spiritual practice – Christy Wilkens

On the Spectrum {Book Review}

This collection of essays all bear Bowman’s signature frank, earnest style. He moves skillfully from isolation to community, building a vision of possibility and hope.

My Rosary Story: Muscle Memory

During our family rosary, we unite ourselves by offering ourselves, pouring what is in our hearts out into the little community of our family. We gather our minds and bodies back from our fragmented daily existence to the heart of family unity, if only for a few brief minutes.

The Seven Sorrows: A Model of Suffering that 2020 Needs

Suffering refines us, as we endure it, and it refines all of humanity, as we leave it at the foot of the cross, our own small pebble added to a cairn the size of the whole world.

4 tips for fighting back against acedia

Acedia is a near-constant spiritual battle that is uniquely pertinent to the days we are living through … even if you don’t happen to be a third-century hermit.

On Loan, On Layover [Guest Post by Annamarie Adkins]

As we raise our children, we try to remember that we are their stewards for the time being. This practice is a little more intensified when your child nears the brink of death, and is brought back to life again.

What your grandma meant by “offer it up,” and how to make your life a gift to the world

You’ve probably heard the phrase “offer it up” as a super-Catholic, sometimes flippant response to life’s problems. If you’ve ever wondered what it actually means, this is the post for you.

How to manage your special needs grief (without letting it own you)

A couple months ago an unexpected wave of special needs grief hit me like a ton of bricks during Mass. Here’s why, and here’s what I did about it.

#7QT: That time I went to Lourdes and got marching orders. (Twice.)

Sometimes discernment is hard. But sometimes, God just throws up his hands and does it for you. (Twice, if necessary.)

Living our brokenness under the blessing lifts us all

Brokenness lived under the blessing is transformed into a gift, not a burden. Every year in Lourdes, I get to relearn this.

How to pray when the answer is already no: A primer

This is not a simplistic “God never closes a door without opening a window” speech. It’s just a reminder that a negative (or absent) response does not have to mean the end of a relationship with God.