Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 24

Wednesday’s Woman: St. Eudocia of Heliopolis

The Basics: Born in the first century in Syria; died about 107 in Lebanon; canonized precongregation;  feast day, March 1. Martyr.

The Story: Eudocia seemingly had it all: She was extremely wealthy, and she was extremely beautiful. Her willingness to sell the latter had resulted in the former. But she wasn’t bothered by the fact that she had demeaned herself as a woman to amass her money.

She fell ill, and during the time she was receiving care, Eudocia encountered a monk named Germanus. He p...

Forgiving as the Lord Forgives

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

“His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.  Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’  Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each...

Wednesday’s Woman: St. Macrina the Younger

The Basics: Born about 330 in Turkey; died about 379 in Turkey; feast day, July 19. Woman religious.

The Story: Macrina’s was a life filled with sharing God’s grace and love, most notably with her family. Her parents came from wealthy, spiritual upbringings, and had ten children, Macrina being the oldest. (Her father’s mother also was named Macrina and is regarded as a saint.) Her father, known for his generosity and service to the less fortunate, identified a relative with whom he thought Ma...

The Perfect Person to…

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

By outward appearances, he was just a regular guy, a carpenter by trade. He offered up two small birds for Jesus’s circumcision; if he’d been wealthy, the sacrifice would have been a lamb. His prestigious lineage—descended from King David—hadn’t seemed to have brought him much worldly gain.

In other words, he was the perfect person to serve as J...

Are You an Enemy of Christ?

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

For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. (Philippians 3:18, NABRE)

It should be easy to tell the enemies of the cross of Christ, right? Think of the regimes, leaders, and individuals around the world who persecute and torture those who believe in Jesus. Think of the...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Lucy of Settefonti

The Basics: Born about 1100 in Italy; died about 1157 in Italy; beatified in 1779 by Pius VI; feast day, November 7. Woman religious.

The Story: Lucy and her friends were attracted to the simple monastic life known as the Camaldolese, mountain communities established by Saint Romuald. The concept was a mix of community and hermetic living. And while Lucy was attracted to this vocation, serving as abbess at a monastery in Italy’s Ozzano dell’Emilia, a certain nobleman, Count Diatagora Fava, be...

Ask, and We Will Receive

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

It’d been weighing on me for four and a half months, a sin of

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impulse that had hurt no one but me. But I’d been without a spiritual director for going on three years, and it wasn’t something I wanted to plop on a priest I knew. Yes, I knew they’ve heard it all and generally forget everything they hear in...

Wednesday’s Woman: St. Balbina of Rome

The Basics: Died 130 in Italy; canonized pre-congregation; feast day, March 31. Daughter, martyr.

The Story: Some of the names of the women among the 140 statues on the St. Peter’s Basilica Colonnades are well known: Agatha, Agnes,Catherine of Siena, Cecilia, Clare, Lucy, Mary Magdalene, Teresa of Avila. Balbina is one whose full story is lost to the mists of time. The legend is that her father, a Roman officer named Quirinus, got into a conversation with an inmate he was guarding, Pope Alexa...

Extortion, Bribes, and God

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

Maybe you’ve gotten them too, those email threats that you know are scams but seem so real. I’ve been foolish enough to open a few, warnings that people have videos of me I wouldn’t want others to

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see or that there are a number of bombs set to go off in the building where I am. The “remedy” is to send the scammers arou...

On the Nightstand: Remember Your Death: Memento Mori Lenten Devotional

“You are going to die.”

Hard words, indeed. But words we can turn into hope, words that can change our lives. That’s what Sister Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSP, promises in Remember Your Death: Memento Mori Lenten Devotional.

I got a bit of a head start late last year with the related journal, and am excited to begin the devotional. Sister explains the practice of remembering our death has been encouraged for centuries by Christians and non-Christians alike. For Christians, she notes, it’s espec...