Celebrating Saint Brigid, a woman of fiery faith
I first learned of Brigid a few years ago while researching Ireland, and discovered that Brigid was another much beloved patron saint of the country, alongside Saint Patrick. I
Saints
Timothy: Young, Able, and Faithful
Please church, welcome, encourage and support the faith, prophetic voices, and ministries of our young people. We need them now more than ever.
Trusting That Our Lives Have Meaning
Bedtime is always a time of revelation and sometimes self-revelation in our household, particularly with our youngest child who is eight-years-old. We have noticed since Thanksgiving that he has been easily frustrated, trying out unsavory words on his older brother, and bursting into tears quite regularly.
What Unites Us
Today is not only the Feast of the Confession of Saint Peter, but also the first day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This week falls each January between two holy days: The Confession of Saint Peter and the Conversion of Saint Paul.
The Brilliant Theology of the Desert Mothers
In terms of my life circumstances, I couldn’t possibly have less in common with the ammas who fled to the desert for spiritual growth and exploration. I have a marriage, a parish, and two kids. And a dog. And chickens (maybe they had chickens in the desert?).
Amelia Bloomer: Patron Saint of the Yoga Pant and possibly the Messy Bun
I didn’t realize I knew Amelia Bloomer even before I read about her for this post. Growing up in a cluster of all-girls, uniform-enforcing schools, I was introduced to one of her lasting gifts to the world first hand: the bloomer.
The Feast of Saint John: God is Light
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him
Dear Thomas, Thank You
Dear Thomas, As we celebrate your feast day today I can’t help but cringe when I think about the number of times I’ve heard people chide the use of your modern-day nickname “Doubting Thomas.” As much as I’d rather not admit it, I, too, have declared from the pulpit that it’s demeaning and unfair to emphasize your apparent skepticism surrounding Jesus’ resurrection.
Re-Imagining Mary
Mary was a distant figure for me before having children. As a child she was the part in the nativity I never got to play (my short brown hair meant that I always lost out to my long blond-haired friends). As an adult, to me she was the venerated saint of Catholics, whose hailing brought a comfort I did not understand. I knew she was important, but I could not relate to her.
Celebrating Saint Lucy of Syracuse
The name Lucy means light. She is a light, but more importantly she points us to the light of Christ. In the literal darkness we face every year at this time and in the greater darkness we face in our lives and in the world, Lucy reminds us that the light of Christ shines in the midst of it all, and the darkness does not overcome it.