Each Christmas, my youngest brother makes a photo calendar for our extended family. Thanks to the ease of photo websites and pre-made templates, it’s an easy task to drop pictures into each month of the year — but it’s become one of our favorite gifts to receive.
I found the lump at the end of Lent.
My husband was out of town, and I was swamped with work and caring for our five kids. Never one to do a regular self-check (more likely to resolve to “do it next month”), I can’t remember exactly how or when I noticed the small lump in my breast — except that it was obvious once I did.
Remember when we said we'd never take the Eucharist for granted again? When we had to watch Mass online or from cars in the church parking lot? When every part of parish life -- from faith formation classes to Bible studies to doughnuts on Sundays -- changed overnight?
Ask any teenager anxious about where they'll sit in the cafeteria for lunch. Ask any widow or widower learning to cook for one. Ask a grandparent planning a holiday feast, a parent volunteering to host the team banquet, or anyone taking a head count for how many friends are staying for dinner.
If I asked you to imagine Jesus' childhood, you'd likely picture him as a baby in the manger. But have you ever considered that Christ was once a teenager, too?
I recently returned from a beautiful pilgrimage to France, but unexpectedly brought home a stomach bug to my beloved family. Talk about a bumpy reentry to ordinary life: from Lourdes to laundry heaps and Lysol wipes within 24 hours.
