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  • Meeting Jesus – Raised Catholic episode 9

    The following is a transcript from the Raised Catholic podcast. To listen to the podcast, click here. Today is episode 9: Meeting Jesus Well, hello friends. If you were born and raised Catholic, you may have heard the phrase ‘personal relationship with Jesus’ and maybe had a few thoughts about it:  1. Um, that’s a…

  • Saturday

    On this Holy Saturday, I ran from a couple of heavy disappointments and pain to the refuge of a pasture. As I sit here watching the wind in the pines and the gray clouds move across the sky, I wonder when it will all be set right. When will the sun appear? When will it…

  • Prodigal

    Prodigal

    During Lent, we hear a lot about how God is knocking on the door of our hearts.   My husband and a few friends are on a cursillo retreat weekend as I type these words, and I know it’s a theme they’ll look at as well. God knocks, and we let him in. Seems simple enough,…

  • Small

    Small

    I met and held the teeniest, tiniest, most perfect baby today. She was so impossibly light, both in luminescence and weight that it was hard to believe I was holding a real live person; she is so small. As a Mom of college kids, it’s easy to forget. My two babies were small once, just…

  • Re-fine

    Re-fine

    A teacher I work with stopped me on my way out of class this morning and offered me a hug. “You didn’t seem yourself when you sang at church on Sunday, and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” The truth is, I’m not. Friends, I’ll preface this by saying it’s not the most…

  • Arrive

    Arrive

    During the quiet, still time of a yoga class known as savasana, I often experience a picture or clarity that helps me make sense of where I am in life. For a long time, savasana brought me a picture of myself in the deep water, and showed me the ways God was revealing Himself and…

  • Clock

    Clock

    As the school year winds down and the graduation ceremonies and parties gear up, you hear the same parental refrain: Make Time Stop. And I get it, I felt similar emotions when my oldest was graduating from high school. Then, I was gathering up moments from babyhood through elementary school and beyond and holding them…

  • Life

    Life

    As the calendar got ready to flip to April and the promise of spring, I was sick. On Holy Thursday, I croak-sang through six preschool music classes and by the time I got to mass that afternoon, I was mouthing the words to every song. My duties as a music teacher had spent the last…

  • 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…

  • Ordained

    Ordained

    Late last night, I was reading my kindle next to my sleeping husband when I suddenly felt the presence of God. To me, it feels like a lightness in my chest and an overwhelming peace and awe. I’ve been fortunate to experience this a few times in my life, but, honestly, it had been a…