Author: megbski

  • From Uncle Wendell to Don Bosco

    Thank you The Simple Catholic for letting me share part of my family and heart with your audience. Building community in Christ is important. We uphold the lineage we have with our family of origin by sharing stories of those we have lost. As children of God, we are also…

  • Where Truth and Love Meet

    Where Truth and Love Meet

    This past Saturday, I gave a talk at the beautiful Carmel Retreat Center for Spirituality in Liberty, Tennessee to the third order Carmelites in our area. They meet every month for first Saturdays and these die-hards do an hour of devotion in front of the Blessed Sacrament, an hour of…

  • Turn Out

    Turn Out

    Sometimes in order to move on we need to re-center our core.

  • I Could Have Done More

    Forgive the length of this, my friends. I cannot do justice to my mom and God without sharing all of the little graces and miracles that have happened. I think it will be worth your time and give you confidence in God and His hand upon you. The past two…

  • “Instrument Rated” Val Cullers

    This is a blogger friend of mine who writes with such clarity and soundness that I have found comforting in times of difficulty. I hope you enjoy her writing as much as I do.

  • Pumpkin Festival Epiphany

    Pumpkin Festival Epiphany

    Our little “Hallmark town” in Franklin, TN has a few festivals each year. It’s hard to say which one is more appealing. We have the “Dickens of a Christmas” festival in early December, complete with roasted chestnuts and Victorian era costumes. In April we have the Main Street Festival, which…

  • Woe-is-me-isms For Good

    This summer has had its challenges. I have been whining a lot to you all lately, so hopefully you can bare with me in a few paragraphs to see what God did with me, when I asked Him to help as He always does, and make use of my sadness.…

  • The Banyon Tree

    Spreading roots that straddle wideshelter made for one to hideshadedtangledstaggered ‘roundcrawling, twining just ‘neath the groundarms of roots that reach for helpseem to hold each other uplike a great family they stretch bonding tight, not one lone wretch,as if a clan unified,appears as a forest dignified. Yet all these “branches”…

  • Exuberant Joy Unwanted

    Exuberant Joy Unwanted

    From dusty little seeds to exuberant childlike joy, the Holy Spirit shows up this week to lead the way to what we need, which may not always be what we think we want.

  • Anguish or Suffering?

    Anguish or Suffering?

    In my research for this post, I came across this beautiful blogger, Christina Chase. I am so enamored by her perseverance and her hope, I hope you will check her out. I had something on my heart and I wanted to write about a conversation my friend Missi and I…

  • Now I Begin

    Now I Begin

    The human tendency toward frustration with ourselves is nothing new. Consider the writings of Venrable Bruno Lanteri and the latin words that seem to be trending for Catholics these days, Nunc Coepi.

  • When I Cried, the Lilies Took Over

    When I Cried, the Lilies Took Over

    The Creator of the Universe made it all and called it “good.” He knows what we can and cannot do and built in extra help for when we can’t. Creation shows us how.

  • Humpty Dumpty

    Humpty Dumpty

    Humpty Dumpty was a character who seemed to have little hope. We chose four images of hope to pray with this Holy Week from Pope France’s Catechesis on Hope.

  • Direct Our Hearts Aright

    Direct Our Hearts Aright

    “May the working of your mercy, O Lord, we pray, direct our hearts aright, for without your grace we cannot find favor in your sight.” (Collect for Mass, Saturday March 16, 2024) Discernment During Prayer; a side note I am going to do something a little different in this post.…

  • Mise En Place

    Mise En Place

    Everything is coming together just as should.

  • Because You Have a Crack in Your Foundation

    I recently went to Atlanta with my daughter who was hired for a film project that did not go according to plan. We were heading home after several rainy days in a hotel waiting on news of where and when we needed to be on set which changed constantly. We were…

  • Just Hang On

    Less than a year ago we were in a state of loss and tragedy. There was a great deal of darkness in our lives on many levels. We are still grieving the losses but light has finally entered in and the hope we desperately clung to has bloomed into a…

  • Listen, Ponder, Trust

    I was reading the story of Samuel and Hannah in today’s readings (1 Samuel 1:24-28 and 1 Sam 2:1-8 as our Psalm) and thinking about Hannah. She waited her whole life for a baby and was told she never would have one. God gave her one despite the non-believers that…

  • The People in Darkness

    The People in Darkness

    Advent is a great time to pray with this line from Isaiah.

