Several years after joining the convent, I decided to take up the practice of regular meditation on death. As a reminder to meditate on my death, I acquired a small ceramic skull for my desk. I was inspired by Blessed James Alberione, the founder of my religious order, the Daughters of Saint Paul. He kept a skull on his desk as a memento mori to remind him of his death. Every day I would simply look at the skull on my desk and remember that death could come at any time. Then I would bring to pra...

For most of us, understanding something means articulating it, putting words to it. We feel we can understand (or at least try to understand) something once we can name it.That only goes so far, of course. I can name “physics,” I realize something called physics exists and is actually quite a useful thing, but I’m very glad there are others around to grapple with it so I don’t need to. We agonize over coming up with the right names for our children, because naming carries...

I have a skull on my desk. It’s not a Halloween decoration. The skull sits on my desk all year round. I decided to acquire the little ceramic skull to help me meditate regularly on my death. By now, I’ve been meditating daily on my inevitable and unpredictable death for over two years.You might be thinking, “Well, that sounds unpleasant.” And you would be partly right. At first it was unpleasant. I hated thinking about my death. Like most people, I had put a lot of energy...

Mary brings us closer to Jesus—we know this from the consistent witness of the saints through the history of the Church. Since we want our children to grow close to Jesus, it makes sense to introduce them early on to Mary, the mother of Jesus, who will help them through all the difficult moments of their lives. Do as I DoSimply having a statue or picture of Mary in the house or classroom is a way to share your love for Mary with your children. Growing up, I remember several pictures o...

It's important to remember that there are many ways to pray. Memorizing and praying the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, or any other beloved prayers are wonderful ways to pray, but so are praying with Scripture and even just thinking about God. The purpose of prayer is continuing and strengthening our relationship with God. Just like we can share with a close friend all the ups and downs of life, we can do that with God and we should teach our children to do the same. I love telling childr...

A graduate school classmate of mine was once a greengrocer in a small English village. If you wanted fresh fruits and vegetables, and you happened to live in that village, you had to visit him. The problem was, he was usually cranky and sometimes downright mean. One day, three of his regular customers—all older, retired women—decided to do something about his behavior. They didn’t chew him out, and they didn’t decide to go to the next village to buy their produce. Instead...

In a letter to his friend Malcolm, C.S. Lewis writes: “Last week, while at prayer, I suddenly discovered—or felt as if I did—that I had really forgiven someone I have been trying to forgive for over thirty years. Trying, and praying that I might. When the thing actually happened, sudden as the longed-for cessation of one’s neighbor’s radio, my feeling was—But it’s so easy. Why didn’t you do it ages ago?” Why didn’t you do it ages a...

I was in my last year of college when I decided to enter the convent. As I told my friends, who were also in their early twenties, about how I felt that God was calling me, many of them had the same response: “But how do you know that it’s God calling you?”This is a question that so many of us have. We want to do God’s will, we want to hear his voice, but we don’t even know what we’re listening for. And it doesn’t have an easy answer. In fact, I still as...

You might not have thought much about angels, or your guardian angel, or the angels in scripture. Now’s your chance!In Angels: Help From on High, Sr Marianne Lorraine Trouvé, FSP, writes, “Angels have gotten some bad press. Artists often depict them as chubby babies with wings, flying lazily around clouds dotting a blue sky. But who would ever turn to such creatures for protection or help? Wouldn’t that be like asking a two-year-old to balance your checkbook or chan...

I learned the prayer to my guardian angel for the first time when I was five years old. It is a popular prayer, so you may have heard of it.Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love entrusts me here. Ever this day, be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide. AmenTo this day, when I think of this prayer, I automatically hear a child’s voice praying it. When I picture the guardian angels, I imagine the famous image of an angel guiding two children safely over a bridge...