Scripture: A Mother's Lens

There have been many times in my parenting journey when I have been forced off the path of what I had expected Catholic motherhood to look like. My husband and I—intelligent, committed, and devout Catholics—simply assumed that our children would grow up to be the same. Of course, we expected a few *small* deviations from …READ MORE

“Lord, it is good to give thanks to you!”  Along with the psalmist, I ring out my thanks to you, O Lord! Today, on the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, twelve years ago you answered my plea to become a mother. It had been a long journey—a journey filled with years of tests and …READ MORE

Loss is part of the job description. Becoming a mother is both gaining something extraordinary—a child whom you call your own—but also involves exposing yourself to the risk  of loss.  My first loss as a mother was losing my first child. Married only three months, we were already expecting. The news completely changed—for the better—my …READ MORE

The Gospel today is one that I have heard proclaimed hundreds of times while I was growing up. “The Great Commission” it is sometimes called—the moment when Christ says to his disciples, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. I grew up as a Protestant missionary, and this was the command that ordered all …READ MORE

She was about ten years old when her dad married my daughter. Every time they visited, she could not relax as we had dogs, and she was deathly afraid of them. Time passed. Her anxiety and fear never abated. She did get clever at navigating her way into the living room; it was safety because …READ MORE

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us (1 Jn 11-12).  Love one another. This feels like both the easiest and the hardest part of my …READ MORE