Tag: Mass

• Making Paradise Out of the Desert

  I just returned from morning Mass. It is quite cold today, 33 degrees F as I write this, but with the wind chill factor it feels like 16 degrees F. Snow flurries greeted us when we began our short drive home from church. The sun is shining brightly into my writing space as I ponder…

  michardillo

  December 11, 2025

  Essay

  desert, exile, Houston, Hurricane Katrina, immigration, Isaiah, Israelites, Louisiana, Mass, paradise, Rev. Paul D. Lee, slavery

• Outdoor Mass in Honor of Fr. Kapaun

  Please see my latest freelance assignment! https://www.cathstan.org/local/mass-at-st-jude-church-in-rockville-honors-memory-of-father-emil-kapaun

  michardillo

  September 26, 2025

  Essay

  canonization, Catholic, chaplain, Fr. Juan Pablo, Fr. Kapaun, Fr. Paul D. Lee, Korean War, Mass, prisoner of war, St. Jude, US Army, venerable

• Book Review—Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy by Christopher White

  As an American and a Catholic, did I ever, in my wildest dreams, imagine an American pope? Absolutely not. But, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, that is exactly what happened. My husband and I were both home (freshly retired) and were having lunch at our kitchen counter. After we finished eating, my husband was cleaning…

  michardillo

  September 5, 2025

  books

  book-review, books, Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholic school, Christopher White, Conclave, Confirmation, Councils, Italy, Jesuits, Kindle, Loyola Press, Mass, NetGalley, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Pope John Paul II, Pope John XXIII, Pope Leo XIV, social media, Society of Jesus, St. Monica, Synod, Vatican, Vatican II, writer, writing

• Peace or Piece?

  What brings you peace? Piece Peace

  michardillo

  August 12, 2025

  Essay

  baking, classical music, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2028, French food, hot tea, library, Louisiana, Mass, prayer, reading

• Come to Me All Who Labor

  This past Sunday the gospel happened to be one that has always confused me, the story of Martha and Mary and their visit from Jesus. Our parochial vicar, Fr. Juan Pablo Noboa, gave me something new to think about in connection to this passage of scripture from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10, Verses 38-42. …

  michardillo

  July 24, 2025

  Essay

  Catholic, Catholic Church, death, gospel, homily, Lazarus, Luke, Magnificat, Martha, Mary, Mass, Matthew, scripture passage, St. Anthony’s Messenger

• Friends, Family, Food, But No Funeral!

  My husband and I just recently returned home from a nine-day trip to our home state, Louisiana, where we had the time of our lives. This trip was planned around my nephew’s engagement party, bookended by family time and some really great food. When my husband and I married, we were both living in Maryland,…

  michardillo

  May 2, 2025

  Essay, faith, food

  Amite, Baton Rouge, Boston’s, Brady’s, Cajun, Catholic, crawfish, Don’s, Duke’s, engagement party, family, food, friends, funeral, Gumbo, Hammond, Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Lighthouse Coastal Brasserie, Louisiana, Mass, Mississippi River, New Orleans, North Shore, prayer, Southeastern Louisiana Univeristy, strawberry shortcake cheesecake

• My Two Special Saints

  On an unseasonably warm March day this year, I attended the 5:00 Vigil Mass at my parish, which was also Confirmation with Bishop Evelio Menjivar of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. The large church was packed, with folding chairs lining the entire interior perimeter of the church and chairs outside the doors of the…

  michardillo

  April 13, 2025

  Essay, faith

  Archbishop Philip Hannan, Archdiocese of New Orleans, Archie, Augustine, Bishop Menjivar, Catholic, Catholic Church, Confirmation, Edinburgh Castle, faith, funeral, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John F. Kennedy, King David I, Louisiana, Malcolm III, Mass, Monica, New Orleans, Plaquemines Parish, Port Sulphur, prayer, Robert F. Kennedy, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, Scotland, St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Margaret’s Chapel, St. Monica, Veronica

• A Very Merry Bookmas!

  It’s Christmas Day! I’ve had a wonderful Advent and now Christmas season with my family and close friends. It has to be the most relaxed Christmas I’ve ever had, having retired from teaching this January 12, 2024, I came into Advent this year without reams of papers to grade, midterms to create and then grade,…

  michardillo

  December 25, 2024

  books, Essay, faith, food

  Advent, baking, book-review, books, chocolate, Christmas, cookbooks, cooking, cozy mystery, essays, exercise, faith, family, fiction, food, friends, healthy, Judi Dench, Kate Quinn, Martha Stewart, Maryland, Mass, Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame, nonfiction, novel, Olivia Ford, prayer, reading, self-care, Shakespeare: The Man who Pays the Rent, teacher, teaching, The Briar Club, The Cookbook, writer, writing

• Another Kind of Break

  I’ve been writing regularly, but my last post here was about how impatient I was for Thanksgiving Break. I recounted how I had spent the summer in a boot due to a bad break, a broken ankle. I just couldn’t wait for five whole days in a row off from school and being free to…

  michardillo

  March 13, 2020

  Essay

  ADW, Archdiocese of Washington, Break, Catholic school, COVID 19, Easter, Lent, Mass, Shrine of St. Jude, Stations, teacher

• Invite Him to the Storm

  One of the things I love most about being Catholic is the ability to practice my faith anywhere, anytime. I’ve attended Mass in nearly every state and country that I’ve visited. Sometimes it has been in a foreign language, and while listening to the homily can be a challenge, I know the parts of the…

  michardillo

  July 28, 2016

  Essay, faith

  ACTS, Catholic, Colossians, Father Oliver Toner, Florida, Fort Myers, Genesis, Irish priest, Louisiana, Luke, Magnificat, Mass, prayer, praying, scripture, teacher, teaching, Thessalonians