Desert Grace

Desert Grace

Gallup, New Mexico sprawls across dry desert land, surrounded by large reddish-orange mesas where small, hardy cedar trees and cacti litter the rocky ground. The cacti bloom in the Spring with tiny bright red flowers that sparkle over the brown dust and rocks. It is...
The Spirit’s Whispers: A Poem

The Spirit’s Whispers: A Poem

There is a secret lie that I’ve held since childhood—that prayer is like recipe book or magical spell, wherein the perfect words get the perfect wish fulfilled. But, I often find it’s not the words themselves that matter. Rather, what leads me closer to Christ’s peace...
My Defensive Mask

My Defensive Mask

I put on my best I’m-really-listening-face, sitting in an old, kind of gross, white-ish wingback chair. My friend sits opposite on another identical chair. As I nurse a glass of nice Scotch, I notice the ends of the armrests, stained mysteriously gray from hours of...
Dark Humor

Dark Humor

This post was originally published on April 11, 2018.  *** It was like a scene out of a Cohen brothers dark comedy (think Fargo). My friend and I were having lunch at a Jesuit retirement community, which was typically a wonderful time to take in old stories and wisdom...
Without Perfect Words

Without Perfect Words

I’m nearly certain a drop of sweat was slowly crawling down my forehead, and it was not hot. We stood outside of a church, pinned off to the side of the crowd exiting after mass. In front of me, an older woman, spatterings of grey hair and a few creases hanging on the...