Andrew Wyeth's Snow Hill and the Subjects of Art
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At first glance, it’s a peculiar scene: a maypole in the middle of winter.
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Zoom: Poetry of Faith and Doubt
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Like David called out to the Lord in Psalms, so too, modern psalmists wrestle with doubt and faith in the language of poetry. From Pádraig Ó Tuama’s popular podcast Poetry Unbound to Douglas Murray’s weekend poetry reflection Things Worth Remembering for The Free Press, there has been a resurgence in finding meaning and solace through the doorway of poetry. Spend three luscious hours reading and discussing 20th and 21st century poetry and how these words can hold us as we struggle with faith and doubt.
Read MoreFirst Art Love: Van Gogh's Mulberry Tree
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I don’t think any of us had grown up feeling like art was something we could approach. Graffiti, silkscreen and maybe Disney were for the likes of us. But the stuff in museums, that was for kids in John Hughes movies or people who lived in New York. Not us.
Read MoreA Luminous Invitation: On the transformational art of Barbara Earl Thomas
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There is an audible gasp as each person walks into the room. Conversations started are now cut off. Footsteps soften. Although it is not a church, there is a sense of reverence in this space. In this room there is sanctuary.
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My Daily Walk with a Person for Others
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One morning, when I returned to my car after my workout, the parking attendant told me he was taking a walk in his neighborhood and saw a building with James’s name on it. “Is it our James?” he asked. Yes, it is. I told him a story James told me long ago. He was an alcoholic, made a mess out of everything, and found himself in prison, at rock bottom. It was there in prison, as he got clean, that he could hear God’s voice more clearly. He knew he was loved by God, and he wanted others to know that love.
Read MoreMy Name is Shemaiah
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Rhymes with papaya. This is what I tell strangers when they ask how to pronounce my name. I know my name is different. It is difficult to remember. I tell people that it does not hurt my feelings if you ask for the 2nd, 10th or 100th time.
Read MoreDisappointing Photo
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I cringe now even thinking of it. Even the seconds after I asked, I cringed inside. Because how could I have cheapened the moment like that?
I was really excited to meet him. I wanted to share the moment online and with a friend who respects him too.
And snap.
I ruined it all.
Read MoreSubscribe to Undaunted Joy
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Thank you to all the support I have received lately. Consider supporting me with a free or paid subscription to my Substack, Undaunted Joy, where I explore Christ's presence through Joy in the world--and ultimately how Joy is an act of Defiance in the face of evil. Paid Subscriptions pay my bills.
Read MoreThe Grace of Cheerful Heart
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As my sister Sara Jaimes says, Go Spread your Seeds of Discontent somewhere else!
My latest for Ignatian Spirituality on having a cheerful heart.
Jason Rantz Show
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I was asked to speak on the Jason Rantz show about how I lost my column at NW Catholic when I spoke up against Gender Ideology being taught at my kids Catholic Prek-8th grade.
Read More'We’re not that kind of parish' is a response that should inspire change
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My personal essay for Our Sunday Visitor on being the hands and feet of Christ.
Read MoreThe Human Body Shares in the the Dignity of the ‘Image of God’
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Grateful to National Catholic Register for publishing the my personal essay on explaining the theology of the body to my sons.
‘Man is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day’ (Catechism 364)
Read MoreFinding Freedom in a Crowded House
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Finding freedom in a crowded house. My latest for Everyday Ignatian.
Read MoreLove Breaks Through
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Something happens when you deprive yourself of comforts voluntarily, whether in fasting, abstaining, or finding yourself in an old monastery in the middle of the English countryside. With only two meals a day, a chill I couldn’t shake, lack of internet and cell service, something happened in that space which is usually cloaked by comfort. Call it magic or mystery but the words of the liturgy I heard several times a day became part of my cadence, placing me in some sort of liminal space; a space between this world and the one we cannot usually see.
Read MoreThe Clarity That Comes with Silence
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Have you ever heard quiet so loud you could hear your stomach digesting? Or been in a room so still you could hear the electricity buzzing through the wiring?
Read More“Tremble” and “What You Missed That Day You Were Absent From Fourth Grade”
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As we make our way through Lent, we act against the temptation to assume all forty of these days must be gloomy. In fact, in the Lenten sparsity, we find beauty and hope — and these poems and songs will point to exactly that.
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January Book List
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The books I read in January. These are all very short books. Less than 200 pages.
Find your next read.
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