Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 19

Who, You?

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

Who, you?

You’re tooling along in your leadership role in education, and all of a sudden you feel a nudging to start ministering to unwed mothers. You’re a great project manager and you love the work and the money, and all of a sudden your pastor asks if you’d consider taking a position with the parish that would mean a whole lot less money and even more hours....

Faith in Him… Even When Others Lack It

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

It happens almost every time I’m talking with a group of Catholic women of a certain age whom I haven’t met before. One of them finds a private moment and she tells me that she’s baptized one of her grandchildren. Her adult children don’t have any sort of a spiritual practice, and she is grieved by that and wonders what she did wrong. She prays for their convers...

Transfigurations

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

Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings,[h] one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. (Luke 9:33, NRSVCE)

So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star...

On the Nightstand: Introduction to the Devout Life

I’m learning a lot about the male saints as I’m working on Brotherhood of Saints that’s due to the publisher in May. It’s a companion of sorts to Sisterhood of Saints. Through my research, I was surprised to find that I’ve never read more than a quote here or there from St. Francis de Sales. He died in 1622 in France at the age of fifty-five, and is known for his writings on spiritual formation. He also happens to be the patron saint of writers. So, this month, I’m going to be reading one of...

Friends in Faith: Laura Roland

My friend Laura Roland will tell you she’s an okay speaker, but what she’s called to do is bring women together in Christ. I’m thinking she’s probably selling herself short on the former, but she certainly excels at the latter. About a year ago, Laura put aside a high-powered career in education to found Encounter Grace, a ministry that offers conferences and other opportunities for women to gather. She’s also helping to get the Facebook community Catholic Women in Business going. Laura’s s...

His Is the Sunlight

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

In a couple of weeks, I’ll be getting together with a number of people I don’t see often enough. In some cases, it’s been years. They’re the types of friendships that have stood the test of time, that even if we don’t talk or message often, we’ll pick up just where we left off.

I’m thinking particularly of my friend Julie, an ordained Baptist minister. We won’t...

Chosen People

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

You might contend that God was on the side of Moses and the Israelites, the way He facilitated the parting of the Red Sea and gave them manna and brought all the plagues on the Egyptians. But I’m not so sure.

God, I think, is on the side of all those who seek to love Him and serve Him. Yes, we know He hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that the army would pursue Moses...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Alicja Kotowska

Please note: Wednesday’s Woman will become an occasional post after this week, because I’m working on a companion book for Franciscan Media tentatively titled Brotherhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration. I’ll be adding Monday’s Man posts in the coming weeks; please email me with anyone you’d like to see featured (or included in Brotherhood. Thanks!)

The Basics: Born November 20, 1899, in Poland; died November 11, 1939, in Poland; beatified June 13, 1999, by John Paul II; feast days,...

Affairs that Come to Light

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

On one occasion, after Moses had grown up, when he had gone out to his kinsmen and witnessed their forced labor, he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own kinsmen. Looking about and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out again, and now two Hebrews were fighting! So he asked the culprit, “Why are yo...

On the Nightstand: A Season of Grace

I had a plan for this month. I was going to read Heather King’s new book, Ravished: Notes on Womanhood. Except, well, I took it along on my annual self-directed silent retreat and finished it the first time. I recommend it highly. That means A Season of Grace: Embracing God’s Gifts in the Autumn of Our Lives by Carolyn Bassett is at the top of my nightstand now. The book consists of 75 two-page reflections that remind us that the best is yet to be, regardless of what our joints and graying ha...