Blog
Celebrate Life: Charlie Fien-Emlen
In many ways, Charlotte Fien-Emlen is a typical young woman. When I first spoke with her, she was planning her wedding, and in our last email exchange she was worried about taking her college exams. But most young women have not given speeches about abortion before...
What I Read in January
SIXTEEN BOOKS! Is that even possible? What on earth have I NOT been doing so that I could spend that time reading? There was a time in my life where I routinely read a book every day or two. But that's been a long time ago. Granted, January is always a great month for...
A Cloud of Witnesses
I first encountered St. John Bosco as a second- or third-grader, in one of the old Catholic readers that even then were going out of fashion. We read that he used juggling and acrobatic feats as a way to attract the attention of street children so that he could share...
Ten Good Books: My Best Reads of 2022
In 2022, I read 76 books! Weirdly, I read 76 books in 2021 as well! I had set a reading goal of six books per month. Although I missed that goal four times, I averaged slightly higher over the course of the year. Therefore, I am going to keep the same goal for 2023....
What I Read in December
As usual, I got a fair amount of reading time in December and completed eight interesting books. My family and finished watching Poldark, a Masterpiece Theatre series based on a book series, in mid-December. We were enthralled, and to ease the withdrawal, I am now...
Darkness and Light
Lully, lullah, thou little tiny child, Bye bye, lully, lullay. Thou little tiny child, Bye bye, lully, lullay. Herod the king in his raging Set forth upon this day By his decree, no life spare thee All children young to slay All children young to slay The above...
What I Read in November
I am back on track this month with seven books read--though a couple of them were pretty quick reads. I can't wait to dive into all the books I expect to get for Christmas! First up is Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. I picked up this copy at a flea market. It's the very...
Let Us Go Rejoicing
Weeks are long and weekends are short. Life is hard and we are so busy, so tired. Catching up on household chores, sleeping in, trying to have a little fun with family or friends—for many of us there is so much we want to do or need to do that a weekend never seems...
Let’s Talk about Thanksgiving
You know the story of the first Thanksgiving. You probably acted it out in school--maybe more than once--complete with Pilgrim hats and feathered headdresses. It is immortalized on your serving plates, your seasonal decorations, and your holiday sale catalogs....
What I Read in October
Remember how sulky I was last month about having only read three books? Well, I made up for it this month! A major reason for this is that my daughter and I went to a Friends of the Library book sale and I bought so many books at rock bottom prices that I needed a...
Our Patient Father
People love to make fun of the songs we sang at church in the early 1970s, but I was a little girl then and I remember many of them fondly. Today’s Gospel took me back to that time instantly, to the refrain of a song written by Medical Mission Sister Miriam Therese...
Pro-life Profile: Juan Tello
Pro-life Profile is a new series I am publishing regularly. These brief interviews highlight pro-life leaders in order to dispel the preconceptions that predominate in the mainstream press and the minds of pro-choice people. I’ll begin with my Vita...
What I Read in September
Y'all, I am so late with this post that I missed the linkup! But I'm posting anyway because I want to remember what books I read and I am sure you were all waiting breathlessly to read about them. 😉 And the reason I am late is SO LAME. My post was erased, and I...
In the Sight of the Angels
I remain a parishioner at the church where I was baptized 55 years ago, meaning I have spent well over 2,000 Sunday mornings there. As a child, my mind and my eyes tended to wander, and the stained glass windows provided both entertainment and enlightenment, as they...
What I Read in August
August was NOT a reading month, y'all. Among other things (and aren't there always other things?), Lorelei started her Senior year of high school, William started his fifth semester of college, and we moved my father across town. Lorelei now has a 7 a.m. class (AP...
Seeking Humility
In a world obsessed with social media, many of us judge our worth by how often our posts are liked or shared by others, hoping to go viral, obsessively checking our phones throughout the day when we think we have shared something exceptionally profound or amusing....
What I Read in July
I finished my sixth book with just a day to spare and made my six book goal for July. You would think I would have an easier time meeting my goals in the summer but that has not seemed to be the case. Master of Middle-Earth by Paul H. Kocher I picked this up on...
Potter and Clay
Abba, Abba Father. You are the potter; we are the clay, the Work of Your hands . . . That is the beginning of a song I remember singing often at morning Mass when I was an 8th grader in parochial school. You probably recall the hymnal; it was ubiquitous in the early...
