~1~ Two of our nieces made their First Communions this spring—one in New England and one here in Baltimore. We missed the one in New England, but I managed to get to the Mass in Baltimore where our niece received Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. It was wonderful to be with her […]

The driver had been driving a tractor-trailer. He was trying to turn into a parking lot across the street to make a delivery when the flatbed ripped into the side of our van.

Our church is under renovation, so we will be celebrating Mass in other parish spaces for a while. What I’ve been surprised to discover is how much beauty I find in the liturgies held in our temporary spaces.

The long holiday weekend came just when we needed it. We are limping our way to the finish line with the school year, and I’m counting down on the number of lunches I still need to pack.

I don’t usually ask St. Rita to intercede for me on ordinary problems. But every now and then, I come up against a problem that simply can’t be solved. I look at it from every angle and see no way through. That’s when I know that it’s time to take it to prayer—and it might […]

The other day we were driving together as a family, talking the way you do when you’re in the car. “Mom,” one of our sons asked, “what was the best day of your life?” Wow. I couldn’t answer. How could I pick just one? There was the day my husband asked me to marry him. […]

When we can do nothing else, I am so grateful to be able to pray.

It’s my little sister’s birthday. Somehow when my other siblings have birthdays, I don’t really notice that I’m aging. When the youngest in the family turns another year older, it hits differently. Maybe, just maybe, I’m getting older after all. But no complaints here. I’m grateful for all of it. And I’m especially thankful for […]

Watching them making the most of a cool spring afternoon, I was struck by how they were enjoying spring with their boundless energy and no specific plan. Surely, that is what spring afternoons should be.

Some time ago, one of the mysterious social media algorithms fed me a promotion for a craft bazaar at the Cloisters in Baltimore. I thought immediately of my friend Jaime, whose artistic creations seemed perfect for that setting, and I sent her the post.