• Faith

    Three prayers to help you embrace “memento mori” this Halloween

    “Memento mori” is a term I’ve seen floating around the Catholic blogosphere (and Twitter especially) a lot in the past few years, but only recently have I really taken the time to look closer at the ancient tradition. The phrase is Latin, and translates to “remember your death.” Though it may seem morbid — the practice is anything but. Rather than obsessing over death to the point of despair, “memento mori” is an invitation to live our lives more intentionally, remembering that each moment is a gift that shouldn’t be wasted. Historically, “memento mori” was embraced through traditions like sleeping in caskets or kissing skulls. Today, there are a plethora…

  • Faith

    Five Ways to Celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday at Home

    I’ve heard about the devotion to Divine Mercy many times, but I’d never really taken the time to look into it deeply before — after all, our Church has so many devotions, and it seemed like just another one to add to my list. Now that I’ve done the research, however, I feel pretty passionate about celebrating this feast every year. Divine Mercy Sunday is just that awesome. Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted by Pope John Paul II, but it was an obscure Polish nun named St. Faustina Kowalska who would be the conduit for Jesus’s message of mercy to the world. The things Faustina wrote about in her journal…

  • Faith

    9 Holy Week Traditions You Can Do From Home

    This Lent has been a particularly unique one, namely because of the Coronavirus pandemic that has caused many dioceses to cancel Mass around the world.  It feels almost fitting that this should all happen during Lent — that we should be forced to fast from the keystone of our faith during the period in our liturgical year when fasting is most appropriate. These events have forced many of us as Catholics to think more deeply about the Mass, the Sacraments, and their importance in our lives. As with any fasting, our abstinence from the Eucharist hasn’t been easy — and we are still only in the first few weeks. During…

  • Writer's Corner

    When the Words Won’t Come

    I sit at my computer, fiddling with the typeface. I capitalize a word, delete it, and then write it again. I jump onto another website — just for research — and then jump back. There is nothing on my screen but a blank page. Sometimes in art, as in life, there are times when those things that once seemed easy become incredibly difficult. The tasks that once felt like breathing become more like drowning — like sucking in air through a lung full of water. Sometimes writing is hard. And sometimes the words won’t come. This is my deepest fear as a writer — and I’m sure I’m not the…

  • Books,  Elevenses

    3 Books I’m Reading This October

    Our road trip has come to a close, so (hopefully) I should be able to start putting out more Blogtober posts now. Somehow, I’d imagined this road trip as a chance to get lots and lots of writing done, but as I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve been sick pretty much the entire time. Combine that with 5 to 9 hours of driving a day, and I’ve been too exhausted to do much more than squeeze out a few freelance projects. This post is a little late, considering that it is already the 15th of October (oops!), but I thought it would be fun to do a quick round-up…

  • Faith

    Why Was Jesus Crucified?

    Near the midpoint of my freshman year in high school, my mom and I made a pilgrimage to Israel with a small group from our church. I still remember the experience vividly — even though it was over ten years ago now —  and the way that I imagine biblical events will be forever changed. Perhaps the most extraordinary part of the trip (for me personally) was our walk down the Via Dolorosa and subsequent time at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which marks the site of the crucifixion. I remember so much about that day. Each group of pilgrims were provided a large, wooden cross to carry along…

  • Faith

    The Truth Found in Fairytales

    Growing up, my deepest desire was for my life to be like one of the books I loved to read. I wanted it so badly that it hurt, deep down in my soul. I wanted adventure … the world-changing, life-altering, incredibly dangerous kind that I read about in my favorite fantasy novels. I wanted to go on great journeys, fight fierce battles, and ultimately save the world. Searching for this in real life always felt flat to me — two-dimensional and stale. Sure, I could travel — but that wasn’t really the same thing. I could dress up in costumes and go to conventions, or join some sort of role-playing…