Daily Graces: A Review of Everyday Sacrament by Laura Kelly Fanucci

My spouse and I rarely touch when we sleep. Before we drift off, we lie close together, holding hands, or with our limbs entwined. He wraps his arms around me while we talk, or I hold him. When it is time to go to sleep, however, we inch away, still close enough to feel one […]

Lent at Home: Spirit-filled Practices for Families

A few weeks ago, my spouse and I packed away the Advent wreath and took down the Christmas tree. When the tree comes down, it feels like a friend has left the building. With regards to the Advent wreath, I miss that daily ritual of lighting candles and saying prayers of hope and expectation with […]

Unwrapping Grace

It was her first Christmas, or, perhaps more accurately, it was her sixth Christmas, but the first one we would celebrate as a family. Fifty-one days earlier, she had shown up on my front porch, a piece of pizza in one hand, a very small suitcase in the other and a foster care caseworker standing […]

Gratitude for a Life Saved

During the month of November, Fidelia’s Sisters will be exploring the theme of gratitude and what it means to live out of a sense of abundance. Please enjoy these reflections on the goodness of life and ministry and follow our #thanksliving14 media project. “Why are you so quiet this morning?” my husband asked me as […]

I Chose to Share Our Grief

Unsuccessful pregnancy… fetal demise… no heartbeat… dilation & curettage… miscarriage.  These ugly words brought with them painful thoughts, grief, loss and disappointment.  “It feels very surreal,” I told my friend.  “Maybe when we hear the heartbeat, then it will feel real.  I have wanted this for so long, that I have a hard time believing […]

Life-giving Transition

My daughter’s face popped up on The Today Show’s fourth hour on July 22, 2014. Co-host Hoda Kotb said, “And Happy Birthday to little Lydia Davis.” Of course, I knew it was going to happen, but it was still shocking to see it when it did. A little prince was also celebrating his first birthday […]

I’m a Fool for You

Last year, late in the season of Lent, a full sanctuary of worshipers gathered with the lights dimmed to worship God, singing their beloved “Holden Evening Prayer.” A wide-eyed, dark-haired three-year-old from the congregation (She looked like a miniature version of me, bangs and all.) followed me to the front of the sanctuary as I […]

Bread and Blessing

“I wish I could receive at your church,” my stepson Ben said to me one Sunday as we all prepared for a busy day of worship, Sunday school, and meetings. It took me a minute to connect the dots and realize that he meant “receive Communion.” Ben is being raised Roman Catholic by his mother […]

God in All the Things

“Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed.” -St. Francis de Sales A friend and fellow young clergy woman posted this quote on her Facebook page recently. I read it with mixed emotions. I took a walk today to clear my head. The long […]

On Bringing All of Yourself to Church

I never take my children to church. I’m a priest and my husband is a priest, so our babysitter comes to our house at 7:00 am and takes the kids to church later. She is the one to handle trips to the bathroom, dropped crayons, and demands for snacks in the middle of prayers and […]