24th
May 2013
My friend blogged the other day about how her boys, when allowed to have whatever they want for breakfast on their birthday, choose cereal. Not just any cereal, but the type of cereal with so much sugar it makes your toes curl. They don’t want pancakes or waffles or strawberry-flavoured milk or ice cream—nope. It’s all about the “vitamin-enriched” bits of crunchy wheat, enhanced with green marshmallows or chunks of chocolate. What’s not to love? And so it is with my ... (Continue reading)
In light of the building collapse in Bangladesh, the media has turned to the ethics of our clothing trades…again. Clothing lines like Joe Fresh (in Canada) and big businesses like Walmart don’t hide the fact that they buy much of their stock from countries that care exactly zero about human life or, rather, from countries that allow (and maybe encourage?) people to work in dangerous conditions that inevitably lead to significant loss of life. It drew my attention to the little hands ... (Continue reading)
Did anyone watch the Boston bombing news with great interest? Were you glued to updates and bulletins, carefully checking the suspects’ faces and watching their every move on the security camera footage released by the FBI—regardless of whether you lived near Boston? I sure did, and I live hundreds of kilometers away. I watched it all with serious concern for the people there. I prayed for and watched the stories about those who stepped in to help during the crisis—and ... (Continue reading)
I’ve been walking around the last few days with the name "Kermit" in my head and vomit close to the surface. You almost have to be made of Teflon to be able to stomach the events that are being laid out in a courtroom in Pennsylvania...tales so horrific it makes me wonder if history is repeating itself here and now and we’re stuck in Nazi Germany. The facts are as gruesome as some of the worst concentration camp stories, and ... (Continue reading)
I’m not a big Simpson’s fan, but I do remember one funny episode where Homer’s neighbour, Ned Flanders—the bible-believing Christian—promises Homer that he will shave off his mustache if Homer agrees to give up swearing. Ned institutes the swear jar and every time Homer lets a cuss word fly, he had to put money in the jar. If memory serves, the jar was all but full by the end of it. The curse words were only implied, not fully spoken, ... (Continue reading)
Spring is here—Alleluia! I've been waiting for warmer weather like a little kid waits for Christmas morning, gleefully counting down the days. It happens every year—just when I can’t stand the gloom any longer, the sun comes out for 25 seconds and the temperature shoots up by 10 degrees and my spirits soar. And every year the current fashions slap me right back down to earth again. Whether it’s the uber-short shorts, strapless tops, or painted-on pants, every year I think ... (Continue reading)
It’s Holy Thursday today, as you likely know, and this year I am confronted with humanity: humanity in all of its ugly beauty. That’s right. Humanity is beautiful. And humanity is ugly. Sort of like the Cross. Today we commemorate Christ, eating the Last Supper with his dear ones, washing their feet, dipping his hand into a dish to touch a beloved traitor. Jesus must have looked at Judas and remembered the woven tapestry of his life—his birth, his childhood, him ... (Continue reading)
Okay, I’m going to do it. You’re probably all Pope-d out as there hasn't been a moment’s break from all things “Pope” since Benedict said, “I’m done” and Francis said, “I’m good to go.” But I’m going to go for it anyways. Today I felt The Spirit, hovering and igniting the world just as He did two thousand years ago in a small room with some scared men. He was vibrant today—like Northern Lights vibrant—rushing through the waters of the Cardinals, giving them wisdom ... (Continue reading)
I thought it strikingly ridiculous, during my morning "scroll" the other day, when I came across two hundred pictures of an acquaintances’ acquaintance and her debaucherous evening out. Two hundred pictures taken in about four hours? What is that, a little less than one picture per minute? (I’m strikingly bad at math…) It seems to me that there are more pictures being taken on any given night than there is actual fun being had. Am I missing something? Is the ... (Continue reading)
“You dream of great deeds. Everyone, these days, reads about Charles de Foucauld. Many have a starry-eyed look. They wonder if they shouldn’t become a Little Sister or Brother of de Foucauld. But, when I listen to their conversations, I want to cry. Not one of them stops to think what a heroic life he really led. He lived in a little hut in the blistering desert, with its cold and searing nights, amongst strange, primitive human beings. ... (Continue reading)
When I was growing up, my immature self believed that the family rosary was something that had to ...
"I'm heartbroken to announce that last week, we discovered a crushed consecrated Host beneath one of the kneelers," ...
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. - ...
Several years ago, when I was working on a community theatre project, I overheard two little girls having ...
My friend blogged the other day about how her boys, when allowed to have whatever ...
In light of the building collapse in Bangladesh, the media has turned to the ethics ...
Did anyone watch the Boston bombing news with great interest? Were you glued to updates ...
I’ve been walking around the last few days with the name "Kermit" in my head ...
I’m not a big Simpson’s fan, but I do remember one funny episode where Homer’s ...
Spring is here—Alleluia! I've been waiting for warmer weather like a little kid waits for Christmas ...
It’s Holy Thursday today, as you likely know, and this year I am confronted with ...
Okay, I’m going to do it. You’re probably all Pope-d out as there hasn't been a moment’s ...
I thought it strikingly ridiculous, during my morning "scroll" the other day, when I came ...
“You dream of great deeds. Everyone, these days, reads about Charles de Foucauld. ...
One of my blogging heroines often says the only thing that qualifies her to blog ...
So it's here. That day that strikes fear and dread into the heart of attached ...
I remember Lent as a kid. It was basically the longest stretch of time EVER, ...
Fear not those who argue, but those who dodge. - Dale Carnegie Consider this for a ...
“Always remember ...
