Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 114

On the Nightstand: February

Last fall, I heard Edward Sri speak about his new book,Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross. My only regrets are that I didn’t buy the book on the spot so I could have it autographed…. and that I didn’t read it sooner!I finished it last month, savoring every word.

Dr. Sri helps the reader see Mary as a real person, a faithful disciple of Jesus, who puzzled over the amazing things she was told and that happened to her, and trusted in God. I especially enjoyed the way...

Being Christ in Our Lives: Jamie Sample

Jamie Sample has one of those smiles that lights up the room. And it seems like she’s always wearing it, no matter how busy she is.

You see, in addition to raising two young sons with her beloved husband, Jamie is the director of the Youth Choir and music for the 11 a.m. Mass atSt. Charles BorromeoParish in Arlington. She volunteers for many other activities, including Cursillo and the music at our annual pre-Christmas Filipino Simbang Gabi 5 a.m. novena.

I learn from Jamie as I attempt to bala...

Spiritual Roadkill

Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

When it came to the Monkees (a ’60s TV show and sort of band), I was a Micky girl. When it comes to the Rolling Stones, I’m a Keith girl, through and through. And, when it comes to the Old Testament, I’m a total David girl.

When I went to my first reconciliation in 30-plus years, Psalm 51 was provided for guidance in the evening’s program. It was the first time I’...

Of Enemies

Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

Who is the biggest enemy you’ve ever had in your life, not counting yourself? Perhaps it’s person who injured you or a loved one physically. Or maybe it’s the person who successfully wooed the man or woman you considered the love of your life, or that annoyingly perfect person who always manages to ace you out of promotions at work or plum assignments in ministry...

Who’s in Charge?

Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

So who’s in charge here?

You can understand the concerns of the elders of Israel in 1 Samuel when they ask for a king to judge them. The prophet was getting old. His sons weren’t regarded as fit to lead and, in the elders’ view, what the land really needed was a king. They didn’t understand God had the judging and the ruling well in hand. But God was willing to st...

One on One Time with God

Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

There’s a famous scene from 1987’s Barfly, starring Faye Dunaway (Wanda) and Mickey Rourke (Henry) that takes place as the pair meet in a bar:

Wanda: I can’t stand people. I hate them.

Henry: Oh yeah?

Wanda: You hate them?

Henry: No, but I seem to feel better when they’re not around.

You have to wonder if the fully human part of Jesus didn’t feel that way at times: th...

“Behold, the Lamb of God”

Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29

Before he was born, John had leapt in his mother’s womb at the arrival of Mary and an in utero Jesus. We don’t have evidence of the relatives spending time together; Jesus, after all, was born in Bethlehem, was taken to Egypt by his par...

On the Nightstand: January

I’m spending time in discernment this month, and so have returned to one of my favorite spiritual resources: Evelyn Underhill’s The Spiritual Life. It’s a short book–128 pages–but by no means slight.

Plenty to ponder, including thoughts such as this: “Our place is not the auditorium but the stage–or, as the case may be, the field, workshop, study, laboratory–because we ourselves form part of the creative apparatus of God, or at least are meant to form part of the creative apparatus of God.” Th...

Being Christ in Our Lives: Lora Zill

On the surface, Lora Zill and I don’t have much in common:

Our politics are different.
She publishes a respected Christian poetry journal, Time of Singing ; I’ve written one poem in forty-plus years.
At The Blue Collar Artist, she blogs about the creativity process; I’m not much about process about anything.
She’s an evangelical Christian; I’m a returned Catholic.

Yet she’s one of my closest friends, in no small part due to the conversations we have about God and how He’s working in our lives. In...

Spreading the Good News

Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

And so he arrived, Emmanuel, God among us. He didn’t stride his way into Rome, kicking rears and taking names. He didn’t march into Jerusalem, at least not at first, proclaiming he was the new sheriff in town.

No, he came into the world the same way we all do, born like hundreds or thousands of other babies were born that day, some in palaces, some in caves, some...