Sr. Bethany Madonna: "You follow Me:" Letting Love Lead

In this moment I feel enlightened, discouraged, and feel as though we Catholics are TOTALLY selling ourselves short. just watched an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love.) She professes no religion as far as I know but she came across as a heart-wide-open, fully alive person. Her relishing the romance of simply being alive was irresistibly attractive. I found myself asking, “how can someone who has only a small fraction of the truth be so enamored with

“A mother’s love is forever,” goes the old saying. Unfortunately, this isn’t always true. A mother’s love sometimes ends where her issues begin. In my travels to speak I have connected with women whose mothers are estranged, overbearing, emotionally unavailable, or abusive. My heart hurts for these beautiful women who feel adrift and hurt. I’m especially aching for them on a holiday that reminds them that their complicated, messed up relationship with mom should be joyful and

I watched the sun rise through the plane window, pervading the horizon with its orange glow. Below, toy houses and cars and roads and trees and boats and all manner of human constructs busied themselves getting themselves where they needed to go. As we dipped below the clouds I stared, fascinated, at the humdrum of lights and activity. It was so easy to look down and forget that in every house and car and building, hungry human hearts were beating and longing and crying out f

Maybe this post will resonate with you... Sometimes events fall out in such a way that it seems like no one cares about you. Ever feel that? You know you’re being irrational, or at least you hope you are, but you just hurt to feel that you are cared for. I had an instance recently where I felt like some people who are important to me didn’t care about me. There was no explanation given for dropping out on our plans and communication was poor. When I asked for one it was ignor

From the Liturgy of the Hours: "In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death." Can there be more hope than that? Can anything be more beautiful than a tenderly compassionate God? I was reflecting after I received communion yesterday on the moment when they laid the cross on Christ's shoulders. Despite his immense pain he embraced it, loving us from the depths of his beautifu