Category: Uncategorized

A Call to Be Beautiful

August – Ordinary Time

“Non bere il vino,” the usher joked as he handed my husband the cut-glass vessels of wine and water. I received the plate of unconsecrated hosts and together, my husband and I walked down the aisle to the altar where we offered these humble gifts to the priest. We attend the Italian Mass at Holy Rosary Church in Washington, D.C, so the admonition in Italian to “not drink the wine” seemed quite appropriate!

Not often, but just now and then, my husband and I have been tapped on the shoulder and asked to participate in the Presentation of the Gifts at Mass. When this happens, I feel honored. It’s like we have been given a glimpse into what it must have been like to have been with Jesus at the Last Supper. As Catholics, we experience those final moments each week in the Holy Eucharist. To participate in this awesome celebration is truly, like a dear friend noted after Mass, a “God moment.”

Sometimes I feel like the only tether on my own cobbled path through this incredibly complicated world is my faith. It seems that my grasp on those woven fibers is tested by the hateful ways I see projected on the screens I obsessively turn to from when I start scrolling in the morning until I shut off the television before going to bed. Breaking habits – even choosing to pray in the morning before turning to the news – brings with it a certain calm, but in the quiet, I become distracted by questions and doubts that arise when I juxtapose what I have been born to believe with what all around me defines reality. 

Reflection, contemplation, and prayer…it’s hard work. The constructs of my religion are too often battered by frailty, stubbornness, and ego. It’s difficult to ponder anything when all I hear is the noise of humans being…human. Maybe we don’t try hard enough; maybe we try too hard.

I recently read a quotation from Thomas Merton, “It seems to me that I have a greater peace and am closer to God when I am not ‘trying to be a contemplative,’ or trying to be anything special, but simply orienting my life fully and completely towards what seems to be required of a man like me at a time like this.” (Thanks to Terry Hershey’s Sabbath Moment for including this in one of his recent newsletters: https://www.terryhershey.com/sabbath-moment/)

Being asked to carry the gifts at Mass somehow makes me feel closer to God. Something else happened recently that also resonated. As Christians, we seek opportunities to pray for each other. We say it all the time: “I’ll pray for you.” We hear it all the time: “Please pray for me.” I think we might take this gesture for granted. I worry that I have forgotten someone who asked me to pray for them and try to summarize my daily prayers with something like: “Please hold in your loving arms all those who have asked for my prayers.” Not perfect…but still trying!

Front of the Mass card we received

So, I cannot even begin to express how touched and surprised my husband and I were when a friend texted us a copy of a card and intention for a Mass to be said in our name at Our Lady of the Rosary church in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood. I am used to doing this for others and am not aware of ever being on the receiving end of this gracious gesture – especially at a church we love to attend when visiting Southern California.

Nearly 2,700 miles from San Diego, my husband’s job in the wild west of the east coast in Washington, D.C. has come with unfathomable challenges that have affected not only our lives but those of our family and friends. To say the least, we are sustained and bolstered by the prayers of our community. That prayer intention from the sister of a dear friend meant so much to us.

Back to church. After Mass at Holy Rosary in D.C., we usually walk downstairs to Casa Italiana, the church hall. There, we order espresso or cappuccino and then sit for a half an hour or so to talk with friends we have made over the past five years. Children run between their parents’ legs and around the tables as young and old converse in both Italian and English. This past weekend, one of the matriarchs of the parish came over to wish us good morning. We greeted each other with a kiss on each cheek, and then I introduced her to friends visiting from out of town.

“Anna was the first person,” I explained, “to say hello to us when we began coming to Holy Rosary. We felt welcome from the very beginning.”

“You are beautiful,” she said, squeezing me into a hug and then sweeping her arms to encompass those at our table. “We are a family here, a community.”

Moments like these fill the cracks of doubt that reach into the shadowed corners of my soul where the core of my faith continues to require tender nurturing. This core, though strong, feels battered lately by a woke world that is really quite asleep, by a hurricane force political climate whose winds change every news cycle, and by a sometimes consumer-driven catechism in conflict with spiritual resilience, curiosity, and tolerance. 

God moments may seem small, but for me, they are manifested in the invitation to walk to the altar, a surprise prayer intention, the bittersweet sip of espresso after Mass, and in the potential of what happens when strangers accept the opportunity to become family. “You are beautiful,” she said, conveying a most important message across the wrinkled landscape of our faces – a message not of beauty but a call to be beautiful. 

Walking, Ducks & Finding Good in D.C.

June – Ordinary Time

My family jokes that if I were dropped from a helicopter into any situation in the world, I would find “good” wherever I landed. As someone who strives to greet life from a place of unwavering faith in God and a mostly optimistic worldview, I must admit that age has tempered me somewhat. Giving in to the undertow of the “dark side” drags at me more often than I would like to admit – especially during the past five years of living right in the thick of our nation’s capital city.

Still…

Over the past several weeks, we have welcomed visitors and have accompanied them on various D.C. excursions to include a tour of the U.S. Capitol, long walks from the Smithsonian metro station to the World War II Memorial, along the length of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and up the stairs to marvel at the massive sculpture of our 16th President. From there, we have made our way around to the Vietnam Memorial, and then to the wonder-filled Smithsonian museums.

I never tire of exploring. As long as I can move, I will never say never when it comes to walking. Just give me a decent pair of tennis shoes, and I am ready for anything!

Observing Washington D.C. through another’s eyes also helps me to shift my perspective from what I see in the news every day toward a fresh appreciation of what it took to build this country from days stemming back to the Revolutionary War. Each time I walk past monuments and memorials, I observe people from all over the world who actually want to see America. I hear them expressing their wonder in a symphony of languages as the stare at this city’s impressive architecture. I feel proud knowing that many of the buildings were touched by artists and tradesmen from Italy where my family originally immigrated. Crowds endure long lines to marvel at the original documents – the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights. I love peering through tempered glass at the historic parchment to discover editing marks, creative signatures, poetic form…all spelling out the human effort it took to draft a new country. 

Tourists never tire of taking photos in front of the White House – now massively barricaded and fenced, but still visible. They wander in awe past a kaleidoscope of cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin as they experience the Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King memorials. On a recent visit, one of our cousins remarked that he had “never been so moved in his whole life” than when he walked along the path of the Vietnam War Memorial. His tears and ours, I believe, not only express emotion for the more than 58,000 service men and women who died during that nearly 20-year period, but also for the future of our country, riddled today with complex dissension that spans from within our borders out into the universe.

Knowing my passion for walking, my son (an avid runner!) recently gave me the book, Walking, by Erling Kagge. The author’s adventures far exceed my own; he is known to be the first person to have completed on foot the Three Pole Challenge – the North Pole, South Pole, and summit of Mount Everest. However, this book is not about those experiences, but rather about what happens when one steps back to step forward – one step at a time. Walking facilitates this literally and figuratively.

“Everything,” Kagge writes, “moves more slowly when I walk, the world seems softer and for a short while, I am not doing….” He describes how walking helps us become acquainted with our surroundings. This takes time, he says, but “it’s like building a friendship.”  We can stop when we want, move where we want. We can experience the thrill of observing people and places…and along the way, find a path that leads to an “inner voyage of discovery.”

Walking through this complicated world compels me to slow down and to keep my hands free. While I walk, I am not tempted to scroll through phone messages or call someone to talk. (Although sometimes I do pull my phone out to take a photo!) Most importantly, my vision clears and even if I am beginning to feel like the helicopter dropped me some place I would rather not be, I continue to be joyfully startled at what I discover on my path.

On our most recent visit, I strolled along the Reflecting Pool and was absolutely delighted by a mother duck and her ducklings nestled on the sidewalk. I am used to seeing the ducks in the water, but in this case, they seemed to simply be enjoying the warmth of the concrete beneath them – relatively oblivious of the tourists walking by. There was something almost magical in zooming for a moment or two into the world of that tiny, feathered family. Something I may never have noticed if I hadn’t slowed myself down became an integral part of the painting of that day, the scene brushed further into focus by the human families streaming by on foot, pushing baby strollers, gliding on scooters…

Back to the helicopter. A couple of weeks ago, our son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren were visiting D.C. and on that particular walk, we actually did see a helicopter; it was Marine One and it landed right on the lawn of the White House. Not that I would ever be on that plane with the President, but the thought did cross my mind that I had in essence been dropped in D.C. five years ago when my husband’s work took us here. Despite what is projected over the airways, we have met wonderful colleagues and friends who are doing amazing work in service to their country. It has been quite an adventure. What I continue to make of this experience is mine to interpret…let me just say, it would not be the same without the ducks!

