Genius of the Call

My children love playing dress-up and are in costume of some sort more often than not. I have taken a lion to the dentist, a cheetah to the park, Elsa to the grocery store, Mother Mary to the beach. A four-year-old police officer spent Christmas afternoon arresting her uncles. I don’t begrudge their constant imaginary …READ MORE

Right in the midst of all our Christmas rejoicing, the Church almost seems in a hurry to remind us that we’re not quite out of the “valley of tears” yet. Just as our mourning is always tempered with rejoicing— after all, Christ is already victorious—so also today our rejoicing is tinged with sadness. The Church …READ MORE

Some days you don’t feel the joy, and your motherhood doesn’t feel like a blessing. Some days you don’t feel like praying, and you don’t feel God speaking or moving in your life.  That’s okay.  God knows those days will come, and he knows how thankful you are for your motherhood, even when you don’t feel …READ MORE

There was once an ardent atheist of Jewish heritage who was challenged by an acquaintance to wear the miraculous medal for a month and to say the Memorare twice each day. Being a religious skeptic, the atheist initially scoffed at the challenge, but then accepted it in order to prove how little it would matter.  …READ MORE

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Liturgically, I have other favorites, but Thanksgiving has always been a special time for me and my family. Growing up, we often had to go without. Food was often scarce, although we were never starving, and I rarely knew what it was like to feel full. My mom always worked …READ MORE

What if Mary wasn’t a morning person? What if she woke up each morning in a somewhat crabby mood, just desperately searching for the coffee, so she could slam a cup of instant energy in order to manage the kid? What if Jesus, unaware of Mary’s coffee needs, chased his mother around the house, grabbing …READ MORE