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...