nbsp nbsp nbsp One of my youngest daughter s friends marked the summer after her high school graduation by getting an abortion Apparently she was petrified that her father would have her slightly older boyfriend thrown in jail that she would have to put off going to college and that her mothe

nbsp nbsp nbsp My dad died on the Fourth of July Tired of his losing battle against congestive heart failure and kidney failure he had decided on July 2 to stop his thrice weekly dialysis treatments The hospice people came to the house and set him up with a hospital bed a sweet and caring nu

nbsp nbsp nbsp When we were newlyweds my husband and I played a silly game that we called Life is a Musical We d make up dramatic arias and ballads and rhymes about the most mundane parts of our daily lives Then we d sing to each other about doing the dishes or sweeping the porch or slicin

A balance of solitude and community makes for a good spiritual place to be I live in a closely-knit family which I treasure but I know that I am not centered if I never spend any time alone with God Conversely I know people who believe that one-on-one time is enough that a thoughtful walk in t

nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp From a recent ad in my local newspaper HAVING KIDS IS GREAT WHAT IT DOES TO YOUR BODY ISN T The ad goes on ostensib

It s not what you re thinking The reason an IUD was inserted into my uterus earlier today is medical It is one more attempt in a two-year succession of attempts to tame my monstrous perimenopausal menstrual cycle that has plunged me into insecurity and anemia And I m not sure which is wor

nbsp nbsp nbsp My husband and I look forward every year to attending the Religious Education Congress Organized by the Los Angeles Archdiocese the Congress takes place in Anaheim which I suppose makes it the religious equivalent of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball team nbsp nbsp

nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Today s blog is brought to you by the letter R nbsp nbsp nbsp The state department I work for the CDC or California Department of Corrections in 2005 had the letter R added to its acronym making it the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation It

In the beginning was the Word the Gospel of John tells us a Word without flesh A word wields power to heal to hurt to change to condemn to affirm A word separates us from the animal kingdom A word can civilize and uplift us In the beginning It is the beginning of 2009 We have a lot of

I spent my Saturday with twelve men in cages It s hard to imagine that in the United States we put inmates in cages but in the Secured Housing Unit of the prison where I volunteer we do In the SHU inmates who are privileged to attend Catholic services are escorted from their housing to ind