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Denise Bossert

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Catholic

2014-01-12T21:22:52-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Epiphany of an Unfaithful Heart

Last updated on: January 12, 2014 at 9:22 pm By Denise Bossert

I’m beginning to think there’s a lot more that goes into being faithful than what I once thought. It’s about perseverance when I’d rather take a nap. It’s about trust when I’d like to call in all those favors I’ve done for others, strong-arm when necessary. It’s about dying to myself for my kids, the grandkids, my husband, my parish family – for Jesus Christ in the Eucharist in the monstrance in the middle of the night when someone needs a... Read more

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beginning again

Evangelical Protestant

2014-01-10T16:19:05-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Leaving Bethlehem

Last updated on: January 10, 2014 at 4:19 pm By Denise Bossert

I’m not ready. I’d rather stay here, in this house. The company left yesterday. It’s time to begin taking down Christmas and getting on with Ordinary Time. But I am dragging my feet. I enjoyed it, and now I’m clinging to it. I’d like to keep it a few more days – maybe forever. Not the flu I caught over Christmas despite the flu shot in October. But the rest. The baking, the hostessing, the linen changing for guests, the... Read more

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agorophobia

dream to leave Bethlehem

2014-01-10T04:08:53-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Playing Church

Last updated on: January 10, 2014 at 4:08 am By Denise Bossert

Audrey and I were good friends when we were young. In high school, our paths didn’t cross very often as we simply didn’t have many classes together. But in middle school, things were different. On one occasion, she came to my house, and we ended up at the church. That wasn’t so odd, because my brother and sister and I were in the church quite often after hours. It was almost a second home (since our dad was pastor there).... Read more

2014-01-08T16:49:58-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Question I Asked My Dad (the Protestant Preacher)

Last updated on: January 8, 2014 at 4:49 pm By Denise Bossert

In the mid-1990s, my father took a new pastorate in Illinois. The Presbyterian congregation had suffered great loss in membership when a new, independent, charismatic church opened its doors for business and began recruiting members from the rosters of local parishes (from all denominations and even the local Catholic parish). Dad had a challenge on his hands. How does one keep parishioners excited about remaining Presbyterian when there was so much excitement about what was happening just down the street... Read more

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becoming Catholic

Catholic or Protestant

Christian unity

many denominations

2014-01-05T16:31:16-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Twelfth Night Christmas Party

Last updated on: January 5, 2014 at 4:31 pm By Denise Bossert

Last night, before the snow began falling, my husband and I went to a Twelfth Night Christmas party. The night was something from a dream. We revisited a home we had not seen in seventeen years and talked with professors we knew in graduate school. And I had the thought before the party began, before we even left our home – what if we stepped across the threshold and suddenly were transformed into the people who met and married seventeen... Read more

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A Twelfth Night Christmas Party

2014-01-04T17:46:46-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What One Woman Did With Grief

Last updated on: January 4, 2014 at 5:46 pm By Denise Bossert

I’m fascinated by Elizabeth Ann Seton for a number of reasons. One, she’s a convert to the Catholic Church. Two, her grandfather – if I remember correctly – was an Anglican minister. Three, she was tough in the face of loss. Her mother died. Her father died. Her husband died. Two of her children died. Her sisters died. I probably would have wanted to die too. But not Elizabeth Seton. Instead, she grabbed hold of the grace she found in... Read more

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Conversion

feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

grief

preacher's granddaughter

2014-01-03T17:01:49-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Save Money & Live Simply

Last updated on: January 3, 2014 at 5:01 pm By Denise Bossert

1. This year, learn one new hobby. Try to make it a time-honored craft, like knitting, crocheting, Artisan bread-making, rug-hooking, candy-making, or painting. (If you already are proficient at one of these, pass your knowledge on to another!) Your new skill should be personally entertaining, but it should also be something that you can utilize as a gift-giving source. 2. Make your own disinfecting cleaning wipes. Cut a roll of quality paper towel in half using a serrated knife. Insert... Read more

2013-12-29T20:15:08-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Adventure is About to Begin: a 2014 that promises the impossible

Last updated on: December 29, 2013 at 8:15 pm By Denise Bossert

It’s the excitement I used to feel when I was a child and it was time for the Children’s Film Festival on Saturday morning. The cartoons were over, and that was okay because Kukla, Fran and Ollie were about to present a movie. That’s where I met Heidi. It’s where I visited the Swiss Alps and had a curmudgeony grandpa who raised goats and befriended a girl in a wheelchair. It’s the convergence of adventure and fear – like when the babysitter would... Read more

New Year's Resolution

2013-12-28T15:32:13-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Remembering Seabiscuit

Last updated on: December 28, 2013 at 3:32 pm By Denise Bossert

I can vividly remember two Christmas presents from December 2003. My daughter gave my father a plastic horse. Jennifer turned five right before Christmas that year, and she was determined that she would pick out and purchase a gift for everyone in the family. She didn’t want money or opinions from anyone. It was her year to be a giver. She chose a plastic horse at the dollar store and declared, “This one’s for Grandpa.” I guess that Christmas was... Read more

2013-12-24T21:05:47-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The greatest Christmas gift is the original Christmas gift.

Last updated on: December 24, 2013 at 9:05 pm By Denise Bossert

I’ve had the same dream twice in the last few weeks. In the dream, I am dying – not the kind of dream where you are falling and about to hit the ground or someone is going to shoot you and you’ll be dead instantly. I am dreaming that I have an illness and the loneliness & terrifying suffering stretches out before me. There. Is. Nothing. Else. I feel the panic rising in me. There is no escape. No one can... Read more

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