Category: good for the soul

Posted on

don’t mess with the mama

mama deerI’ve been chronicling the evening adventures of our dog Otis on Twitter and Facebook and the random Periscope for a couple of weeks. It turns out that a mama deer and her little baby have been coming into our neighbor’s yard to eat the fruit falling from the trees. Otis is curious.

More than curious. He wants to make a new friend.

Our yard has a six-foot fence, so it’s unlikely they’ll get into our space, but they get in next door pretty easily. Otis runs to the fence immediately, barking and jumping happily, and scares away the deer. I see his wagging tail and I know he’s not posing a threat, but the deer doesn’t know that.

Mostly.

Usually, the mama deer stands her ground between Otis and the baby. I love to see this. I love to see the protective nature of the mama, and I feel, for a moment, a connection with the deer and how ordered our natures are. That as mamas we protect our young.

Otis isn’t much of a threat, especially with that fence up. But the world in which we live often poses unfathomable threats. What of our human nature to protect the weak and defenseless? We can probably learn a lesson or two from that mama deer.

 

Posted on

Edel15, a highlight or three

I posted a few days ago that I’d be gone to a conference, and left an inspirational quote from the woman for whom the conference is named, Edel Mary Quinn. I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, I had a general idea, you know. There’d be women there. Lots of women who are mothers, so there were babies, too. So many cute babies.

And there was going to be this shoe thing. And a number of women I knew either in person or from their writing.

What I found was lots of women —  a good cross-representation in fact.  I wrote the following to a friend:

My favorite thing about it was that there was a level of intimacy that built upon common experiences. I was able to find women who shared some of my experiences. You know, not the picture perfect life we’d like to project to the world, but real women experiencing the joy and the pain of motherhood. I met single moms, divorced moms, widows, happily married women, mothers of babies and grown children. Women praying for their fallen away children, women joyful at their large families. All of us were there, you know what I mean? And all of us were reveling in the silliness, and reveling in the source of true joy!

I couldn’t have anticipated the blessing and graces from such a truly joyful gathering. There were inspiring talks, dancing and singing, Adoration and Benediction, shopping (some awesome vendors!) delicious, I MEAN Delicious! Food!, a fantastic cocktail name Edel (naturally), and a sense of community that built upon last year’s event, but remained inclusive throughout. That is surely a hallmark of the event, a testament to how the organizers were present throughout, and how the women themselves were friendly and outgoing.

 

*Check back later for an update with pictures facing the right way.

 

Posted on

some back door catechesis

The Basiliaca of the Sacred Heart of Jesus -Atlanta, Georgia
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus -Atlanta, Georgia

Every time I read or hear today’s gospel I can’t help but think of Harry Potter fans worldwide getting a dose of evangelization that perhaps they weren’t expecting.

I love a good story, and I especially love a good story that is controversial — it makes you think. Or at least, it makes me  think. Some are opposed to the series as a kind of gateway drug to witchcraft. Others embrace it for it’s themes of love:

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13

It’s most powerful reference comes toward the end of the series in Godric’s Hollow, when Harry discovers a tombstone for Dumbledore’s family with the following engraved on it:

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

That’s today’s gospel reading. It’s from Matthew Chapter 6, verses 19-21. Actually, today’s reading runs to verse 23. It’s a good thing to read and reflect on the whole piece, not just one isolated line. Content may be king, but context gives it power. You can watch a brief reflection on this scriptural passage here.

Where are your treasures? What does your heart follow?

Pin It on Pinterest