What’s in a name when a child is born? For some, it acknowledges a religious or cultural icon. Others choose a family name steeped in tradition—a favorite grandparent or relative who died too young. The choice may be based on…
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47). Liturgical music–singing and playing guitar–is an enormous part of my life. It is how I “proclaim” and “rejoice.” When the pandemic hit, my…
Imagine a world in which active nonviolence is the normative daily news story. You may chuckle and say, “Dream on,” and this is exactly what I am going to ask you to do. Pope Francis’ message on Jan. 1, 2017,…
The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated joyfully by Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary every July 16. Our beautiful home above the Mississippi River is our Mount Carmel; surely it is as beautiful as…
The Freunds at a family reunion in 1995: Josh (l.), Marabeth, Norm, and Gabe Freund. My favorite devotion is to the Communion of Saints. As living, breathing human beings, they faced adversity in their lives. And when push came to…
"Suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind . . ." (Acts 2:2) This reading for Pentecost shows that sometimes we recognize the Spirit in strong driving winds. But other times, Spirit speaks in quiet whispering…
Associate Grace Mendez and her family: John Sr. (l.), John Jr., Norma, Grace, and Norma Wright in 1957. Mother’s Day has been an official holiday since President Woodrow Wilson signed the measure in 1914. It was conceived by Anna Jarvis…
Be a tree hugger: BVMs Mira Mosle and Mary Ann Zollmann embrace a tree during a prayer ritual. Featured in the fall 2020 issue of Salt magazine. by Eileen Fuchs, BVM I recall as a child going on trips with…
THE RESURRECTION GOSPEL Jn 20:1–9 EASTER SUNDAY Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east.”—GM Hopkins Do you believe that we are “easter” people? How do we show that Christ easters…
THE PASSION OF JESUS GOSPEL Mk 14:1–15:47 PALM SUNDAY Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or remove it. He came to fill it with His Presence.”—Paul Claudel Who needs the Presence of Christ today? By phone or visit…