I have written about my wife, Marty’s, Alzheimer’s Disease several times. This is another. It was unplanned and spontaneous, triggered by the unique world she and I have come to share together. I was trying to write something but I was stuck in “neutral.” No pencil scratching, no pen sliding, […]
The Romance of Prayer
If any part of your life has been devoted to working on growing your spiritual walk, you should have some familiarity with the bible and its living wisdom. For Christians in general and Catholics in particular, it is simply pivotal to your faith. You might have chosen to be unfamiliar […]
Lent: a Virtue Spa for the Soul – Cathy Gilmore*
Have you ever wondered how Lenten sacrifices “feel” to your soul? What might feel like a privation to us is actually a VIP (Very Important Pampering) Treatment for our souls. Think of it like this. On Ash Wednesday we allow Jesus to welcome our soul to the forty day […]
The Challenge: Called To Catholic Writing
Having the heart and mind of a writer – indeed the calling to be a writer – has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. At the same time, well, I won’t go so far as to call it also a curse, but I safely can say it […]
Creating a Marketing Strategy
So you finished your novel! Maybe it was traditionally published or perhaps you self-published. It doesn’t matter. The box of books has arrived in the post and holding your finished product is akin to holding your first newborn. It is exhilarating, a moment you will never forget. However, that feeling […]
A Ray of Brightness
One prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas stands out as a perfect preface to intellectual work. Before you study, before you write, before you speak, pray this prayer: Ineffable Creator, Who, from the treasures of Your wisdom, have established three hierarchies of angels, have arrayed them in marvelous order, above the […]
The Story of a Book
Looking back on the history of my first book, I see six phases in its development: Trial by Ordeal, Sabbatical, Poetic Ecstasy, A Better Baby, Love Laborious and New Birth. Trial by Ordeal Twenty-some years before writing Souls at Rest (SAR), I was a young, struggling Christian with a whole […]
Three
I must admit that I lament the way many of my Catholic brothers and sisters lack knowledge of the scriptures. I sometimes hear crazy stuff that defames the Old Testament, the discipline of memorizing scripture or even the idea of having a Bible in the house. That just makes me […]
Religion and Politics – A Polite Conversation
You know the old saw about not bringing up religion and politics in polite company? Well, I’m going to bring up both, as we have just entered the second annual Fortnight for Freedom. The U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has again called for two weeks of prayer and action […]