Speaking Up for Jesus’ Sake
The oft-quoted advice of St. Francis is “Preach and if necessary use words.” Sometimes words are very necessary, but we are reluctant to use them. The first time I was invited to speak to catechists at a national convention, I didn’t think I could do it. As an extreme introvert, I needed time to ponder this. Besides, according to a newspaper article, public speaking is the number one human fear. A friend counseled, “If you can teach, you can talk.” I said yes to the invitation. I managed to speak without fainting on the stage, and I continue to speak to audiences. Admittedly, for the first few times before a talk, I was awake all night, filled with dread. I still have nightmares that I’m facing an audience and my prepared talk is missing! Once when Fr. Eugene LaVerdiere was addressing a large audience, his microphone fell to the floor. He remained as cool as a cucumber. Afterwards I commented to him on how comfortable he appeared speaking compared to my stage fright. He said, “Look at it this way. Those people are ready to love you.” This helped. Now speaking has become one of my main ministries, and I actually enjoy it. (more…)
Angels, Guardian Angels, Seraphim, Cherubim and Other Holy Spirits
This week my new book, The Catholic Companion to Angels, will be out. In honor of the occasion, for my blog I am posting the introduction to the book:
A Catholic women’s group once invited me to give a talk on angels. My first reaction was, Why angels when there are far weightier topics the Church should be concerned about today? The women’s request reflected our culture’s fascination with those mysterious creatures, a fascination that some would say borders on angelmania.
We are surrounded by angels in more ways than one. Their representations, ranging from muscular warriors to plump, rosy cherubs, are found just about everywhere. Statues of angels stand in mute adoration in churches, watch over our loved ones’ graves in cemeteries, and entice us in gift shops. (more…)
Praying to God like a Friend
Usually when I’m on retreat as I walk around our province center property, I encounter beautiful works of creation like a blue heron or a deer resting in a field. This past week on the day of our retreat when we were to go outside and enjoy “God’s Playground,” I expected similar treats and hoped to capture them with my camera. As I walked all the way up the hill what did I see? Nothing! Then as I made my way to our cemetery, there on the path was a big, ugly toad basking in the sun. I said to the Lord, who clearly has a sense of humor, “Aw, c’mon! A toad?” Now I felt comfortable speaking this way to God in light of what Pope Francis recently said about praying like Moses: “Say what’s what: ‘Look, Lord, I have this problem in my family, with my child, with this, with that . . . What can you do? Now see here, you can’t leave me like this!’ . . . . And also scold the Lord a little: ‘Hey, you promised me this, and you haven’t done it’ . . . Like that, like you talk with a friend.”
Song as Prayer
At our July 4th Mass, we sang every verse of every song, something Catholics rarely do. It got me thinking about the major role song plays in our lives. I believe we are the only earthly creatures that can 
sing, not counting birds who each have their own sound (except for the mockingbird). Whale sounds too might be considered song, but not like ours. Song is woven throughout our entire lives. Chances are that during our first years on earth our mothers sang us to sleep with lullabies. Then we learned children’s songs like “Are You Sleeping, Brother John?” and camp songs like “Found a Peanut.” In school we added to our repertoire in music class. Famous singers are among the most popular and richest people on earth. Some are called American idols! One of the most beautiful things I ever heard was at an opera when at one point a soprano’s voice seemed to shiver in the air. It was indescribable. (more…)
Patience, a Virtue
Perhaps you are familiar with the prayer “Lord, give me patience. Right now.” Recently when I complained about having to wait so long to hear whether or not a book was accepted by a publisher,* a friend commented, “All in God’s good time.” God’s time is really different from ours! We Americans like things fast: fast meals, express lanes, instant coffee, express mail. We find it irritating to wait in line, be put on hold, and be stuck behind a car only going the speed limit. We like to squeeze as much as we can into our hours, but in the end we might only be as productive as the gerbil spinning on the wheel in his cage. On the other hand, Scripture says about God that a thousand years are as a day to him. (Psalm 90:4) While we have all the time in the world to do things, God has all eternity and takes his time—with marvelous results. (more…)
