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November 2017

November 09, 2017

A Prayer and a Work of Mercy for the Friendship Room

Saint Philip's fast starts less than a week from today! Latin Catholics don't start Advent...

October 2017

October 16, 2017

A Plummeting Ghost

I once read that, if you ever find yourself falling to your death, you should say "My...

October 10, 2017

A Reader Asks: Is the Eucharist Cannibalism?

A friend had a question: what do I say to a person, who is soon to...

October 04, 2017

The Mirror and the Font

I took Rose on an expedition to the thrift shop, to look for fifty cent...

September 2017

September 02, 2017

The Rose of Sharon on the First of the Year

September First is the beginning of the Eastern Church's year. This year, it also seems...

August 2017

August 24, 2017

Vocation of the Half-Baked Catholic

I shouldn't have gone to church on Sunday. No, really, I shouldn't. I was...

June 2017

June 28, 2017

Ohio Valley Canticle

I've been trying to fit in here for almost eleven years now-- trying to find a...

June 20, 2017

The Toy Box Trap And The Heart of Christ

I am not a wise person, but I've become wiser in this respect: I realize...

June 16, 2017

It Started With The London Fire

It started with the London fire. Images of it were all over the internet, as...

June 05, 2017

What’s in the Dark

One learns what the poor's real needs are, when they themselves have to learn to...

April 2017

April 17, 2017

Expecto Bock-Peck?

It was going to be my first Pascha in the Byzantine Catholic church. I wanted...

April 15, 2017

The God of Broken People

My friend Theresa posted a question on Facebook yesterday. "Can anyone remember which saint had...

April 14, 2017

The Fourteenth Station: Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb

We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You...

April 07, 2017

The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You, because by Your Holy Cross You...

April 05, 2017

The Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

We Adore You, O Christ, and we bless You, because by Your holy cross...

March 2017

March 31, 2017

The Tenth Station: Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You, because by Your holy cross You...

March 30, 2017

Praying With A Madwoman’s Heart

It seems like a long time ago, now. She was one of the pious women...

March 24, 2017

The Eighth Station: Jesus Consoles the Women of Jerusalem

We adore You, O Christ, and we bless, You, because by Your holy cross you...

March 22, 2017

The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls The Second Time

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless You, because by Your holy cross, you...

March 16, 2017

Every Face An Icon

The other day, I read a short piece entitled "3 Things You Didn't Know About...

March 15, 2017

The Fifth Station: Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless You, because by Your holy cross You...

February 2017

February 21, 2017

Lent Without Bread

Some nights I make meatloaf, and serve it with mashed potatoes. Last night I was...

February 09, 2017

That No Souls May Be Led Astray

I don't watch football. I don't care if anyone else watches football. I don't imagine...

February 03, 2017

Goin’ To The Chapel

When I was growing up, we had a chapel in our house. I knew that...

December 2016

December 19, 2016

Why Were You Gone So Long?

There was a hard frost outside this morning. All the puddles from the weekend's rain...

November 2016

November 20, 2016

Snow on Roses

October is the most colorful month in the Ohio Valley. The trees blaze up before...

November 15, 2016

Cry of the Captives

Yesterday I went down to the Friendship Room to visit with Molly. I brought my...

November 07, 2016

It’s Just Clear Blood, I Promise

There was no need for Father Vasyl to apologize, let alone apologize twice. The whole...

November 06, 2016

Jerusalem to Jericho

Last night at the anticipation Divine Liturgy, we heard the gospel of the Good...

November 01, 2016

Saints Look Up: A Meditation for All Saints’ Day

When I was a girl, I had several appropriately dull little books telling short hagiographies...