On the Nightstand: August 2016

A friend and I went to lunch recently with a priest friend, who brought along two books from, as he put it with a twinkle in his eyes, “My very small lending library.” He lent my friend a Thomas Merton work, as they’re both huge fans. Me, I got John O’Donohue’s Conamara Blues. I’m not… Continue reading On the Nightstand: August 2016

Returning Catholics FAQs: About Praying

On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of  When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics, a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this… Continue reading Returning Catholics FAQs: About Praying

On the Nightstand: July 2016

So this is kind of fun. I’m not 100 percent sure what I’m reading this month. I AM sure it will be a book by Debby Giusti, and I’m excited about that! Debby is an award-winning author of inspirational romantic suspense (or, as she puts it on her web site, “Faith with an edge… cross my… Continue reading On the Nightstand: July 2016

Requiem for a Southern Belle

It was almost exactly thirty years ago. I would turn thirty the next day, and it would mark the first time in recorded history that I would be working on my birthday. Never mind that it would be in the wooded beauty of central Wisconsin. I was not happy about it. For reasons lost to the mists… Continue reading Requiem for a Southern Belle