making sense of life in the details
We are almost to the one-year anniversary of the time when everything changed. And there’s not a date we can look to, specifically, but there is a feeling we can name when we increasingly understood that something big was happening at this time last year. Maybe it was when you or your dear ones had to... Continue Reading →
Hi friends, I'm five short episodes into the Raised Catholic podcast and I was hoping to get your feedback so I can see if I'm on the right track so far. With the podcast, I am hoping to build a space for cradle Catholics (and others - all are welcome!) who might be struggling with... Continue Reading →
Hi friends, I'm starting a new adventure, a podcast offering which I hope will serve a population that's not getting a lot of care these days. This is for the ones who were raised Catholic but who are now struggling with church while seeking connection with God in these hard times. I hope you'll have... Continue Reading →
I was listening to a podcast which addressed the huge drop in church attendance in America this year. There was a pastor on who explained some of the statistics and the reasons why people aren’t returning to church: fear of getting sick during a pandemic, a break in spiritual habits and patterns, anger at the losses... Continue Reading →
Last Sunday, we gathered in the early morning with some friends who have not returned to our Catholic chapel community since March. We brought chairs and spread them out physically distanced across our sweet friends’ big backyard on a beautiful Sunday morning. We sat in masks, made the sign of the cross, sang, practiced Lectio Divina, prayed... Continue Reading →
Have you ever heard someone say they were “raised Catholic?” or were you raised Catholic yourself? Me too. There’s a lot of us, “raised” from birth as “cradle Catholics”. Strangely, you hear these descriptors far less among people of other faiths. I don’t often hear about people who were “raised“ Jewish, or of “cradle” Protestant Christians or Muslims. The idea... Continue Reading →
Hey there, Catholic friend, I see you. You were brought up with CCD and necco wafer communion and mass. You gave up candy for Lent, ate fish sticks on Fridays, and know the meaning of a Holy Day of Obligation (get thyself to church). Your grandmother or some other sweet church lady used to pray the rosary... Continue Reading →
As a lifelong Catholic, statues have been a part of my faith experience from the beginning. I have worshipped in spaces with statues, watched them paraded on feast days, and seen them adorned with flowers. I have stood in front of dozens of Mary statues and prayed to Our Mother, holding hands of stone and... Continue Reading →
In the past several weeks, it has become clear that American Catholics have both a new opportunity and responsibility to do something with which they may not have a lot of practice: spiritual discernment. In the time since the obligation and practice of mass attendance was suspended in March, individual Catholics have relied on their... Continue Reading →
I spent the afternoon away from home, walking and praying and asking God to speak into my next steps. There is so much up in the air. I’m a preschool music teacher who doesn’t yet know if the schools will open in the fall, or whether there will be funding for my programs, or whether singing... Continue Reading →
