In these reflections, I aim to show how the gift of our bodies benefits everyone. Our bodies are meant for more than pleasure or pain. Even angels lack bodies; God gave us ours with purpose, making the visible reveal the invisible—much like a Sacrament, a visible sign...
As I sat in the ear doctor's office last week, waiting to be seen, I was mesmerized by the pencil drawing of the inner ear on the wall. The detail was incredible. Wow, Barb, you should get out more. No, seriously, we've all seen anatomical posters of the body in the...
Today was an unexpected joy. A dear friend was celebrating her birthday and had invited me to tag along with her sisters for a spa day. I need no excuse for a spa day, and was happy to join them. We were all around the same age and had an uncanny number of similar...
Have you ever been confounded by how something turned out? Confounded? What does that mean? To be perplexed by situations or people that do not meet your expectations. That hardly sounds like a gift. As Christians, we can assume life should be a walk in the park, and...
If there is anything I've learned over these sixty-plus years, it is this: trust Jesus. It's easy, but we tend to make it difficult. We like being in control and calling the shots. Have you ever sat down and really thought about how much power you actually have over...
Jesus knew we all need a mom, so He gifted us with His perfect Mother.
Fr. Dave Pivonka, President of Franciscan University, stated in his Holy Spirit podcast on Hallow, that there are 350-thousand Masses celebrated around the world each day. I had to pause and let that sink in. That’s both staggering and amazing! My little grey cells...
We are a people who are stretched to the breaking point. We carry burdens too heavy for us to bear alone. We try and try, to no avail, and are more burdened due to our delay, and the troubles compound. We need that friend named Jesus.
When I think of clusters, peanuts immediately come to mind. Those delicious crunchy chocolatey nuggets of yumminess. But I am not writing about those. Apparently, stars are born in clusters, and migraines can cluster. But I am...
Every dad has them. My dad used to make statements that both baffled and challenged me. "Hold her Newt, she's heading for the barn." I spent years wondering who Newt was. When I finally rode a horse, I understood. If I apply that to myself in real life, it translates,...
We have entered the Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. These three days culminate Christ's redemptive work on our behalf and mark a new beginning for us. Sin is no longer a noose around our neck. Unless we refuse to repent and continue in our sin....
My plan was to be a nurse, and God’s plan for me was to marry. While not opposed to one another, this simultaneous endeavor was impossible to pursue in a third-world country. Years later, my next plan was to be a pastry chef. God’s plan was a series of unexpected yet...
Last year, as a new parishioner and recently retired, I felt God's gentle prompting to host a marriage retreat. This meant asking the Pastor, who didn't know me well, to take a chance and give me his permission to go forward. I appreciated his trust and vote of...
Getting old is happening faster than I imagined. I knew we would; it's what's supposed to happen in life if all goes well. I'm not suggesting I'm shocked every morning at the wrinkled old lady who greets me in the mirror. But I am. Oil of Olay, you lied to us. As a...
The day after Christmas, the readings at Mass took a wild turn. Airwaves wrapped up their nominal tribute to Christmas by continuing to divert our attention with the remnants of Santa Baby and fa la la. The Scripture readings instead douse us with the icy water of...
"Unplanned" is often used as a scapegoat and reason to justify the unthinkable. This is not what I planned... fill in the blank. Most of my life was not what I planned. Yet as I look back there is evidence of God doing something good in all those unplanned moments. I...
On this Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I pray for our country and all peoples of the Americas. Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen. Forty-five years have passed in what feels like an instant. Unforgettable are the wild...
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that humans, starting at a very young age, tend to gather stuff. I observed this firsthand with my grandkids and any child I’ve had the good fortune to spend time with. “Mine,” shouts the toddler, and thus begins the desire to...
Is anything more frustrating than a tree that will not produce the fruit it was designed to deliver? After purchasing a lemon tree and following all the prescribed directions for it to flourish, we rightfully expected to find lemons. Instead, we got a dead tree that...
I know what it feels like to lose a baby through a miscarriage. Not once, but twice. I understand the crushing pain of infertility for years. I, too, have grandbabies that I hope to someday meet in Heaven, who were also miscarried. Even though I never met my own...
Have you ever wished you could talk to your younger self and share more ingenious ways of doing things? I've been thinking about this as I age. I've grown wiser. I fought with my neighbor when I was in sixth grade. We decided we should duke it out after school....