Yes, that is how I meant to spell “mourning”!Please don’t think I’m making fun of mourning, especially in this time of pandemic when all of our mourning traditions have been upended. We may all have lost someone in these months and been unable to give them a proper funeral. It doesn’t matter whether they died of the coronavirus or of more natural causes. We’ve had to let them go so quietly that it seems almost sacrilegious. Fortunately, God is such a loving Fa...

Whenever we’re forced to stay still, as we are while sheltering in place during these days of the coronavirus pandemic, many of us turn to reading in order to escape the confines of our homes—and, occasionally, of reality itself! There’s nothing quite like losing yourself in a book. But how to choose what to read?Here’s a story that might inspire you with options in these stay-at-home, sometimes boring days.On May 20, 1531, the youngest son of a noble and wealthy fam...

Two days ago I exited our temporarily closed Pauline Book & Media Center and a twenty-something-year-old woman bounded up to me excitedly and asked, “Do you work at the Catholic bookstore?” I responded with a big smile, “Yes!” She asked, “Are you hiring?” I replied that we weren’t, and she quickly rejoined, “Do you know anyone who is?”Promising prayers was all I could do, though I wished I could do more. And once again, I was reminded of ...

Reflection by Sr Margaret Charles Kerry, FSPAt first, the thought of closing our Pauline Books and Media Center here in Charleston for a few weeks didn’t seem that it would be a daunting task. My sisters and I thought that we might get some cleaning and painting done, the work we usually never have time to do. After the first week we had completed inventory. All the books and items in our book center were counted and the numbers entered into the computer. Finished. We could check it off th...

May 3 is the 57th World Day of Prayer for Vocations. In these days when young women can't come to stay with us, to "come and see" as the Lord first invited his apostles and continues to invite women and men throughout the centuries, we Daughters of St Paul have moved our vocation retreats online. Just as in other ways the Lord has surprised us with his presence in the pandemic, so our accompanying of women interested in religious life through online events has been amazingly b...

Dear Brothers and Sisters,The month of May is approaching, a time when the People of God express with particular intensity their love and devotion for the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is traditional in this month to pray the Rosary at home within the family. The restrictions of the pandemic have made us come to appreciate all the more this “family” aspect, also from a spiritual point of view.For this reason, I want to encourage everyone to rediscover the beauty of praying the Rosary at ho...

I stood outside the grocery store for an hour yesterday waiting to get inside. It was cold—cold enough to snow. Worse, I was wearing sandals, because I forgot (again) that our “new normal” means you can't get from your vehicle to the store in thirty seconds anymore. As my toes slowly froze over, I overheard the woman in front of me mumble a question to the grocery store clerk—a questi...

I recently asked an elderly neighbor how she was faring, and whether she needed me to pick up any groceries for her. “I’m fine,” she responded, then added, “Just trying to keep busy!”It’s a common expression, “trying to keep busy,” and it reflects a common belief that as long as we’re doing things, keeping productive, then everything is fine. Except that everything isn’t fine, is it, and no amount of activity is going to ...

This past Sunday was the feast of Divine Mercy. We celebrated this feast as best we could, virtually joining with each other in prayer, but what we need to remember is that the feast is not really over: mercy needs to be practiced every day of the year. And in particular, this year, when people around us are in so much need of compassion and understanding, the message of Divine Mercy lived every day is a blessed way to live.Jesus wants us to trust in his mercy, because he is goodness itself...

What is your plan for Holy Week? Do you have one? Gather the household and decide how you will follow in the footsteps of Jesus, from the Last Supper, to the Cross, to the Resurrection. Here are some ideas to get you started: Attend Mass and prayer services virtually during the week. Many dioceses and parishes are filming their services! Create a "sacred space" in your home where you can pray and attend Masses and services. Light some candles, enthrone an open Bible, or hang a cru...