Audio recording of this post: Chapter 13 paints a beautiful picture of Margaret’s religious life as a Dominican Tertiary, in…
Audio recording of this post: These two Chapters tell a tale of two religious communities: the Monastery of St. Margaret…
Audio recording of this post: In Chapter 9, Margaret is discovered by the beggars Elena and Roberto who help Margaret…
Audio recording of this post: In Chapter 7, Father Bonniwell describes the decision of Parisio and Emilia to take Margaret…
Audio recording of this post: Father Bonniwell begins Chapter 5 with a paragraph describing the first signs of Spring during…
Audio recording of this post: In Chapter 3, Father Bonniwell relates some of the reactions at the fort of Metola…
Audio recording of this post: Parisio and (to a lesser extent) Emilia present us with a kind of study of…
Audio recording of this post: Welcome to our group reading of The Life of Blessed Margaret of Castello, by Father…
Unlike many of Michael W. Dugger’s ink renderings that we have considered, this one seems unambiguous. Perhaps you see some…
In the end, these virtues–patience, hope, humility, faith, and “letting go”–lead to flourishing through life as through death. In reflecting…
In this final chapter I’d like to offer a concise and practical guide–a handbook, if you will–on how to live…
This is an interesting image. Men are lowering a casket into . . . what? The act of lowering the…
“The purpose of a funeral is not to uplift the audience,” [Thomas Long] says, “but to transform the cast.” .…
Death creates chaos on every level . . . Out of this vandalized shalom emerges ritual–the orderly, tradition-based, formal performances…
This image links the notion of ‘shalom’ (written here in Hebrew) to what is described in the chapter as “vandalized…
The suggestion that the dead would eventually come alive again in restored bodies was not some peripheral, secondary belief. According…
“Almost everyone becomes religious when they are dying.” Perhaps this is an overstatement–at least in a New England university town.…
The figure is an erect, humanized form of the hybrid creature from the Isenheim Altarpiece . . . if compared…
And there he was. That anguished man on the cross, larger than life, bearing all the marks of ergotism. His…
The Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald: The Antonites ‘prescribed’ viewing the altarpiece to those in their care who were suffering…
Dr. Dugdale’s comments on this image are interesting. She calls it disturbing and indicates that previous drafts were even more…
In physiology . . we say that fear triggers a “flight or fight” response. When we feel threatened, we either…
In my comments this week, I am going to skip over the initial pages of this chapter in which Dr.…
In different ways, this image seems both realistic and unrealistic. The man, the wheelchair, and the sign are depicted is…
Not only did hospitals entice with medicine and procedure; they also offered a welcome respite to families and community members…
Does it matter where we die? Page 71 As Dr. Dugdale suggests, there are several ways this question could be…
Dr. Dugdale tells us that this image depicts Mrs. Ito and evokes the Japanese danchi where she lived and where…
Our communities of support do not have to be perfect, but they should feel hospitable. We should feel safe among…
Was Mr. Bell lonely? . . . It is entirely possible, however, that Kleinfield’s title [“The Lonely Death of George…
Here is Michael W. Dugger’s ink rendering for chapter 2: Here is the vanitas painting of Philippe de Champaigne that…
[According to the original Ars Moriendi,] we have to acknowledge the possibility of death while we are still healthy [and]…
She declined to discuss it. In her mind, the question she faced was whether she should choose to live a…
One of the earliest versions of the Ars moriendi was illustrated. The art of human finitude provokes anticipation and preparation…
In this post, I will quote passages in Dr. Dugdale’s text that I find especially discussion worthy, pose questions about…
In this post, I will quote passages in Dr. Dugdale’s text that I find especially discussion worthy, pose questions about…
Today is the eighteenth Holy Saturday of my life as a Dominican friar. This morning, for the eighteenth time, I…
In our Reflections during this Holy Week, we have tried to understand, enter into, receive from, and share the Paschal…
The Eucharistic institution narrative from Saint Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians and the washing of feet narrative from Saint…
“In your house,” Jesus says, “I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples” (Matthew 26:18). In these words from today’s…
The Tuesday of Holy Week has traditionally been referred to as “Spy Tuesday.” That designation comes from today’s Gospel reading…
Today we are reminded of the deep connections between the Paschal Mystery of our Lord that we celebrate especially during…
Holy Week begins with a two-fold feast. It has two names: Palm Sunday of the Lord‘s Passion. And it’s Eucharistic…
(This is a research paper. It is longer and more detailed than the “Reflections” on this page. Please enjoy.) Introduction…
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me”…
Every human life is uniquely precious, of inestimable dignity, and worthy of being valued and protected. That truth, and the…
Since writing my last Reflection, “Let Us Go to Bethlehem to See,” I have gone to Bethlehem and seen. I also…
We are all familiar with the manger scene. Mary and Joseph kneel by the baby Jesus in the manger with…
The season of Advent, and Gaudete Sunday in particular, invites us to rejoice. In Year C, our readings on Gaudete…
May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. This is a prayer…
The Catholic Church opposes euthanasia, understood as the deliberate killing of a person in order to end his or her…