This year, May did not feel like flowers. May felt like motion. Relentless motion. One particular four-day stretch required an hour-by-hour list just to keep my world from falling apart. I slipped into survival mode. It was the kind of motion mothers understand: calendars, forms, schedules, clothes, ironing, forgotten details recovered at the last minute, unexpected trips to urgent care, and celebrations that require someone quietly holding everything together behind the scen

Why depth matters: Easter is not over; we’re just getting started. I did not post on Good Friday or Holy Saturday. Part of that was practical. Part of it was intentional. Some days are not meant to be hurried past with commentary. Some days are meant to be kept. And that is part of what I have been thinking about now that Easter has burst upon us in all her light: Catholicism does not train us to treat the holiest mysteries as moments to glance at and move on from. It teache

Holy Thursday and the love that kneels The house has been quieter these last few days. As I have worked towards living more liturgically, in the rhythm of the church, it brings to life the season and the Word for me. I have slowed my commitments to focus on the gravity of the week. More quiet, less hurry, more candles, less light. The ache of betrayal has already entered the Gospel. The shadow has been gathering. Morning by morning, the Lord has been opening the ear, teaching

Holy Wednesday and the faithfulness of God By Holy Wednesday, Holy Week has changed its tone. The palms are long since folded away. Monday’s tenderness still lingers somewhere in the house. Tuesday’s ache still lingers somewhere in the body. And now the week feels quieter, but it's heavier too. How fitting that as I type the dark sky is lit by lightning as ominous thunder splits the quiet in my study . The darkness is also moving in the Gospel. Judas has begun his bargain. Th

Holy Tuesday and the wounds that still ache Holy Tuesday’s Gospel is not an easy reading. Some passages of Holy Week feel tender. Some feel solemn. Some feel beautiful in a way that almost carries you. But today’s Gospel is sharp in a different way. It enters the room and touches places many of us would rather keep guarded. Jesus is troubled in spirit. Betrayal is no longer a shadow somewhere out ahead; it is already at the table. And before the night is over, denial will be

Holy Monday in the domestic church Holy Monday does not begin in a spotless chapel or a perfectly ordered heart. It begins, for many of us, in a house. On a Monday when things may feel a little chaotic. For me it did. I woke up a bit confused at first about what day it was and what I was supposed to be doing. After a busy weekend on the heels of being sick, I was a bit disoriented this morning. Monday unfortunately began with dishes still in the sink, the shoes by the door, t

Photo: My own; Hermleigh, TX I spoke at a women's gathering today at a chapel in the middle of a cotton field. As the wind howled through the windows of the tiny space in West Texas fashion, I was tasked with leading the Stations of the Cross through the eyes of Mary ( Mary's Way of the Cross ) followed by my reflections. When preparing, I expected Mary's Way of the Cross to be something tender and prayerful. Something quietly Marian. And although it is all of those things, w

On Lazarus, the love of Christ, and trusting God when the storms blow through Sunday’s readings led us straight into one of the most tender and startling moments in Scripture: the raising of Lazarus in John 11:1–45. Alongside it, the Church gave us Ezekiel 37:12–14, Psalm 130, and Romans 8:8–11; readings full of grief, waiting, and the promise that God brings life where we see only death. Photo: my own; Groton, Massachusetts There is a kind of love that feels beautiful until

Today marks one year since one of the most grace-filled days of my life. On March 13, 2025, in the heart of Lent, my husband was baptized. In that same Mass, we were both confirmed in the Catholic Church, received our first Holy Communion, and in the midst of it all, had our marriage convalidated before God and the Church. We had the joy of celebrating a second wedding with friends and family in attendance. The readings that day were from Esther, Psalm 138, and Matthew 7:7–12

Discernment, healing, and the freedom to hear God clearly Yesterday was International Women’s Day, and while I do not personally identify with or embrace the full feminist movement, I am not blind to the reality of female suppression or the quiet ways women can be diminished. I can appreciate the sentiment behind International Women’s Day without subscribing to every ideology attached to it. I have lived enough, seen enough, and healed enough to know that a woman’s voice, dig

