One of the reasons Lent feels so long is because of the unrelenting message of Jesus’s passion and death. As time plods on, the readings intensify their focus on Christ’s passion. It can be tempting to disengage, but remembering the pain he endured makes it harder to delude ourselves into thinking God doesn’t understand our…

For more than 50 years I cherished a passage from the prophet Isaiah (chapter 43) which I’d committed to memory as a teen. Here is part of it: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine. When you pass through waters, I will be with you; through rivers, you…

As I listen, anxiety from a first meeting with a room-full of strangers fades away. I feel the connection of having made a similar journey into the Church. The group is welcoming, each sharing the story of how God has intervened in his or her life. Every account is unique and personal, yet with the…

As a toddlerHe yearned to right wrongsA drowning honey beeStung his handWhy would the bee sting me, he cried, while I saved its life? As a young manHe yearned to right wrongsHeart beneath army gearUnimaginable horrorsWe did things as boys, he confessed, that we can’t live with as men As a veteranHe yearned to right wrongsBi-polar, PTSDInward battles ragingWhere…

Today I tested positive for Covid. The last time was in February 2022 in the weeks between Evan’s accident and his funeral Mass and burial. With the positive test all the thoughts and feelings came flooding back. “Really? Is this necessary? Isn’t it enough that our whole world is off-kilter because our son who was…

This first December in Texas calls for celebrating new traditions as well as continuing old ones. Monday for Evan’s 41st birthday, we planned a fire pit hotdog roast in our backyard with all the Texas family. Doug had the idea to set up one of Evan’s camp chairs in honor of him. His idea meant…

What is it about Christmas carols? Not the Holly-Jolly-Winter-Wonderland -Rock-Around-the- Christmas -Tree kind; the carols we sang with our kids evenings during advent season in years past. Tears flow at the singing of Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Angels We Have Heard on High, Silent Night, the First Noel, Joy to the World, O Come…

Our response to particular words can derail us from a path of spiritual growth. Recently, a friend commented (via email) that she has been put off by recommendations to practice “detachment”. Though, often recommended by spiritual writers, she couldn’t seem to get past her conception of detachment as aloofness from friends and family or denial…

I haven’t blogged lately, but I’m still here; still writing. Over the past months I’ve used this platform to process and share my grief journey after Evan’s tragic accident. Grief remains, but it demands less of me lately, and I don’t experience the same compulsion to share. I do write elsewhere. In addition to journaling,…

August is here. The 9th of this month marks 18 months since Evan died. People ask how we are doing. It’s amazing when I stop to think about it. We are doing well. I speak of Evan often. I suppose I always will. But I cry less and laugh more than I did in the…