Lessons of Us

(my gift to a former student)

May – Ordinary Time

I was recently blessed to spend a day with one of my former students, Samantha, during her visit to Washington, D.C. for her graduation from Catholic University of America. She is the first graduate from Catholic University’s Tucson, Arizona campus where students can earn a bachelor’s degree in business management through coursework and internships closer to their homes in the Southwest. As we discussed her future, Samantha began to express emotions that tumbled between joyful relief that she completed the program to wary nervousness about next steps. She admitted to suffering from “imposter syndrome.” 

I totally understand.

The knowledge that you have the credentials to take those next steps doesn’t necessarily come with all the tools you need. With time and experience, the obtuse worry over not fitting in may go dormant, but it never really goes away as we strive to become our best selves.

I just turned the page of another year on the odyssey through my sixth decade. Despite the words of encouragement I shared with Samantha about mustering her confidence and believing in herself, I also battle the reality that even a whisper of constructive criticism or a fumble with technology during one of the training sessions I do in my consulting work…honestly, even a bad hair day or waking up with the realization that things don’t always turn out the way I planned…all of this can send me scurrying down a rabbit hole where I let myself hide in the darkness of feeling “not good enough.”

When “not good enough” settles in, I am unable to engage in activities that normally ground me like writing, exploring a new route on my frequent walks, reaching out to friends, and accepting that my hair will never look the way I want it to on a humid day! I lose sight of the rich history of my past accomplishments. But then, the sun comes up again and a glimmer of light penetrates the cozy hole where I have burrowed. I see a foothold – one I fully attribute to God. My faith most often does not present itself in obvious holy moments, but more through a life’s worth of practice and discipline. I know that even if I go through the motions, eventually the exercise of my religion will pay off (and it always does thanks to the Holy Spirit who I know lives as that gift within me that I often do not recognize until I fully surrender my stubbornness!).

Writing is what I love to do, but during vulnerable moments, I struggle to find words – not because I don’t have enough of them roaming around my mind, but I worry that IF someone reads them, they just won’t be “good enough.” Months may go by, and then my body somehow lets me know when I physically need to write. So here I am. I began a new journal the other day; however, there are still no words in it – just a Mother’s Day prayer I pasted in from our church bulletin (in Italian), and a pressed buttercup I found on a path near the Potomac River the other day.

I persevere. I start small. I make pasta. I just mixed together a batch of cavatelli for dinner. The process is pleasantly slow and the ingredients simple. Semolina, salt, and water. Each piece of pasta is formed one at a time – yet out of simplicity comes dinner!

I knit. The repetition is therapeutic and, once again, the ingredients are simple (yarn and needles) and from this process, stitch by stitch, comes a hat, a sweater, a baby blanket!

I write – one letter at a time on the canvas of my keyboard.

With this “practice” of both faith and patient accomplishment of meaningful tasks, I muster the courage to tackle bigger things. Dare I ponder the plans I had, revise them, and turn them again into goals I aspire to reach?

The lessons of me are really lessons of us. None of us are imposters – we are who we are and somehow end up where we are supposed to be. This lesson – while I am no longer in a school classroom – is one I gift to Samantha as she embarks on her next steps. I can’t wait to hear how her story unfolds!

Advent at the Airport

December – Advent

The definition of Advent denotes the arrival of a “notable person, thing, or event.” What better place to ponder this than at the airport.

“Welcome back Lynn,” is the message splayed across my phone’s screen as I sign in once again to wi-fi at the Houston Hobby Airport. How many times have I crossed the country between Tucson, Arizona and Washington, D.C. over the past four and a half years of my husband’s “temporary” employment in our nation’s capital? Long enough, I think, to have an automatic login at several airports in between!

Today, I am perched on a stool at Gate 51 in the Southwest terminal. About two hours into a nearly five-hour layover, I have had time to linger over the “All American Breakfast” at the Hubcap Bar and Grill, page through magazines at the CNBC shop, and visit the ladies’ room twice. (I like those sinks that have soap, water, and air all in one place; however, the air doesn’t work most of the time and you still have to wave your wet hands under the automatic paper towel dispensers located by the exit doors.)


As tedious as this might sound, I don’t mind long layovers. People watching remains one of my favorite pastimes. In Houston, some of the men wear real cowboy hats and it’s fun to listen to the Texas accents of the natives wearing Cowboy jerseys. During my breakfast, I was able to observe everyone around me – all while flipping through email and scrolling through breaking news. I eavesdropped on a table of businessmen enjoying morning Bloody Mary’s with their cheese omelets and discussing their days in the Army, an elderly man (in a cowboy hat) drinking a pink smoothie and reading his newspaper, a young couple in their college sweatshirts sharing a burger, and women like me, traveling alone, checking our phones, and texting family to let them know when they will land wherever their final destination takes them.

Of course, I called my husband to let him know my position on this step of the journey. Tied to his work, he will follow in my exact footsteps next week when he makes this trip home across the country for Christmas.

I got up at 3:45 a.m. EST to make my 6:05 a.m. flight. It is now 10:34 CT in Houston (11:34 in D.C. and 9:34 in Tucson MST). The clock keeps ticking. I am reminded of when I taught junior high, and my students and I were studying H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. I so enjoyed our banter about whether time travel could even be possible. My argument – frequent flyer that I am – is that we travel through time…all the time. My time machine just happens to be a 737 Max8!

If I had to get to a point in this stream of conscious blog post, it would be to acknowledge the way time seems to expand at the airport in the sense that I have time to fill in ways that differ from everything I usually do to fill it at home. There is no laundry to do at the airport, no Zoom meeting to attend, no shopping for dinner…nothing that pulls me in the many directions of my normal days.

Here, my exercise comes from walking through terminals, and my entertainment pours freely from a book I haven’t had a chance to read since I downloaded it from the library nearly two weeks ago. I can plug my earbuds in and listen to words of wisdom from the Hallow app or learn about creative methods to cast-on yarn in a knitting podcast…all without feeling like I should be “doing” something else.

Perhaps it is because I do have time that my thoughts have found their way to contemplating Advent at the airport. I am inspired to make the connection between Advent’s literal definition of arrivals and departures to the connoted coming and going and coming and eventual coming again of Jesus. I consider this as I continue to watch people seated around me at Gate 51. There are those like me tapping at their computers and others culling through social media. There is a woman in a wheelchair, assisted to the gate by one of the guardian angels who kindly shepherd our elderly through the airports. 

There is also an infant, cradled now in his grandmother’s arms, attended to by his mother who tucks a fluffy blanket around him. There are also two sibling toddlers, overjoyed at being set free from the confines of their stroller, twirling, jumping, and falling over each other like puppies while they roam under the watchful eyes of their parents.

It is in the children’s dance that I am brought back to thoughts of Advent. Their joyful laughter fills me with excitement and reminds me of the coming of Christmas. I look forward to being welcomed home by our son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren who I anticipate will be waiting when I land. We truly experience a little bit of Advent every day in the comings and goings of the notable people we encounter…even at the airport.

I have about an hour left until we board – just enough time to grab a coffee, play a Scrabble word in the ongoing virtual game I endure with my sister, and settle in to read a few chapters of that book that is probably due back to the library next week.

“The Lord is coming, always coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord.”

– Henri Nouwen

Discovering America at the Strip Mall

November – Ordinary Time

Certainly not as picturesque as an old-fashioned town square, the low-slung buildings that define America’s strip malls dominate our communities. Constructed from non-combustible concrete, steel, and glass, they are sub-divided into several units fronted by asphalt parking lots and tend to rob our vocabulary of words like “quaint” and “historic.”  This is the reality of our modern landscape. 

These commercial centers line the roads of almost every town and city in the United States and look so much alike that sometimes I have to remind myself of where I am. Daily errands require cars with spacious trunks and shopping lists that lead us to several stores at the strip mall or perhaps a visit to one of the big box warehouses we rely on for everything from peanut butter to toilet paper.

Remaining red brick and burnished wood storefronts of yesteryear are often marked on maps as weekend destinations where hand-churned ice cream and stamped t-shirts beckon tourists rather than locals.

America’s Main Streets have been replaced by strip malls, and maybe that’s okay. 

