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Book Review: Reflections of God’s Holy Land
Reflections of God’s Holy Land: A Personal Journey through Israel by Eva Marie Everson and Miriam Feinberg Vamosh Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2008 The vast majority of us will never have the opportunity to take a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to walk where the patriarchs, prophets, Jesus, and the apostles traveled. Thanks to this […]
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The History and Symbolism of the Advent Wreath
The lights of the candles on the Advent Wreath break through the darkness, reminding us of the Light of Christ that we anticipate during this holy season. Where did this tradition come from, of lighting four candles in an evergreen wreath to mark the weeks preceding Christmas? Like many of our Church traditions, the use […]
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Freedom From Want – Making the Dream a Reality
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. (Mt 25:35) The items come trickling in a few a time. Parishioners turn in the food items as they go into Church. This goes on all year long at my parish to support our parish food pantry, begun […]
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Book Review: Real Women, Real Saints
Real Women, Real Saints: Friends for Your Spiritual Journey by Gina Loehr Cincinnati, OH: Servant Books, 2008 Gina Loehr has compiled a wonderful collection of women saints’ biographies in “Real Women, Real Saints: Friends for Your Spiritual Journey.” Loehr, who has a master’s degree theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville, writes that “sanctity will never […]
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Saints for Married Women
While reading some lives of the saints to my children recently, my older son remarked, “Most of the saints are nuns and priests.” It’s true. Read through a list of saints, and the vast majority of them have had religious vocations. Another group was married at some point, but their spouses died and then the […]
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“The Popes of Avignon”
The Popes of Avignon: A Century in Exile by Edwin Mullins Bluebridge, 2008 The Popes of Avignon: A Century in Exile is a must-read for anyone interested in Church history, especially that seventy-year period (1308 – 1378) in which the papacy took flight from Rome and set up residence in Avignon. Edwin Mullins does a […]
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Loving our Fellow Mothers: How to End the Mommy Wars
The greatest commandment tells us to “Love God and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.” Sometimes it seems that the hardest “neighbors” for us mothers to love are our fellow mothers. The “mommy wars” are so much a part of life. If a group of mothers gets together and any parenting subject comes up, chances are […]
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Learning to Love
It would seem that love just comes naturally, and so it does. Babies come into this world hard-wired to attach to their mothers. We also have a natural drive once we reach puberty to search out a mate. Yet, for many, the ability to feel and/or show true healthy love has been diminished due to […]
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When Moms Fail
by Heidi Hess Saxton I recently came across this article from ABC News (http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=9163584&nav=menu554_2_3), about an adoptive mother who has been sentenced to fifteen years in prison for the March 2008 death of her 14-month-old son, who had Down syndrome. The family had adopted little Nicoli and another four-year-old from Russia; both boys were medically fragile. […]
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In Search of Grace
“Grace” is one of those terms we often use without being quite sure of what it means. As a child, I was taught about being in a “state of grace” which meant that one hadn’t committed a mortal (a.k.a. serious) sin. As an adult, I’ve heard grace described as something we can tap into whenever […]