  • Beat Steady

    Beat Steady

    For Didi.

  • Asking for Help from a Mother Who Knows  | Lois Kerschen

    Asking for Help from a Mother Who Knows  | Lois Kerschen

    Seeking prayers from a mom who knows….

  • The White Star

    The White Star

    Looking through lenses of faith during the Feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary makes it easy to see the Holy Spirit at work in the little moments.

  • God, My Tesla

    Overcoming My Mistakes: 99% God vs1% Me My Spiritual Director and I love to hash out a metaphor for the spiritual life. She was telling me that when she was in grad school, her professor walked into the room and drew a huge “99%” on the white board. Then a…

  • God the Investor

    As I recover from major surgery, I decided to pull out a draft from last fall that I particularly like because although it isn’t timely to the season of Easter, it is always relevant to the way we are stewarding the gifts God has given us to build His Kingdom.…

  • The Four Degrees of Love: Part 4

    The final part of a four part series based on a study session with St Bernard and the Four Degrees of Love.

  • Saying Goodbye to Papa

    Saying Goodbye to Papa

    Mothers are our universe, but dads make or break us.

  • Where is God waiting for YOU?

    Where is God waiting for YOU?

    Where is God connecting the dots of your life? I am finding my faith and writing are starting to intersect with drawing and painting! Comment with your answer!

  • The Four Degrees of Love: Part 3

    As this is a continuation of a study group we did on the the article from Soul Shepherding entitled (and linked here) Four Degrees of Love (Bernard of Clairvaux) I recommend you take a look at my previous two posts for parts one and two. I tried to keep these…

  • Stop Abiding at the Altar of Disappointment

    Stop Abiding at the Altar of Disappointment

    If you want the world to be better, stop abiding at the altar of disappointment.

  • The Four Degrees of Love: Part 2

    Only a humbled heart can experience gratitude because gratitude it directed to something outside of our own doing.

  • The Four Loves: A Four-Part Reflection

    The Four Loves: A Four-Part Reflection

    Love is such a simple word but has so many meanings. The degrees to which we are loved and we love is not so simple. Let’s take it one degree at a time.

  • The More Empty, the More Room

    While we may not think of being “empty” as a good thing, we must realized that these moments of spiritual and physical “poverty” happen in life. Sometimes this emptiness comes to us like the widow in today’s gospel (who gave all she had from her poverty) and sometimes someone like…

  • Your Role in the Play

    Your Role in the Play

    From central casting agency. You have been cast in our upcoming production for the following role: “Immigrant.” This is a leading role and an essential character to the story. Immigrant: role description and back story You are journeying to a great destination that will provide you with freedom and peace.…

  • Yearning for the Stable Moon

    Last night we ventured out as a small group of friends to an area nearby on a mountain where the Vanderbilt Observatory is tucked at the top of a clearing. Saturday nights once a month, the famous Bluebird Cafe offers live music with some of the originals and best singer/songwriters…

  • John 6:66

    John 6:66

    If you are new here, welcome! Let me explain that I have a few kinds of posts. Some are funny stories. Some are personal reflections, and the third are recaps of my weekly prayer group reflections. Whenever my group meets to pray with the upcoming Sunday gospel (we are Roman…

  • Strengthened By Brokeness

    I recently hit a bit of darkness in my spiritual life when I went through several important changes in the late spring/early summer. They were all challenging to say the least, but God is faithful and He led me one step at a time through those dark woods. My friend,…

  • Annoyance is a Luxury

    In a culture of comfort we can follow the example of St Junipero in fortitude for mission.

  • Time Adds Beauty

    It’s never too late. Just before COVID hit I found a book at the library in preparation for our trip to England. I didn’t realize that this book was about to open a new world to me, not just in travel, not just in history, but in illustration. Susan Branch…

  • The Gaze

    The Gaze

    Waiting in the hospital while her husband was in an important surgery, she saw him. He was walking between two armed officers, chains bound his wrists and feet. As he shuffled toward her she noticed his disheveled appearance–tattoos everywhere, long unkempt hair and his prison jumpsuit. Do not avert your…

  • A Big Bowl Of Spaghetti

    Being in the world or of the world? It’s like a big bowl of spaghetti. So how do we know?

  • A Bride and A Bar

    A Bride and A Bar

    Here is a fun activity for your next event. An easy to make flower bar.

