A man lies face down on the sidewalk weeping in our neighborhood the Catholic Church placed a candlelit shrine at street level. The church is closed for public safety But people need to pray “to earnestly implore” the dictionary says. Only those facing darkness can dig deep enough to do this —humiliation, submission, strength— to…
Several years ago, I was pregnant with my third child and in the middle of a move. This required packing and transferring a household from one place to another with two toddler boys in tow. The trouble was, I couldn’t stand up for more than a minute or two without running to the bathroom (thanks,…
Courage whispered the autumn leaf He, born of spring’s budding hope commissioned for summer’s verdancy yet most glorious in decline Courage urged the autumn leaf As he, in trust and gratitude…
The Redbud Post interviewed Catherine McNiel about her new book: Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline. Why did you decide to write Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline? A few years ago, I was a work-from-home mom with a baby, a toddler, and a preschooler. These precious, demanding…
I trade my shorts for blue jeans, even though it is 90 degrees inside and out. It has been so long since I wore long pants, I’ve forgotten what it feels like. I print out a short note, translated by Google into Arabic. I arrange a few freshly baked cookies on a plate and take…
I close my eyes and, effortlessly, I’m a child again, sitting in my parents’ blue Plymouth Reliant, riding in the dark along WI-29. Heading home. Everything is perfectly still, except for the rhythmic thunk…thunk…thunk as our wheels speed over the seams in the road. My eyes are closed — I’m thinking as always — but I open…
I always realized only in part as though through a glass darkly. But still I assumed I could grasp I could know I assumed. But now not disillusioned but in awe amazed on my knees on my face Who are you? Can you be known? You sent prophets sent a Son But still, assumptions filters,…
Courage whispered the autumn leaf He, born of spring’s budding hope commissioned for summer’s verdancy yet most glorious in decline Courage urged the autumn leaf As he, in trust and gratitude released his hold once, and for all surrendered into the wind and fell
It is time to draw near again To come home to You, to what is deep within me, and to those who gather around me To watch and to wait; to be open, to surrender, to accept To seek out peace, quietness, meditation, and prayer. For I will be encompassed, consumed As joy and pain…
My heart is full tonight. It is a hot, humid evening after a hot, humid day. My house looks as thought it has been hit by a major storm and I realize in a very deep part of myself that there is truly no use trying to clean up for years to come; to put…
Allow me to tell you a story. There is a woman, worried for her daughter. She has tried everything with no success, but today she has a new idea. A teacher and healer has slipped into town, his reputation preceding him. The odds that he’ll see her, or help her, aren’t great – but this…