A year ago I was beautiful. ***** One sunny afternoon on our second summer in Assisi, Robert and I decided to explore the bosco, a forest walk next to the Basilica into a valley where Francis is purported to have walked. Robert carried a backpack with a wedge of cheese for snacking and I carriedContinue reading >>
Running the stairs
One morning at the hospital my surgeon came in with her trail of surgical fellows for morning rounds. I raised the bed and turned on the light and tried to look awake as they poked at me, asked me questions, and repacked my wound. As one of the fellows pushed tissue into the tiny holeContinue reading >>
Tell the mystery of the glorious body
Good Friday one year ago: I had no singing engagements. I attended 3:00 pm service with my mother and we sat near the front of the church. Someone sang beautifully and it wasn’t me and I was envious. I couldn’t stay standing for very long, and though my pain was minimal it was clear thatContinue reading >>
Little loyalties, to Christ and to all
I’ve never been a very good friend. I’m the type of person who expects to be able to pick up where a friendship has left off, regardless of whether I have picked up the phone in the interim. I have a particular aversion to using the phone. Since I’ve been sick, I have been bombardedContinue reading >>
Reading the Passion in the Hospital Chapel
I was a little disappointed when I entered the hospital chapel. The outer wall, the façade you see from the second floor that suggests that you’re entering a chapel, is thick, abstract, brightly colored stained glass, reminiscent of the windows at the parish in which I was raised. But when I opened the door toContinue reading >>