San Fermo Maggiore Church in Verona, Italy, features foundation stones from the fifth century, so I was quite surprised to find, tucked behind one of the central pillars bearing the weight of the upper church, an exquisite modern sculpture of the Annunciation. Sometimes modern art in ancient places is jarring. It doesn’t fit quite right. Yet this piece took my breath away.
Read MoreBenvenuto di Giovanni’s painting “Christ in Limbo” captures the split second before these faces realize who is standing before them. Who has come to save them.
Read MoreThe Christmas song that always slays me, jolts me out of my secular complacency and reminds me that this is an absolutely sacred moment in the history of mankind we are celebrating here, is the carol, “O Holy Night.”
Read MoreThese names for the Christ are rich in theology and tell us exactly who he is, calling him with the imperative, “come,” or “O.”
Read MoreI have a theory. It is very unofficial. I haven’t done any scientific research on it. I wouldn’t even know where to begin – well, especially since I am not a scientist. Here’s my theory: Those people who go around the table and say what they are thankful for at Thanksgiving dinner – they are happier than those who don’t.
Read MoreRembrandt’s “Christ Crucified Between the Two Thieves” brings Christ down among the spectators. Soldiers, horses, mockers and followers are pressed upon each other. Horses seem to spill upon the crowd.
Grievers hold their bodies in wretched poses. The two thieves flank Christ on either side. They are within speaking distance of him, not shouting distance, as I imagined.
Read More“Just when I think St. Clare is too lofty for me, when I think she couldn't understand what the past year has been like for me and others, I read of the time she was infirm and bedridden. She could not join her sisters for Christmas midnight Mass, so she was miraculously treated to history's first livestreamed Mass on the wall of her room. Yes, she is the patron saint of television.”
Read MoreFour years ago, we were in Mexico City for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. I finally got around to writing about it for Busted Halo . Read about it here.
Imagine: You are bundled in your warmest coat, hat and gloves. It is the week before Christmas in 1938 and you are shopping for the perfect gift for your loved ones along Fifth Avenue in New York City. You peak into the S. H. Kress & Co. department store window for a few ideas and instead come face to face with this early 16th-century painting, “The Adoration of the Shepherds” (1505).
Read MoreI really enjoyed the process of writing these poems about the miracle of birth, hope growing in darkness and the journey to Christmas.
Read MoreI couldn’t sleep. It was a cold and cozy December night. Maybe I ate too many cookies. Or had a list that wouldn’t stop unrolling itself in my head. All I know is I was awake. I left my husband snoring deeply in our bed, curled up on the living room couch with the remote and searched for something to watch on television.
Read MoreI was asked to make a video reflection on John Singleton Copley’s painting The Ascension for Loyola Press’s Waiting for the Spirit retreat.
Read MoreThe first time Mary became part of my faith, I was a sleep-deprived new mother. I hadn’t grown up Catholic and converted just a year before my son joined our family. As I nursed him in a darkened room, in the middle of the night, I realized that Mary had fed Jesus just like this. I found this comforting as I looked down at my son, his long eyelashes wet with tears from calling to me in the dark, and prayed that he too would know her Son.
Read MoreIn the coloring books and flannelgraphs of my childhood, the disciples of Pentecost stood erect with red teardrops upon their heads. They looked like rows of lit matches. My religion teacher wore her hair in a low bun that covered her ears and told us that on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit arrived like a violent wind. The rest of the class was wondering if she actually had ears under that black hair, but I was wondering how those flames stayed lit. Wouldn’t they blow out?
Read MoreFra Angelico’s “The Entombment of Christ” places us at the tomb as those who loved Christ and were loved by him prepare his body for burial. Christ’s pallid body, cradled in burial cloths, is suspended off the ground between two men tenderly carrying his body toward the tomb.
Read MoreIncorporating children into the Lenten journey can be difficult for parents. I know it was for me, until one year, when I was at a loss, I decided to ask my sons what they wanted to do for Lent.
Read MoreThe "Adoration of the Child" is depicted in this 17th-century painting by Dutch artist Gerard van Honthorst. In "Adoration of the Child," light is reflected off the faces of those gazing at the Christ Child.
Read my reflection on this art piece for Catholic News Service’s Faith Alive series
Read MoreYou speak to us in dreams. Sometimes it is the only occasion you find us still and quiet. Quiet enough to hear your voice. Still enough to grab our attention.
You whisper to us throughout the day, reminding us you are present and that you delight in us. But we cannot hear you.
Read MoreThrives on moments where storytelling, art and faith collide.
