We recently observed Memorial Day, a day of remembrance for those who did not return from their service in our nation’s various wars. 

It was a warm summer evening on the night of July 10, 2014. I pulled up to the parking lot of Jesus of Nazareth Retreat Center, where the Women’s Cursillo #274 was being hosted. I remember arriving and feeling a sense of apprehension. What was I doing here? 

A novel that was required reading for students beginning in the 1940s was “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith. In it the character, Francie, loves her neighborhood and refers to a tree that is growing out of the concrete as the Tree of Heaven.

If you enter a church and find the sanctuary decked out in red flowers, chances are that, unless it is Christmas, the parish has just celebrated confirmation. This is particularly true in spring when so many such celebrations take place in the wake of Easter. 

We always drank beer from stemmed glasses in Farrell’s Bar and Grill. We were college kids, hair creeping down our necks, and we would meet in the crowded, gleaming bar in Brooklyn’s Windsor Terrace to plan the evening or our lives. 

I had a break between my morning classes at Hunter College one day during the spring semester last year, so I walked to a nearby Dunkin’ for a coffee and doughnut. Walking back to school, breakfast in hand, I stood on Lexington Avenue waiting for a green light when I turned to see a man with half his body in a garbage can, apparently rummaging to gather food.

When she needed it the most, Sister Ave Clark believes that a stranger brought the light of an angel into her life. 

No memoir of a priest or Christian can truly touch on their journey without referring to some stories of their interaction with others “on the Way.” 

On April 8th, I was ready to take part in my first Easter Vigil. 

My devotion to Divine Mercy started during the pandemic. Like many people, I felt anxious about all the things I couldn’t control, which, at that time, seemed like everything.