Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 73
February 23, 2016
Setting Things Aright
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.
About ten years ago, I went to a penance service with a good friend. We cracked wise and giggled a bit during the goings-on, but grew quieter and quieter in line as we drew nearer to the priest, someone we both knew.
“I told him I feel like a Pharisee,” she shared later, just before we parted ways for the evening. “He told me I 
was no Pharisee, t...
February 22, 2016
Returning Catholics FAQs: Why Do I Care?
On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics , a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
I don’t know. It wasn’t like my parents were super-religious or sent me to Catholic school or anything. I don’t even think I agree with the Church on everything. But I know someth...
February 17, 2016
Wednesday’s Woman: St. Hildegard of Bingen
Note: To observe the Jubilee Year of Mercy (which runs through November 20), for several weeks I am featuring women who exemplify one of the corporal or spiritual works of mercy. Today: Bury the dead.
The Basics:Born September 16, 1098, in Germany; died September 17, 1170, in Germany; canonized October 7, 2012, by Benedict XVI; feast day, September 17. Woman religious; visionary; writer; composer; preacher. Doctor of the Church.
The Story:It was an amazing life, one full of twists and turns a...
February 16, 2016
Listening Like Christians, Babbling Like Pagans
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.
I find as time goes on, the less I talk and the more I listen when it comes to my friends… and God.
It’s not that I don’t have anything to share with the folks I care for; there’s plenty I could say about work and 
love and education and research and fears and joys and health scares and physical triumphs. But for this particular time, I feel calle...
February 15, 2016
Returning Catholics FAQs: Fish and Fasting
On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics , a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
I’m just not getting why it’s OK for me to eat an expensive seafood meal on Fridays during Lent, but not chicken or a hamburger. Where’s the logic?
Good question. On Fridays durin...
February 10, 2016
Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Zdenka Cecilia Schelingova
Note: To observe the Jubilee Year of Mercy (which runs through November 20), for several weeks I am featuring women who exemplify one of the corporal or spiritual works of mercy. Today: Visit the imprisoned.
The Basics:Born December 24, 1916, in Slovakia; died July 31, 1955, in Slovakia; beatified September 14, 2003, by John Paul II; feast day, November 23. Woman religious; hospital worker.
The Story:Zdenka’s life is a story of both physical and spiritual strength. While one was broken, the o...
February 9, 2016
Of Readiness, Repentance… and Faith
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.
The last day of ordinary time for weeks and weeks and weeks. Are you ready?
I’m not.
Lent is sneaking up on me this year, as it may be for you. It’s early this year, but even when it’s late, there never seems to be enough time to prepare one’s soul for a season of self-examination, fasting, and penance. After all, there’s real life to deal with b...
February 8, 2016
Returning Catholics FAQs: Ash Wednesday
On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics , a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
So, Ash Wednesday. I haven’t done it for a long time. What do I have to do?
Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, is a wonderful time to start discerning a 
returning to an active...
February 7, 2016
Of Worthiness and Grace
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.
Isaiah knew he wasn’t worthy to have seen the Lord; he called himself part of “a people of unclean lips.”
Paul knew he wasn’t worthy in and of himself to be called an apostle; after all, he’d persecuted Christians.
Peter knew he wasn’t worthy of Jesus’s gifts; after all, he had grumbled about futility before obeying his friend and putting out the...
February 3, 2016
Wednesday’s Woman: St. Marianne Cope
Note: To observe the Jubilee Year of Mercy (which runs through November 20), for several weeks I am featuring women who exemplify one of the corporal or spiritual works of mercy. Today: Visit the sick.
The Basics:Born January 23, 1838, in Germany; died August 9, 1918, in the United States; canonized October 21, 2013, by Benedict XVI; feast day, January 23. Woman religious; nurse; hospital administrator.
The Story: Marianne (born Barbara Koob) likely would have been a success at anything she p...
