The Innkeeper
“She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). When I was in first grade, my Sunday School class put on a production of the Nativity story. We had been waiting for this all year. I wanted the part of[...]
Beloved
“You will no longer be known in the world as Emily, but as Sister Mary Amata of St. Joseph.” For more than a year, I had been asking the Lord what He wanted to call me, what name He wished to give me in religious life. In prayer, I just kept coming back[...]
Going Deeper With Saint Peter
“You will no longer be known in the world as Jessica, but as Sister Mary Peter of St. Joseph.” I have always been very struck by St. Peter in the Gospels. He is so human. Peter does not always understand. He denies our Lord in His hour of need, and at first refuses to[...]
Containing All Sweetness Within
The peony- an intensely fragrant, rogue-petaled flower that blooms this time of year- starts out as a small, tight bud, encased in a green sheath. Ants come along and find the sweet nectar surrounding it. As they suck up the nectar, they help the bud loosen, open up, and bloom. Though all of the petals[...]
