• Every book has a typo. I don’t care how prestigious the publisher, how persnickety the author, or how many editors looked it over; there will always be at least one typo.  It’s a law of nature, like gravity, and how whatever line you choose to stand in always becomes the slowest. Ok, maybe it’s not […]

  • “Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.” – St. Francis de Sales

  • “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” John Lennon said that. It resonates because there is truth in it. If we change one word, we uncover another – possibly even deeper – truth. It’s hard for me to imagine a busier month than December. My youngest daughter has single-handedly instituted a family […]

  • “Courage, my soul. Through prayer, we can do all that is asked of us. The heart of Jesus is there, let us knock.” – St. Bernadette

  • The head coach stands at the podium after a tough loss.  He’s being grilled by the media, who are looking for answers and accountability.  A reporter asks him to comment on a specific play that was a crucial turning point in the game. He replies, “I’ll have to look at the game film before I […]

  • “And she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” -Luke 2:7.

  • This sign is above the door in the sacristy at Holy Name of Jesus in Sheboygan, where I serve as a lector. In a Catholic church, the sacristy is a room, usually near the altar, where vestments, supplies, and sacred vessels are kept, and the priest and attendants prepare for Mass. It’s kind of like […]

  • “Let not your heart be disturbed. Am I not here, who is your mother? Are you not under my protection? -Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego

  • I love Advent. The call to slow down is always a welcome invitation this time of year, and I love how it helps build anticipation for Christmas, squeezing as much of God’s grace from it as possible. I also love that our attention is naturally drawn to Mary: Her yes to God, her relationship with […]

  • “I am the Immaculate Conception,” is famously spoken by the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette Soubirous during the apparitions at Lourdes in 1858. This phrase signifies that Mary was preserved from all sin from the first moment of her conception, a dogma defined by the Church just four years prior in 1854.