A strip mall, however, is not what I pictured when my husband shared that we had plans to meet his brother at an Italian restaurant on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Other than what I would wear, my first thoughts were of a stand-alone building, perhaps a refurbished turn of the century home, located off the street in a township tucked between urban and suburban.

No, he said, the restaurant is in a strip mall connected to one of the main arteries leading from the freeway into an area near where his brother lives. Wary of my surroundings, but trusting of my husband’s refined taste, I was more than pleasantly surprised by the ambiance once we crossed the parking lot of the Centennial Plaza, walked along the sidewalk adjacent to the stores, and swung open the metal-framed door to La Voglia.

Inside, the image of where we might end up faded away. Every table was filled, music punctuated the air, and the lights were dimmed just enough to flatter everyone.  Waiters performed ballet-like movements as they sprinted around each other filling water and wine glasses and taking orders. They proudly placed in front of guests an array of appetizers to include burrata dressed with pistachio pesto, mussels in red sauce spiced with chili and mint, main courses of truffle infused pappardelle, branzino and fresh vegetables, and desserts ranging from fresh fruit to decadent pastry. We had discovered treasure at the strip mall!

By the time we left, night had fallen and the sign marking the entrance to the shopping center cast a neon glow over the still packed parking lot. As we headed toward our car,  I peeked inside the other stores along the way – most with doors open to welcome early evening patrons. Although we had just filled our bellies with the best in Italian food, my senses piqued in response to the Mexican spiced aromas coming from Taco Suave and Puerto Jarocho – which also showed off its international grocery items stacked on filled shelves lining the walls. I laughed when I glanced inside Boot and Shoot; who would have thought of a Western store so far from where they are usually located like in my home state of Arizona. Next door, customers peered at us over their phones and magazines while technicians offered pedicures at Vee’s Artistic Nails. 

This is America, I thought…land of strip malls and so much diversity! And that is why I believe that strip malls might be okay. They have become our marketplaces. Maybe they are not as charming as the bustling stalls I have explored in Jerusalem, Israel and Florence, Italy, but they do paint a lovely composite of the people who have added the color of their individual cultures into what is truly a representative mural of our country.

Among the many photos I cherish is one taken along the street where my mother’s family once owned a bakery in Utica, New York. Next to Nicotera’s Bakery in this photo is the Utica Households Furniture Store and next to that Chanatry’s Market – all founded by first generation families in that predominately Italian neighborhood. At our family’s reunion this past summer, we drove along the 21st century version of Bleeker Street. Although the bakery closed years ago, some of the stores remain, including the market. Others have been replaced by locally owned businesses reflecting the blended diversity of today’s Utica population. 

I believe we take our modern Main Streets for granted. If my whole vision of America was based on what I glean from daily news, I would not be able to find beauty in a strip mall. I am a former journalist who is sick of journalism – yet compelled to read, watch, and analyze almost every imminent blurb that flashes on my phone’s screen. Granted, we need to be informed…but we also need to step away and look at how people have managed to navigate the complications of life as they strive to thrive and survive. Events that have torn Israelis and Palestinians apart, immigration issues in our own country, protests around every corner, fear of terrorist attacks in the name of religion…these issues are real. My faith compels me to pray; a Biblical worldview is much more hopeful than the 24/7 barrage of “breaking news.” As we navigate the streets of our everyday, I fear that we have forgotten how to appreciate what we have and who we are.

After all, most of us still frequent grocery stores for the ingredients to prepare meals for our families. We enjoy going to restaurants, walking to the local coffee shop to meet friends, getting our nails polished, buying bread at the bakery.  Despite tolerance and intolerance, our daily needs inspire us to seek what has been made possible by those called to share themselves in the goods and services we consume.

We cannot take this for granted – even as we struggle to find a parking spot at our local strip mall.

Family Reunion

August/September – Ordinary Time

The three of us were sniffling and sneezing through the newest wave of Covid that is trying to tarnish the final rays of this summer. Two of us had tested positive; one of us refused to test thinking that if she didn’t it wasn’t happening! On Day 3 of our isolation, while playing a board game and reaching into each other’s contagious spaces across the dining room table, my mother, my aunt, and I realized that despite this unexpected consequence of the previous weekend’s family reunion, we truly were experiencing a positive resulting from…well, positives.

Months ago, my mother had decided she was going to her family reunion. This would take place in a small town about a half hour from our native Utica, New York, at the camp the family has owned for more than 100 years. In attendance would be the eldest remaining cousins  – offspring of the 13 children of my mother’s grandparents. Several months ago, I decided I would surprise my mom and simply appear at my aunt’s house in Utica the day before the reunion so I could be with her at what may be her last opportunity to attend these once in a decade gatherings.

I landed in Syracuse, secured a ride to Utica, and then nestled myself into a hanging chair on the porch of my aunt’s house. With a few quiet agreed upon instructions to my first cousin (who I had never met prior), my mom and aunt moved from the backyard where they had been sipping tea spiked with raspberry brandy to the cooler shade of the side porch. When my mom sat down, I turned my chair.  

Everyone has read novels about families that have been separated over the years not only by distance but by the dramatic events that change the path of their lives forever. That is how I have always looked at the stories my mom has shared with my sisters and me. We grew up knowing that my mother’s mother (my grandmother) had died during the birth of her second child (my aunt). My mom was only six years old. This devastated my grandfather. Because he needed to care for my mother while also carrying on responsibilities in the family’s Italian bakery, the decision was made that the new baby would be raised by an aunt and uncle who the family agreed would be able to best provide for her. As a result, my mom and aunt saw each other often but knew each other more as cousins than sisters. All the while, their lives circled and intertwined with those of their many relatives. My sisters and I have seen pictures and heard tales of mom and her cousins at the camp – sleeping on cots in the big upstairs dormer, eating Aunt Josephine’s pies, playing Monopoly on the porch, and catching fireflies. Six of the eldest were at the reunion, and I will forever remember them sitting next to each other on the couch, my mom clutching the hands of her cousins. Although their bodies bear the marks of nearly 90 years, I am sure they saw themselves as kids, piling out of the family’s bakery truck and spilling into the yard of their summer camp.

A note about the reunion: There were more than 100 relatives in attendance. The camp has been lovingly restored and easily accommodated all of us in expanded inside and outside spaces. I cherish the exclamations from Mom and her cousins as they watched a video compilation of their summer escapades. And the food…Utica is known for its “chicken riggies” and spicy “greens.” I also filled my plate with sausage and peppers, a meatball, and of course, a huge slice of Italian bread!

When I was three years old, my parents moved from Utica to Maryland and began forging the adventures that would define our own little family. Over the years, we moved from Maryland to Delaware to Wisconsin and finally, to Arizona. During our summer vacations, my sisters and I would often spend time in Utica, but mostly with my father’s side of the family. I crave the taste of Italian bread soaked in olive oil and the juices of the fresh-from-the garden tomato and basil salads my grandmother made. I nurture pots of African violets in honor of those flowers that always bloomed on the windowsill of grandma’s kitchen. We grew to appreciate the Italian culture that marks the boundaries of East Utica. Occasionally, we would visit my mom’s family, but I never met her father and many of the cousins until much later in my adult life. And for sure, until this trip, I had never known my aunt’s four children – my first cousins. 

About 20 years ago, my aunt visited Mom in Arizona. They still talk about the mixed emotions that had and continue to have about discovering the tiny thread of sisterhood that has tenuously bound them together without them even knowing. Not only do they look alike, but they also share many of the same mannerisms and characteristics. The recent reunion was a chance to bridge that distance one more time.

We approached our first couple of days of Covid with resignation. We drank a lot of tea (some spiked with that raspberry brandy) and I read an entire book. In between, we prayed, we dozed, and we talked. Through the fog of my clogged ears and stuffed nose, I began to see the blessings. We had never spent this much time together. Ever.

Forty-eight hours later, we woke feeling exponentially better. Mom and I would be leaving the next day and we needed to “do” something. So, we “did” everything! This included entering my aunt’s art studio (she is a very accomplished painter) and getting creative! We had so much fun splattering acrylic paints on gelli plates, imbedding textural components and rolling our prints onto fabric. (A gelli printing tutorial from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAAc-5Yphu8). 