Vita Institute Recap
I promised to tell you more about the Vita Institute, and this post will be a start. I planned to write everything up as soon as I came home, but as I came down with COVID almost as soon as I returned, I did not have the energy for anything extra. I'm going to go...
Pro-Life Profile: Gwendolyn Loop
Pro-life Profile is a new series I will be publishing regularly. These brief interviews will highlight pro-life leaders in order to dispel the preconceptions that predominate in the mainstream press and the minds of pro-choice people. I’ll begin with my Vita...
Pro-life Profile: Herb Geraghty
Pro-life Profile is a new series I plan to publish regularly. These brief interviews will highlight pro-life leaders in order to dispel the preconceptions that predominate in the mainstream press and the minds of pro-choice people. I'll begin with my Vita Institute...
What I Read in June
I really thought I had completed six books this month. But unless I completely forgot one, it looks like I missed my goal. To be fair, it's been a crazy month! My first read was completed at the tail end of our vacation, after I picked it up at a cool used bookstore...
What Are Your Idols?
We may not be worshipping golden statues or sacrificing people to Baal nowadays, but don’t we let attractive worldly things come between us and God? Perhaps it’s money, or power, or romance, or status, or even being right instead of being kind. You alone know what...
Three Things I Learned at the Vita Institute
I had quite an adventure last week. Four flights. An unprecedented heat wave. Almost 133,000 steps. Close to 20 lectures by experts in their fields. About 50 new friends. And last but not least, a Covid infection! Thankfully, I picked up a lot more than Covid at the...
What I Read in May
This month's reads are primarily fiction, as befits the beginning of summer! I just made it to my goal, finishing book six while visiting my husband's family in Baltimore. A couple of these books were provided to me for free in exchange for my honest review--I will...
My Favorite Reads of 2021
Since I had a reading goal for the entirety of 2021, I thought it would be fun to do a round up post of the top ten books out of the 76 books I finished. For the most part, I am excluding old favorites which I re-read from the list. The inclusion of a book on this...
What I Read in April
Did I meet my reading goal? Yes, I did! Tiny Hot Dogs by Mary Giulani This is a memoir by a Georgetown alumna who wanted to be a star and ended up as caterer to the stars instead. It's a fun read that unexpectedly turns serious near the end, and it's interspersed with...
A Short Manifesto on the Sanctity of Human Life
In June, I will be attending the Vita Institute at the University of Notre Dame, "an intensive intellectual formation program for leaders in the national and international pro-life movement." I had to apply for this opportunity, and I thought my readers might be...
2021 in Review: Your Favorites, My Favorites
So here I am with a yearly ritual, which is usually a beginning of the year ritual, but better late than never, am I right? The first five posts were the most popular with readers last year, and the second five are my own favorites. Readers' favorites can be from any...
Imagine You Walked with Jesus: Book Review
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. As the graduate of a Jesuit university, I love all things Ignatian. Pray As You Go, one of my favorite Catholic apps, often asks listeners to engage in the what the Jesuits call contemplative...
Printique Canvas Review: Honoring a Furry Friend (SPONSORED)
This is a sponsored post. I received the product in exchange for my honest review. I have mentioned before that the Shollys are Cat People. When our house burned down over ten years ago, our two cats disappeared (into the surrounding woods, we hoped). That a mother...
What I Read in March
Well, this will be a short post! I completed only four books in March, and if Emily hadn't made a trip to the library the last week of the month, it would have been two. We visited Boulder this month, which meant four days in the car, but that does not really seem...
Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network – April Reflection
I was honored to be given the opportunity to write a prayer and reflection for the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, an "Apostleship of Prayer [that] addresses the challenges facing humanity and assists the mission of the Church [by praying and working] to meet the...
What I Read in February
So, I just barely made my six book goal this month, and that's only because the first book I read was a picture book! But John Ronald's Dragons by Carolyn McAlister is truly a superior picture book. It's a great introduction to Tolkien for pre-readers but there's also...
Heavenly Treasures
Basil the Great once said: “When someone steals another’s clothes, we call them a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the...
12 in 2021: A Year in Pictures
I am very late with my annual picture essay, which I've been doing every year since 2013. It was originally part of a linkup, but now I just do it because I like to! It's fun to reflect on the year that has gone by. JANUARY If the above picture is not our life in a...
What I Read in January
What with Christmas Break and snow days and Covid cancellations and William's semester starting midway through the month, I had another fruitful reading month! The Grey King by Susan Cooper I continued reading this series that I began re-reading in December. This one...
