Category: Guest Post

[Editors’ note: Due to the sensitive nature of this post, the writer has requested to remain anonymous.] “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been three months since my last confession.” There I sat in a dimly-lit room in the back of my church, trying to think of how exactly to phrase my…
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I recently visited Heavenly Bodies at The Met Cloisters with some friends. It was a great combination of religious art and architecture, which I appreciate, and high fashion, of which I know nothing. I love the architecture of churches, especially Catholic churches.  It could be from the traveling we did in Europe when my family…
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Transition periods are unpleasant, to say the least. Shifting from what came before to what is to come is often a circuitous path without visible markers. Some transitions are abrupt and bring their own difficulties, but many transitions linger with us. In these slow transitions, we break from the past without quite propelling into the…
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While I am a cradle Catholic, over the past few years I have found myself captivated by the practice of shamanism.  What draws me in is the emphasis on the spiritual connection with all the living—humans, plants, animals, the earth.  A few months ago I was out on retreat in the remote wilderness of Wisconsin…
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The first image that comes to mind when I hear “summer solstice” is one of druids, female priests mostly, sliding through darkening forests to host rituals of enthrallment and enchantment. Imagine: women as priests in ancient celebration of the communion of the body and bounty and promise of nature and the blood of life-giving fertility.…
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What on earth am I talking about, you well may ask. Happiness: that shallow, ephemeral, fleeting condition? Is that the place to start creating a new church for a new day? And yet, if we did want to go on a journey of envisioning the kind of church full inclusive ministry and leadership might create,…
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Imagine my surprise when I read about the women who were shooed out of the sumo wrestling ring in Japan when they tried to save a man’s life. What sounds like “news of the weird” is a serious story about traditions and how harmful they can be. It made me think of Roman Catholicism’s ban…
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Okay, I’m a grandma, so please bear with me! I think this grandchild-being-irresistably-funny anecdote does have a point for us. No, trust me, really. My two year old grandson was being potty trained and doing quite well, thank you. One day, he and his family were at a restaurant. Mom denied him some treat and…
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I’ve been struggling with trying to be inspiring. I so believe in the power and, yes, even glory of the Holy Thursday Witnesses we in Philadelphia, and perhaps you elsewhere have been doing, and I’ve been searching and searching for something to inspire more people – like you – like you with your friends –…
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I’m hearing voices! “Abraham, Abraham,” calls God’s angel, and then again, “Abraham, Abraham!” Then in our Gospel, Peter, James, and John think they see God when they actually see Elijah and Moses. But really they are only in God’s presence when they hear God’s voice. These passages made me think about voices. You know that…
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