LOYOLA
Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) was a man led by the Spirit into many places he never thought he would have gone. In the song “Loyola,” I try to capture a little of the spirit of this Spirit-filled man. Ignatius was…
Category Feast Day
THE IRON RING AND ST. MARTHA’S CHILDREN
If you wear the lauded Iron Ring of the engineer on your little finger, you have St. Martha to thank… or rather St. Martha via the poet Rudyard Kipling. In 1922, a group of senior engineers decided to develop an…
MARY MAGDALENE: A MODEL OF FAITH AND COURAGE
As a woman, I have always been inspired and fascinated by Mary Magdalene. When we consider Mary Magdalene as a model of faith and courage, the assumptions and interpretations of her place in the gospels makes her a saint for our…
ARE YOU LIKE PETER OR ARE YOU LIKE PAUL?
Everywhere you go in Rome, when you find Saint Peter or Paul, you always find the other guy hanging around. In front of Saint Peter’s on the Vatican – there was Paul, in the basilica of Saint Paul outside the…
HOLY TRINITY
One day, I was in a parking lot, getting into my car, when I was accosted by an older woman who was on a mission. She approached me aggressively and asked “Do you believe in the Trinity?” I responded that…
MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
She was there at the birth of Christ. She was there at the birth of Christ’s Church. She is here, now, at Pentecost as the Church thinks of how to be reborn in a post-pandemic world. Mary, Mother of Jesus.…
HAPPY FEAST OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD!
Our youngest child of the six that we have parented, graduates this year. Perhaps because I have attended a graduation in May or June most every year for twenty years, when the feast of the Ascension comes, I always feel…
OUR LADY OF FATIMA
The apparition of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal in 1917 has been a source of inspiration, curiosity and intrigue for more than a century. The story of three children meeting a lady emanating glorious light and revealing three secrets…
ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA
If you plan on confronting a Pope (or two), especially if you are a woman – an uneducated one at that – you better have a pretty strong connection to the Lord, Jesus Christ. If you want to do this…
ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD
One can get lost in researching Catholic doctrine on Mary and the feast of the Annunciation. We only need to look to interpretations of this moment in fine art and music to appreciate its influence on our tradition and humanity. In this…