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  • Romans 8:28

    Romans 8:28

    When we were little, we lived on the third floor of a triple-decker on Elmer Road in Dorchester. My mother told the story of one day up there with us: a four-year old, three-year old me, and our six-month old baby sister. Mom had gotten the groceries and three children up the three flights of…

  • Hands

    When Martha and Mary lost their brother, Lazarus, and heard that Jesus was on the way to see them, they had two very different reactions. Martha went out to meet Him, while Mary remained sitting in the house. This is no surprise. After all, Martha is the sister who cooked, cleaned, and prepared everything when…

  • Mud

    I am driving my priest friend crazy. I come to him with the things I need fixed and I ask why God won’t fix them, and he comes back with the whole “free will” thing, and I wonder why in the world I am even praying, and say I need an all-powerful God, and my…

  • Savasana

    I woke up from a bone-chilling nightmare and got ready for a morning yoga class. Still shaking from the all too real dream, it was impossible to leave all of my thoughts outside the room, as our instructor had suggested. I carried that thing with me through warm-ups, sun salutations, warrior poses, triangles, and spinal…

  • Thread

    Thread

    I was having trouble sleeping with too many thoughts churning around in my brain. So much is happening in the lives of the people I love, and praying for them didn’t feel like enough. I wanted to place them, physically, in the arms of God. Since I couldn’t do that, I tried something else. I…

  • Thoughts and Prayers

    When I heard the news yesterday about yet another school shooting, something shifted in me. My first thought: oh, how horrible. My second: those poor families. My third: this is not going to change. As could be expected, today there are calls for stricter gun laws, increased mental health services, school security, and more. Just…

  • Wait

    Wait

    In early December, I bought five amaryllis plants for three friends and I to plant in pots in our kitchens. I kept two for myself, and even as I made that choice, it seemed superfluous. The amaryllis bulbs were meant to teach and remind us that God works under the surface, that He can make…

  • Carried

    It had been four days of flu as I went to sleep last night, the night before the secondary pneumonia and sinus infections were diagnosed. I fell exhausted into bed, slightly lighter than I have been due to almost a week’s worth of suppressed appetite. My head hit the pillow and as I breathed shallowly,…

  • Late

    I was in second grade, and it was nearing the end of the school day when Ms. Giovanangelo asked if I would bring a paper to the office. Kids were putting on coats all around me, and it was clear the bell would ring at any minute. And though I was a high-achieving, compliant, rule-following…

  • Up

    Up

    On the way home from a walk or run, I’ll often stop at the statue of Mary in front of our neighborhood chapel and pray. If I stand in front of her, I put my hands in hers as I ask for her intercession on my two children. I pray that she will be a…