Dear Sister,
I have lots of kids. Some of them are called my “big kids” and some of them are called my kids. My kids are my three beautiful children, Joseph Nicholas (5) Hannah Kateri (3) and Benjamin Francis (5 months). My “big kids” are the countless teens that walk through the doors of my parish in a town in New Hampshire. I am a wife, a mom and a youth minister.
Read MoreI am coming to realize that being surrendered doesn’t have to mean accepting every possible tragedy in advance. Being surrendered doesn’t have to mean having a nonchalant attitude towards the things you love and care about. I don’t need to stake my identity in my ability to surrender “correctly.” Surrender can simply mean loosening my grip on expectation. Surrender can mean practicing gratitude in the moment.
Read MoreIt seems that no matter how much we try, loving ourselves and the physical bodies God gave us can be a never ending cycle of good days and bad days. Everywhere we look, we see other women to whom we compare ourselves, always finding something wrong with what we have and something beautiful with what they have. I should know. I was born with one breast.
Read MoreIt took more than three brutal years of striving and posturing to realize that I already had a love story. In fact, I was a part of the greatest love story of all time.
Read More"I was sitting in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting the other day - it was a women’s only meeting - and I was struck by how honest, vulnerable and real everyone’s shares were. I wondered if I had been to any Catholic women’s gatherings where…"
Read More“I loved my faith then, and I love it now. I love Truth. But I struggled to reconcile my boldness with the quiet, docile picture of Mary that every song at church seemed to paint. I thought that’s all the Church envisioned for women.”
Read MoreCommunity is best when it’s comprised of people who see beauty in our insecurities, who look for the redemption in the midst of our failure, and who strive to love who we truly are instead of who the world suggests we should be.
Read MoreIt’s easy to receive and believe this false idea of what beauty is. But with a camera in hand, I’ve learned that God doesn’t make mistakes.
Read MoreDear Sisters, for most of my life I didn’t feel very feminine. I wouldn’t consider myself pretty; I’m not graceful or delicate; I’ve never been very interested in makeup or clothes.
Read More"My Dear Sisters, 'You know you’re gay, right?' I don’t remember where I was when my friend said this to me. All I remember is I was a junior in high school - at a Catholic school - and all I could do was frantically try to assure her that I wasn’t… what she just said..."
Read MoreIf I’ve learned anything in the last two years in my struggle with anxiety, it’s that life isn't wrapped up in a little bow, easy to understand or accept. It's much, much messier.
Read More"To my sisters in the Vineyard - Let me start out this letter by saying the one thing want you to take away from my story: there is bravery in being soft..."
Read More"Dear friend, I used to be scared of becoming a woman. Being a little girl wasn't a big deal--I could wear pants and tromp in the mud and have wild, crazy hair. But..."
Read More"Dear Friends, I once thought I knew what it meant to be a Catholic woman. My impressions were shaped by growing up in a large Catholic family..."
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