“Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low.” Isaiah 40:3-4 MY PARENTS HAVE LIVED for many years in North Carolina. It is a constant source of consternation to my father how easily a red

Whose feast is it tomorrow, December 6? Hint: his name is in an old and familiar Christmas carol! As children, my sister and I used to put out our shoes on this night, with hopeful anticipation that Jolly Old St. Nick would stop by and leave a toy or treat.

What is your name for God? In Advent the readings from Mass and the Hours address God with many names: O Key of David, O Root of Jesse, O Adonai. Throughout Advent I’ll share a few titles that I like, and you can think of your own name for God

Thanksgiving isn’t just a holiday, but a way of life. There are so many reasons to pause everyday and give thanks for the everyday blessings in our lives. Have you seen the website Posters for Good? Here is one from the site to get your litany of gratitude going today.

Contemplation means, among other things, seeing the real. Our founding sister, Sister Maria Aloysia Wolbring, saw the real in the elderly at a time when there were no nursing homes. Some elderly persons who had no family came to live in the convent in Delphos, Ohio, where our foundress lived

“If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” “It’s always something.” When we hear these expressions, we think of the bad things in life that can pile up: a flat tire, spilled coffee, phone calls and text messages with bad news, loss, a forgotten appointment, a broken foot, disaster. Charles Dickens

We Sisters usually pray “travel prayers” when we drive. Decades ago in some affiliation I recall that at the end of our little litany of prayers, a Sister would add the final touch with “Mother Cabrini, bless our machini!!” To which we all dutifully added our resounding “Amen!” I have

Last week Monday I went to my mailbox after arriving home from work. Lo and behold, what do you think awaited me? My first Christmas card of the season … on November 4! Then, on Thursday I received TWO more cards! Amazingly early! I wonder: how can people be so

I’m putting on a green shirt to attend a parish gathering. The front says “St. Richard Parish Family.” The reverse has a black tree with “Family Reunion” in white. The roots sport the word “Jesus.” Our parish in Swanton, Ohio hopes that everyone realizes that all of us are rooted

Sunday’s Gospel was the familiar and beloved story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). We read in Scripture: “Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was, but he could not see him because of the crowd,