Perfectionism is a struggle that comes in all shapes and sizes. It often accuses us of being less than and hinders us from being true to the unique creations God made us to be. And as a result, we put on masks, cover up flaws, and slowly and steadily forget who we truly are. One thing perfectionism is not, however: It is not from God. And He showed that to me quite clearly one day on the beach of Hilton Head Island,…
O, God, we earnestly ask you to bless this archdiocese with many priests, deacons, brothers and sisters … At every Sunday Mass, my parish prays two special prayers for vocations. We begin with a prayer for marriage and family, asking St. Joseph to intercede for us. After the Prayers of the Faithful, we pray another prayer that begins with the words with which I began this blog post. It has been a long-standing tradition to pray for and foster vocations…
With Thanksgiving just two days away, there is a lot to do. My plans include cooking, baking, and cleaning. I have always liked the Thanksgiving holiday. To be with family and friends, to pause in gratitude for God’s abundant blessings. It’s a good day. Often, the Advent season begins the Sunday right after Thanksgiving. We have just a couple of days to transition from pumpkins and fall hues to our Advent wreath of purple and pink. This year, however, Advent…
If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. (1 Corinthians 12:26) My daughter tends to go with the flow. She cheers on her sister at volleyball games, plays cars with her little brother, and helps out in the kitchen. She is pretty low key, not demanding a lot of extra attention. She does receive extra time and attention because of her Dyslexia, though—tutoring twice per week, help with homework, comforting when her…
On Friday, I shared a bit about my grandma’s influence in my journey toward Marian devotion. I thought I’d share a bit more about her the impact she has had in my life today … The two things I remember most about my grandma are that she had a beautiful devotion to the Rosary and she spent a great deal of time knitting. She probably prayed and knitted at the same time! Her knitting was really a ministry of sorts….
Since I am writing 31 Days With Mary during the month of October, maybe I will begin by sharing how Mary became my queen and my mother. Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said of Mary, “She existed in the Divine Mind as an Eternal Thought before there were any mothers. She is the Mother of mothers, she is the world’s first love.” #1 Slow beginnings My first real encounter with Mary was through the quiet actions of my grandma, who…
Today, I thought it would be fun to participate in #WorthRevisitWednesday, co-hosted by Reconciled to You and Theology is a Verb. It was kind of fun to look back in the archives and find a post I had completely forgotten about! I first wrote today’s repost FIVE years ago this month. I had five of my six children at that time, and their ages were 7, 5, 4, 2 and 2 … No wonder I say in the post that…