Children’s Novels in Which the Pen (or Love) is Mightier than the Sword
A friend recently asked me for recommendations of children’s novels where the day is saved…but not by lots of violence. He has a ten-year-old son who loves Narnia and Middle Earth, but he doesn’t want his son to count on Glamdring to solve all his problems. (I am aware that it is Aslan’s sacrifice, as …
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St. Benedict on Mercy
Just a tidbit from Luke Timothy Johnson’s recent piece in Commonweal entitled “How a Monk Learns Mercy: Thomas Merton and the Rule of St. Benedict.” “The most destructive forms of speech in community, Benedict understood, are those that involve judgments against the other. Benedict calls this form of speech ‘murmuring,’ included [sic] all forms of …
Lay Hold of Goodness
A year ago – or maybe closer to two – I was at a friend’s house. She had a little hand-written note on her refrigerator, on red construction paper, which said, “Lay hold of goodness, rather than justice. -St. Isaac the Syrian” I commented that maybe I needed one of those for my fridge. We …
What’s for dinner?
More importantly, can your dinner save your life? Alexandra Petri’s piece for the Washington Post is hilarious. (If you love puns…if not, there’s nothing to see here. Keep moving.) EAT CHEESE LIVE FOREVER
Priorities, or For the Love of Butter
First, the funny story. A friend of mine had just had a baby. The baby was fussy and spitting up a lot, and so she thought the baby might be reacting to the cows’ milk my friend was drinking. She might have to cut out dairy. She was willing quit milk, cheese, and the like, …
It’s a Good Day When…
…the old lady at the bookstore stops you to say, “My, what a big baby that is!” Yeah, this is the same baby who was so small that we couldn’t take him out of the incubator to hold him for the first week and half he was alive; the same one who was eating 10 …
May I recommend: To my daughter, who taught me not to worry about time a beautiful reflection on motherhood via The Washington Post. Have a beauty-full day! (I know it’s cheesy. I couldn’t help myself.)
Denver’s “Angel of Charity” and her Little Red Wagon
There was a great article in the Washington Post on Monday about Servant of God Julia Greeley, who died 100 years ago this week. Julia was born into slavery in Missouri, and freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. She later moved to Denver, where she worked as a housekeeper. There she became Catholic and began the …
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Close to Home
I guess that title could also refer to our renewed search for a permanent dwelling place (prayers for that, please!)… but this poem hit close to home, considering what we’ve been through during the last six months. So I thought I’d share it. Thanks to poets.org and their poem-a-day project for bringing it to my attention. …
Five months…
Jacob is five months old now! (So, like…10 weeks developmentally.) Smiles all around!