This autumn has been a season of deep gratitude and growing awe. Whether it has to do with my age or my circumstances or a combination of both, I increasingly ...
Tag Archive:
Life Lines
A few months back, my husband, Dennis, called me from work and said, “I have to tell you something that is going to make you cry.” He followed it immediately ...
It's funny how we have certain expectations of life, from the biggest events to the smallest details, and we are quick to label the results: good, bad, lucky, ...
As I sat in my beach chair late last month, toes in the sand and eyes fixed on an endless horizon that gave me the slightest inkling of eternity, I found for ...
As I settled into my pew at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago one recent Sunday morning, I gazed up at the beautiful interior, a feast for the eyes, and hoped for ...
As I paddled a kayak across the crystal-clear water of an Adirondack lake on a gorgeous Friday afternoon recently, I turned to my paddling partner and said, “If ...
I recently did a search of my past Life Lines columns to find something I wrote here six years ago: “Sometimes happiness isn’t a choice.” I remembered how deep ...
We are nearing the end of our 40-day pilgrimage through Lent, but the truth is that we are on a pilgrimage that never ends. Our entire spiritual life is ...
News of Russia’s attack on the people of Ukraine hit like a nauseating wave as news headlines scrolled by on TV the morning of the invasion. I could feel a deep ...
The podcast returns — finally! — with Episode 5 exploring change and the challenges that come with it, even when we want that change. Transformation is never ...
Back when my husband, Dennis, and I were teaching a two-year confirmation prep program at our parish in upstate New York, I wrote a column saying that when I ...
It’s amazing how we can convince ourselves that we simply don’t have the time to do even the little things that might make our lives demonstrably better. We ...
When I signed onto Facebook this week, I found a private message from someone who told me that a Life Lines column I had written about surrender eight years ago ...
Rosary-challenged. That’s how I’ve described myself for most of my life. Don’t get me wrong. I have more sets of rosary beads than I can count, tucked away in ...
Last week I was working out in a corner of our backyard where I decided to create a meditation garden. The area, which had once been home to a swing set, had ...
As we round the corner on pandemic and see a faint light at the end of our long Covid tunnel, I’ve found myself stuck—physically, due to some minor injuries and ...
After a few months MIA, the Line Lines podcast is back. On the eve of the 33rd anniversary of my mother's death, I'm talking about grief and grace, sorrow and ...
One of the great joys—and occasional challenges—of being a writer is getting letters from readers via email, social media and even snail mail. Those messages ...
The editor of the Albany diocesan newspaper came into my office recently and asked if I wanted to share a memory of an experience with a religious sister for ...
Flannery O’Connor, the American Catholic southern gothic writer,
once said, “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”
That line ...