While making art, one of my aunt’s grandchildren (my newly discovered second cousin) spent hours with us sharing his own amazing creative gift of videography. Seated in the sanctuary of my aunt’s magical gardens, he interviewed my aunt and my mom about their lives. I felt something begin to shift in me. I knew then that my decision to attend the reunion all boiled down to these last hours of my trip. By the time my cousin had completed his gentle questioning, we were all crying, including him. The impact those years had on my mom and her sister is profound. Their story is only one brush stroke on the ever-evolving painting of our family. The result is rich, messy, and as beautiful as the abstract art we created that afternoon. It is also steeped in our Italian culture, which in all its diverse manifestations, has etched itself deep in our souls from the moments my great-grandparents came to America in the late 1800s.

The tears we shed that afternoon not only reflect the heartaches that both my mom and aunt experienced in their separation, but also the joy of having re-discovered each other at this time in their lives. My cousin finally snapped the lens cap in place over his camera just as the sun’s waning light cast peaceful shadows over all of us. We looked at each other and decided that even though we felt better, we had no energy left to cook dinner. There is a great restaurant down the street. Did someone say “chicken riggies?”

An Urgent SOS

June – Ordinary Time

I was listening to Bishop Robert Barron’s “Summer with the Psalms” on Hallow when I sensed a tap from one of my muses: “I am like a growing olive tree in the house of God…” (from Psalm 52). Diverted by that ripple in my stream of consciousness, I then scrolled through my iPhone Notes to find a potential poem starter I had inscribed a couple of years ago and up until now had not revisited:

The olive tree
Deeply rooted in the desert of my backyard
Sends an urgent SOS
To its ancestors

What is it about olives that inspires me? In addition to my passion for eating them at almost every meal, I realize I am often drawn literally and metaphorically to the olive tree and the fruit it produces. I remember being a cub reporter on the local political beat in Tucson shortly after graduating from college. One of the stories I covered was when the county board of supervisors banned the future planting of olive trees because so many are allergic to the seasonal pollen. Judging by the thousands of trees still blooming in Tucson, the success of that decree may still be up for debate. The fortitude of the single olive tree in our backyard is also testament of this when each year it drops a bushel of olives from its branches despite its advertised “non-fruit bearing” status!

Prayers among the olive trees at St. Augustine Catholic High School

I delighted in the prolific olive trees at my former school. One year, during my tenure as principal at St. Augustine Catholic High School, I carried empty buckets into the courtyard to harvest a crop of black and green olives to share with my neighbors. We scoured the Internet for methods to cure the fruit of its unyielding bitterness. After a month of brining them in saltwater baths, we preserved them in olive oil, lemon peel, and fresh herbs. So good.

During my recent trip to Israel, fellow pilgrims remarked about my meal choices while observing me fill my plate at breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a handful of those salty jewels, which I graced with a drizzle of oil, a sprinkle of Za’atar, and a side of fresh feta. I had to increase my water intake substantially during those two weeks to counteract the salt-induced swelling in my fingers.

Photo my husband took in Crete: 3,000 year old “Monumental Olive Tree of Vuves”

It is not the simple joy of eating olives that has drawn me to the Bible and back to my poem (or not) starter. I am discovering new meaning in the Psalms, and not necessarily for reasons that could be defined as holy. I feel tuned into the way the authors – David, Solomon, Moses. Asaph, and others – don’t seem afraid to say it like it is. They recognize times and people in Israel’s diverse history that were both tragic and filled with hope. While some of their words are quite colorful, critical, and harsh about the actions of their fellow man, they also express a deeply-rooted longing for what is divine and true. 

I limit myself in what I express out loud about the world, its leaders, its politics, and its problems. After all, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I try to be very respectful of that. Those who know me often accuse me of being “too nice.” Yet, I should not have to apologize for striving to be someone who always seeks the good in others and places high expectations on herself to model that good. That is not to say, however, that my resolve does not waiver at times. For example, these lines from Psalm 73 also recently caught my attention: “How good God is to the upright, to those who are pure of heart: But, as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my step had nearly slipped because I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they suffer no pain, their bodies are healthy and sleek, they are free of the burdens of life, they are not afflicted like others…They say, ‘Does God really know? Does the Most High have any knowledge?’ Such then, are the wicked, always carefree.” (Asaph).

The trunk of an olive tree at a winery & olive distillery I visited in Calabria, Italy

I cannot even remember the last time I felt carefree. When I read that psalm, I do not visualize Israel. Rather, I see and hear the news broadcast from every channel on my television. I witness the incessant “breaking” updates that flash across my phone’s screen. I cringe at the arrogance and skewed statistics barked from the mouths of those we elect to be our voices as they interrogate those who have chosen to serve their country. I cannot escape what I observe. My “feet almost stumble,” my “step nearly slips.”

But then…olives.

Olives I could not resist in the Holy Land!

I reflect on the olive tree in my Arizona backyard. I see me – still green in so many ways – in this garden of God. I observe the sturdy trunk that has thickened over the years, the fragrant blossoms persistently hanging to the branches despite being battered by desert monsoons, the gnarled roots continuing their journey outward and downward. I whisper a prayer of my own design, sending words to play among wind-tossed leaves – “an SOS” to our ancestors. Like that olive tree referenced in Psalm 52, “I trust in God’s mercy forever and ever…. I will put my hope in your name – for it is good.” Thank you Asaph, David, Moses. Thank you dear ancestors.

Conversation with AI

May – Easter

I wanted to compare an article I had written myself with one generated through artificial intelligence, so I prompted ChatGPT to draft a blog for me on my recent trip to Israel. My parameters were simple: write from the perspective of a former Catholic school educator who went on a pilgrimage. Within seconds, this latest of all headline grabbers spun a well-written account of “my” trip in “my” voice about many of the sights and wonders I experienced in “my” two-week visit to the Holy Land. Thus began my conversation with Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Compare Chat’s first sentences with the original blog I previously posted on this site.

Me: Visiting the birthplace of Christianity proved to be as disconcerting as it was inspirational. I felt like I had jumped into the pages of a book I had been required to read my whole life but still didn’t fully comprehend. As a Roman Catholic, the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation, communion, confirmation, and marriage have put flesh on the bones of my very being. 

AI: As a Catholic school educator from Arizona, I have dedicated my entire career to nurturing the hearts and minds of my students. While my passion for teaching is unwavering, I am always seeking new opportunities to learn and grow myself. That’s why, when I had the chance to embark on a trip to Israel, I seized it with open arms, excited to explore the rich history and cultural diversity of the Holy Land. In this blog post, I’ll share some of my most memorable experiences and takeaways from my journey.

Immediately, I felt defensive – quick to point out that the last sentence of Chat’s first paragraph should be deleted. Just tell the story…don’t tell me you are going to tell the story! One point for me, one less for AI!

Then, I asked Chat to turn the blog into an assignment I could use with middle school students. The bot proceeded to chop the blog into manageable chunks, turn it into third person, and generate a list of questions. While I might have edited the pronouns, I’ll give this point to AI…I used to spend hours scavenging for ideas to help me develop engaging assignments for my students.

AI assignment: A Catholic school teacher from Arizona recently visited Israel to learn more about the history, culture, and religious significance of the region. This trip allowed the teacher to visit important sites for Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, as well as experience the beauty of the Israeli desert and the Dead Sea.

During the trip, the teacher visited Jerusalem’s Old City, where they felt a deep connection to their faith while standing inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They also visited the Western Wall, where they saw Jewish worshippers placing handwritten prayers into the ancient stones. In the desert, the teacher learned about the resilience of the human spirit at the ancient fortress of Masada. Finally, they experienced the serenity of the Dead Sea, floating effortlessly in its mineral-rich waters.

Throughout the journey, the teacher engaged in conversations with locals, fellow travelers, and tour guides to gain new insights and ideas. They plan to use these experiences to inspire their students to develop a global mindset and a lifelong love for learning.

Questions:

Name two religious sites the teacher visited during their trip and explain their significance.
What was the teacher’s experience at the Dead Sea, and why was it important?
Why do you think engaging in conversations with locals and fellow travelers was valuable for the teacher?


Optional Activity:

Imagine you have the opportunity to visit a foreign country with a rich history and diverse culture. Choose a country and write a short paragraph explaining why you would like to visit that country and what you hope to learn from the experience.

