I had rarely heard the word incarcerated before becoming a counselor, but years of work with at-risk children accustomed me to its cadence. It first surfaced on the lips of a dark-haired high school junior who'd come to my office to change her class schedule. Describing her family, she chatted nonchalantly about her grandmother and … Continue reading What Do You Want Your Pain to Become? How Forgiveness Releases Prisoners
Swiss painter Eugène Burnand renders the confusion and hope of Peter and John's first Easter morning with such poignancy. They'd learned of the resurrection from some women friends who'd been told by an angel, and particularly from Mary Magdalene, told by the risen Christ himself, to tell them. And then they ran to see that … Continue reading How to Speak of Easter Hope without Harming the Humble Christ
It was on a Holy Saturday about ten years back that I first saw an image of the "Harrowing of Hell," a depiction of Christ entering the realm of the dead and releasing the souls imprisoned there (1 Peter 3:19). We proclaim it in the Apostle's Creed: Jesus Christ "suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, … Continue reading Holy Saturday: Harrowing the Hell in Our Hearts
When I was newly married and helping put my husband through his final year of college, I worked at a drug store behind the camera counter which doubled as the return desk. It was a deep immersion into the world of complaints. One of the most memorable was a post-Christmas encounter with a man dissatisfied … Continue reading Do Everything without Complaining or Arguing
Even worse than humanity's general tendency to use our tongues as swords is the fact that so many Christians do it to each other. It has always been so, because we are being perfected but few if any among us are perfected yet. But we must not accept this state of affairs. St. Paul, writing … Continue reading Christian vs. Christian: Stop Tearing Each Other Apart
The biblical phrase, "beat your swords into plowshares and your spears into pruning hooks" comes from the Old Testament prophets Isaiah and Micah. It refers to a time when God's justice will reign, when his rule of love is willingly accepted and all is blessed in the acceptance of his truth and grace. When we're … Continue reading Turning our Sword-Tongues into Pruning Hooks
A soft answer turns back wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1 The anger of man does not work the righteousness of God. --James 1:20 How often we excuse our angry words, blaming others for our own actions. How often we confuse anger with strength and gentleness with weakness! There is a … Continue reading When Tempted to Fire Back, Remember This
Set a guard before my mouth, Lord. Keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3 This post is part of a series (see A Lenten Invitation from a Babbling Brook: Focus on Speech and Silence). To receive new installments, you’re invited to Follow Sparrowfare by placing your email address in the box in … Continue reading A Prayer for a Guarded Tongue
"Mary's silence is admirable," notes the Navarre Bible's commentary on Matthew 1:19, in which Joseph, distressed and perplexed at the pregnancy of his betrothed, is told in a dream not to be afraid to marry her, "for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." Apparently Mary's trust that God would take … Continue reading Pondering Silence and Exuberant Praise: The Example of Mary, Mother of God
"Christians have always held the man in fascination," writes theologian Scott Hahn in "Silent Knight, Holy Knight," a chapter in his book, Joy to the World: How Christ's Coming Changed Everything (and Still Does). "The New Testament begins by telling the events of salvation from his point of view. Some of history's greatest minds have … Continue reading St. Joseph, The Silent Knight
