A couple decades ago, Christian songwriter Michael Card graced the world with a marvelous song called Come to the Table. Every Holy Thursday I take time to ponder its meaning. “All have been welcomed to come if they might … he freely offers … we freely receive … the hand

I’m gluten / lactose / soy free for medical reasons. This means I can’t always enjoy the same foods that others might be able to eat. Yesterday a phenomenal thing happened. I walked into our monastery kitchen and our generous cook said to me, “Sister, I made you a cake.”

A group of women with whom I meet once a month gifted me with a daily devotional entitled Jesus Calling. This morning I read: “I created you to stay conscious of Me as you go about your daily duties.” For Christians, this is the holiest week of the year as

On a recent trip to the airport to fly to California I, like all the other travelers, needed to produce a photo ID along with my boarding pass. The security agent studied it carefully to be sure it matched the person he saw standing before him. In today’s Gospel reading,

The sculptures of Michelangelo; the beauty, climate, and food of Tuscany; the whole experience of Italy: these are the positive memories that brighten the windiest March day. The feelings of appreciation in my heart held there even a short while change me. Scientifically I know that my heart vibrates

As I heard the Scripture story of the Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8) read both yesterday and again today at Mass, I was struck by the vulnerability of women and how this has been true throughout the centuries. Whether or not the woman is actually guilty almost seems secondary;

  Our founding sister, Sister Maria Aloysia Wolbring, put herself into the hands of the dear God and, whether in Germany or the United States, did whatever needed to be done. Sometimes she was a local superior, sometimes not. She taught school, catechized, took care of the aged, managed a

I had the opportunity yesterday to read a piece on St. John of the Cross, and while it was about the fourth time I read it, it touched me in a whole new way. In the book, Impact of God, Iain Matthew writes of God’s intense desire to enter our

As we celebrate today the Feast of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, I’m reminded of how grateful I am of the gift of true friendship. These two women of the early Church had a relationship deeper than owner and slave; they supported one another in a friendship that led to closer

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Jesus asks us for freedom of heart. As our country faces economic crises, as our Church prays for a new pope, as we start our day with its unknowns, we need freedom of heart. I feel humbly proud of the response of religious