Note: I received a copy of "Radical Saints: 21 Women for the 21st Century" in exchange for an honest review. I love learning about saints. Well, I love learning about people, and saints are holy, inspiring people, so they're my favorite. I especially love learning about female saints — people who struggled with the challenges … Continue reading 6 New Friends From “Radical Saints”
I put on my headphones and logged on to the platform my therapist's practice uses for tele-therapy. Soon, I saw the face of the therapist I hadn't seen — hadn't needed to see — in almost a year. I'd been putting off making the appointment for a week or two, but after two meltdowns and a few almost-meltdowns, … Continue reading I Talked to a Therapist Last Week. You Should, Too.
"Your grandfather always says, 'We eat to live; we don't live to eat.'" So my mother told me when I was 15 and became hypoglycemic. I don't think I really appreciated this wisdom, which came from my diabetic grandfather, until last year. I was diagnosed with PCOS and endometriosis after a decade of suppressing my … Continue reading Eating to Live, Not Living to Eat
“Intense love does not measure, it just gives" (St. Teresa of Calcutta). On Saturday, my boyfriend proposed to me. I was expecting a proposal sometime this fall, but I was not expecting it on Saturday, so I was very surprised. It was a simple, sweet proposal, and I said yes as soon as I recovered … Continue reading The Best Love Story Is Your Love Story
I've always wanted to have a devotion to the rosary. It was a combination of factors that drew me in, from photos of beautiful rosaries on the internet to the idea of the prayer being, in the words of St. Padre Pio, "the weapon against the evils of the world today." I've also always had … Continue reading Developing a Rosary Habit
When I was six years old, my cousin turned seven on April 7, excited about her "golden birthday." I remember being jealous, because my golden birthday would be my 30th — and, of course, by then, I'd be too old to enjoy it. I am 30 today, August 30. And I do not feel too old to … Continue reading My Next Decade: Turning My Focus Outward
Edith Stein, also known as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, was a philosopher, teacher, academic and then Carmelite nun. Born to a German Jewish family on Yom Kippur in 1891, she fell away from religion as a teenager, studied philosophy under phenomenologist Edmund Husserl, and converted to Catholicism after discovering (and staying up all … Continue reading 13 Things Edith Stein Could Have Written Today
In June, I became a godmother for the fifth time. Upon hearing that I had another godchild, several people asked, “Do you have to take care of all of those kids if something happens to their parents?!” Not logistically, but as a godparent, my role is to care for my godchildren throughout their entire lives. … Continue reading An Open Letter to My Godchildren
Melinda Gates' new book "The Moment of Lift" is subtitled "How Empowering Women Changes the World." It's true. Empowering women can change the world. It has changed the world. It's still changing the world. But not completely in the way she thinks. An entire chapter is dedicated to family planning. It's called "Every Good Thing." And just a few … Continue reading What Melinda Gates Gets Wrong About Birth Control
The crown of thorns should not be beautiful. Thorns, after all, are the ugliest part of a rose bush. They prickle and cut. Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” (Matthew … Continue reading The Crown of Thorns
