Mary van Balen

He was listed under "Other Saints" on the Universalis:Today site that designated today as simply Wednesday of week 17 of the year. I had never heard of Titus (Anno) Brandsma, but his birth in Friesland, Holland (place of my family's origin), work as a journalist, and contemplative spirituality (He was a Carmelite priest.) piqued my curiosity. I googled his name and found numerous sites that provided information on this man who, along with the Dutch Church, refused to accept Nazi orders for Catholic newspapers to print Nazi articles and who eventually paid for public resistance with his life.

Perhaps journalists who work for Catholic newspapers or magazines know of this man. If not, I will do my part to introduce him. An interesting biography including photos appears on a Carmelite website. The same website hosts a series of short essays or meditations on his life written by social worker, Jane Lytle-Vieira, a member of the Carmelite’s Third Order and a graduate studying theology. Read More 

Today the Catholic Times published a cover article: Catholic Blogs:Sharing the Gospel in the Digital Age by Tim Puet. When Tim interviewed me for the article, he saved this question for last: If Jesus were alive today, would he be a blogger? If so, what would he blog about?

I did not hesitate to answer "Yes." I think Jesus would take advantage of opportunities offered by modern technology to reach a broad audience with his message. As I read the CT article, I was intrigued by fellow blogger Patrick Madrid's comment that, in his opinion, Jesus would not blog as he preferred face to face communitcation. Read More 

IMAGE: Saint Brigid

Last month I presented a reflection on being "Mystics in the Marketplace" to a group of Catholic business people and their spouses. Today is the feast of Saint Brigid of Sweden, a woman who could be called a patron saint of mystics involved in the world. Years ago, my daughter took the name Brigid at Confirmation, but I had not thought of the saint for years. Reading about her reminded me of the many reasons Kathryn had for choosing this woman as one to inspire her.

At the age of thirteen Brigid married a nobleman, Ulf, who shared both her noble background and her religious commitment. Together they raised four boys and four boys. Read More