Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 35

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Adele de Batz de Trenquelleon

The Basics: Born June 10, 1789, in France; died January 10, 1828, in France; beatified June 10, 2018; feast day, June 10. Woman religious.

The Story: Adele’s early life was filled with upheaval, and perhaps it was that upheaval that fueled her faith. Her noble family was forced into exile during the French Revolution, first to Spain, then to Portugal. It was during the time in Spain that Adele told her parents she

By Afetism [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)], fro...

Out of Food, Out of Hope…

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.

The widow in 1 Kings 17 had given up.  She was out of food and out of hope.

Then along comes Elijah. He doesn’t pity her, doesn’t try to convince her she’s overreacting, doesn’t tell her to think of her son. He appeals to her hospitality, and shares the Lord’s message of bounty. For whatever reason, she believes him… and lives.

The same thing ha...

A Capitals (and Friends) Love Letter

Back in March 1978, one of my wire service duties was to take dictation on the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey games. I’d never been to a hockey game. I figured out what hat tricks and power plays were, and that was about it.

In the fall of 1984, I’d recently moved to Milwaukee and was given a ticket to a minor league Admirals hockey game. It was all right, but my husband and I were more focused on the NBA’s Bucks, who played in the same arena.

We moved to Chicago in time for...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Maria Gargani

The Basics: Born December 23, 1892, in Italy; died May 23, 1973, in Italy; beatified June 2, 2018; feast day, May 23. Woman religious.

The Story: She’s called the first spiritual daughter of St. Padre Pio. Maria, a schoolteacher and the youngest of eight children born into a devout Italian family, was about to find herself without a spiritual adviser in 1915 because the priest who had served her in that capacity, Agostino Daniele, was about to become a chaplain in the war effort. But Father D...

Patience and Salvation

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.

And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation… (2 Peter 3:15, NABRE)

I don’t wait for walk signs. I’ve fallen down Metro escalators three times, once breaking a toe in two places, because standing rather than moving doesn’t come naturally to me. At work, when something needs to get done, not necessarily perfectly but done, I’ve always been...

On the Nightstand: The Great Magdalens

Talk about being led into temptation! A couple of publishers had big sales in the past couple of weeks and, well, what’s a girl to do? Yes, these eight books are all now on my nightstand.

I’ll be starting with The Great Magdalens: Famous Women Who Returned to God after Lives of Sin. The table of contents shows predictable women (St. Margaret of Cortona, whose family refused to take her and her child in after her longtime lover died), and some surprises (Madame de Pompadour, the chief mistress...

Friends in Faith: Trudy Harlow Dervan

I’ve known Trudy Harlow Dervan for more than ten years now. We’ve been in the same Bible study group, we’re involved in some of the same ministries, and I can tell you that she and her husband, Ed, know how to throw a great Christmas Eve party.

These days, Trudy is inspiring me by doing with grace something that’s very hard for me: recognizing a difficult situation and rather than gossiping and complaining, finding opportunities to infuse God. Trudy reminds me we won’t be judged by how well t...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Leonella Sgorbati

The Basics: Born December 9, 1940, in Italy; died September 17, 2006, in Somalia; beatified May 26, 2018; feast day, September 17. Woman religious, nurse.

The Story: Leonella Sgorbati was doing what she loved when she died a martyr’s death.

Born in Italy, Leonella knew at sixteen she wanted to be a woman religious, but at her mother’s request she waited until she was twenty to join the Consolata Missionary Sisters. Leonella spent two years in England to be trained as a nurse, and when she was...

Giving Up Everything

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.

Everything. E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.

 That’s what Peter told Jesus the disciples had given up in today’s lectionary Gospel reading from Mark 10. And he probably believed it too: time with their wives and children and non-believing friends and neighbors. For some, successful businesses or a steady income. For some, perhaps standing and respect in the...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Clara Fey

The Basics: Born April 11, 1815, in Germany; died May 8, 1894, in the Netherlands; beatified May 5, 2018; feast day, May 8. Woman religious, social worker.

The Story: Having more than others–economically or mentally–generally results in one of two attitudes: complacency and superiority, or humility. Clara’s story is one of the latter. Her father was a wealthy textile factory owner who died when Clara was five. The industrial revolution had resulted in families living in cramped, unsafe, unsan...