The Greek Orthodox Church has a fascinating tradition for the Monday after Easter. On this day, the faithful gather to trade jokes with one another. Why? Because they believe the greatest “joke” of all occurred on Easter Sunday: Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. In honor of that venerable tradition, I’m devoting today’s blog to humor. […]
For Holy Week, I would like to share a few thoughts on pain. Some of this comes from my book In Steadfast Love, chapter 16. I will include some reflection questions throughout this post. Everyone experiences pain. No one is exempt from it. No one has the perfect health, perfect family, perfect friends, perfect job, […]
None of the 11 saints associated with the United States are of African descent despite the presence of Black Catholics in the U.S. since the 18th Century. But here is one individual who could very well become one of the first Black Saints in our country, Pierre Toussaint (1776-1853). Toussaint’s story is a fascinating one. […]
I’m reading a book entitled God Is No Laughing Matter by Julie Cameron. The title is misleading, because very early in the book Cameron says that she thinks God has a “pretty good sense of humor.” She cites two proofs: octopuses and those baboons with rainbow colored fannies. But if God is very serious to […]
(Please note: Last week I accidently posted TWO reflections. When I realized my mistake at 5:30 am, I immediately took the first one down and reposted it for today Mar. 8. So, you might have read this reflection last week… or you couldn’t open it and wondered why. Well, here it is. Secondly, my blog […]
Some people exercise during Lent. I’m lucky. I already have an exercise class up here on the third floor where I live with 58 other sisters. It meets at 9:00 am Monday through Friday for about 40 minutes. About eight of us show up pretty regularly. There’s no pressure to come every day. We exercise […]
I recently plowed through Fr. John O’Malley’s large book What Happened at Vatican II? The word plowed is the operative word. The 380 page tome is a serious, scholarly, systematic overview of the Council, “the biggest meeting in the history of the world.” It took me three months of “off-and-on-again reading” to finish the book. […]
Everyone seems to show up for ashes on Ash Wednesday (before Covid, that is). Some priests say there are twice as many people at daily Mass on Ash Wednesday than any other day. One priest, serving on a college campus, said that four times as many students came to Mass on Ash Wednesday than any […]
Someone once asked a scripture scholar if he could summarize the Bible in one sentence. The scholar replied, “I can summarize it in two words: “Life Wins.” I love that! I think of those two words every time I see a green shoot coming up through the muddy earth. Or a flower coming up in […]
It’s time to visit my quotation collection again. If you are familiar with my blog, you know I collect quotes—thousands of them. I jot them on 3 X 5 index cards and file them alphabetically. Currently I have seven drawers of quotes. Today, I’ll flip through the M’s and see what I come up with: […]
Sister of Notre Dame, teacher, student, author, speaker, listener, friend, poet, farm girl. 
The Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio, belong to an international congregation of more than two thousand apostolic women religious. We are one in mind and one in heart for the transformation of the world in Christ. 