  • In the Storm

    In the Storm

    The storms of our lives are where we need a savior. Will you keep trying to be your own savior? There is a better way. The way of LOVE.

  • Blank Puzzles

    Last week in prayer, our group was given the gift of one of M’s prayerful reflections. She carries her cross better than anyone I know, and it’s a big one. Mother Teresa said when we suffer we are so close to Jesus he can kiss us, and we all agree…

  • The Rock: Blunder or Buoyant?

    The Rock: Blunder or Buoyant?

    Is Peter written in order to teach us how to be faithful in our humanity? Through blunders and dives, the faith of this buoyant fisherman is the foundation Jesus chose to build his church.

  • Good Jesus and The Big Tipper

    What do a dazzler, a marathon runner, a male nurse and pizza delivery guy have in common? The powerful name of…

  • Who Said That?

    A friend sent me a picture of a poster she made, which hangs on her frige. It deliniates the voice of God and the voice of Satan. Many times, when we are faced with making a decision, we are instantly snared with the anxiety of the possible outcomes. Asserting control…

  • Three Chords 🎵 and the Truth; Friend of Franciscan Uses Music to Heal

    What do a musician, St Francis and a Native American have in common? It takes three chords and the truth to tell this story.

  • To Live Well

    If I knew that I had only a few years left to live, I imagine that I would spend a great deal of that time making those years about who I am in the world. Doing my best to extend my health and my body, I might eat better and…

  • Recycling For Dummies

    Recycling For Dummies

    Recycling our minds to make the most of the moment we are living.

  • I am the Infant Now

    Take a moment to stare into the eyes of God.

  • Baby Fiats

    Baby Fiats are little moments of the day when we can say yes to God. We reflect this week on the fiat of Mary to understand how we can imitate her.

  • That Thing I Do?

    Want to make someone’s day? This is an easy way to do it.

  • The Weightlessness of Time

    When you really love a soul and feel the joy sublime You never really feel the heavy weight of time You only feel the rush of days that hurry past your heart The spending of the moment like a spinning whirring dart Whether parent, friend or child, you always know…

  • Amending The Soil

    Time to render your spiritual soil…

  • Our Hope is in God Alone — The Simple Catholic

    A friend’s reminder that we need not fear.

  • “Reclaiming Love” and the Neglected Part of Ourselves

    Here is a book that is based on the teachings of Pope John Paul the Great and Theology of the Body. Fr Martin takes these teachings to a practical level and delves into the WHOLE human and how we love.

  • A Million Tiny Pieces

    On a beautiful early autumn afternoon I jumped into my car, on to the next errand. I shut the door and suddently heard a sound that was similar to a bag of gravel dumping out in the back of my car. I looked into the rear view mirror and suddenly…

  • Brother Francis presents The Kingdom!

    “But the Knights remained at their post. For that is what Knights do…continually protect the Kingdom they love.”

  • The Brow of the Hill

    Stand at the brow of the hill…what will you see?

  • Sanitize Your Soul

    Always treat your soul with the same caution you treat your body during the pandemic.

  • Care-isms

    When we were little, my dad gave us a chance to earn money around Christmas time so that we could buy gifts for others. He called them “Christmas Bucks” and even drew out little dollar bills with funny little pictures on them, cut them out in the shape of monopoly…

  • Grammy Gabs

    Lots of people say Grammy (my mom) is like Mary Poppins, or Auntie Mame, but to her daughters she is more like the guy running the roller coaster ride at the park who loves to say “Buckle up!” and watch as your face takes on a look that lands somewhere…

  • Ask Yourself…

    The other day, after a deluge of personal bad news (even after the bad News on TV and in the media), my heart was moved to pity when my husband asked for maybe the 10th time that day “What’s wrong?” With anxiety raining down around us, I confess I have…

  • Con-Soul

    Con-Soul

    Con (with ) Soul (Invaluable individual spirit)…walking with someone without trying to “fix” them. That is to console…

  • If My People Who are Called

    I was having a conversation with a friend today about our shared sadness for our hurting world. Neither of us felt we knew what to do, “but,” she stated, “I know the answer is Jesus.” Shortly after, this little slip of paper fell onto the counter from a little pile…

  • I Showed Up

    This week’s prayer group called us to focus on those who have been entrusted to our care, and the case of a selfless young woman.

