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May 2026

May 13, 2026

The Difference a Name Can Make

Have you ever thought about the way changing a name can change your whole perspective?...

January 2025

January 13, 2025

A Stir Fry, a Stomach Ache, and a Sermon

It started with a chicken stir fry. I am very good at reading labels. I...

June 2024

June 11, 2024

Today I Won a Battle

There is a thing that can happen when you're chronically ill. There's a moment...

November 2023

November 22, 2023

On A Dark Night

I got sick again. If you've never had a chronic illness, you cannot know...

July 2023

July 09, 2023

When I Wasn’t Writing

I haven't been so well. I'm never well, as my regular readers know and my...

August 2022

August 28, 2022

Conversion is Turning Around

Just after I got depressed, I got sick. I am sick so much less...

November 2021

November 11, 2021

The Me I Do Not Know

Just a warning to others who have been traumatized by diets, I'm going to describe...

October 2021

October 21, 2021

The Colors of Autumn

It finally got cool in Steubenville. I love cool weather, but the sudden change always...

March 2021

March 09, 2021

Chronic Illness, Phone Tag, and a Depressing Start to the Week

The doctor's office called this morning, when I was half asleep and depressed. I had...

February 2021

February 20, 2021

The Mystery of Saint Francis and the Pixie Cut

I cut my hair off for Lent this year. Well, that's not exactly the sequence...

February 06, 2021

Chronic Illness and the Body of Christ

The lesson I learned after Monday's ill-fated blood test, is that you're not supposed...

January 2021

January 05, 2021

Sometimes We Do So Well

They didn't tell me it would be THAT kind of ultrasound. I had been picturing...

December 2020

December 24, 2020

The Rust Belt Hallelujah

It's raining in LaBelle. The rain is falling very hard. It started at about...

April 2020

April 09, 2020

On the Darkest Holy Thursday

We've reached the end of Lent, the beginning of Triduum. Sunday will be Easter. The...

August 2019

August 03, 2019

The One Who Does Not Abandon

I read an article in The Mighty the other day that made me so...

May 2019

May 17, 2019

For Anyone Struggling with the News This Week

I have many, many things to say about the news of the past week....

March 2019

March 06, 2019

A Word on Fasting

Here it is Ash Wednesday in the Latin Rite. Some of our Eastern brothers and...

October 2018

October 15, 2018

What I Wish Someone had Told me About Chronic Illness

There is something I wish people would have told me, when I first came down...

January 2018

January 14, 2018

Chronic Illness, Catholic Guilt and the Sunday Obligation

I haven't been to Liturgy since Christmas. I wanted to go. But with this sickness, I...

January 04, 2018

Notes on Our Lady While Sick in Bed

Apologies for the radio static, my friends. My chronic illness is apparently not Catholic and...

October 2017

October 11, 2017

We Remain Human

My friend Anna is beautiful. She's always posting selfies of her new makeup experiments-- makeup is...

August 2017

August 26, 2017

I Try To Pray

The flare has been going on all week. I haven't gotten out of bed before...

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...

May 2017

May 04, 2017

Thoughts Ahead of Today’s “Pro-Life” Legislation

Today I'm scared. I know, there are a lot of things I ought to be...

March 2017

March 25, 2017

Thoughts on the Death of the American Healthcare Act

I thought I was going to die. I have four different "pre-existing conditions," maybe five...

March 21, 2017

Tuesday Morning Glory Story

I hadn't had breakfast yet. I have acute gastritis and IBS; medication keeps much of...

October 2016

October 18, 2016

CFS From a Bystander’s Viewpoint

(Image via Pixabay.) It seems I can't shut up today. The article everyone is noticing...

July 2016

July 28, 2016

You Know What the Divine Mercy Feels Like?

I know I talked about this once before. But do you know what else the Divine...