There’s a surprise mercy in Lent that I didn’t expect: Fasting can feel like freedom. Not loud freedom. Not the “I finally got my life together” kind. It’s quiet. Peaceful. What my soul longs for. When I stop feeding every craving the second it speaks up, I remember I’m not owned by my appetites. I don’t have to obey every impulse, every mood, every urge to soothe, scroll, or control. Fasting slows me down just enough to notice what’s actually driving me. And in that quieter

One of the biggest misconceptions about Lent is that it’s essentially a church-approved diet plan. Every year, as Ash Wednesday approaches, conversations turn quickly to what we’re “giving up”: sugar, coffee, social media, bread. While these sacrifices can be meaningful, Lent is about far more than trimming waistlines or testing willpower. When reduced to self-improvement, Lent loses its heart. From the beginning, Lent was never about becoming a better version of ourselves. I

Disruption. Even typing the word makes me feel like I literally need to look over my shoulder. There are times that I talk about things with people who are close, and I get that feeling. I have learned to acknowledge it and let it pass. Tonight I lit a candle to type beside because of the symbolism and the flickering reminder that this is holy and refining work. And that the Lord is right here in the disruption. Sometimes faithfulness feels like lighting a candle in a room th

The sunrise earlier this week felt like a catechesis, a gentle kind of teaching in the ways of God. Quiet. Emerging without fanfare. Existing. Light spilling into the middle of real life. Before the first email; before the first hard conversation; before I asked myself whether I had enough grace to carry the day. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
 his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;
 great is thy faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” say

I hate when my kitchen is cluttered. Any time in my life that something important is about to happen (studying for finals in college, finishing a major project in grad school, preparing for a big doctor’s appointment for my special-needs son, sending my oldest off on his first day of kindergarten) I have begun in the kitchen. Counters cleared. Sink empty. Floors swept. I cannot proceed with the “big things” until the ordinary space is put in order. For a long time, I thought

I haven’t written here since Christmas, and there are a few honest reasons for that. After sharing about trauma, my body remembered what my mind had carefully packed away. As Scripture reminds us, “My soul is downcast within me; therefore I remember you” (Lamentations 3:20–21). Sometimes remembering is holy. Sometimes it is heavy. And sometimes, it asks us to pause. As Bessel van der Kolk names it, “the body keeps the score.” The 2:54am wakeups in a panic returned. The brai

Yes, the nativity scene is lovely and meaningful. When my children were babies, I too related so much to Jesus coming to earth as an infant. There’s something profoundly moving about seeing Him there. The Church actually intends the crèche to draw us into the very heart of Christmas; however, the mystery is that this baby is not just cute, but truly God made flesh . When we see the child in the manger, it’s easy to think only of His littleness. But the liturgies of Christmas

Anxiety, Modern Worship, and the Exhausted Soul Author's note: Dear reader, I'm coming out of the gate with a heavy topic. With heavy topics come the need for some higher-level thinking and writing. They deserve it. Suffering lasts but for a time, and eventually there will be joy again. But even after the suffering is gone, the effects of it are lasting . My life experience with those frayed threads will not go unused. God gave me the tools to continue to weave them back into

I want to start here by gently clearing the air. Many of us were taught about Catholicism without ever being taught from it. I know; I was one of them. Before we go any further into theology, liturgy, or everyday faith, it matters that misunderstandings within the Christian faith don't become barriers. Ill-formed perspectives, often inherited and not examined, can quietly close us off before we ever listen. This isn't about winning arguments. I'm not here to argue. It's about

Why I'm Here, and Why This Matters. Grace is rarely loud. Though not readily tangible, I envision it stitched quietly into the fabric of ordinary days. It is stitched into work that feels unseen, relationships that stretch us, suffering that humbles us and gives us pause, and moments of joy that in our daily hustle we barely have time to name. This space exists to help us notice those sacred threads and learn to live in a way that allows God's grace to shape not only what we