  • Why the Rosary is the Spiritual Vaccine for the Pandemic

    By: Megan Naumovski If you look up synonyms for PANDEMIC, you find at least 40 different words of which only a small handful seem at all connotative … Why the Rosary is the Spiritual Vaccine for the Pandemic

  • The Hiccup

    What do hiccups and holiness have in common?

  • A Pandemic Love Letter

    God is restoring something in you during these days of change…what is it? I decided to write a love letter to God, thanking Him for these challenging times. I will review it in six months and see what I am leaning about my relationship with God, myself and others. Dear…

  • Holy Week-ness

    Why it’s okay to be weak this week.

  • How to Increase Our Trust in Times of Desperation

    How to Increase Our Trust in Times of Desperation

    A text popped up on my phone the other night, “Jesus, I trust in you.” One of my bestie’s pics popped up with her name. “Everything ok?” I texted back. The response was not surprising, that anxieties are mounting. Sometimes, all we can do is muster a short act of…

  • Why You Won’t Need a Cap and Gown for Morality 101

    Why our fragile freedom means every moment is a new moral question.

  • Truth

    Truth

    Originally posted on Reflections from the Pew: Surely it is foolishness That to be fulfilled I must empty myself That to be esteemed I must humbly serve others That to taste the nectar of freedom I must be wholly obedient So it is for those who are perishing The wise…

  • Get Your Ash On

    Ash Wednesday may be the beginning of a season of penance and fasting in the church, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have joy! In the end, no matter how we choose to go about prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we must every day take stock of the tremendous blessings…

  • The Vice of Acedia and Our Use of the Media, Part 1 – SpiritualDirection.com

    SPIRITUALDIRECTION- explores Catholic spiritual direction advice and how a deeper relationship with the spiritual aspect of being human being based on the wisdom’s of the Bible, Church and the saints and angels. — Read on spiritualdirection.com/2020/02/24/the-vice-of-acedia-and-our-use-of-the-media-part-1

  • The Lamb, The Angels & Knock

    The Lamb, The Angels & Knock

    Upon visiting the Shrine at Knock last fall, I was blessed with the mystical image of the chapel.

  • Lessons from Papa

    The House By The Side of The Road

  • The Last Antiphon

    O Come Emmanuel!! The Birth of Jesus. In those days a decree went out from Caesar August us that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from…

  • O Come! King of all Nations!

    My brother-in-law makes these beautiful nativity scenes out of old mint tins. None of them are the same. Each has a unique posturing of the Holy Family. The tiny gestures of hands, tilted heads, and open arms all pray in me a most profound peace and worship of the newborn…

  • O Come! Key of David!

    Day 4 of the O Antiphons

  • O Come! Day 2!

    God is the giver of the law; let us revisit these laws of the Ten Commandments today. Instructions for living a life that pleases God…right at our fingertips.

  • The O Antiphons Day 1

    Today begins the O Antiphons…join me in rejoicing in these ancient titles of Our God!

  • A Letter of Support and Hopefulness to Pope Francis — The Simple Catholic

    Dear Pope Francis, God bless you and your priesthood, dear Holy Father. For it is in this mysterious gift the papacy rests in your hands, stirs in your heart, and witnesses with your life. Providence has brought you to us. I am always grateful for Providence. I am a spiritual…

  • Mr Tom’s Gift of Transportation

    Mr Tom’s Gift of Transportation

    Sitting at the booth next to me at the annual Christmas Bazaar, we engaged in warm and friendly chatter.  He and she had grandchildren that were in my kids’ grades and the kids were all friends.  I would see them when I worked in the parish office at the front…

  • Awaken…

  • What I am, My Church Will Be: An Examination of Conscience for the Laity

    What I am, My Church Will Be: An Examination of Conscience for the Laity What I am, My Church Will Be: An Examination of Conscience for the Laity — Read on thesimplecatholic.blog/2019/11/21/universal-call-to-holiness/

  • One Word of Hope

    Sometimes it only takes a word of hope to help someone else. And sometimes, an image of hope and love can speak a thousand…

  • Three Virtues I have Learned From Ohio State Fans

    Here in Music City, we get over 14 million visitors a year, many of which hope to grab that coveted ticket to the Bluebird, drink a beer at Tootsie’s, or walk the hallowed halls of The Ryman. Ironically, questions about visiting these places often rank second to the all-time number…

