Queen of All Hearts
This week we celebrate the Queenship of Mary. Mary is our Mother and her royalty is manifested to us most powerfully in how she tends to our needs with such solicitous, knowing, maternal care. When I was 10 years old,…
Love the Size of a Horse Chestnut
One of the many powerful healing tools I learned while engaging in the CHRIST Program from Hope's Garden was how to create a self-soothing basket. Laura suggests that within this basket, we collect items that help regulate our nervous system…
The Invitation
I have lately been contemplating this concept of invitation. When I think back to my childhood… a childhood which was without any formal religion, any sort of prayer life or any familial teachings in the way of Christ, I am…
Our Lady of You!
I recently attended a course entitled: “The Marian Mystery and the Theology of the Body.” It was a deep-dive into the wild beauty, tender love, and full fiat of our Blessed Mother. At one point, the instructor, Christopher West, showed…
The Giving Tree
A boy loves to spend time under a tree. He eats its apples. Swings from its branches and slides down its trunk. He takes naps in the tree's shade. Day after day the boy romps around with a crown made…
Madonna House: Restoring all things to Christ
In May, I visited Madonna House in Canada, for two weeks. This very special Catholic farm community is nestled in the little woodsy town of Combermere, Ontario, along the Madawaska River. The setting is serene and lovely. Madonna House is…
Emerging from the Cleft in the Rock
Trauma rips a person wide open and uncovers past wounds they didn’t even realize they had, while at the same time layering new wounds onto an already-wearied soul. When the trauma presents itself in the form of repeated relational abuse…
You’re Not Doing It Wrong
“I don’t hear Jesus. I ask Him questions and I just get silence. What am I doing wrong?” “Everyone else hears Him, there must be something wrong with me.” “He doesn’t talk to me the way He talks to you…
Our Lady – Mary, Mystical Rose
I have always had an affinity for flowers. Any flowers… tulips, daisies, pansies, all are my favorites. I enjoy buying them, giving them, receiving them, planting them in my yard and having them in my home. I love the fragrance…
Behind the Wall
The Bride: I hear my Beloved. See how He comes, leaping on the mountains, bounding over the hills. My Beloved is like a gazelle, like a young stag. See where He stands behind our wall. He looks in at the…