Having my daughter go through Catholic education has been helping to educate me too. I wasn’t raised Catholic, so there are huge gaps in my knowledge of saints, for example. Last week, my daughter was told the story of Saint Teresa de Ávila in Sunday school, and we had a conversation about St. Teresa’s vision […]
I resisted the Sacrament of Penance (confession) for most of my Catholic life, mainly because I didn’t understand it. If my sins had fallen into the category of “I took the Lord’s name in vain” I might not have fought against it so hard. But the mere idea of telling a fellow human being that […]
My ex-husband and I stood awkwardly together on the front porch making small talk when he came to pick up our daughter. “I’m going to pursue an annulment,” he said, apropos of nothing. “I hope you cooperate.” I stammered out an affirmative reply as my stomach lurched, and as soon as I was back in […]
Lent means two different things to me. On one hand, the onset of Lent means Bible study and prayer. It reminds me of the forty days before I converted to Catholicism, a time of deep introspection and learning. I was part of a small class at a church in my hometown, and the priest who […]
Recently I volunteered at my daughter’s Catholic nursery school and spent the day helping children and teachers with the day’s activities. My favorite time was sitting in a circle, listening to a story about hibernating bears and singing songs. There was a song that said “good morning” to God, and they genuflected before and after […]
Every year I tell myself the same thing: I’m not going to get caught up in the hectic schedule of visiting every single person in my extended family, or buying presents for a long list of people and all the other things that come with the Christmas holiday season. And every single year the exact […]
The first time I stepped inside a Catholic church was in Quito, Ecuador. I was a college student living abroad and fascinated by the cathedral that sat at the center of the city. The flagstones leading to the entrance were worn by the footsteps of thousands of feet and almost black with age and grime. […]
I was running late to church which, as far as I’m concerned, is one of the more horrible feelings of tardiness. Because of my late arrival I had to park far away in the adjunct parking lot which is really just a grassy field and hiked in at a fast clip wearing heels. At least […]
Last week my three-year-old started nursery school. My ex-husband chose a Catholic school nearby and I agreed that we should enroll her there. I squelched my trepidation and tried to focus on the benefits of a Catholic education. Although we had agreed to raise our daughter Catholic years before she was born, my relationship with […]