Photo by Emily April Allen
Hello and thank you for visiting!
Recently published writings are posted below.
Biographical information is on the About/Contact page.
Selected essays, book reviews and other articles are in the Selected Writings Portfolio.
Information about my forthcoming Vanderbilt University Press book on Fr. Aloysius Orengo, The Apostle of Tennessee, is at this link.
Writings about the Italian American author Pietro Di Donato are at this link.
Other things can be found in the links in the menu.
Thanks!
Recent Writings
All Glory: ‘Give Us This Day’ Reflection for May 17, 2026
Reflection for the readings for the Second Sunday of Easter and the Gospel of John, 17:1-11a, May 17, 2026, for Give Us This Day (Liturgical Press). Used with permission. Learn more and subscribe at giveusthisday.org. Today’s Gospel from John, also known as part of...
The Prayer and Preservation of Bringing Communion to the Sick
November 17, 2025 – In Chapter 16, a new personal essay on my experience bringing Holy Communion to my mother-in-law in the months prior to her passing.
Centerfold
September 21. 2025 – A personal essay about being a young child and discovering the power of words and music.
The Blessing of Cheering People On
June 16, 2025 - In America Magazine, an essay/reflection about the blessings that come with encouragement. Read more in America Magazine.
Review: Father Charles Strobel’s Life of Servant Leadership
April 17, 2025 – In America Magazine, a review of Fr. Charles Strobel’s posthumous memoir, “The Kingdom of the Poor: My Journey Home.
Reflecting on Summer Reading
May 2, 2024 – In Tennessee Home & Farm, a reflection on summer reading and the places books take us — and take us back to — long after we’ve put them down.
Forming Sisters for Service
Jan. 18, 2024 – In America Magazine, how a New Jersey college educates women religious from around the world.
Mother Cabrini on Managing Separation Anxiety
November 13, 2023 - In Today’s American Catholic, an essay/reflection on a prayerful communication technique used by Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, as detailed in a letter from the saint published in Pietro Di Donato's 1960 biography, "The Immigrant Saint." Read more...
Who Wants to Read About Broken Arms?
March 16, 2023 – A repost of an essay originally published here in 2015, about my mother and books.
Parents, Ask Your Children—and Yourself—for Forgiveness
December 15, 2022 - In the January 2023 issue of America Magazine, a personal essay on forgiveness, grace and repair in parenting and elder caregiving. In print, it appears as "The Riches of His Grace." Special thanks to Dr. Kathleen Seabolt at the Vanderbilt...