  • These Words From Mother Teresa Will Give You Hope

    These Words From Mother Teresa Will Give You Hope

    By Kristine Bruce, founder of “Praying for Our Prodigals“ When thinking about my kids who are away from the church, my “prodigals”, I so want to wake them up to the urgency of getting back into the fold of faith.  I know many parents feel this pressing desire.  I often…

  • Three Worthy Reactions from the Man in the Tree

    Three Worthy Reactions from the Man in the Tree

    Zacchaeus, which means “clean, pure” in Hebrew, may not have seemed to be aptly named to those who knew him.  He was a small man with big greed; like most tax collectors during the time of Christ, he was most likely despised for extorting money from people thereby making himself…

  • Dear Christine…

    I realized later that I was saying good-bye to a part of myself that had been “free” to spend my time as I pleased, but moreover, I was grieving the time I had wasted by spending it on things that didn’t matter at all. Dear Christine, Congratulations on having your…

  • My Weakness Is His Strength

    There is a place in our being, in the spiritual realm of our humanity, where our conscience collides with our expectations.  It is a place where the light coming into our hearts, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, shows us the highest standard of what God has in mind for our…

  • Gentle Heart

    An chapel outpouring for the ones who think they can’t, they aren’t or they won’t.

  • The Battlefield

    The chasm that separates Heaven and the Netherworld as described in today’s gospel is not the same as the one that is lessened on this battlefield of good and evil The civil war within ourselves must be waged every day. Put on your armor.

  • The Lavishing

    Prodigal: characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure; lavish Eyelids drooping Wednesday night, I read the next day’s gospel in the book “The Better Part” by Father John Bartunek LC, our group’s chosen read this year. The word for the next day’s gospel that jumped out at me was LAVISH. Describing…

  • The Obedient Override

    When we were little kids, my dad used to sing us a bedtime song.  He would pull out his guitar and sing “Puff the Magic Dragon” and we thought he was a rock star. As I became a teenager, he would remind me it was time to get to bed…

  • A Moral Litmus Test

    Why would someone take the hard way around in life? Why would anyone scrape through brambles and climb hills where there is little path and a narrow gate, when there is a wide, paved open road before them? One would assume that the right thing to do is take the…

  • Peace and Division

    Peace and Division

    Back to school week for most of us means back to business, including meeting to Encounter Christ in the upcoming Sunday gospel together as a group.  Usually one of our well-attended gatherings, we were happy there were a few more than normal in attendance for digesting the challenging nature of…

  • Parenting Myself

    Sometimes, I have to treat myself like my own child.

  • Three Stages to the Christian Life

    …the spiritual journey for the Catholic-Christian is composed of three steps being the interior, religious, and spiritual. 

  • 2019 Draft Picks From a Late August Dream Team

    2019 Draft Picks From a Late August Dream Team 2019 Draft Picks From a Late August Dream Team — Read on thesimplecatholic.blog/2019/08/08/2019-draft-picks-from-a-late-august-dream-team/ Thanks @thesimplecatholic.blog for the fun collaboration!

  • Scientific Dog #1 And Why Being a Chorus Member Counts Too

    Everyone matters in this world. Even the Scientific dogs.

  • Blessed by Balloons?

    One of the first things I did when I got my own place as a young adult was throw a big theme-party. I love party-planning and making people feel special with little details and creative decor, so I rented the club house, picked up some dry-ice and colored light bulbs,…

  • Five Minutes

    Spend five minutes today right here…

  • The Baby In Blue

    The Baby In Blue

    Born on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, this youngest child of ten came with a special promise.

  • Bedtime Stories

    Bedtime Stories

    When my children were little, we would have what was called a “Book Picnic”.  Sometimes we would read together in an elaborate “fort” made from kitchen chairs, couch cushions and blankets.  Sometimes we would pile all the blankets and pillows on the floor and lay on our tummies together reading…

  • Real Body, Real Blood.

    Real Body, Real Blood.

    Scientific Evidence of the Body and Blood of Christ.

  • Don’t Speak Your Fear

    Don’t Speak Your Fear

    This week’s “soul lesson” is brought to you by many revelations through person experiences and conversations over the past week. I encapsulate what I believe I am supposed to have learned.

