Saint Francis’ Reminder
Anyone who visits our house might guess at why we love Saint Francis of Assisi, known for his love of animals.
Saints
So, why not angelic messengers?
In America, we use angels to sell pretty good toilet paper and terrible lingerie. We’re not much for the six-winged terror holding a burning coal to the prophet’s lips (Isaiah 6:2-7). We prefer fat cherubs with harps to sentinels with spinning, flaming swords (Genesis 3:24). Our angels aren’t divine messengers, and they don’t start their sentences with, “Fear not!” They are boring and uncool.
Agency and Lionesses: Thecla the Martyr
It happens often when we are in church: at the time of the children’s sermon, my daughter is nowhere to be found.
Saints
Saint Matthew – How Jewish was Jesus?
I went to seminary as a single, young woman in my mid-twenties after living overseas in Tanzania for three years.
Celebrating Hildegard of Bingen and God’s Determined Love
Today, we honor the feast day of Hildegard of Bingen, a twelfth-century Benedictine abbess who was not elevated to sainthood until 2012. She was a prolific writer and composer, leaving us dozens of songs and poems, and nine books, including works on medicine and pharmacology.
Constance and the Martyrs of Memphis
The words “Martyrs” and “Memphis” at first glance might seem to be an odd pairing. We think of martyrs as biblical, ancient, and abroad, and Memphis as relatively young from a world history standpoint—a place for good BBQ and Blues.
Søren Kierkegaard and Lived Experience
Teenagers often believe that they are the first humans ever to have discovered sex. The world-altering swells of feeling and emotion—or the seeming opposite of being let down by the whole experience—feels as revolutionary to each of us as any human walking on the moon.
Who empties the trash? Who is Saint Bartholomew?
We were standing in front of an overflowing trash can in the neighborhood “fast-food chicken” franchise. It took me a moment to register my son asking me the question. I’d been daydreaming and lost in thought.
Celebrating the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Ever since I returned to the church in my twenties, I have been inspired by the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Purposeful Conviction of Florence Nightingale
The plague hit our family vacation hard this summer. It was a punishing stomach bug that took down young and old and came back for more.