Crisis Magazine recently published an article addressing the common failure of Catholic men’s groups. I know exactly what the author is talking about— but it’s not just a problem with Catholic men’s groups. Despite the ways in which women may be more socially inclined, I have found that our “groups” often fail too. Single women […]

The palms we wave around like children, All children, Unable to resist the peeling and the bending and the twisting into crosses and crowns, And marveling at the funny fact of bringing giant leaves into Church— The palms we wave around like children Are later ground into the dirt that’s later rubbed upon our foreheads, […]

Almost three years ago, my family and I moved to the country and started homesteading. Every day, it seems, we are learning new things— we are learning about raising and slaughtering, fermenting and curing, chopping and heating, planting and harvesting— all new things to us, but not to the world. These are old skills— and […]

The first time I really understood that Christmas was twelve days was when I visited Mexico as a child. I think the churches in America were probably still singing Christmas songs but nothing ever really felt like Christmas after New Year’s the way it did in Mexico. Ever since experiencing that, my family and I […]

One recent Wednesday morning in September, my almost-two-year-old son wandered away from our house and into the woods, completely out of our sight. After a quick search of the immediate, usual areas, we called for help from neighbors, and then 911. Help came in abundance. Multiple fire departments, law enforcement agencies, canine units, volunteers on […]

A birthday can be a lonely sort of thing. After all, no matter how much other people may be celebrating you, it really is all about you, and as Pooh says, “it’s so much friendlier with two!” I believe this is part of the reason adults often have trouble celebrating their birthdays at all. Sure, […]