I have a confession to make: I have not been to confession yet this Advent. Every year, I bug people to go sometime during the season, and I think most of my family has been. But I have not yet gone myself.

I hope the lessons I learned in caring for my mother, in forgiving my father, help me to forge a better path forward with my children.

Some people might wonder how I felt so connected to others from afar, but there are many ways that I connected with my parish, and I really felt like I belonged.

The Incarnation continues in the church, the body of Christ.

Centering prayer helps me find those places in my heart where God's grace is playing.

I typed “Why does God…” into Google to see what would auto-populate. The question, “Why does God hate me?” was number three on the list.