November 11th, 2023
There’s a Paul Simon song called “Train in the Distance,” with a line that goes like this: The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains. That pretty much sums up the message and the mission of Jesus: The world is a mess, getting worse by the day. (The…
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February 25th, 2023
As daughters of Vatican II, my friends and I were energized by Pope Francis’s call for a Synod on Synodality. It was a chance for us to share our concerns—and our joys and our hopes—with one another and with the wider church. Since there were no synod meetings held at our parish, we formed our…
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February 1st, 2022
Like their pagan mothers and grandmothers, the women of early Christian Ireland lived comfortably with power. It wasn’t a feminist paradise—their society was ruled, after all, by aristocratic warriors—but women who became Christians were still influential in the new religion. Brigid of Kildare is one of the best examples. Today is her feast day. Patrick…
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October 15th, 2020
Congress can’t seem to pass a stimulus package or keep the president from hosting COVID parties. But here’s what I wish they would do: Ban the use of the phrase “In these difficult times.” You want to know difficult times? About five hundred years ago, a microscopic bacteria called y. pestis hitched a ride on…
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April 23rd, 2020
“Everything comes from love. All is ordained for the salvation of [humankind]. God does nothing without this goal in mind.” St. Catherine of Siena A thousand years or so, and half the width of Europe, separate Catherine of Siena from Brigid of Kildare, but I’m thinking a lot about both these women during these quiet,…
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February 29th, 2020
Remember the very first episode of Friends? It’s the origin story of Rachel, who storms out of her near-miss wedding and into a random Manhattan coffeeshop where Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Joey, and Chandler welcome this stranger who’s having second thoughts about getting married. It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship that goes on for ten…
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February 25th, 2020
It was a random Sunday in Ordinary Time and I made my way up to the ambo for the liturgy of the Word. “Sisters and brothers,” I read from Paul’s letter to the Colossians, “put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and…
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