This entire conversation with and about AI evolved over lunch with one of my former students who now lives and works in Washington, D.C. While my husband and I chatted with him across the table over wood-fired pizza and a tossed salad, I reminded him about our first encounter about a decade ago at St. Augustine Catholic High School in Tucson, Arizona. It was my first year at the school. He was a junior. He came to my office inquiring about an online Latin class he might take in lieu of the on-site Spanish classes we offered. Less than 10 years ago, accredited online classes were just becoming viable options for students searching for curriculum beyond our course catalogs. I called him my “test pilot.” Little did any of us know how vital online learning would become over the next several years.

“And now,” I said to him, “we have artificial intelligence. Enlighten us.”

Apologizing to us for taking his phone out at lunch, he said it would be easier to show us some examples rather than trying to explain. And just like that, we had the blog post on Israel, the middle school assignment, and before we could get a refill on our iced teas, we also had a Shakespearian sonnet based on the blog:

Upon the Holy Land our teacher flew,
From desert sands of Arizona’s clime.
To learn of sacred truths and stories new,
In Israel, they ventured for a time.

In Jerusalem, where ancient echoes ring,
The teacher stood within the hallowed place,
Where once our Savior’s cross and tomb did cling,
And felt connection to His love and grace.

At Western Wall, the prayers of faithful rose,
And in the desert’s heart, at Masada’s peak,
Resilience of spirit our teacher knows,
And Dead Sea’s waters gentle solace seek.

So read this tale and ponder questions wise,
For in these words a world of knowledge lies

Okay, that is kind of amazing! Another point for AI!

How many more plays could Shakespeare have written if he didn’t have to concentrate so hard on the syntax!?

While I could easily feel intimidated – even existentially challenged – by this technology, my educator mind has kicked into high gear. It is true that students are probably “writing” everything from five-paragraph essays to AP compositions with ChatGPT, but this may finally be what we need to inspire a huge shift in how we teach and learn. Imagine using AI to assist students in their research and then assigning those students to act on what they have found through a performance-based assessment. Think about generating examples of thesis statements and asking students to debate the effectiveness of those samples. Instead of spending two weeks on “how to write a thesis statement,” we can now potentially re-direct that time into developing, supporting, and refining the thesis. And when it comes to iambic pentameter…the possibilities are endless! How many more plays could Shakespeare have written if he didn’t have to concentrate so hard on the syntax!?

Of course, there are negatives and positives – certainly fodder for stories circulating by the dozens in news and social media. There are and should be debates on ethical use of AI and beyond-the-Jetsons (remember that television show?) implications of a society potentially manipulated by non-human forces. I have participated in the information revolution since joining the career force during the late 70s. AI is re-igniting my curiosity.

In my heart of hearts, however, I believe that AI will never destroy humanity’s greatest gift – the one that allows us to nurture and build relationships with one another. We do this by embracing our God-given talents that will always include hands on expressions through the arts and sciences. If isolation during the pandemic taught us anything, I hope it is that while we can physically survive without each other, we need human connections to bring dimension, meaning, and purpose to our lives. 

To all my students, especially those who have reached out over the years since their graduations, I say thank you for allowing me to learn from you too. God created an amazing machine when he made us…there is nothing artificial about that!

Easter Bread

April – Easter

Shortening or butter? Whole milk? Dyed eggs? Mom’s recipe or one of the Italian bakers on YouTube? These are the conversations my sisters and I have each year as we – each in our own kitchens – carry on the Holy Week tradition of making Easter bread.

Mom’s Easter bread with eggs

I made my bread the other day using Mom’s recipe that originated in the family’s bakery where she grew up in Utica, NY.  Being me, I modified it slightly by incorporating softened butter instead of shortening and almond milk in place of cow’s milk. I am known in the wry circle of my sisters to intentionally start with a proven recipe and then to change it up – just a little. (Most often I do this because my pantry is missing an ingredient and I am too caught up in the moment to stop and go to the grocery store.)

What never changes, however, is the magic that happens when you melt a couple of teaspoons of yeast in warm water and add it to flour. When my hands are kneading dough, all is right in the world. I am momentarily connected by simple ingredients to what has nurtured humanity since the beginning of time – bread. 

My version!

Tradition says our braided Easter wreaths represent the crown of thorns Jesus wore at his Crucifixion. Tradition also says the addition of an egg tucked in the nest of dough reminds us of the Resurrection, rebirth, new life. Some bakers braid their bread into the shape of a cross; others form it into loaves. Just like the recipe itself, our traditions bear the marks of individual bakers while uniting us with each other in the physical act of working the dough…and waiting for it to rise.

Janice’s bread ready to braid

Following my trip to the Holy Land earlier this year, my perspective of the Lenten season has taken on a new dimension.  I have walked the same streets Jesus walked on a journey that culminated in the transformation of his own body into the true bread of life. In quiet moments, I feel his presence as he kneads the dough of my life – loving, patient, often stretching me in different directions, and sometimes letting me rest as I continually seek to know him better. I am saddened by escalating violence in Israel. My heart aches as the television beams in images of worshipers attacked in their churches and of rocket fire streaking across man-made borders that continue to separate the rich cultures that define the Middle East. We have all become witnesses to another chapter in the complicated story of a land where perhaps some of the original “yeast” of our human history first began to bloom.

Lori’s bread

This year, my family will not be together for Easter. One sister is in Nevada. Another is in Italy where “Pane di Pasqua” is called “Cuzuppa” in the dialect of Calabria. Our mother and another sister are in Arizona, and I am in Virginia. Despite the distance between us, texts and Facebook videos keep the kitchen conversations going – along with our annual Easter bread stories. How did you keep it from burning on the bottom? Did you use sprinkles or colored sugar to decorate? Did it turn out fluffy or a little dense? Mom, did you really use oat milk this year? And…don’t you just love it toasted for breakfast!

Happy Easter.

Mary will enjoy “Cuzuppa” from Calabria

“My Trip to Israel”

March – Lent

Since returning home from my recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I have been struggling to find the words to describe not only the people and places I encountered, but more significantly, the heritage of my own faith formation.

After a couple of weeks of beginning, and then deleting, this blog post, I chose to organize my thoughts like the English teacher I am. The elements of plot (and an overabundance of metaphors) have once again come to my rescue!

Exposition: Visiting the birthplace of Christianity proved to be as disconcerting as it was inspirational. I felt like I had jumped into the pages of a book I had been required to read my whole life but still didn’t fully comprehend. As a Roman Catholic, the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation, communion, confirmation, and marriage have put flesh on the bones of my very being. Skipping through the chapters of Jesus’s life as we traced a path around the map of Israel offered me a glimpse into his humanity from his birthplace to the city where he began his ministry to the banks of the sea and along the rocky paths that led to the sights of his death and resurrection. Along the way, I discovered a conflict in the plot of my own life – one that, even in my sixth decade, is rocking me from my comfortable cradle of Catholicism and into the very thorny realm of deeper thought.

Setting: Israel is about 270 miles long and only 85 miles at its widest point (roughly the size of New Jersey!). It is bordered on the north by Lebanon, the northeast by Syria, the east by Jordan, the southwest by Egypt, and the west by the Mediterranean Sea. I can’t even begin to scrape the top layer off the fledgling knowledge I have about Israel’s history. Ongoing archeological excavations have uncovered a pre-Biblical world that has evolved through the Roman and Byzantine empires, Islamic dynasties, the Crusades, and onward to the end of World War I when it was placed under the control of the British. Only in 1948 did Israel become an independent state, which has further enunciated the divisions between its current residents, Israelis and Palestinians. Discernible tension is marked by territories divided not only by neighborhoods, but also by checkpoints and barbed-wire fortified settlements. Disputes continue over land and the status of refugees. In any newspaper, there is usually at least one article a day about the often-deadly conflicts that arise in this small but strategic corner of the world.

Rising Action:  In Tel Aviv where we boarded the bus on the first morning of our pilgrimage, our guide Nassar introduced himself as a “Palestinian Christian Israeli Arab.” During the next few hours, we stopped for visits in Caesarea Maritima to see the ruins of Herod the Great’s palace and then continued to Haifa and Mt. Carmel. Nassar explained that out of 9.8 million people in Israel, only 165,000 are Christian and that number is decreasing. About three-fourths of the Christians are Arab. Most of Israel’s population is Muslim, followed by those of the Jewish faith. In addition, there are Bedouins, Druze, Soviet refugees, and several other groups within groups of religious and cultural denominations. A living example of this erased the lines of history as we drove past a Bedouin camp adjacent to Israel’s modern main highway. Although they had been given land to settle on, many Bedouin families have chosen to live in traditional temporary neighborhoods comprised of tents and makeshift structures (some even with satellite dishes on their “roofs”)! 

