Book Review: The Catholic Worker Movement – Intellectual and Spiritual Origins by Mark and Louise Zwick

(My husband showed me this book in a half-price bookstore a couple of years ago and after reading it my life has never been the same. This book introduced me to the Catholic Worker movement, which I barely knew beforehand. It now stands as the first of many books I have read about the movement [...]

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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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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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Wealth and the Heavy Fur Coat

No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Lk 16:13) …echoes from last Sunday’s Gospel. What a beautiful selection of readings we had this past Sunday. The message of the Prophet Amos is [...]

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This Week’s Reflection: On Seeking and Falling in Love

This week, I thought I would let St. Josemaría Escrivá speak for himself. One of the things that has attracted me the most to St. Josemaría has been his practical advice and spiritual practices. I especially liked this reflection on the “stages” to identify ourselves with Christ. The four stages are: 1) Seeking Christ, 2) [...]

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Growing in Holiness with the Saints in Times of Aridity

As Pope Benedict XVI said on one of his Wednesday’s Audiences when talking about the saints, “Holiness does not consist in not making mistakes or never sinning. Holiness grows with the capacity for conversion, repentance, willingness to begin again, and above all with the capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness.” And who would have thought that [...]

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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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