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 beautiful bouquet. Don’t get me … Continue reading Just Hang On

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 small "1%." She proceed to … Continue reading God, My Tesla

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. Each day counts and as … Continue reading God the Investor

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 that for M, God is … Continue reading Blank Puzzles

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 (as it was once said, … Continue reading Who Said That?

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 make more efforts to be … Continue reading To Live Well

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 the truth That loving costs … Continue reading The Weightlessness of Time

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 I realized there was no … Continue reading A Million Tiny Pieces

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

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 deeper lines in my forehead … Continue reading Ask Yourself…

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 of papers I hadn't touched … Continue reading If My People Who are Called

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

Why it's okay to be weak this week.

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 we have been giving by … Continue reading Get Your Ash On

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 the town of Nazareth to … Continue reading The Last Antiphon

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 King.

Day 4 of the O Antiphons

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.

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

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 lives.  It isn't a clear … Continue reading My Weakness Is His Strength

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 how God wants to pour … Continue reading The Lavishing

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 and I would instead find … Continue reading The Obedient Override

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

Spend five minutes today right here...

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. Along with my kids earning … Continue reading Graduating: Cat-Screeching 101

"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 experience how God looks at … Continue reading The Face of the Other

"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 us according to our sins … Continue reading Good Friday

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, giving a really good gift … Continue reading What Do You Want?

My First Understanding of Vacancy; A Happy Memory Four girls ages 8-19 stuffed into a car, bags packed with swimsuits and excitement, round the West Virginia turnpike while counting mile markers on the road until the next mountain tunnel on the trip tic; three tunnels means progress. The static on the radio occasionally breaks to … Continue reading Vacancy

I drafted this article in the wake of the horrific Stoneman Douglas shooting in Florida, and for some reason I kept it in draft because so many souls are hurting and looking for answers, and God wants us to know He will never forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6).  Since first drafting my thoughts, I received three … Continue reading The Presence of Evil Doesn’t Mean the Absence of God

This Advent, our "Advent By Candlelight" evening of reflection for women included a formation talk entitled "Let Yourself Be Loved".  We included advent calendar bookmarks with scriptures for each day of December leading to Christmas about God's love for us. Letting ourselves be loved sounds pretty easy.  But sometimes humans find many hurdles to real … Continue reading Advent-ageous Prayer

Wow; for some reason today's reading from Daniel really took my breath away.  Maybe it is because I had never read it before or it didn't seem familiar to me, even though I know the story of Daniel.  We always associate Daniel with the lion's den, and coming out alive and unharmed by the protection … Continue reading The Hand Writing on the Wall

Having a "business meeting" (the "busy-ness" of God is always good!) we did not have our Encounter With Christ, but my daily meditation on the church's readings were fruitful and offered a new glimpse into where I needed to move next in my quest for spiritual growth. The first reading from Ezekiel 47; Every month … Continue reading The Temple

Heavy paper taped down through the main pathways of our home, due to repairs to the bathroom floor, has made these last few days, er, interesting.  It's the same paper we used in high school cheer-leading to make big banners we would decorate to say, "Go Rocks! Beat the Bears!" or "GO BIG GREEN! FIGHT … Continue reading Bothered and Annoyed