My Soul Rejoices Through the Darkness
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'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel' is a somber sounding hymn, made more solemn in the darkened church, lit only with candles as we wait for Christ's birth.
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Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Joy of Knowing Her Son
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Imagine the delight of my devout Native-Mexican mother-in-law when her sixth child, my husband, was born on December 12, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Read MoreMy Anointing in Westminster Abbey
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Hushed whispers echoed around me as tourists watched through the bars of Islip Chapel in Westminster Abbey where I knelt before an Anglican priest inside. Her words of prayer dropped on me like love.
Read MoreFinding Inspiration #1
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I love sharing where I have been finding inspiration. These posts might become a habit as I share some of the ins and outs of my daily life with you.
Read MoreSt. Thérèse of Lisieux: Inspiring Us to Share Our Faith Stories
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“I will send down a shower of roses; I want to spend my Heaven doing good on earth.” St. Thérèse’s feast day is October 1st! Here’s what her faith story might mean for yours.
Read MoreA Secret Gift
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It is rare that I’ll remember a sweet memory associated with my father. Most of my memories of him are intertwined with fear and anxiety. And yet...
Read MoreLearning Grace from a Homeboy
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God and the maintenance man: my reflection on finding grace in an unexpected place.
Read MoreWhy I taught my kids to call our homeless neighbors 'Peace Men'
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Why I taught my kids to call our homeless neighbors 'Peace Men'
In these women and men I see my sister, myself, my God.
Comfort in Repetition
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The night I found out my childhood friend, committed suicide, I listened to Iron & Wine’s song The Trapeze Swinger on repeat--for hours.
Read MoreYayoi Kusama: Living One Dot at a Time
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Even as a Seattle Art Museum member it took me a few months to secure tickets for the Yayoi Kusama, Infinite Mirrors exhibit.
Did you get tickets? Have you gone yet? friends would ask.
The hype was palpable.
Read MoreMy Virtual Camino: Celebrating the Feast of St. James in My Own Backyard
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When I started attending St. James Cathedral in Seattle 11 years ago, I said to a friend, “St. James? Which one is he again?”
“He’s one of the Sons of Thunder!” she said, a little too loudly with a sort of spirited superhero look on her face.
I nearly spit out the double tall vanilla latte I was sipping, doubling over with laughter. “Sons of Thunder?” I asked.
Read MoreA Soft Place to Land
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Will he come to me when he doesn’t make the team or when his first crush turns him down? Will he look to me for comfort? I imagine a basketball player of a boy, my lap overflowing and know he will not draw to me in this same way for long. Yet I hope I can always provide a safe place for him to land, to renew.
Read MoreWhy is Loneliness Difficult to Confess?
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Olivia Laing describes loneliness as “difficult to confess; difficult too to categorize. Like depression, a state with which it often intersects, it can run deep in the fabric of a person, as much a part of one’s being as laughing easily or having red hair.” Laing’s words left me gasping, like a sucker punch to the gut.
Read MorePentecost: The Soul’s Most Welcome Guest
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Scripture says that at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit enabled the Apostles to speak in other languages, previously unknown to them. Native speakers heard the stories of kindness, peace, love, and redemption in their own languages.
Read MoreOrcas Island Getaway
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From experience, I know I couldn’t stay home during Spring Break with my boys. I knew my husband had to work and wouldn’t’ be able to go anywhere with us, so I made it simple, returning to our happy place, Orcas Island.
Read MoreMonsters: The Power to See Them in a New Light
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My short snippet about POWER in Motherhood has been featured on Tribe Magazine. Read it here.
Read MoreBagpipes on Palm Sunday
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We gathered in the school gym across from the Cathedral as we do every year on this day. The children are giddy as we pick out our palm fronds to wave. Parishioners without the obstruction of pews, are socializing with friends and family. The gym is full of electricity as we look forward to joining the processional across the street and into the church
Read MoreDestination Mexico City: Food Tour
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When I returned from our vacation to Mexico City everyone asked me, "How was the food?" They asked because they knew the answer: It was amazing.
Read MoreBurying the Alleluia
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After hearing a conversation between her two young sons, Shemaiah Gonzalez was led to reflect on the importance of not saying Alleluia during the Lenten Season
Read MoreExperiencing God’s Love Through the Splendor of Creation
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Early Saturday morning, I left the house at dawn for a much-needed walk. I’d been feeling down for a few days,The walk was a proactive measure.
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