Spirituality
Some stay, some go, all are part of the weave
By Michelle Francl-Donnay My dwelling, like a shepherd’s tent, is struck down and borne away from me; You have folded up my life, like a weaver who severs the last thread. – Is. 38:12a Clutching his mortar board in one hand, Matt dug in his pocket with the other and pulled out a quartet of […]
Noticing the good amid a changing landscape
By Michelle Francl-Donnay This I believe: I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. – Ps. 27:13 Two summers ago, on an early morning drive to camp, Chris made up a song. “Nothing but trees, feel the growth, waaa-ooooo….” That’s it. The whole song. Now imagine listening to it […]
A mother’s ‘yes’ to God
By Michelle Francl-Donnay As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “You see this child; he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is […]
Finding God ‘on the move’
By Michelle Francl-Donnay Make me know the way I should walk: to you I lift up my soul. – Ps. 143:8b Over lunch last week my friend Lisa confided that she’s found driving to be a good time for meditating. “I need something just enough to keep my body busy.” And besides, with three daughters […]
Unexpected moments of clarity
By Michelle Francl-Donnay Wash me, I shall be whiter than snow. – Ps. 51: 7b Last Wednesday morning I was decorously pedaling along, dressed for work in skirt and stockings, a hundred papers to grade weighing down my bike bags and spirit. Cruising slowly up to the stoplight with the rest of the morning rush […]
Sit, stand, kneel? It matters
By Michelle Francl-Donnay May my prayer stand as incense before You, my uplifted hands as the evening offering. – Ps. 141:2 Final exams are looming large in my students’ lives these days. Much is at stake. Many of them have returned to the classroom from time spent in the Peace Corps or working in community […]
Tending at Easter what was planted in Lent
By Michelle Francl-Donnay Every tongue proclaim to the glory of God the Father: Jesus Christ is Lord! – Philippians 2:11 “707, 427, 440,” Father Tony rumbles, thumbing through the breviary and calling out the page numbers for Morning Prayer. “It’s still Sunday.” It is the fourth day of the octave, the eight days the Church […]
Easter’s flame lights our hearts
By Michelle Francl-Donnay Accept this Easter candle, a flame spanided but undimmed, a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God. Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and continue bravely burning to dispel the darkness of this night! May the Morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning… – […]
A call to humility in service – and more
By Michelle Francl-Donnay He got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it around his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. – Jn. 13:4-5 A few years ago I came home […]
Following Jesus, daring to fail
By Michelle Francl-Donnay Then Thomas – known as the twin – said to the other disciples, “Let us go too, and die with him.” – Jn. 11:16 I was waiting for a meeting to start when the quote on one of those inspirational paperweights in a colleague’s office caught my eye: “What would you attempt […]