On Mortification and the Church

Being a gift to Christ means to give him what we value most: life. What destroys life, what makes it ugly, is sin. It is ugly because it destroys a friendship, it destroys the relationship with the people you love. Friends give you the certainty that you are loved and you cannot help but love [...]

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Fast and Abstinence in Perspective

My friend Soutenus from Catholic Notebook has a wonderful post on where she puts fasting and abstinence in perspective. The post looks at fasting during the Lenten season keeping in mind how our brothers and sisters in Haiti, specifically, suffer from hunger.  Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. I think that Soutenus [...]

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Growing in virtue this Lenten Season

“What are you giving up for Lent?” we are often asked during this time of year. This question usually refers to which specific food or drink we are going to stop eating or drinking during this season. Some go further and want to give up TV shows or the Internet. Although these practices of disciplining [...]

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“Opportunities” for Sanctification

Michael and I finally watched “Evan Almighty” a few weeks ago after many of our friends recommended it and I actually thought it was good for families to watch, because of the many good messages it contained. One of my favorite parts of the movie was when “God” spoke to Evan’s wife about how God [...]

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Sacrifices, Solidarity and Moderation on Thanksgiving Day

I heard this morning on the TODAY Show that an average Thanksgiving meal contains 5,000 calories and I wondered if we have missed the point of the holiday when we just look forward to stuffing ourselves to the point that we can’t walk. Thanksgiving Day is a holiday that my family and I adopted a [...]

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Beyond Courtesy–The Call to Radicality

It is interesting that since I’ve started this blog I have become increasingly aware of my actions, words and even attitudes towards others. Every time I get impatient in traffic and want to honk or want to be rude to the airport security officer, I think about this blog and how I’m always writing about [...]

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Penance on Fridays – Meeting our Lord at the Garden

My Lord, the eternal God for whom there is no time, you bore at the garden the sins and sufferings from the past, present and future of all humanity to take them later to the cross, where your love and justice would be reconciled. My King and my God, My dear and only love, I [...]

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On Redemptive Suffering and Solidarity

Last summer, I burned the top of my foot with boiling water. It was a second degree burn that I will never forget, because it taught me the meaning of pain, loneliness, and solidarity with members of the mystical Body of Christ. The day of the incident, Michael happened to be in town so he [...]

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You notice them, but do you really see them?

(This post was originally written by my boyfriend, Michael Joseph, at our former blog) You’ve noticed him, but do you really see him? That is, do you see a person? The homeless, the hungry and the forsaken are all around us. Jesus promised us that, but he did not choose it to be so: “The [...]

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Tensions in Our Relationships

This past weekend, Michael and I were discussing this past Sunday’s Gospel on Jesus coming to cause division. Then we talked about tensions we sometime experience in our relationships–when our personalities clash with those of others–and he brought to my attention to the following by St. Josemaría Escrivá: You clash with the character of one [...]

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On the Importance of Order and Organization

“Whenever you have order, your time will multiply and, as a result, you will be able to give more glory to God, working more in his service.” St. Josemaría Escrivá (The Way, 80) I have lived with nuns before and I have also visited monasteries and houses of parish priests as well and they are [...]

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Creating our own desert with the Desert Fathers

Antony said, “He who sits alone and is quiet has escaped from three wars: hearing, speaking, seeing: but there is one thing against which he must continually fight: that is, his own heart.” The Desert Fathers are usually considered fanatics by some: they were just literalists who read too much into the Gospel. But perhaps we [...]

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Sacrifices and Solidarity

“Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” (Ecc 1:2) We want to include fiber and vitamins in our diet, but without having to eat fruits and vegetables. We want to be in shape, but without making any physical effort. We want to drink water, but without having to actually drink [...]

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