  • The Measure of Love

    The Measure of Love

    “The measure of love is to love without measure…” The latest “soul lesson” for me can be encapsulated best by these cute measuring spoons received as the parting gift at a friend’s bridal shower, aptly called “The Measure of Love”. I have heard both St Augustine of Hippo and St…

  • Graduating: Cat-Screeching 101

    These past few weeks have been busy with a college and a high school graduation in our family. It’s been filled with family visits, and missing those who couldn’t traverse the ups and downs of the hills of life (and route 65) to be with us during this momentous month.…

  • Get Out Of The Way

    Get Out Of The Way

    We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. –Romans 8:28 While juggling graduations, women’s retreats, surprise visitors and more, I worried.  I worried about everyone.  I didn’t want anyone to feel overwhelmed, overextended or anxious.  So, I stepped in. In order…

  • The Face of the Other

    “The decision for good or evil begins with our eyes, when we choose whether or not to look at the face of the other…The other is the custodian of my own dignity…But we can only succeed in looking at others in a manner that respects their personal dignity if we…

  • Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

    “Doubting Thomas.” Aren’t we all at some point a “Doubting Thomas?” I am sure that the beautiful things St Thomas did while accompanying Jesus in his ministry as an apostle would much outshine the one part of scripture that seems to have pigeon-holed him into being just a doubter, but…

  • Dad’s Easter Blessing

    Dad’s Easter Blessing

            Easter this year was the most perfect, glorious day.  Our plan was church followed by a lovely meal and precious moments before our almost-college grad and his sweetheart were headed back to school.  A stubborn eye infection, nasty medicine, and a migraine kept the joy at…

  • Good Friday

    “The cross represents all of the love of God, which is greater than our iniquities and our betrayals. In the cross we see the monstrosity of a man, when he allows evil to guide him; but we also see the immensity of the mercy of God, who does not treat…

  • Kids and Confession Verses Cancer

    Changing things up this week, I am introducing you to a blogger who has a huge beautiful family and a wonderful sense of humor.  The very name of his blog expresses who he is “Fortitudine“, meaning fortitude. And, oh yea…he has brain cancer.  But that is a post script, because…

  • “Bad Moms” and Fire-Fighting Storks

    As we reflected on this Sunday’s gospel about the woman caught in the act of adultery,  the current headlines involving rich and famous parents trying to buy their kids’ way into reputable colleges lingered in my mind.   Like the media frenzy in this “bad moms” of college students scenario, I…

  • A Day in the Warmth of the Son

    The first of spring’s warm and sunny days are everyone’s joy.  They remind us that the sun did not abandon us, but was quietly accompanying us through the long winter days, shrouded by a haze that required our trust in knowing it would come back out again.  When our trust…

  • A Happy Death

    This past week we celebrated the Feast Day of St Joseph.  St Joseph, is considered to be a great intercessor for Christians, especially in the area of a “happy death”.  I wanted to deepen my relationship with St Joseph this year, so I attempted to do the 9-day Novena and…

  • Fighting For the Wrong Side

    Life in “Music City” is amazing.  There is so much music, art and joy here in Nashville.  One of my favorite things about “Music City” that you won’t hear about on the radio (except for maybe K-LOVE because it’s here too) is that there are so many huge beautiful churches…

  • The Man On The Plane

    The Man On The Plane

    A few weeks ago during mass, Deacon told us the story of growing up with influences who lead him to look down upon and be repulsed by homeless people.  He used to feel that they were a “tax” on society and should be working, not relying on people for money. …

  • Beam me down, Scotty

    In the old Star Trek series, “Scotty” was the engineer in charge of the ship.  He was the man you went to when you wanted to be zapped down onto the planet where your energy source was hidden (that was usually spewing molten lava or had aliens with bad make-up)…

  • The Ridiculous

    Listening to a radio talk show this morning, one of our friends heard a caller relate the story of her son who is in college.  When he had chosen to study the Swahili language, she questioned him.  Why? He had no specific answer at the time, but four years later,…

  • Vanity of Vanities

    Vanity of Vanities

    Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! (Ecc 1) I used to think these words were Shakespeare’s, and even then, their truth rattled my ears.  Now knowing that these words are from the book of Ecclesiastes, they are even more sobering.  Indicating perhaps meaningless time and effort we waste…

  • Put Out Into The Deep Water

    Put Out Into The Deep Water

    This weekend’s gospel teaches us about the abundant blessings that await us in the “deep water”, a timely indication of the need for deep prayer, especially just having finished our silent retreat which was themed around hope. Traditionally, we use the first Encounter With Christ meeting after our retreat to…

