faith

  • Work

    I have been sick for about a month with an upper respiratory illness that has affected how I hear, sing, and breathe, and it’s been hard to do those things in my work as a preschool music teacher, but mostly, I’ve managed. Yesterday, I had to call in sick for the first time in forever,…

  • Obituary

    My Dad and his brother Franny are part of a generation, or maybe just a neighborhood, that is all about honor. Doing the right thing when no one is watching and paying respect are lost arts these days, but it’s part of how they grew up in South Boston in the 1950s and ’60s. It’s…

  • Joy

    Nothing in my circumstances changed, but I could feel something shift, some tiny glowing ember in my spirit today that was new and yet something I recognized from long ago, like an old friend. I felt it grow stronger as I saw the faces at church, so grace-filled and kind and good. I felt it…

  • Mystery

    A mysterious thing happened today. Absolutely wrecked by a hacking case of bronchitis, I sang through an entire funeral Mass for a gathered group of family and friends. I didn’t want my illness to draw attention from what the bereaved were there to do, and so before I began, I just asked God to sing…

  • Bridge

        I was reading about a new suspension bridge that recently opened in China. Called ‘Brave Man’s Bridge’, it is made of ¾ inch glass on a steel frame, is 984 feet long and is just under 55 stories high. It’s suspended across a chasm. Originally intended as a wooden bridge, the builders experimented…

  • Best Worst Mass

      “That was the best worst Mass,” my daughter said at the conclusion of a morning that was filled with mistakes. And she was right. As music ministers during the busy Advent season, we grapple with new Mass parts and seasonal music and we do our best to bring a prayerful spirit to what we…

  • Number Line

    When I was seven or so, we worked with number lines in school, and I remember loving the fluidity of those lines rising above the order and rigidity of the numbers and tick marks at the bottom. I wouldn’t have used those words then, of course. At the time, I would have just said those…

  • A Wake

    When I was a kid, my Dad was always going to wakes. With a stressful day job, three-and-then-four baby girls at home, two sick parents, and an overall busy life, he would frequently drive an hour to attend a wake for five minutes and then drive home. I never understood all of the effort, until…

  • Breathe

    I have a love-hate relationship with my phone. When my daughter was called into the dentist this morning , I did what 98% of us probably do when we’re waiting, or find ourselves with a stretch of free time…I picked up my phone and started scrolling through text messages, emails, facebook, and I was immediately…

  • Renovation

    We made our way to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC with little expectation, other than seeing a really pretty place while exploring the city on our quick family getaway.   As we approached, I found myself awed by this old and holy place nestled within a city that is all about newness, power, money, and prestige.…