Conflict: While many conflicts exist in Israel, this is where the plot became personal to me. I became a character rather than a voyeur in the story. Being “in” the scenes where Christianity was born and where it is obviously a minority religion, I found myself constantly asking, “Would I have accepted Christianity at the time of Jesus?” and “Who, way back in my family’s history, was the first person who chose to become a Christian?” (This certainly doesn’t show up in my Ancestry.com report!)

Shore of the Sea of Galilee

Over our 12-day pilgrimage, we walked in the footsteps of Jesus, his family, and his disciples. We visited the Church of the Annunciation in the area where Mary said “yes” to becoming the Mother of God. We saw where tradition says places the workshop of Joseph. We ate lunch at Christian pilgrim houses and said grace before our meals while through the windows we heard Muslims being called to prayer over the speakers of the surrounding mosques. We celebrated the renewal of wedding vows in Cana for the couples on our trip. We stood on the path Jesus walked from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee. We visited Capernaum (Kfar Nahum), said to be the hometown of Matthew and the apostles and where Jesus spent much of his time in ministry. We sailed on the Sea of Galilee. We visited Jericho, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. We spoke with student ambassadors at Bethlehem University who shared not only a tasty meal from their culinary school, but insights about their own cultures and religious practices – living normal lives as young adults of all faiths within the boundaries drawn between neighborhoods and communities in this small state. We spent three days within the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, located in the Christian Quarter. There, we walked past the site where Jesus was crucified and touched the empty tomb that marks the place of his resurrection. We walked the Via Dolorosa, each of us taking turns to carry the cross. It was also an honor to pray at the Western Wall alongside sisters of the Jewish faith.

My Mom carrying the cross!

Climax: Each stop along the way of the cross humbled me…and unsettled me. More questions: Would I have been one of Jesus’s followers? Would I have been one of his those jeering at him? Would I have been working at one of the shops in the city, and barely looked up when I saw the commotion along the street that day Jesus was led to his crucifixion? How was I chosen to be a Christian and born into membership of the Catholic Church?

Much of my faith formation has been based on practices including church on Sundays, the sacraments, teaching at Catholic schools, and a catechism that I often call my “rules for the road.” Nowadays, I find myself hungry for more. I am studying the catechism. I am making connections between the theology and my life through a new lens.

Falling Action (or perhaps not): I confess that the stranger assigned to the seat next to me on the airplane ride from Tel Aviv back to the United States tested my pilgrimage peace with un-Christian like thoughts that ranged from anxiety to frustration. Fifteen hours, six movies, a couple of glasses of wine, and a myriad of deep-breathing exercises matched with poor attempts at prayer made me want to kiss the ground even before my husband when I finally got home! But now that I have had time to do laundry, disperse gifts, organize photos, and read my journal, I can truly say that what I experienced was not a vacation. It was a pilgrimage.

Resolution: There is grace to be found in conflict. I have re-discovered a passion to learn more about the history of Christianity that has shaped me as a woman of faith in this complicated kaleidoscope of a world. I desire more theological knowledge and am grateful to finally have time in my retirement to study. Last year’s Bible in A Year program with Father Mike Schmitz was fresh in my mind as I visited the sights on our pilgrimage – mostly because I now have a “visual” of Old and New Testament readings. This is being reinforced by the Catechism in a Year program I am pursuing this year. I am adding titles to my reading list titles of books I own but have never read – those by Scott Hahn, Peter Kreeft, Thomas Merton, and even Saint Augustine!

Jerusalem – the Old City and the New

While the conflict I touched upon during my trip made me ponder my own Christian roots and the person who I would have been 2,000 years ago, it also has led me into an even more determined conviction to share my faith. The number of Christians are not only dwindling in Israel, but they are also falling in the United States. Pew Center statistics estimate that in 2020, about 64 percent of Americans, including children, were Christian. Those religiously unaffiliated accounted for 30 percent. Other religions – including Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists – totaled about 6 percent. The study further notes that if these rates continue, projections show Christians of all ages will shrink to 54 percent by 2070 and the unaffiliated could rise to anywhere between 34 and 52 percent of the population. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america/

I realize that in trying to summarize my trip, this account is drafted solely from my perspective – from the times in which I have lived, my upbringing, books I have read, places I have traveled, and Mass every week since I was baptized into this life. One way for me to reign in the experience of my pilgrimage has been to constrain it along a plot line. Although I am compelled as a writer to share my observations, I understand that the story line is flawed because it is written by an author whose journey through this life is still very much a work in progress. What is not flawed, however, is my conviction that I know I would have walked with the women who followed Jesus along the Via Dolorosa. This, I sincerely believe, will guide me to the ultimate resolution. “At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known” (1Cor 13:12).

God’s Touchdown

January – Epiphany

During his homily on the Feast of the Epiphany, our 78-year-old priest danced across the floor in front of the altar singing Herod’s offbeat version of Scripture: “So, you are the Christ, you’re the great Jesus Christ. Prove to me that you’re no fool – walk across my swimming pool.” 

Laughter erupted from those who immediately harkened back to the memorable lyrics of the 1970s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. Smiles also tickled the faces of the younger members, entertained by the vision of their pastor singing in his Irish lilt, fanning the flame of those iconic bohemian words in his priestly robes.

Epiphany: The manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, brought to us year after liturgical year through the story of the Magi. As many times as I have heard the annual readings, when Father came from behind the podium and into the congregation to highlight the central theme of our very human desire for signs of Christ’s presence, it caught my attention in a new way. Be it a star in the night sky, the multiplication of fish, healing the sick, or walking across the Sea of Galilee (or Herod’s “swimming pool”), we human beings take a wary approach to “belief” without having “proof.” Sometimes it takes a dancing priest to drive home that point.

My recent commitment to the Catechism of the Year program facilitated by Father Mike Schmitz and my completion of the Bible in a Year last year has fueled my hunger to continue nurturing my faith both academically and spiritually. Perhaps this focus is making me hyper aware of what I call “Epiphany moments.” This past week has been filled with them.

Anyone who gets news alerts has heard of Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills football player who collapsed and who was ultimately resuscitated during Monday Night Football on January 2. As the country became aware of what was happening, time froze. Immediately, players from both teams turned to one another, fell to their knees, and began to pray. The news cameras caught it all on film.

A couple of days later, the Wall Street Journal carried an article headlined “How Damar Hamlin Drove a Nation to Pray.” Noting prevailing controversies surrounding the appropriateness of prayer at sporting events and other public places, the author wrote: “The game was suspended, and suddenly prayer was back on the list of things anybody could talk about or do on camera.” Later in the article, he added, “Suddenly prayer—the ancient activity of speaking to God in the belief that he can hear and respond—was everywhere.” 

That same week, members of the U.S. House of Representatives began their history-making 15-round vote-a-thon over choosing the Speaker of the House for the 118th Congress. Politics aside, House Chaplain, Margaret Grun Kibben opened the session on January 3 with these words: “Eternal God, You spoke and the Earth brought forth life. With a word, Your spirit breathed into humanity the essence and purpose of our very being. Speak to us now, O Lord, and breathe into the body of the 118th Congress Your word of truth and justice, compassion, and wisdom.” We can argue all day long about the separation of church and state, but the traditions of our country are deeply rooted in the faith of its founders.

The Feast of the Epiphany reminds me that I don’t need signs that pack as big a punch as the healing of a leper or the opening of a blind man’s eyes. I live the “proof” of God’s love in the giggles of my grandchildren, in the faces of former students, in the smiles of strangers, and most importantly in the ways people reach around the complicated walls of society to help each other simply to survive. Mankind’s ability to trip over itself in a myriad of good and bad ways has been recorded for ages. (Change the scenery, flip the calendars over centuries, and think about it…we bear more in common with the people of the Old Testament than we probably would like to admit.)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “God communicates himself to man gradually” (CCC 53). This past week, however, we as a nation witnessed a man literally come back to life at the able hands of fellow men, bolstered by the prayers of other men. I believe God literally “walked over the water” of our souls and right into the stadium where we play our games. It certainly caught our attention. 

During his Christmas Advent reflections, Dynamic Catholic leader Matthew Kelly offered these four words as a reflection – words that come into focus for me as I ponder the events of the past week and also Father’s Sunday homily.  “Trust. Surrender. Believe. Receive.” 

