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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...

Here we are coming up in a few short weeks to a cherished holy season of our church, and we are given this Ordinary Sunday’s readings to...

In the First Reading from Exodus, we hear about Moses, who raised his hands in prayer, and the Israelites would win, however, as he...

As I crane my neck, attempting to fully take in the history and beauty around me, the light dances off the stones of Avila’s Cathedral to...

“So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became...

“Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.” There is a sense of beautiful irony...

If you have ever seen a post about a charity, GoFundMe or anything in regards to donating money and you have scrolled by with the thought...

The parable in today's Gospel certainly gives a lot of detail about Jesus's thoughts on money, those who deal with finances, and what can...

“Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of the Earth's greenings. Now, think.”  Here is our direction from...

There are some today that are so eager to find themselves persecuted for Christ that they mistake consequences for crucifixion. We can...

At several points in the past few weeks, the Gospel passages have included references to the idea of separating oneself from their...

Even in her own time, I cannot imagine St. Teresa of Kolkata could fathom the tragedy of poverty in 2025. St. Teresa of Kolkata, known...

Through an interesting quirk of the Cycle C readings, our Church has some extremely interesting thoughts for us this Labor Day weekend:...

It is interesting to note that the Peruvian St. Rose was the first saint born in the Americas to be canonized, and now the first North...

Today is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary time. As I listened to the readings for today I instantly thought of my friend Kris. I haven’t seen...