St. John of the Cross: Dark Night of the Soul (English and Spanish)
That light guided me
More surely than the noonday sun
To the place where He was waiting for me
Hildegard von Bingen: Vision 7, The Devil
Then I saw a burning light, as large and as high as a mountain, divided at its summit as if into many tongues.
Joseph Bathanti: High Mass
Winter Sundays,
when my father was on strike from steel,
he and my mother woke late,
then rose and prepared for high mass at Saints Peter and Paul.
James Laughlin: Easter in Pittsburgh
the telephone rang it
was Mr. Shupstead at the
mill they had had to use
tear gas father made a
special prayer right a-
way for God’s protection
Barbara Hamby: Ode to the Sacred Heart of Everyone, Including You and You and You
Hey, Catholics, what is it with that red heart out there
beating on Jesus’ chest like some Frankenstein
experiment gone bad
Barbara Hamby: St. Clare’s Underwear
there’s your average man, hirsute and raging with testosterone,
Godzilla incarnato, King Kong with big feet, Frankenstein
hovering over some delectable damsel with skin like fresh pastry
Elizabeth Romero: The Sisters Who Raised Me
Now I thank the black butterflies, the Sisters who raised me.
Sister Jane, who taught me how to garden and identify weeds.
Sister Marie Therese, kind and soft. Sister May Bride
Who defied authority to comfort me when I was disgraced.
John Samuel Tieman: Holiness Comes For The Archbishop
Several of my non-Catholic friends have asked me about Pope Francis and Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador. It is not often I am asked about the process of beatification. … Continue reading
Patricia A. Nugent: Losing My Religion (or Why Single-Issue Voting is a Sin)
After reading my recent post on Vox Populi (The End Times? October 5, 2014), an activist-friend asked me to write an essay about single-issue voting. Although I laughingly responded, “I … Continue reading