Speaking of a “receiving,” the Buffalo Bills took to the field again on January 8 while a thankfully recovering Damar Hamlin tuned in from his hospital bed. During the first play, the Bills running back, Nyheim Hines, returned the opening kickoff and ran 96 yards for a touchdown. Several news outlets quoted quarterback Josh Allen who said after the game, “I can’t remember a play that touched me like that, I don’t think in my life. It was just spiritual. I was going around to my teammates and saying, ‘God’s real.’ You can’t draw that one up or write that one up any better.” 

The touchdown goes to God.

Bambinelli

December – Advent

In 1969, a mere nine years after I was born, St. John Paul II instituted the Advent “Blessing of the Bambinelli” when children are invited to bring the baby Jesus from their nativity sets to the altar for a blessing. This sweet celebration provides a visual connection, especially for our little ones, between home and church as we all prepare ourselves for one of the holiest days of the year.

Last Sunday, at the conclusion of Mass at Holy Rosary Church in Washington, D.C., the priest motioned for parishioners to participate in this very celebration. I was so touched as I watched not only children, but also many of the elder members walk toward the altar, each clutching the precious centerpiece of their family’s nativity scene. 

How is it even possible that I had never witnessed this blessing before? I continue to be astonished that after six decades of life I can still be surprised by what I don’t know – especially when it comes to Catholic traditions.

Holy Rosary has become our church away from home as we continue to travel between Arizona and Washington. According to its history, Holy Rosary was established in 1913 as an “Italian” church where immigrants would be welcome to a parish that nurtured their spirituality while also keeping their Italian culture alive. To this day, one Mass each weekend is said in Italian, and the parish is home to a robust school where children and adults learn and practice the language and culture. We felt welcomed the first day we walked up the steps and into the church artfully filled with murals and statues of the Blessed Mother and Holy Family. Sun pours through stained glassed windows and into the church, which is styled in the form of a medieval Roman basilica. After Mass, we usually walk next door to Casa Italiana, the church hall, to visit with friends (and sip espresso) before going our separate ways into Sunday and a new week (https://honoringmary.cua.edu/index.html%3Fp=7121.html).

I have been to churches in Indonesia, in Canada, in Mexico, and in Italy. No matter where I am, I find deep meaning in experiencing the Eucharist even when I don’t understand the words. I am fortunate to speak enough Italian to communicate, but I certainly do not grasp every word and nuance. This forces me to listen in a more focused manner to the readings, the Gospel, and the homily. The music at Holy Rosary is spectacular, and I now feel comfortable singing along, relishing the musical syntax of the Italian language as I try to manage a host of vowels tripping across my tongue!

The manger scene at Holy Rosary Church, Washington, DC

Years ago when we were stationed in Naples, Italy, I looked forward to holiday visits to churches throughout the city where “presepi” depicted the Christmas nativity. These elaborate scenes include townspeople, shepherds, animals, magi, musicians…and of course, the Holy Family. Presepi are not limited to churches; they can be found in store windows, piazzas, and in alcoves tucked along several of Naples’s narrow, meandering streets. One of my favorite places in the world is what we Americans call “Christmas Alley” located along Via San Gregorio Armeno in Old Naples. There, craftsmen and vendors make and sell pieces for the presepi. I have several in my own Nativity set at home.

I am a believer in sacred moments. While I am a little embarrassed that I had not heard about this nativity blessing before, I think this must be the year I was meant to learn about the Bambinelli.  We are spending Christmas on the east coast instead of our desert southwest. We will not be watching our grandbabies opening their gifts from Santa, and I won’t be making pounds of pasta and dozens of cookies for the family dinner (although I did make a scaled down batch of Italian butter cookies for friends here). On the other hand, my husband and I will be together and able to spend quality time with our Philadelphia family and friends. I have placed a small manger scene on a table in our Virginia apartment. On the kitchen counter, I have a rosemary plant shaped like a tree that I bought at Trader Joes! There are even a few ornaments hanging from the scented branches. I thought I would be sad, yet, with each passing day, I find myself experiencing the Advent journey toward Christmas from a fresh perspective and with a quiet joy I did not anticipate. 

When we got home from church last week, I went to my computer to discover a bit more about the tradition of the Bambinelli blessing. I found Pope Francis’s blessing for this year:

“And now I will bless the ‘Bambinelli,’ the little statuettes of the Infant Jesus that you, dear boys and girls, have brought here and then, returning home, will place in the Nativity scene. I invite you to pray, before the creche, that the Nativity of the Lord will bring a ray of peace to children all over the world especially to those forced to live through the terrible days and darknesses of war, this terrible war in Ukraine that is destroying so many lives, and so many children. I wish you all a blessed Sunday and a good journey towards the Nativity of the Lord.”

Buon Natale.

Evolution of a Tree

December – Advent

Rooted securely in my mind since childhood is the maple I planted and nurtured from seed to sapling to tree in our front yard in Easton, Maryland. Up until we moved from the Eastern Shore when I was in sixth grade, that tree served as the background for what would become many of my formative memories – a favorite nesting place to read, a live scene on the set of our neighborhood skits, a second base in kickball games, a place to gather with friends to have serious pre-teen talks about growing up. No matter how many times I have moved to new states and countries, knowing that tree was there has been the foundation of my definition of “home.” 

My tree is gone.

We recently had the opportunity to spend a weekend in St. Michael’s, a picture-perfect bayside town located less than a half an hour from Easton. As we drove along Route 50, my husband responded warily when I asked him to turn left at an upcoming intersection. He has this way of raising an eyebrow when I ignore the GPS and assume I know where I am going. (I call it exploring; he calls it getting lost.)

We turned onto Dutchman’s Lane, made a right at the next street, and pulled into the driveway of one of our neighbors who I knew still lived next door to our former house. While it seemed much smaller than what I remembered, our two-story Cape Cod looked beautiful. Current owners had added shutters and a rich coat of blue paint. Trimmed shrubs and summer’s faded marigolds filled the front garden – vestiges of our original landscaping. I remember the lingering smell of those pungent blossoms that our father assigned us to pluck from their stems once they had lost their golden vigor. That non-allowanced yard duty was at least a little better than picking mushrooms from the backyard that would sprout overnight after a humid rain.

When the tree (at the right of the photo) was just a few years old! Check out all those marigolds…and the station wagon in the driveway!

I looked up into the two dormer windows on the second floor and pictured shadows of my sisters and I playing in our shared rooms. How many days did I spend at my built-in desk, writing and drawing and sometimes doing homework as I daydreamed while peering out of those very same windows? I remembered my turtle, Mr. Sassafras, who lived for a while in a terrarium I kept on my desk along with various creeping charlie ivies, spider plants and other “stuff” I collected back then. I imagined the breeze that would flutter the sheer curtains bringing a welcome breath of cool air into our room as we talked and tried to settle ourselves to sleep after heated summer evenings of playing marbles and catching fireflies.

My sisters and my parents occasionally have had the opportunity to visit friends in the old neighborhood.  Through photos, I saw my tree grow from its (and my adolescence) into maturity, branches reaching higher than our house, its trunk thickening almost humanlike over the years. But now, my tree is gone, a bald round patch in the grass the only sign it ever existed in the first place.

My husband stayed in the car as I walked up to our neighbor’s house and knocked on the front door, something I had done probably hundreds of times in years past when I would ask if my best friend could come out and play. I had already planned to meet her and her daughter for lunch, but I thought it would be fun to surprise her and offer a ride instead. Nearly 50 years older than we were back then, our hug transcended time. The lines between past and future dissolved. We are moms and daughters, neighbors and friends.

“What happened to my tree?”

“I think it got sick. They had to cut it down this past year. You can see how big that spot in the grass is. ”

“I am so sad.”

All I could think of as we got into the car to go to lunch was that maybe the grass would not ever cover the spot where my tree lived. Could there still exist a tiny seed of life that might push itself up through the ground again? Probably not, but that’s where my defiant thoughts went anyway. 

Just a few days after we got home from our weekend trip, I chanced upon this Bible verse from 2 Corinthians Ch. 4:16, 18. Honestly, it startled me out of the contemplative funk I had been fighting about the passage of time, life, death…and trees. “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day…for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” Maybe a little girl lives in our old house now. Maybe she will find a whirlybird helicopter pod one day and ask her dad if she can plant it. She will point to a perfect spot in the front yard, bury the seed, and water it every day knowing intuitively that if she believes, it will grow.

