My father turned away from religion. While reading his old letters, I got a glimpse of some of his earlier experiences with the Church.
Valerie Schultz
Valerie Schultz is a freelance writer, a columnist for The Bakersfield Californian and the author of Till the Moon Be No More: The Grit and Grace of Growing Older. She lives on the Oregon Coast.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
How can we grieve with funerals on hold?
The coronavirus pandemic has both increased the frequency of deaths and constrained our ability to accompany the dying.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Formerly incarcerated people: No, quarantine is not ‘just like prison’
Feeling restless because we cannot go out to eat or attend a concert hardly amounts to involuntary incarceration.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Keeping your marriage vows under coronavirus quarantine
On the other side of the pandemic, we may see “corona babies” and “corona divorces.” May we also see the best in each other as we live our vows in the time of quarantine.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
How can I write for strangers without hurting the people I love?
Most writers walk a fine line between stealing from life and exploiting life.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
After a health scare, I learned my heart is strong—but now I’m worried about my faith.
Just as I took care to exercise physically for the endurance of my heart, I needed to break a spiritual sweat for the good of my soul.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Why the Catholic Church needs modern-day female prophets
We women do not want to make waves; we do not want to upset people. But the moment for all of us to act is decidedly now.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
We talk a lot about negative triggers. Are there triggers for good?
I think of mentors and helpers, men and women of kindness and compassion, heroes who listen to their better angels, as triggers for good.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
My daughter’s alcoholism and recovery changed how I see the parable of the prodigal son
Do not ever let anyone say that sobriety is easy on a family: The return of a prodigal can spark consuming fires.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Where is God when a mother dies in childbirth?
We do not anticipate young mothers dying at a moment devoted to birth, and yet we know it happens. We know about death, and yet we are caught unawares by it.