much to teach us about what it means to wait, trust, and be faithful to God. Joseph was in a difficult situation. The woman he loved and was […]
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Book Review: Take Five – Meditations with John Henry Newman
Take Five: Meditations with John Henry Newman by Mike Aquilina & Fr. Juan R. Velez Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2010 I approached “Take Five: Meditations with John Henry Newman” knowing very little about this recently beatified Cardinal. I finished it wanting to know much more. Cardinal Newman was a “teacher, editor, administrator, and clergyman […]
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Book Review: Marthe Robin and the Foyers of Charity
Marthe Robin and the Foyers of Charity by Martin Blake Nottingham, England: Theotokos Books, 2010 “Marthe Robin and the Foyers of Charity” was written to help introduce more of the English-speaking world to the French Servant of God Marthe Robin, a suffering soul who lived solely for God. Robin lived from 1902-1981 and neither ate […]
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St Teresa of Avila Interior Castle
October 15th is the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila. A Carmelite nun living in the 1500s, one of her most famous works is “Interior Castle” (known as “The Mansions” in her native Spain) which she wrote at the request of her confessor. A mystic who communed intimately with God, she had experienced a […]
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Book Review: “Olivia and the Little Way”
Olivia and the Little Way by Nancy Carabio Belanger Illustrated by Sandra Casali LewAllen Rochester, MI: Harvey House Publishing, 2008 “Olivia and the Little Way” by Nancy Carabio Belanger is a sweet story about a fifth grader who is struggling to follow St. Therese. Her grandmother is the person who first introduces Olivia to the […]
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A New (Old) Take on Sin
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote “We do not offend God except by doing something contrary to our own good.” I came across that quote recently and was struck by both its simplicity and its implications. One traditional act of contrition states “O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you because I dread the […]
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Book Review: “Saint Francis”
Saint Francis (Christian Encounters Series) by Robert West Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010 St. Francis, who lived and preached in the 13th century, is one of Christianity’s most beloved saints. Like many saints, however, time has served to separate him from the actual life he lived. In many minds, he is known only as the lover […]