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This past Friday, the 2026 Winter Olympic games commenced in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo; central, of course, to the Olympic games, aside from the pomp and circumstance of the opening ceremony, the vibrant expression of national pride, and the world-class, elite athleticism on display, is the Olympic flame. The flame was lit on November 26 th  in ancient Olympia, and has traveled throughout Italy for the past two months on its way to Milan. One quick look through the @milanoc

Today the psalm response gives us the Gospel in a single line: Blessed are the poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven is theirs! (Psalm 145)  Jesus leaves the crowds behind and teaches the disciples eight key phrases that we know today as the Beatitudes. Today’s selected text only includes the Beatitudes themselves, though astute readers will remember that the Beatitudes begin the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5 of Matthew’s Gospel. Today, however, our attention is draw to th

December offers a full moon as recompensefor the darkening, shorter days.  … Tonight, as the solstice arrives,the dark inhales the light and holds itin. Robert Cording, Advent Blues (2020). Robert Cording’s poem captures the ravenous darkness of winter—not just a state of being, but a force, that eats up the light, that gnaws away at our evenings, constricts our sunrises down to a few brief minutes of our morning commute. As the sun is replaced by a light-consuming dark, we s

To whom do I belong? As someone who resonates deeply with community and has found community to be quite life-giving, the idea of where I belong is not unimportant. Off the cuff, I would say I belong to my family, to my children and spouse. I belong to God, to my faith community. I belong to my friends, to those who have walked and grown with me over years and with whom I get the privilege to grow with. My belonging matters to me. It has helped to shape my identify, my priorit

I was interested in pursuing social work from a fairly young age. When I was in high school, my big sister was getting her Master’s in Social Work. It drew my attention then – deepening over time.  I loved the focus on providing care, honoring dignity, and meeting people’s needs. Volunteering in the community has been an important part of my life. Still, what really drew me to social work is the profession’s commitment to justice – to going upstream, affecting policy, and cha

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I love saying those words as many times as I can during the season. Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE everything about the Christmas season. I love Advent and the time it gives us to prepare our hearts for the birth of our Savior, then the Christmas season itself-Hello 12 Days of Christmas, and the reminder on Epiphany that “wise men still seek Him”. Even though I love this season, it is not my favorite because it is a constant reminder tha

Are you also a Gilmore Girls Fan like myself?  There was one episode in particular I found myself thinking as I started reflecting on what to write about.  Very early on the day of Rory’s 16th birthday, Lorelai crawls into bed with her daughter beginning to recount her delivery: “And though some have called it the most meaningful experience of your life, to me it was something more akin to doing the splits over a crate of dynamite…” Lorelai continues to tell Rory about the sc

We don’t get too many Gospel stories about the whole Holy Family beyond the big ones of the Christmas season. If Jesus entered his public ministry in his early 30s, though, there’s a lot of ensuing years there. Years, I imagine, characterized by the same tenderness, love, and care we see in the story of Jesus’ birth.  Years made up of the simple, ordinary stuff of life. Shared meals. Praying together. Caring for each other through illness. Rest. Conversation. Celebrations. La

This year has gotten me nostalgic so please try to bear with me. I’ve been thinking about the “Christmas Magic” that once existed for me as a child. My brother used to wake me up so early on Christmas morning so that we could stare at the tree (read: presents). Singing in the children’s choir on Christmas Eve. Later attending midnight mass and hearing the melodic and transcendent notes from the adult choir. Waiting and being in awe of snow. Enjoying the Christmas cookies my f

Sometimes the dreams we imagine for ourselves are different than the ones God has for us. One of the most relatable plot lines woven into the Nativity story are all the different characters and how I think all of them would have imagined their life going very differently than it did.   Heartbroken over her infertility, Elizabeth never dreamed of having a baby at 78. Nothing could have prepared Mary to have an angel deliver a message that she would bear the Messiah or that she

The season of Advent is a season full of traditions, from decorating our home and visiting special places. By intentionally taking time to prepare ourselves before the nativity of Christ, we are preparing to fully experience the joy once the day arrives. The color purple reminds us of the penitential nature of the season, focusing on the waiting and preparing.  Yet today, the third Sunday of Advent, we light a rose candle instead of purple. Today we celebrate Gaudete Sunday,

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a stunning celebration of Mary's motherhood, emphasizing the sacredness of the chosen vessel through whom God took on flesh. Debates have long existed regarding how much honor is due the mother of God (Council of Ephesus, 431). Honestly, I have wrestled with that question myself. As Providence would have it, an artist tipped the scales for me. Over egg bake at a volunteer event, we made small talk and he shared that he was from the Gr

I’m sure you’re all familiar with the story of David and Goliath. David was a small and humble shepherd, and Goliath was a big, strong warrior who should have been no match for a small shepherd. We all know that David, the underdog, won their battle with a slingshot. When I was growing up, we had a small statue that was a replica of Michelangelo’s David. I never really thought much of the tiny replica statue until one day, one of my sister‘s friends decided that she was scand

The readings today, on this first Sunday of Advent, focus on the themes of light and being prepared for the coming of the Savior – both...

This year our Advent Reflections will return with daily, short reflections delivered to your inbox. This is a different email list, so if you would like to receive this and have not already, you need to sign up here: Sign Up for Advent Reflections We also need a couple authors as we had some last minute changes. If you are interested in writing a short (2 paragraph) reflection, please email Jenn ( jennifer@wisdomsdwelling.com ). We look forward to spending Advent with you!

Two years ago, writing for the same solemnity we celebrate today , I began my reflection like this:  As far as images of God go, I am really  not a fan of ‘Our Lord, King of the Universe.’ The emphasis on God as dominating male conqueror, the ultimate embodiment of power and military might, feels not only inaccessible, but deeply troubling to me. Yikes. Little did I know then how much more viscerally, how much more urgently  I would be recoiling at this imagery, if taken only

When I was 13, Cecilia was a pretty popular saint to choose as a patron when Confirmation came around in the spring of eighth grade. I chose St. Cecilia because she is the patron saint of music and honestly, I did not look into her life beyond that fact. Traditionally, confirmation names are meant to inspire us to emulate the good works of the saint we choose to adopt in this way. I cannot exactly remember what I felt I wanted to imitate in the life of Cecilia, but I can only

“Zeal for your house will consume me.”  Houses are the extensions of ourselves in the world. Houses are our sites of history, places of refuge. I think of my grandmother’s house, which was a haven to me, a magical pine-wood house in the middle of the North Carolina woods. When I moved into it to spend six months working on a book, I found myself at home in the midst of a tumultuous and difficult moment in my life. I was alone in her house, her things still splayed around me,

“Keep death daily before your eyes.” This is one of the “Tools for Good Works” from the Rule of St. Benedict (Chapter 4). It is a simple line, no context, no explanation. Just one in a list of things to do to do good. Gazing at death is something we are particularly bad at in our society. We pay good money for anti-aging creams, sports cars, and supplements (well, some of us do) to feel like we can look away from death. Yet, St. Benedict calls it a “Tool for Good Works.”   Al

All Saints Day is a bittersweet day for me. It is a yearly reminder of the ache that forever sits in the middle of my heart by those who...