Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 85

Returning Catholics FAQs: About Living Together

O n 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.

Can the priest refuse to marry us because we’re already living together?

It depends. The priest may ask you and your fiancé/fiancée to think about why you decided to live togethe...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Tarsykia Matskiv

The Basics:March 23, 1919, in Ukraine;died July 18, 1944, in Ukraine; beatified June 27, 2001, by John Paul II; feast day, July 18. Woman religious and martyr.

The Story:Tarsykia’s story is one with little personal drama–until the last day. She entered the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate congregation shortly after her nineteenth birthday. World War II began between the time she joined the order and took her first vows. Germany occupied Ukraine from 1941 until 1944, when the Russians arriv...

Of Abysmal Swamps, Within and Without

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.

I had lunch recently with a spiritual mentor, a Catholic whose writing greatly inspires me. I shared with her my concern that my writing and speaking about the women saints sometimes becomes too dark, too much about their struggles: Murder. Rape. A lack of acceptance in their homes, their convents, or their communities.

Her counsel was that there...

Returning Catholics FAQs: Pre-Cana Classes

O n 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.

Why do we have to take classes before we can get married in the Church?

The classes are designed to help couples see areas of possible conflict so that they can be addressed now...

Wednesday’s Woman: St. Withburga

The Basics:Born before 653 in England; died about 743 in England; canonized pre-congregation; feast day, July 8. Woman religious.

The Story:Withburga was the daughter of a king, Anna or Onna, in one of those families who spawned many saints (including her better-known sister, Ethelreda, who founded an abbey at Ely). After her father died, Withburga moved to a town

Evelyn Simak [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)], via Wikimedia Commons

called Dereham, where she founde...

“Until You Bless Me”

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 wrestling between Jacob and the man (generally interpreted as angel) described in Genesis 32 had gone on for hours, had continued even after the dislocation of Jacob’s hip. Still, Jacob refused to stop struggling without a blessing. The reading goes on to say Jacob, to be known henceforth as Israel, named the place Peniel, “Because I have see...

Returning Catholics FAQs: Destination Weddings

O n 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.

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m mainly thinking about coming back to make my parents happy when my fiance/fiancee get married. But I just found out that would mean we can’t get married at...

On the Nightstand: July 2015

Dorothy Day. Frances Perkins, our country’s longest serving labor secretary. St. Monica–and her son, St. Augustine of Hippo– along with George C. Marshall, Samuel Johnson, and others. New York Times columnist and pundit David Brooks‘ new book looks at what he calls our “eulogy” virtues: kindness, bravery, honesty, or faithfulness.

As you can tell by the other short takes here, I’ve been giving this sort of thing much thought this summer. Brooks says he wrote the book to save his own soul and,...

Being Christ in Our Lives: Laura Williams Fritz

High school was a tough time for me. A lot was going on at home. I had no faith life, and didn’t seem to be able to find my place anywhere. Laura Williams (now Fritz) was one of those people who seemed to do it all effortlessly, choir, drill team, synchronized swimming. Girls like her and girls like me didn’t interact much in ourvery large (600-plus) graduating class and so a few years ago, I was shocked when she asked me to be her Facebook friend. I said yes less than graciously, commenting...

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Eugenie Joubert

The Basics:Born February 11, 1876, in France; died July 2, 1904, in Belgium; beatified November 20, 1994, by John Paul II; feast day, July 2. Woman religious, teacher.

The Story:It was a short life, full of both joy and challenge, but always focused on the Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Eugenie, one of eight children, was sent with an older sister to an Ursuline boarding school and then attended a Sisters of Notre Dame college.

When she was nineteen, she discerned a vocation as a woman rel...