  • A Perfectly Placed Stranger

    The Case of the Perfectly Placed Stranger Staying in a hotel during a large event, a woman felt as though the Holy Spirit was prompting her to go down to the lobby.  She didn’t know why, but being the obedient and humble person that she is, she decided to abide…

  • Prayer Vs Meditation

    As we prepare to enter into silence for the weekend on our annual Spiritual Exercises–a powerful spiritual experience for everyone who attends–we begin to peel away at the thick layers of our daily lives that have been dipped in the glue of social media and applied in layers around our…

  • Do Whatever He Tells You

    Do Whatever He Tells You

    “Do whatever he tells you” stamped on a silver cuff bracelet was a meaningful gift from one my beautiful sisters last year for my birthday.  The inexhaustible meaning of this line from The Wedding  at Cana, continually leads me like a star toward my quest for guidance on how to live…

  • All That I Have Is Yours

    HEB 6:10-20 Brothers and sisters:God is not unjust so as to overlook your workand the love you have demonstrated for his nameby having served and continuing to serve the holy ones.We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagernessfor the fulfillment of hope until the end,so that you…

  • The Jesus Man

    The Jesus Man

    What are you going to do now? That is the question we should be asking ourselves every day in regard to how our love for God compels us to act. The “Jesus Man” was a person who understood this well.

  • The Star Precedes

    Traveling home for the holidays has always been a debate in our family.  On the one hand, we can’t imagine not being with loving grandparents, aunts, uncles, and family members during the holidays.  On the other hand, everyone ends up feeling disappointed because it wasn’t enough time together, or it…

  • Encountering Resolutions: The Best of 2018

    Encountering Resolutions: The Best of 2018

    Celebrating the New Year has always meant a stream of old movies or opening a new book, and of course, getting organized.  I guess the best thing about New Year’s is the sense of personal renewal we all feel, making resolutions to better people; physically, financially, and personally.  I also…

  • Make Haste Not Bustle

    Looking up “haste” on thesarus.com , (“extreme speed, hurry”) I noticed an almost perfectly divided list of 43 synonyms that have nearly as many negative connotations as positive.   I was thinking about “haste” as I reflected on this upcoming gospel reading for the fourth Sunday in Advent, and I have…

  • Watching Verses Waiting

    Rounding the second Sunday of Advent, and on the beautiful feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, we held our annual Advent By Candlelight.  These evenings of reflection for women during seasons of Advent (and Lent) provide women with a peace-filled fellowship in an elegant, candle-lit atmosphere. Fr Peter Hopkins,…

  • Why Wait? Advent and Austen

    Why Wait? Advent and Austen

    When I think of Advent, the word “waiting” comes to mind.  As we light the first two purple candles this past Sunday and this coming Sunday, we anticipate Christ’s return to his people in a time of preparation and hope.  The readings of the church these past few weeks seem…

  • Spiritual Muscle Memory

    Spiritual Muscle Memory

    As a dancer, my daughter spends hours each day developing what is called “muscle memory”.  Her muscles are being trained to engage together for a specific reactive form that becomes a skill which plays out on a stage as art.  Requiring thousands of hours of strengthening particular muscles so they…

  • Tender Embers

    A devastating wildfire and a fig tree don’t seem to have much in common from the outset, but in this week’s Encounter With Christ, the Holy Spirit connected the scourge of wildfire with the hope of human tenderness, likened to the branches of the fig tree.  The watchful warning of…

  • Beautifully Broken

    Knocking at her door, was a neighbor from a few doors down.  She hadn’t spoken with him in a while, but he came by to invite her family to a benefit dinner for “Legacy Mission Village“.  Down the street lived a couple who had fled Rwanda years earlier and settled…

  • Master, Guest or Servant?

    Master, Guest or Servant?

    Luke 14:15-24 ’Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. In today’s gospel, a man prepared a great banquet and sent his servants out to gather the attendees.  With a multitude of practical excuses, they declined.  Enraged by the lackluster response, the master…

  • The Thinning Veil

    Christ is truly present when two or more are gathered in his name, and we certainly qualified this week as a long awaited reunion took place for several of us. All things come together to glorify God.  The difficult but amazing coincidence of several of our members in the past…

  • What Do You Want?

    Christmas is no where in sight but can be seen everywhere.  Next to the pumpkins and ghosts in the stores, are Christmas trees, snowmen, and candy cane decor.  Some people shop for others all year to get the “perfect” gift.  It’s been interesting to see how, as our kids have grown,…