Each fall my family visits the cemetery to place flowers on the graves of our relatives. My brother grows the flowers and we make bouquets for the 15 graves we visit. Usually one or two of us go, but this year there were three generations of us. My brother and sister-in-law, my nephew and my Read more »
Recently, I came across a quilt that I had started many years ago but had not completed. At the time, there was no free bed on our floor where I could spread it out to work on it, so I folded it into a garbage bag and placed it in a storage trunk in my Read more »
Benedictines take a vow of conversatio or fidelity to the monastic way of life. A commitment to conversatio is a pledge to process not just a single moment of conversion. Our rhythm of prayer, community and values provide the context for our conversatio, a daily turning as we each try to seek God. In my Read more »
This past Sunday, September 27 was designated “World Day of Migrants and Refugees” by Pope Leo XIV. The specific focus was to show love and support for migrant and refugee children. This occasion stirred up memories of my powerful experience with migrants in 2019 when, for eight weeks I walked with the asylum seekers on Read more »
The other day I picked up a small book by Daniel Berrigan (1921-2016) priest, poet, and activist. Called Uncommon Prayer: A Book of Psalms, my eyes caught a chapter entitled “Your Word Is Born in Us.” It was Berrigan’s free flowing paraphrase of psalm 12 applied to his own time. (The book was published in Read more »
The Season of Creation is an ecumenical initiative celebrated every year from September 1 to October 4 (the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi). The Season of Creation gives us the opportunity to give thanks to God for creation of the world and of humanity and to recall and strengthen our responsibility to care for Read more »
Discussing aging is not a popular topic! Don’t you think that most of us settle with telling ourselves, “aging beats the alternative!” I am struck with Ronald Rolheiser’s insights on aging and dying. For example, he discusses the challenges in shifting one’s perspective in our later years from the drive of the ego to self-giving. Read more »
Solid as a rock, a familiar metaphor, communicates strength, stability and dependability when applied to a person, a relationship or an object. According to an AI search the word rock or stone appears in scripture approximately 500 times. At times Scripture uses rock as a verb, other times as a noun, and thirty to forty times Read more »
Recently I was telling my brother, Bob, about so many friends asking for prayers as they face illnesses or family crises. It seems that my list gets longer daily. I don’t want to forget anyone, but I guess at that point it was somewhat overwhelming. My brother, always a source of good advice, said, “I Read more »
Sr. Ann Middendorf was born on October 30, 1926 to William A. and Mary E, Brueggen Middendorf and given the name Margaret Ann. Ann was the fourth of five children, with two sisters and two brothers. Ann graduated from Villa Madonna Academy in 1945. She received her BA degree in Music from the College of Read more »