Holy Thursday Foot Fetish
I never understood the washing of the feet. For newcomers, an explanation: each Holy Thursday at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, there is a…
The Order of the Day
I’d been cleaning for weeks. It started the week before Thanksgiving; I had nine coming for Thanksgiving dinner and was damned if I didn’t have…
Hearts and Bones
The turning point was not being able to find a pew without a direct view of the dead saint’s remains in that crystal coffin under…
A Century’s Bravest Believers
Martyrs: Contemporary Writers on Modern Lives of Faith Edited by Susan Bergman, HarperSanFrancisco (1998), 333 pages. Bad martyr vibes It used to be that when…
Wigilia
It’s not Mary giving birth or the baby Jesus Himself that brings it to mind, but standing in the window watching for the first star…
Losing Your Edge
My computer died, taking my last article—a tirade on the prevalence of thongs and stilettos in everyday women’s wear—with it. The PC that came to…
Pitiless Summer Drama
Gather forty strangers in one house and give them ten days to three weeks to learn music, dance routines, scenes, and monologues for a show…
In God We Trust
The big red stripe ran the length of the white envelope proclaiming, Juror Summons Enclosed. Jury duty. I decided to take a positive attitude. Why…
The Catholic Art of Getting a Life
Getting a Life: How to Find Your True Vocation by Renée LaReau, Orbis (2003), 158 pages. It seems to me life improves drastically after you…
Pride lust envy gluttony greed sloth anger
With my tongue outstretched and her hand on my pulse, the acupuncturist fired questions and conclusions at me: “You worry too much. You think too…