Heavenly Highlights

December – Advent

I was just about to click “purchase” when I saw the bold face message above my order advising that I had already bought this book eight years earlier in August 2014. Perplexed, I reached for my Kindle and searched my library. 2014?  I had to call my mother. 

“Mom,” I spluttered into the phone, “that book, the one we are supposed to read before we go on our trip to the Holy Land… I already own it. Apparently, I have also read it. I have absolutely no recollection of ever buying it, yet alone reading it. I was the Principal at St. Augustine then. Were we doing a book study?  I honestly can’t remember.”

“It’s a long book,” she laughed. “You might want to get started now – again.”

My mother and I are going to Israel at the end of January. In anticipation, our Bishop, who is leading the pilgrimage from the Diocese of Tucson, suggested we read Jesus: A Pilgrimage, by Father James Martin.

I am not sure whether I feel awe or intense anxiety when something resurfaces that I have buried in a file folder deep in the back of my mind. Have I finally reached an age when I forget more than I remember? Or is this yet another reminder of my humble place in a universe that was created way out of my existential control?

So, I begin reading (re-reading). Within pages, I am startled by various highlights and notes I must have made during my first experience with this book. I tend to be compulsive about annotating text. This helps me interact with what I read, and often inspires me to deeper learning. Even in digital works, I continue to annotate while also believing I will probably never go back and see my notes. Normally I do not. Until now.

One of the first highlights I bump into comes in the second chapter in which Father Martin writes about Mary and her “yes” to a future she cannot begin to comprehend. He says, “God begins a conversation with Mary, as God does with us, breaking into our lives in unexpected ways…. And we think, why am I feeling these feelings…? This is God beginning a conversation.” I like that thought. (I highlight it again.) Maybe God is picking up the threads of a conversation He began with me eight years ago when I downloaded this book for the first time. 

Mary embraced God’s request without understanding why she was chosen to do so. I had also highlighted the next sentence or so in the same chapter that mentioned teaching: “We accept a position as a teacher and our lives are changed by our students. More simply, we say yes to God and are completely transformed.” Okay, that makes sense; I had most certainly been reading the book from the perspective of an educator. And I have undoubtedly been transformed by my students in so many ways.

As I continue to read, I latch on to not only Father Martin’s spiritual and theological reflections, but also his observations as a tourist to the places he visited that are also on the agenda for our upcoming pilgrimage. I enjoy his very human response to the congested traffic, the hotels and convents where he stayed, the crowded buses, and lack of signage along the roads. I have a need to know this as I contemplate which shoes to pack, the winter weather in Jerusalem, and how many dollars to convert to shekels. 

Next, I encounter this: “God meets us where we are…. In other words, God comes to us in ways that we can understand and appreciate, even if only partially or incompletely.” I wonder what compelled me to underline this before. Today, I read this phrase through the lens of eight years of hindsight. I never would have thought then that I would be where I am today as I travel back and forth between home in Tucson and my husband’s workplace in Washington, D.C. I am mostly retired. I am a grandmother. I knit hats. In addition, I recognize my tiny position in a vast global world that God sees in its entirety – a place where we have all been so weathered and affected by the pandemic, tumultuous politics, and moral issues that test our faith in so many complicated (perhaps Biblical) ways.

According to my Kindle, I am 20% into my current journey through this book. I downloaded a hard copy of my previous notes just in case I am inspired to jot down a few other thoughts along the way. While I don’t re-read books very often (there are too many others to read first), I am blessed with time to prepare for this pilgrimage, especially during Advent when all of us are called to look anew at what we have experienced before and to look ahead at what is to come through the transcendent life of Jesus.

This leads me to one more quotation from Father Martin’s book: “There is one person in a variety of times, the past informing the present. God is at work at all times.” I think about this while swiping my finger across the bottom of my Kindle to turn the page. I sense the Holy Spirit reading alongside me, nudging me to discover and welcome more “heavenly highlights” along the way. 

Note: Quotes highlighted are from Jesus: A Pilgrimage by Father James Martin (Kindle edition, published March 2014)

The Road to Oracle

November – Ordinary Time

Less than an hour from our home in Tucson, Arizona where we have lived for more than twenty years, we took a right turn. I glanced over at my son who was driving. It was 6 a.m., and we were on our way to the Town of Oracle where he was set to time the Oracle Run, a 5/10K race that was marking its 40th year on this “sky island” perched at about 4,500 feet at the base of the Catalina Mountains. I am not a runner, but after years of being a track mom, I continue to volunteer to assist when needed. I was also looking forward to seeing our daughter-in-law and grandbabies when they would meet us an hour or so later. 

“Why have I never been on this road?” 

My sister, also in the car and preparing to run the 10K, sipped her Starbucks coffee and noted that I should prepare myself to step back in time and simply enjoy the morning. She first ran here a couple of years ago and came from Phoenix the night before to participate in this iconic race in this equally iconic town.

I have lived in nine states and two countries and have traveled through several more on various adventures. But just then, as has happened a few times in my life, I was physically steered away from a road I have driven many times and onto another that significantly jostled my perception of where I have always lived, worked, shopped, and eaten. How could I be so oblivious to potential experiences hidden “just around the corner” from my established routines?

“Walk around and explore Mom,” my son advised while he was setting up his timing equipment. “Everything begins and ends in the museum over there,” he said, pointing to the weathered ranch-style building with a huge wrap-around porch adjacent from where we parked. I knew he meant that the race’s base camp had been set up at the entrance of the museum, but as I discovered, there were lots of beginnings and endings to explore up the wooden steps and through the front door.

The museum is operated by the Oracle Historical Society and is housed in what used to be the Acadia Ranch, built in 1882 by Edwin and Lillian Dodge. It not only served as a boarding house and guest ranch, but also as a tuberculosis sanatorium. According to information posted on the museum’s website: “It was at the turn of the last century that Oracle gained international fame as an ideal cure for those suffering from ‘consumption,’ the name given to tuberculosis and other lung afflictions at a time before penicillin. After an article was published in the leading medical journal, many came to Oracle in the belief the fresh air would restore them to good health.”  (There is a wealth of information about the museum, history, and culture of Oracle to be found on the museum’s website: https://www.oraclehistoricalsociety.org).

Each room of the inn opened my eyes to not just time gone by, but time eternal. The first room was dedicated to a mixed display honoring the tradition of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Photos of family members were interspersed on tables laden with colorful representations of papier maché food, painted skulls, sheet draped ghosts, and lanky skeletons. Perched against a wall was an unrelated sign outlining Mine Rules dating back to the early 1900s from the nearby San Manuel copper mine.

The adjoining rooms led to a kitchen, dining hall, sitting area, and guest quarters, complete with a metal framed bed and assorted medical instruments for those in treatment for their lung ailments. I couldn’t resist lifting the heavy kettle from the kitchen stove and trying to put myself in place of those who came before me. The best part of this museum is the ability to touch and feel the history – hardly anything is locked under glass, including shards of pottery that date even further back to when the Hohokam and Apache settled in the area a thousand or so years before the inn was even conceived.

I wandered the grounds surrounding the main building and discovered the ranch’s tack room and icehouse. In the time before the starting gun fired, I found a quiet spot on the porch to sit and enjoy my own cup of coffee. I have always loved those gliders that go back and forth on rusty springs. I filled my lungs with the cool morning air and completely understood the healing energy to be found in this mixed climate of desert and mountain currents. I marveled at a landscape that not only nurtured cacti, but also pine trees.

I didn’t run the race, and I honestly didn’t help my son with any of his timing duties, but I did rack up nearly 5K worth of steps running a “race” with my three-year-old grandson and guiding our one-year-old granddaughter over the bumps in the road she toddled over. I felt totally justified in buying the t-shirt!

Proud of my sister for winning her age group in the 10K and just as proud of my son for timing with no glitches, I thanked them both for inviting me along. “Glad I could help,” I said, acknowledging their eye rolls with a smile. 

I felt revitalized not only by Oracle’s healing breezes, but also by the gift of being nudged, via a right turn, toward a new road on my own personal odyssey.  There are so many treasures to discover just “around the corner.”

Note: So what is a sky island? A sky island is defined as an isolated mountain range separated from other mountains and surrounding lowlands of a different environment – such as a forest surrounded by desert. There are several examples of these sky islands in southern Arizona and northern Mexico. (Find more information at https://skyislandalliance.org).