Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 76

Of Piercings and Love

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.

So, here we are, less than a week out from Christmas, and we’re already hearing prophecies of the eventual earthly fate of Jesus—and Mary:

(Simeon said to Mary:) “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many he...

Returning Catholics FAQs: Beginning Anew

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.

Every year, I make New Year’s resolutions, and every year, I’ve broken most of them by Valentine’s Day. I’m feeling the same way about being back with the Church after a few month...

Wednesday’s Woman: St. Irmina

The Basics:Birth date uncertain;died about 710 or 720 in what is now France; canonized pre-congregation; feast day, December 24; woman religious.

The Story: Irmina’s life was proceeding the way one might have expected of a king’s daughter; she was to marry a count named Hermann, whom she apparently loved. But shortly before the wedding, one of

St. Irmina, the Virgin Mary, and St. Walburga at Saint-Laurence Church in Alsace, by Ralph Hammann (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org...

Hannah and Mary: Songs of Two Women

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.

Hannah and Mary were divided by centuries… and much more.

Mary was a young girl, pregnant with a child under unusual circumstances shared with her by an angel. Talk about bewildering! Then, the significance of what was happening was reflected in the welcome she received from her relative Elizabeth. Hannah, the favored wife of Elkanah, was despera...

Returning Catholics FAQs: What About Me?

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.

There’s baptism for babies, confirmation for converts and kids, marriage for couples, annointment for the sick and dying and all the other sacraments that involve some ceremony wi...

Wednesday’s Woman: St. Virginia Centurione Bracelli

The Basics:April 2, 1587, in Italy;died December 15, 1651, in Italy; canonized May 18, 2003, by John Paul II; feast day, December 15. Laywoman; social worker; mother.

The Story: Virginia, the daughter of aristocratic parents, wanted to be a woman religious. But instead, her parents committed her to an arranged marriage at age fifteen. While it had some joy–including the births of daughters Lelia and Isabella–the union was less than ideal as Virginia’s husband proved to be a drinker and a gamb...

Of Judgment and Noble Intent

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 saying didn’t start in my workplace, but we’ve fully embraced it: Assume noble intent. It means that

By Andrey Mironov 777 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)], via Wikimedia Commons

when someone rips you apart for a presentation or a view expressed, you respond as if the person truly meant to help. Maybe h...

Returning Catholics FAQs: Ministry Fit

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 I signed up to be on the parish Web site team and, to be honest, it’s not working out. The others have been doing things the same way forever and they don’t want to listen to m...

Wednesday’s Woman: St. Leocadia

The Basics:Birthdate in Spain unknown; died about 304 in Spain; canonized pre-congregation; feast day, December 9. Martyr.

The Story: Leocadia, a member of the Spanish nobility, had already been tortured as part of the Diocletian

Saint Leocadia’s Crypt in Toledo, Spain

persecution because she refused to renounce Christianity. While imprisoned, she heard of additional torture suffered by other Catholics in the region, and prayed for relief. She died in prison shortly thereafter, but it is said...

“I Am the Immaculate Conception”

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 was a December 8, 1854, a Friday, to be exact, when Pius IX set forth as dogma that Mary “at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the Omnipotent God,” was conceived without original sin. The belief had been generally accepted by theologians for a couple hundred years, though earlier, there had been some deb...