Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Today in honor of Valentine’s Day I’ve assembled a collection of quotations about God’s love for us. These are from my book A Love Affair with God, Twelve Traits. This February 14 is also Ash Wednesday. We are on the threshold of Lent, a season when we prepare ourselves to commemorate God’s stupendous act of […]
Me? Perfect? Growing in Virtue
When I entered the convent, we received a chain of beads called an indicator to pin to our side. During the day we moved a bead up every time we did a good deed. This device was to motivate us to make progress in the spiritual life, to become virtuous women. Holiness is not […]
The Bible: God’s Personal Words to You
“My words will never pass away,” Jesus said. His Word is contained in Scripture. This sacred book is meant to be a personal letter. It’s not addressed “To Occupant.” It’s not a duplicated letter like you might send at Christmas. No. It is a love letter from God to you, assuring you that he is […]
True Blue Friends
How many friends do you have on Facebook? Thousands? Many of these are not really friends, right? I venture to say that most people have no more good friends than you can count on one hand. A friend is a person who is very close to you. One definition is “someone who knows all about […]
Art as a Springboard to Prayer
Long ago illiterate people relied on art to learn the faith. Churches were filled with sacred stained-glass windows and statues meant to convey truths and religious stories visually. Their beauty also lifted minds to God. As a child, I had a holy card collection, many of them with sacred art. Did you? Viewing art […]
Lessons from a Hobby: Tatting
I learned to tat, a form of lace making, on a bus. As we rode along on the way to a funeral for a Sister’s mother, I noticed a Sister seated across the aisle in front of me doing strange things with her fingers. Curious, going home, I sat beside her, and she gave me […]
A New You for the New Year
I’m watching the Hallmark movie “Three Wise Men and a Baby,” (very appropriate as Epiphany approaches). This movie is refreshingly different from other Hallmark movies, which are often mocked for having the same plots and details: a move from the city to a small town, saving a building or employment, following a dream, resentment changing […]
Have You Made a New Year’s Resolution?
Here’s a suggestion to improve your life this year: Revitalize your prayer. This month I’ve been writing a book about praying. I offer you one chapter today that might prompt an idea of how you can enrich your relationship with God by dispelling a misconception you might have about prayer. • Prayer should be long. […]
The Importance of Stars
Did you know that Star Street, emblazoned with stars, leads into Bethlehem? It symbolizes the star that led the Magi to the Infant Jesus. Mary, nine-months pregnant, and her husband, Joseph, may have come down this street as they entered the town for the census. Presumably the Magi also followed this route. Sadly, the usual […]
Prove You Love Yourself!
One of my memories is that of my nephew as a toddler clinging to his mother’s leg and saying, “I need some loving.” She responded by picking him and hugging him. All of us need loving. The primary human being we need love from is us. Loving ourselves is not a sin. In fact, Jesus […]
