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When I was growing up, I dearly wanted to be a professional golfer. I practiced all the time —hitting golf balls on the range in the sun until my hands hurt; putting until my back was sore; then going into the sand traps, where it was twice as hot. I was so dedicated that I often forgot to drink or eat until I was home hours later. More »
We all know what it is like to be thirsty. Working outside on a hot summer day or taking a long run can cause a huge thirst. Our mouth feels parched, we are hot and sweaty, and our whole body seems to be crying out for a drink—for anything that will cool us down and satisfy us. More »
Every two-and-a-half seconds a human being dies of starvation—about 30,000 people per day. While agencies like Catholic Relief Services ask us for donations to help put an end to this problem, Jesus chose the image of hunger and neediness to make an important point: "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied" (Matthew 5:6). More »
God has always wanted to have a people he could call his own, friends who would partake in his life and in his mission. He has always wanted friends who would be so united with him that they begin to act and think as he does. This is what made the saints special. They were God's friends because they desired with all their hearts to live for him, to become like him, and to please him. More »
Fred Parker picked up the gun and held it to his head, no longer fighting the dark thoughts that enveloped him. My life is a mess. My marriage is a pretense. Things are never going to change. There's no hope. . . . More »
She was Caryll Houselander, a twentieth-century Englishwoman whose unusual life fulfilled a singular vision—that each of us, in our God-created uniqueness, contributes something irreplaceable to the continued incarnation of Christ on earth. She called this the "Christing of the world." More »
Knowing that God supplies all our necessities, and that one of our necessities is that we surrender to him, we should not be surprised that he comes to us as an infant; for surrender to an infant, any infant, is easy. . . . Every infant demands and receives the most complete self-giving that we are capable of. The perfection of surrender to God is Mary with the infant Christ. More »
When I was a little girl growing up in Montana, I used to kneel at the altar at St. Francis Xavier Church, staring up at the crucifix. An exceptionally realistic rendering, it consisted of a rough-hewn cross and a life-size body. More than anything, I wanted to experience Jesus coming to life and speaking from that cross—a miracle I had read about in the lives of some saints. More »