Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 37

Ready: April 2018

Note: My word for the year is “Ready.” Each month, I blog briefly about my progress.

Here it is, the end of April. A month I thought I was ready for, but not so much.

I wasn’t ready for some memory lapses that seem to be growing more and more serious… or for having to think about what to do about them. I wasn’t ready for a colleague’s intense reaction after she put me in an untenable situation and I did what I still believe was the best thing for the organization. I wasn’t ready for another...

Wednesday’s Woman: Hanna Helena Chrzanowska

The Basics: Born October 7, 1902, in Poland; died April 29, 1973, in Poland; to be beatified April 28, 2018; feast day, April 29; nurse, oblate.

The Story: While Hanna’s family was wealthy financially, they were poverty-stricken spiritually; her mother was Protestant, her father Catholic, and neither was particularly spiritual or religious. Nonetheless, Hanna learned much about charity and compassion from her mother’s parents, who did much to help children and others in need. Hanna’s own poor...

“My Sheep Hear My Voice”

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.

When was the last time you heard His voice?

Was it early this morning, when your children were giggling over breakfast?

Was it in mid-morning, when your boss or a difficult colleague cut you a little slack when you weren’t prepared for a meeting?

Was it at lunchtime, when that guy who’s always panhandling at the Metro stop, instead of asking for...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Elizabeth of Reute

The Basics: Born November 25, 1386, in Germany; died November 25, 1420, in Germany; beatified June 19, 1766, by Clement XIII; feast day, November 25; woman religious.

The Story: They called her “the good Betha” from an early age, and it’s easy to understand why. Elizabeth was born into a poor family, and was just fourteen when she became a third order (lay) Franciscan. Rather than enter a convent, she stayed at home for the next three years. She then moved in with another Franciscan tertiary;...

Of Stoning

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’s not a quick death, stoning.

It takes about a half hour, and you get bruised and battered and bloodied. Probably, you pray for one of the first stones to knock you unconscious.

Perhaps it was Stephen’s intent that his discourse about the crowd’s failure to accept Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecies would anger the people so much that...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Maria Luise Merkert

The Basics: Born September 21, 1817, in Poland; died November 14, 1872, in Poland; beatified September 30, 2007; feast day, November 14; woman religious.

The Story: Maria’s life is one that shows us it is futile to rely on anyone but the Lord. Her father died when she was nine months old; her mother, when Maria was twenty-four. The young woman, her sister, and two friends began caring for people who for one reason or another weren’t accepted by hospitals. They became known as “the gray nuns,”...

About Earthly Things

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.

Nicodemus was curious but careful about this Jesus. It’s understandable; he was a Pharisee and a Sanhedrist. He had standing in his community. The Catholic Encyclopedia puts it this way: “He appears … as a learned and intelligent believer, but timid and not easily initiated into the mysteries of the new faith.” Small wonder, then that the meetin...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Maria Dolores Rodriguez Sopena

The Basics: Born December 30, 1848, in Spain; died January 10, 1918, in Spain; beatified March 23, 2003; feast day, January 10; social worker; woman religious.

The Story: Ten days. That’s all it took for Dolores to decide convent life was not for her. That might have been in part because so much of her life up until that time had been based on more public ministries. She was still in her teens when she secretly cared for a leper and sisters with typhoid fever. When she was twenty-one, Dolores...

He Lives… and So Do We

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.

You’ve probably heard about the six-word short story, the six-word memoir, and so on. Legend has it that it all started with a conversation between the word economist Ernest Hemingway and some other writers on terseness and brevity in writing. Hemingway is widely credited with this gem of a story: “For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.” It’s got a b...

On the Nightstand: The Cloud of Unknowing

This is one of those books I’ve been meaning to read for a while, but now it’s moved to the top of the pile. The Cloud of Unknowing‘s author (fittingly, unknown) wrote about contemplative prayer in the latter half of the fourteenth century. The introduction includes this rich passage: “One must come to the point of saying, ‘God, I don’t really know a single thing about you or what you are like or anything except that I know there is a ‘you’ and I love you and long to be one with you.” It’s t...