Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 40
February 6, 2018
Mercy When It Counts Most
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.
He was about thirty-five years old, a Jesuit novice after eleven years of study. And he was never going to become a priest now. Instead, he, two of his Japanese Jesuit confreres, seventeen laymen, and six Franciscan missionaries were about to be killed for their faith.
The twenty-six had been marched six hundred miles from 
Kyoto to Nagasaki over...
February 2, 2018
Ready: February 2018
Note: My word for the year is “Ready.” Each month, I blog briefly about my progress.
January 2018. It was the month that I finally realized I’ve had what was probably a lifelong sugar addiction. I hope it also goes down as the month I broke it once and for all.
My sister and I are doing the Whole 30 diet at our doctor’s
recommendation. It’s no dairy, no sugar (artificial or otherwise), no snacking, basically no carbs, limited fruit. The first couple days were hard but then, wham, the benefits...
February 1, 2018
On the Nightstand: Barking to the Choir
At a recent lunch with some friends, the conversation turned to what we were reading. One friend, who happens to be a priest, recommended Barking to the Choir by Father Gregory Boyle, the founder of 
Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, a gang intervention program. Some of you may remember his Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion.
I picked this book for my February reading not only because of my friend’s recommendation, but because of a recent homily in which my pastor said so...
January 31, 2018
Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Maria Vittoria De Fornari Strata
The Basics: Born in 1562 in Italy; died December 15, 1617, in Italy; beatified September 21, 1828, by Leo XIII; feast day, December 15; wife, mother, woman religious.
The Story: Maria’s life had been humming along just fine. Born into a wealthy family of nine children, she married at seventeen. Five
children had been born into this happy union and a sixth was on the way when her husband died when Maria was just twenty-five. It upset her world. She became depressed, and considered remarrying i...
January 30, 2018
“Arise!”
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.
Today’s lectionary readings present us with a pair of grieving fathers. In the first reading from 2 Samuel, King David’s beloved son Absalom dies not in battle, but in a bizarre set of circumstances after the victory has been won. The mood of the king and the army changes from celebration to grief. There is no hope for a miracle.
In the Gospel r...
January 28, 2018
Sing in the Rain
An occasional series based on stuff that hangs in my room… or my heart.
I don’t remember where I first saw this adage. It had to be at least five years ago, because I put it front and center on my writing website, and it’s still there today:
Life isn’t about how you weather the storm. It’s about how you dance in the rain.
Singing in the rain is the same principle (and, while 
embarrassing for me in the literal sense, much less embarrassing than dancing anyway). Storms come to us all. We can gr...
January 24, 2018
Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Christina of Sommeln
The Basics: Born July 24, 1242, in Germany; died November 6, 1312, in Germany; beatified November 8, 1908, by Pius X; feast day, November 6; mystic.
The Story: Christina is said to have had her first mystical encounter with Christ when she was just ten years old or possibly even younger.
By Chris06 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)], via Wikimedia Commons
Three years later, she convinced her parents to allow her to go live with a Beguine community not fa...January 23, 2018
We Are Family
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 looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:34-35, NRSVCE)
We see it in politics, in business, even in ministry. As fair as 
people might try to be, it’s hard not to give special consideration to relatives when it comes to promot...
January 17, 2018
Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Francoise d’Amboise
The Basics: Born May 29, 1427, in France; died November 4, 1485, in France; beatified July 16, 1863, by Pius IX; feast day, November 4; wife; ruler; woman religious.
The Story: Like so many others who have been canonized or beatified, Francoise by all accounts was a beautiful, pleasant child. She was born into a noble family and was betrothed by the age of three. Upheaval during the Hundred Years’ War meant she was sent to live at a very young age at the court of Brittany, where her future hu...
January 16, 2018
The Blessing and Responsibility of Anointment
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 Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” (1 Samuel 16:12, NRSVCE)
He was only a shepherd boy; a good-looking one, to be sure, but a shepherd boy with little else to recommend him. He was the youngest of eight brothers, and couldn’t have reasonably expected his lot in life to change much in the coming decades.
Except it did.
The...
