As I pondered which work of mercy I wanted to look at this week, I finally settled on this one: Ransom the Captive. It is an interesting concept in our time. When I hear the word “ransom” I think of kidnappers demanding money from parents. When I hear “captive,” I think of hostages in a…
#MondayMercy: Give Drink to the Thirsty
Many months ago, as I was preparing for my first Embrace Mercy talk, I contemplated doing a series on the Works of Mercy. I forgot all about that idea until this morning when I had an a-ha moment. There are not enough Mondays left in this Jubilee Year of Mercy to give each one of…
Back to School Evangelization
Today, my fourth (and final) Called to Witness column was published in The Catholic Post. I have enjoyed this writing project, and might pick it up again in the future. However, at this time, I am getting ready to serve as the President of the Peoria Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. With my added duties,…
#WorthRevisit: St. Teresa of Calcutta
Monday was the Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta, and Facebook reminded me of this post from 2 years ago. At that time, she was Blessed Teresa, but as you probably know, this beautiful woman was canonized on Sunday. So yes, she is a Saint with a capital S! Since I haven’t done a Wednesday…
#WorthRevisit: “The Hug”
Today is Wednesday, and I am participating in the #WorthRevisit Link-up again. This week, teens and young adults from around the globe are gathered in Poland for World Youth Day. Today, Pope Francis arrives to preach, to bless, and to inspire! I have a young friend, a recent college graduate, who is there participating in…
The Blood of Martyrs
This morning I was shocked and saddened to read of the brutal killing of Father Jacques Hamel, a Catholic priest in France. Father Hamel was assisting at a small rural parish while the pastor was on vacation. While saying Mass, Islamic terrorists entered the Church, forced him to his knees, and slit his throat reportedly…
Summertime Evangelization!
Yesterday, my third installment of Called to Witness was published in The Catholic Post. This is a continuation of my project to connect parishes with the evangelizaton efforts of the National Council of Catholic Women. This time, I focused on ways to share our faith during the hectic summer season. You can check out the…
#WorthRevisit: Mothers, Earth, and Babies
I love this Wednesday “WorthRevisit link-up! I am prepping this in advance because I will be busy at the Heartbeat International conference. I looked at some prolife posts from the past, and decided to revisit this one. It’s a long post, but one of my favorites because it is near and dear to my heart.…
He is Risen!
Happy Easter! It is getting late, but I just wanted to write a brief post. I love Easter; I love all of Holy Week! I was blessed to have a wonderfully full week with Church and family. I feel exhausted physically, but refreshed spiritually. Not a bad combination. This morning I sang the Easter Sequence…
Laetare…Rejoice!
The 4th Sunday of Lent is Laetare Sunday. Laetare means rejoice in Latin. You see, we are just past the halfway point of Lent, so we begin to anticipate that Easter joy a bit more. Here in the northern hemisphere, our days are getting longer…which I LOVE! We will bump our clocks ahead one hour…