Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 56

Of Healing and Curing

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 bleeding had stopped. The woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years felt in her body, we are told in Mark 5, that she was healed. She could have gone on her way, anonymously. There was a crowd; the others needn’t have known how she was healed, or even that she was healed.

But would she have been cured?

Psychology Today tells u...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Hildegard Burjan

The Basics:Born January 30, 1883, in Germany; died June 11, 1933, in Austria; feast day, June 12; wife, mother, politician.

The Story: Hildegard was the daughter of non-practicing Jewish parents, and from an early age had a thirst for knowledge. She attended the University of Zurich, and earned a doctorate there, which was relatively unusual for a woman at that time. It was there she met the man who would become her husband, and they moved to Berlin to begin their lives together.

When she was...

When Silence Is Less Than Golden

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

It can be a shock to the system when we find out our friends, coworkers, or others we generally enjoy being around have an entirely different view on a major issue of the day than we do. Recently, an acquaintance said women who favored an end to abortion didn’t belong at an event because they couldn’t be real feminists. I started to explain why I...

“Is Christ Divided?”

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

It’s easy to get caught up in joy and jubilation—or darkness and despair.

It’s easy to get comfortable and think politicians will lead us into the land of milk and honey—or think they will take us to Armageddon.

It’s easy to believe we can rest now because order has been restored to our country—or believe that a dangerous time is descending upon...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Maria Teresa Casini

The Basics:Born October 27, 1864, in Italy; died April 3, 1937, in Italy; beatified October 31, 2015; feast day, October 29; woman religious.

The Story: Books about saints are full of stories about women who were martyrs or who founded congregations that brought hope and support to those who live on society’s margin. Maria Teresa’s mission in life was quite different: the community she founded, the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, prays for priests.

Maria Teresa spent a year as a...

Of Slavery… and Freedom

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

Sabbath.

On the surface, this should be one of the easiest commandments to keep. Who doesn’t realize that the human mind and body need the kind of rest that is found only in time spent with the Lord?

But we get… itchy. There’s so much to do, in our families, in our parishes, in our other ministries, and our secular world obligations. Sure, we giv...

Wednesday’s Woman: Maria Josefa Alhama y Valera (Mother Esperanza)

The Basics:Born September 30, 1893, in Spain; died February 8, 1983, in Italy; beatified May 31, 2014; feast day, February 8; woman religious.

The Story: Maria’s life took some twists and turns before she settled into her life’s work with the Handmaids and Sons of Merciful Love congregations she founded. She got acquainted with the Lord early; there’s a sweet story about her confessing to “stealing” Jesus (partaking of the Eucharist before her formal First Communion). She also credited two si...

Vices and Habits

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

“What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits.” It was the title of an album in my formative years, and the concept still rings so true.

The vice of wrath in what may seem a perfectly appropriate situation can become insidious, leading to a habit of bitterness. The vice of overindulgence in sugar, alcohol, or a million other things in which we overindulg...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Maria Bolognesi

The Basics:Born October 21, 1924, in Italy; died January 30, 1980, in Italy; beatified September 7, 2013; feast day, January 30; laywoman; mystic.

The Story: Maria’s life was seldom easy, even when she was a child. Her parents weren’t married when she was born, and she ultimately took the name of her stepfather. He was difficult, and there was much strife between him and Maria’s mother. In fact, her mother was near death when Maria was

By Pivari.com (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativeco...

This Is My Revelation

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

What did or do you want to be? You probably have a list like mine: As a child, I wanted to be a home economics teacher. That evolved to a lawyer when I realized I didn’t have the patience to teach. The law plan’s death knell came with my LSAT scores. I was a good editor and an okay writer, so I ended up going down that path. It wasn’t a dream, ne...