by Barbara | Jan 24, 2021
Why is it Catholics go through all the hoopla each Lent starting with getting a smudge of ashes on our foreheads? We look ridiculous as the miniscule particles fall like ashen snowflakes on our nose and cheeks creating sometimes unintended comical effects. However, I...
by Barbara | Jan 18, 2021
Our lives for the last year have had to incorporate a whole new level of unanticipated online activity including gatherings, meetings, classes, weddings, funerals, and grocery shopping, to name a few. It has required that we learn a new language and crazy computer...
by Barbara | Jan 10, 2021
Many of us do not remember the Baptismal promises that were stated at our own Baptism. We relied solely on our parents and godparents to speak on our behalf. This weekend and several times throughout the Church year we are given the opportunity to speak for ourselves....
by Barbara | Jan 1, 2021
It is appropriate to take stock of 2020. Like every year before it, there were aspects out of our control. However, there were and continue to be much that is firmly within our power. Some questions we should ponder deeply are: Where did I grow and improve this past...
by Barbara | Dec 31, 2020
Naughty or nice is our choice after all Even when life throws us a curveball. No one can make us kind or sweet, not in life, nor in a Tweet. Our mothers tried to do their best may their efforts be forever blessed. For us to choose rightly is their bequest. We are big...
by Barbara | Dec 19, 2020
Working at a Catholic Church feels like I am right there in the vineyard of the Lord at times. It certainly does not imply that only those who work in churches are knee deep in grape juice. No, the world is the vineyard and opportunities abound in every corner of it....
by Barbara | Dec 13, 2020
Mothers are a sturdy bunch. In fact, motherhood is not for wimps. We all had one, and it is easy to overlook the role and influence our mother had in our lives. While there is a plethora of “how to books” and plenty of unsolicited advice, there is not much that can...
by Barbara | Dec 5, 2020
As I age and have more life behind me than in front of me, I find myself in my deepest emotional and physical pain, identifying most intensely with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here is the woman who in her own Earthly life experienced so much suffering through her fiat....
by Barbara | Nov 28, 2020
I remember bringing a meal and spending time visiting a friend of mine who was having another bout with cancer a few years ago. In a strange turn of events, months later it was that same friend who brought dinner to me as I recovered from a hospitalization. Just two...
by Barbara | Nov 21, 2020
We are halfway through our collective efforts to grow in holiness through the Journey Toward Holiness campaign. “What’s that”, you query? It is a Divinely inspired initiative we have launched to help us form habits that lead to holiness. You can read more about it...
by Barbara | Nov 14, 2020
I sit staring at my one-eyed gingerbread man who I have managed to dismember piece by piece. He is delicious by the way. When I contemplate my own talents, I get a sense of what they are as I look back at my life. If the “inability to say no” is a talent, I have tons...
by Barbara | Nov 7, 2020
Pray for us oh holy Mother of God! He approached the table where I was seated and took the seat next to mine posing a question about how I knew that Mary really interceded in my life, and could the blessings I encountered really be possible? Perhaps, I could give him...
by Barbara | Oct 7, 2020
As a woman, I wear many hats. Wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, friend, mentor, toilet cleaner, meal maker, dessert creator and consumer. But this is only a few of my hats, and like you, they are as diverse and adaptable as the situation requires. We women know how...
by Barbara | Jul 16, 2020
Healthy, fun, mutually supportive, respectful, and loving marriages are possible. These are not just the realities of your great grandparents’ generation and a few rare couples. No, it is a possibility for all married couples. In fact, it is within reach of even the...
by Barbara | Jul 11, 2020
Each day in our life is a new thread, and a tiny piece of the great tapestry of human history. On some level we understand this theoretically. We know we can begin anew each day. God allows start-overs and U-turns. Oftentimes however we get caught up in what feels...
by Barbara | Jun 10, 2020
My children were convinced that I did not have a sense of fun or humor when they were growing up. I must admit that I took my job of mother a little too seriously. This is not to say that I anxiously hovered about them fraught with worry. No. It was more like I did...
by Barbara | Jun 8, 2020
Previously, in my One Mom to Another post I shared a few thoughts on motherhood. I’d like to expand more on this notion of not comparing ourselves to anyone. No woman compares to another. You are the only one of you. There will never ever be another you. Yet, we can...
by Barbara | Jun 8, 2020
My mother has been giving me this wise advice for decades. For many years I would smile and nod. You know the nod that respects the person giving the advice, but also concedes that they cannot fully understand the complexities of the situation. How could she? She...
by Barbara | Jun 8, 2020
“This is my Body given up for you.” These are familiar words we hear during the consecration at every Mass. Jesus so desired to redeem us, that He allowed Himself to be immolated on our behalf. He held nothing back. In looking at the Crucifix we should have no doubt...
by Barbara | Jun 3, 2020
These famous words are the final words recorded in Scripture coming from the Blessed Virgin Mary. Remember the story in John 2:1-11, the Wedding Feast at Cana? Mary let her Son Jesus know that they had run out of wine. It was a big deal then and a big deal even today....
by Barbara | May 27, 2020
"Why do you have to bring God into every conversation?” This seemingly simple question was posed to me by one of my daughters some years ago. I took the occasion to ponder the question. I believe contemplating our relationship with God is just as relevant today for...