The treasure of poverty
For a while there, I only owned one piece of furniture. It's that chair pictured above. The bean bag chair was borrowed. (Does a bean bag...
The heart of a mother
I never expected it would be so hard to find black flats. They're either too tight or too wide. They dig into my ankle or slip off when I...
Six months gone
When I was little, living a blissful childhood in a shoebox of a house with no TV and a big backyard, my grandfather sent a camcorder...
Let Him enter
First, I cried. Then, I think I threw myself a pity party or two as I am wont to do, prayed my new favorite How could you? prayer to my...
Hair apparent
It's all St. Clare's fault, really. You see, I used to have long hair. Long, thick, wavy hair. I'd pull it into a ponytail when I was...
Cancel all pity parties
How does God get your attention? Fr. James asked in his homily. Well, there are all sorts of ways I could answer that question. But...
The inefficiency of intimacy
Every weekday morning, it's the same. I wait for the last click of the church doors when the sacristan leaves, and I settle into my...
On being the one who can't repay
I recently spent two weeks in Philadelphia. Two long, full, glorious weeks. I stayed in three different homes and reunited with dozens of...
Out of the shadows
When I was 25, I got my ears pierced and started eating meat for the first time in my life. (It was the height of my rebellion.) And I...
The only way is through
We're Going on a Bear Hunt was one of my favorite books as a kid. A rather adventurous (dare I say reckless?) father and his four young...
