“I often find myself longing for a presence, but more than that something tangible. No matter how many times I read the bible, pray, and go to Sunday school I still feel unconnected and lost. Sometimes I get the feeling...
The Advent and Christmas seasons are emotionally impactful for me, even more than Lent and Easter. How can this be? Lent prepares us for Christ’s Passion and on Easter we celebrate his Resurrection. It is when we celebrate how he...
“Most people are good,” I reassured my three-year-old son who was convinced that a stranger was about to harm me. Over the past few weeks, the toll that the pandemic has taken on his social-emotional development is becoming more apparent:...
A reflection on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent — December 19, 2021 (Click here for audio) The Beacons of Light initiative here in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has been a needed but complex and challenging process. Speaking personally,...
A reflection on the readings for the Third Sunday of Advent — December 12, 2021 Imagine, for a moment, that you are unjustly imprisoned, far from home, and prevented from doing the work to which you were called. But during...
Two weeks into Advent and the oft-repeated words of George Santayana are—again—coming true. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it!”. While the Scriptures continuously reinforce the theme the preparation—“The days are coming” (Jeremiah 33), “Be vigilant”...
A reflection on the readings for the Second Sunday of Advent — December 5, 2021 (Click here for audio) Here is a real-life conversation between a pampering grandmother and a pampered grandchild: Gigi: “Have you written your letter to Santa?” Bugaboo:...
My very liturgically-minded husband strongly believes—and advocates for—the correct implementation of the Advent season. It starts with no decorations before December 17 (that’s when the “O Antiphons” begin.) It continues with observing the emphases of the two foci of Advent’s...
A reflection on the readings for the First Sunday of Advent — November 28, 2021 You are busy, you are overworked, and you are exhausted. Advent is upon us and, while someone once told you something about the yoke being...
In the last few years, including during the pandemic, I have attended a few baby showers and noticed one very favorable change to showers of a previous era. Moms and dads asked that families and friends bring their favorite children’s...
Timing is everything, so the adage goes. But while the calendar says that it is the first week of November (Halloween was just two days ago!) and the trees here are barely changing color, the Hallmark Channel is already into...
Early in Advent, a line of Scripture struck me strongly and has stuck with me ever since: “I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert’” (Jn 1:23). This Advent brought more revelations about the abuse scandals in...
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