Living as a Cloistered Cistercian Nun
Valley of Our Lady Monastery is a community of Cistercian nuns who live a life of contemplative prayer according to the Rule of St. Benedict and the traditions of the...
What’s So Hard About Making, Being, and Keeping Friends as Adults?
I think I watched too many episodes of Friends and Golden Girls in my formative years. I grew up with this idea that when I was an adult, I’d have...
Unexpected Challenges of the Promised Land
Our daughter often falls asleep on the drive home from Mass. Sadly, she is not the kind of toddler who can be transferred from car to bed once she has...
Grace in the Wanting: Searching for a Unique + Intimate Relationship with Jesus
Before I met my husband, I was so annoyed by people with boyfriends. They spent all their time together, talking nonstop, always considering what the other person wanted or thought....
Greta Gerwig's Little Women + What I Wish I Could Tell Jo
I still remember all the feelings I had when reading Little Women by Lousia May Alcott for the first time. The writing, the story, and the characters were all so...
How to Start an Online Catholic Book Club
I have always loved to read since I was a little girl. Nancy Drew, Harriet the Spy, the Bobbsey Twins, and various other books geared toward young girls were my...
Here, Too: The 2020 Lent Devotional for Catholic Women
As we close the Advent and Christmas seasons, we enter a brief but beautiful moment of Ordinary Time. And then, in just a matter of weeks, our journey to the...
How to Choose Godparents for Your Child
I was so excited when my sister and brother-in-law asked my brother and I to be godparents to their first child, Xavier. As all of us are practicing Catholics, my...
How to Set Spiritual Resolutions for the New Year
For many years, “grow in my relationship with God” was the first resolution I set after ringing in a new year. Want to hear a little confession? I don’t make...
Are We Really Special?
We toured colleges with our son last spring. In every tour, in every talk, we heard a similar spiel: “We want to get to know you—get a sense of who...
Christmas Mass Outfit Ideas
One of the most beautiful parts of Christmas is seeing the church overflowing with people. No matter what your church attendance is like or where you are in your faith...
How Counseling Has Transformed My (Spiritual) Life
I slipped into a quiet and empty chapel near my apartment at my absolute wits end. I’ve written about my struggles with severe PMS, endometriosis, and NFP before. But at...
