I Was Scandalized by Cheryl Ann Smith
There is one gospel passage that I fought with from my first encounter. It comes after St. Paul described his anguish over the thorn in...
10
Dec
I’d Call This Hope by Cheryl Ann Smith
Disaster! That’s what I thought as 10,000 of us began the closing procession of the Eucharistic Congress in Liverpool. It had been a glorious three days,...
A Burglary by Cheryl Ann Smith
About a year and a half ago, we were burgled. A man walked in our front door, up three flights of stairs, past the kitchen...
06
Sep
My Illegal Communions by Cheryl Ann Smith
My First Communion was most unusual. I was 18 years of age and it was quite “illegal,” but it transformed my life. Months before, God...
Mary! Help! by Cheryl Ann Smith
“Mary, please bring order to this week!” Or was it, “Mary—Help!” I was astonished when this cry came ripping out of me not too long after...
21
May
Poustinia: God’s Word to Us by Cheryl Ann Smith
Last year in Combermere at the annual meeting of the directors of our houses, we heard a call to pray about how we are living...
You Become What You Contemplate by Cheryl Ann Smith
I was so grateful that I glanced out the kitchen window as our next guest was emerging from her car. My first impression was of...
Living Between Two Masses by Cheryl Ann Smith
Last summer as I was driving home, I glanced in the rear-view mirror and gasped at the fiery sun setting in a blaze of glory....
Now! by Cheryl Ann Smith
“Now! The time is now!” This was the passionate plea from Patrick McConville, our brother staff worker, to seminarians a couple of years ago. Three of...
09
Jun
The Poustinia That Wasn’t – Or Was It? Cheryl Ann Smith
This was to have been the poustinia*—the one I’ve been building up to for a while. The one in which I would confront the big...