Category: Suffering

  • Coping with Regret

    Regret is one of those things that seem to plague everyone’s life in one way or another. None of us is perfect. We have all screwed up at one point or another. Merriam-Webster defines “regret” in two ways. The first is “to mourn the loss or death of; to miss very much.” The second is […]

  • Her Darkest Hour

    Her Darkest Hour Mary sits, holding her dead son as she once held him as an infant. She is in utter pain, suffering the deepest hurt a mother can experience. Yet, even in the darkness, the light is there. God is there – with Mary and with us when all seems lost. This is not […]

  • The Fourth Servant

    In Bible Study this week, we were studying the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-29). Before going away on a long journey, a master calls in three servants. To one he gives five talents; to another, two; to a third, one – to each according to his ability. Much later, the master returns and asks […]

  • Sometimes We Need to Forgive God

    I’m teaching Pre-K through 1st grade CCD this year for my parish. To say that it is a challenge for me would be the understatement of the year. I have fourteen students, most of whom are highly energetic little boys. After sitting through the Children’s Mass, the last thing these children want to do is […]

  • Book Review: One Life

    One Life: Hope, Healing and Inspiration on the Path to Recovery from Eating Disorders by Naomi Feigenbaum Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2009 When I had the opportunity to review “One Life: Hope, Healing and Inspiration on the Path to Recovery from Eating Disorders” by Naomi Feigenbaum, I did so with both interest and fear. I […]

  • Staying Awake with Others

    My eight-year-old son has been having many bad dreams lately. They often come just as he is drifting off to sleep. He will come out of his room and ask me to say the “bad dream protection prayer” again that we say each night and then sit outside his door for a little while. That […]

  • Book Review: Your Personal Apostolate

    Your Personal Apostolate: Accepting and Sharing the Love of God by Michele Elena Bondi Rochester, MI: Joseph Karl Publishing, 2009 “Your Personal Apostolate: Accepting and Sharing the Love of God” is a small book that packs a big punch. Walking in the footsteps of St. Therese of Lisieux and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Michele Elena […]

  • St. Dymphna – The Lily of Fire

    St. Dymphna, sometimes known as “The Lily of Fire,” is the patroness of those suffering from nervous and mental disorders. Her story is rooted in legend and cannot be verified, but the general story is as follows. She was born in 7th century Ireland. By this time, Ireland was almost fully Christian, but her father […]

  • The Thorn and The Hemorrhage

    As I was reviewing this week’s scripture readings I came across quite a juxtaposition between the reading from the second letter to the Corinthians on Sunday (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) in which St. Paul speaks of a “thorn in the flesh” and the Gospel of Matthew on Monday (Matthew 9:18-26) in which a woman who has […]

  • The Holy Spirit Speaks Through the Darkness

    It never ceases to amaze me how the Holy Spirit can speak to us if only we are open to it. We might open a book and find just the passage we need to answer a question that has been bothering us or a friend might call at the monent when life is falling apart […]