The first time I went to church on Ash Wednesday was 2006, when a group of us from work walked to a DC parish that pretty much shovels people in and shovels them out on “Ash and Dash” day. I don’t have a strong memory of that first time a priest crossed my forehead with ashes. What I… Continue reading Lent 2013, Day 1: Ashes, Ashes…
Category: Spirituality
Of Family, Acceptance, and Gifts That Keep on Giving
I’m fresh back from a delightful reunion with some West Coast relatives. The people, young and old, were warm and welcoming; the place we stayed beautiful; the scenery gorgeous; the conversation deep and silly by turns. I hadn’t seen one of my cousins in more than forty years, and was struck by how much we had… Continue reading Of Family, Acceptance, and Gifts That Keep on Giving
Simbang Gabi 2012, Day 9: Joy to the World!
“Contagious joy.” Can you think of a more beautiful phrase? Today’s presider at the final 5 a.m. Simbang Gabi Mass, Father Andrew Gonzalo from DC’s St. Augustine Parish, challenged us to shine the light this Christmas season “on people shivering in the dark…
Simbang Gabi 2012, Day 8: Being Christ to One Another
Day 8, the next to the last of the nine 5 a.m. Simbang Gabi Masses. And things were a bit chaotic. The novena’s organizer wasn’t going to make the opening of the Mass, so a friend