Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year 3, NL)

Motherhood and ministry are intertwined for me.

Mary and Elizabeth knew the basic truths of life.

When I read the annunciation story, I picture Mary as Clara.

The Magnificat rejoices in a God who acts within human history.

I imagine Nathan waking to the word of the Lord with his heart pounding.

"I love you," says God. "We love you, too," our prayers reply.

What a relief it might be to middle-class America to be sent away empty.

As I lifted the chalice, the baby began to play soccer under my ribs.

What is Jesus thinking when he tells the parable of the dishonest steward?

This story is full of echoes—most famously, Mary's song echoes Hannah's. But there is another echo: Elizabeth's praise of Mary, which gets taken up into the Hail Mary, is an echo of Deborah's song in Judges 5.

Mary is a jazz singer, improvising on a familiar tune.

The prospect of Syrian refugees entering the U.S. has unleashed a wave of fear. But fear, while understandable, is an unreliable guide to policy.

It’s no secret that I love Ordinary Time.

As time goes on, I find that the seasons I love the most in the liturgical year aren’t the high holy feasts, but the ordinary ones.