I made a surprising decision last night. I joined Substack a few days ago so I could simply read another author’s article on Catholic social teaching (one of my favorite nerd interests). In doing so, I also stumbled into the land of positive writers. Unlike the darker and snarkier atmosphere of my Twitter feed,…
My 8-year-old son recently received a batting lesson from a former Major League baseball player, who quickly measured up one of my son’s weak spots. After watching my son move toward the plate with focus and sound batting form for his first few hits and then, after just a few balls, reluctantly drift toward…
“I don’t know.” These words flow from my lips with increasing frequency when I pray these days. Whether it’s figuring out how to best help my once-active mother, who has spent the last year going in and out of hospitals and has lost all ability to care for herself; managing the emotions I feel…
I’ve recently found myself tongue-tied and astonished. Astonished to see women rallying together in the name of “femininity” or “womanhood” but intentionally distorting the very nature of that name. Yes, I’ve been astonished to watch celebrities such as Meryl Streep, Madonna, and Ashley Judd admonish leaders they believe obstruct the beauty and value of…
Forgive me if this post contains any grammatical or spelling errors. You see, I’m writing it from my iPhone, and I’m not particularly experienced in thumbing the keyboard for much more than a few scribbled notes no one but me sees. Typically, I rely on my computer–my only this-is-all-mine-in-our-crazy-family-of-seven-possession. But guess what? As I…
“Ugggh, what is wrong with them?” “I’m done with them!” “I’m over them!” “To heck with them!” These are the phrases we sometimes utter when it turns out that the fellow Christians we love, admire, and trust are, well, just people–people with inconsistencies, egos, secrets, proclivities, or, sometimes, just general weirdness. Fallen people. Ironically,…
I recently had a conversation with my sister about how life’s challenges have evolved since our thirties. Faced with decisions on how to care for aging parents, guide children we can no longer strap to our hip, handle our own physical ailments, manage job changes, or balance increased financial responsibilities, the two of us…
I remember the day I told my obstetrician I might be pregnant with my fifth child. Although he had delivered three of my four children, had consoled me through a miscarriage, and knew my husband and I remained open to life, something about showing up in his office at the ripe old age of…
Maybe you’ve noticed it, but this summer has been a wee bit dark and disturbing. Consider just a few of the highlights: Not only was there the senseless and tragic killing of 9 innocent, African Americans in a South Carolina church, deadly police and civilian behavior, perplexing proposals by state leaders to remove statutes…
We have all had heroes—someone we admire and consequently strive to follow—at some point in our lives. Sometimes these heroes emerge from within our family dynamic and include a parent, a husband, or a sibling. Other times they come from our more expansive influences—a teacher, a friend, a public servant, or a particular celebrity.…
(The following is written in memory of Professor Charles Rice, who passed away on February 25, 2015, and whose influence continues to be felt in unassuming places.) It was my first day at Notre Dame Law School, and I was admittedly nervous. Having received my previous education entirely within the confines of Alabama, I…
“Repent, and believe in the Gospel!” That is the message that marks the beginning of this Lenten season, a season where we Christians prepare our hearts to receive redemption through Christ by fasting, almsgiving, and especially penance. While the necessity of preparing for Christ seems like Theology 101, it is actually a message that…