Spirituality
Warmly welcoming others
By Michelle Francl-Donnay For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome. – Mt. 25:35a It had been raining for the last 24 hours, and would rain for the next 48. It’s what you get when a typhoon […]
Stripped of words to find the Word
By Michelle Francl-Donnay In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. – Jn. 1:1 We had an hour at Tokyo Station to find lunch, pick up dinner to eat later, and the right platform for our train. It was not enough. After a 20-minute hike across the […]
A banked fire: Start the day with prayer
By Michelle Francl-Donnay The favors of the Lord are not exhausted, his mercies are not spent; They are renewed each morning, so great is his faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22-23 My mother despaired of me. While my brothers scarfed down bowls of Frosted Flakes doused in milk and toast slathered in strawberry jam, her oldest child […]
Finding courage to reverence a stranger
By Michelle Francl-Donnay “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” – Mt. 25:35-36 Market East Station at 10 p.m. is eerily empty. […]
Believing in the Holy Spirit
By Michelle Francl-Donnay In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. – Romans 8:26 I believe in the Holy Spirit. This is not an assertion I make by rote on […]
Brace yourself, prepare to pray
By Michelle Francl-Donnay My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready. I will sing, I will praise your name. – Ps. 57:8 It was a scene right out of a movie about a jewel heist. A black-clad figure creeping into a darkened museum gallery. One wrong move and suddenly the place is ablaze […]
Laughing at marvels of God
By Michelle Francl-Donnay The Lord said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I really bear a child, old as I am?’ Is anything too marvelous for the Lord to do? At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son.” – Gen. […]
Don’t wait to visit a dying person
By Father Peter J. DalyParish Diary When someone is dying, drop what you are doing and go see that person. I learned that lesson a decade ago when a priest friend was dying in Kansas City. The nun at the nursing home where Monsignor was living called and said he wanted to see me. I […]
Meeting Christ in sorrow and joy
By Michelle Francl-Donnay He himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you!” In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said, “Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts rising in your hearts?” – Lk. 24: 36b-38 “The weather bureau reported […]
The strength to cling, and to let go
By Michelle Francl-Donnay And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time. – Mt. 28:20b As I write this, Lent has not quite spent itself. Still, wisps of resurrection are beginning to show themselves amidst the solemn violet trappings of Holy Week. At choir last night, we practiced Pange Lingua, […]