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Book Review: Letter to a Suffering Church, by Bishop Robert Barron

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Letter to a Suffering Church Barron

***I received an electronic copy of this resource in exchange for an honest review.***

When I saw the marketing email last Monday from Word on Fire advertising the new book Letter to a Suffering Church – a book about the sex abuse crisis plaguing every level of the Church – I stopped in my tracks. Was it possible, with his signature wit and wisdom, Bishop Barron could address wounded Catholics in a way that would begin to soothe the hearts of a devastated flock heartbroken over last summer’s explosive revelations and fallout?

In Letter to a Suffering Church, I believe he does.

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Kaleidoscope Reflections on Good Friday

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The Pieta Good Friday

It’s funny how God speaks to us in different ways at different times in our lives. Over the years, as I have reflected on Scripture, I’ve been struck by how a passage or verse meant one thing to me as a teenager, another as a young bride, and something altogether differently now that I am a mother. I suppose this will continue to be true as I age and mature – each season of my life will hold a specific key to unlocking varied meanings of Scripture again and again. In a way, it’s like the words of the Bible are colorful bits of glass at the bottom of a kaleidoscope. As the cylinder turns, the glass shifts and tumbles into different positions, revealing brilliantly unique patterns but all comprised of the same bits of glass.

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When Jesus Hides Himself

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Veiled Hearts

Today is the 5th Sunday of Lent, and so marks the beginning of Passiontide. Traditionally,  this timeframe of the last two weeks of Lent was primarily focused on the faithful’s immersion into Christ’s Passion. Gradually, this two-week observance has been largely condensed into a liturgically rich Holy Week. Prior to Vatican II and the reorganization of the Missal, the reading for the 5th Sunday of Lent (today) from John 8 ended with the words “Jesus hid himself and went out of the Temple.” As a symbol of Christ’s hiding, the crucifix, sacred art, and statuary are often veiled in Catholic churches on the Saturday before the beginning of Passiontide. There are many possible explanations of the origin of this tradition, and you can read more about the significance of this there.

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Two Thousand Eighteen: A Game Plan

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2018 goals

 

It’s the last day of the year, and we wanted to make sure to end 2017 with Confession and Mass. Experiencing the cleansing mercy of absolution, closely followed by the reception of Our Lord in the Eucharist, was just what my soul needed on a day when the temperature outside is dropping like a rock and the hours of the year dwindle to a close. We went to one of the only parishes in Houston that offers Reconciliation on Sundays – Our Lady of Czestochowa on Blalock. Would you just look at this gorgeousness?

Our Lady of Czestochowa, Houston

Without further ado, here’s where my head’s at we venture in 2018, knowing full well that the Lord is the one in charge and there’s no telling where I will actually be 365 days from now. Continue reading →

The More You Know

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https://cajuntexasmom.com/2017/12/28/the-more-you-know

When we celebrated the turning of the calendar page at midnight on 12/31/2016, here’s what I knew:

  • I knew that 2016 had been tough physically on my body, with baby #5 arriving in August after sapping every ounce of energy throughout the entire pregnancy (not to mention the 30+ weeks of twice weekly progesterone injections)
  • I knew that 2016 had been tough for me mentally, as my sister got married in June and I was the self-appointed Wedding Planner, a role which under normal circumstances I would’ve relished, but given the pregnancy described above…well, way to think that one through, genius!
  • I knew that 2016 saw a move to a new home, where water rose in the streets when Houston was drenched in rain on April 15th, now known as the Tax Day Flood. I saw the creek near our home escape its banks, flood the houses that sat along the bank, and I breathed a sigh of relief that the house we lived in just half a block north maintained its record of staying high and dry since its construction some 30 years earlier
  • I knew that the county I live in failed to dredge the creek near my home after the “historic” amounts of water, sludge, and earth that flowed downstream in torrents during the flood
  • I knew that the year 2017 spread before me like a bright, open book, full of hope and wonder and possibility
  • I knew that God’s love, mercy, and steadfastness are ever-present and unchanging

Here’s what I didn’t know: Continue reading →