What Is Love? Wisdom From Fr. Spitzer
Well over 30 years ago, when I was a Sophomore at Georgetown University, a group of us gathered to explore ways we could deepen our commitment to our faith outside of weekly Mass attendance. We called our group "Beyond Dahlgren," Dahlgren Chapel being the university's...
God’s Mysterious Mercy
“With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private” (Mark 4:33-34). When I read these words from today’s Gospel, I found myself...
What I Read in December
I think the week between Christmas and New Year's is my favorite. I got so many books for Christmas and I've had so much time to read. But I met my goal for the month long before Christmas, believe it or not--mostly because I read almost exclusively fiction! The Death...
Heaven’s Gain Ministries: Comfort and Support for Families in Mourning
The Heaven’s Gain website defines its mission, stating: “Burying the dead is a Corporal Act of Mercy. At Heaven’s Gain, we are called as part of our mission to provide burial products that honor the dignity of the deceased baby at any developmental stage.” Read the...
Jesus, Sun of Justice
We all long for justice. Children are born with this innate desire—they are obsessed with fairness until their parents tell them enough times that the world is not fair. Well, it is a fallen world so that is unfortunately true. But I have never said this to my own...
What I Read in November
Posting late this month because 1) Thanksgiving and 2) End of semester for my kids and 3) Christmas preparations, but even though I am too late for my regular linkup, I wanted to keep up my monthly update--especially as I hit my goal for the month! The Raven in the...
When the Bad Guys Win
Today’s First Reading is really satisfying, isn’t it? Imagine King Antiochus, secure in the power of his army, head full of dreams of silver and gold. He is so certain of victory that when things don’t go his way, he is dismayed. In today’s slang, we might say he is...
What I Read in October
I made up for last month's failure to meet my five-book-a-month goal by reading eight books this month, thanks to multiple book clubs. Think Like a Rocket Scientist by Ozan Varol This is a perfectly fine book, which I read for one of my Georgetown book clubs. It just...
What I Read in September
Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that I have turned into a person who 1) needs to set a reading goal and 2) finds a five-book-a-month goal challenging at times. I was the kid who always had her nose in a book--brushing my teeth, walking down the hall, eating my...
Let Your Light Shine
Today’s Gospel Acclamation exhorts us to let our light shine, and in the Gospel Jesus reminds us not to place that light under a bushel. At the end of their exile, the Israelites could not hide the light of their faith and their appreciation of the good things God had...
What I Read in August
I met my goal in August and have some great reads to share. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke I read this for the Fountain of Carrots book club. It's absolutely delightful. I already am wanting to re-read it so I can unpack new layers of meaning. I loved it so much that I...
What I Read in July
Well, this was the first month I failed to meet my five book reading goal. I read parts of several other books that will show up in my August post, but only completed four. It is getting harder and harder to preserve my dedicated reading time, and with school...
What I Read in June
I did not read as much in June, but I did meet my goal. Here's the breakdown: Call Down the Hawk is the first of a trilogy that follows the Raven Boys series, which I loved. My adult daughter loves young adult fantasy and I am grateful for the ones she recommends to...
When Charity and Love Prevail
Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1822). I have a clear memory of myself as a little girl, pondering God and his ways. How could...
Religious Freedom: More Than Freedom to Worship
The popular understanding of religious freedom is the ability to attend the worship service of your choice on a regular basis. But is that a full definition? In Dignitatis Humanae, The Second Vatican Council declared “that the human person has a right to religious...
What I Read in May
Y'all, I read TEN books this month! I kicked it off with Anne's House of Dreams. You know, I never realized before how wildly varying in style the Anne books are. In contrast to the primarily epistolary structure of Anne of Windy Poplars and the episodic structure of...
When You Became You: A Scientifically Accurate Celebration of Human Beings
I have an article published in the Spring issue of Celebrate Life Magazine. Brooke and Christiane worked with a New York Times best-selling illustrator for four months, providing guidance and ideas for the illustrations. According to Brooke: “The illustrations truly...
What I Read in April
April was a month in which I read parts of a lot of books which I will finish and post about NEXT month. I did meet my five book goal for April though! Continuing with my re-read of the Anne of Green Gables series, I read Anne of the Island, in which Anne goes to...
My Pandemic Year
March 2020. It was the beginning of the pandemic--schools had just been shut down. Everything was strange and I was afraid. I had been walking at the park down the street from my house since the beginning of the year--I'd stop on my way to pick up the kids from school...
What I Read in March
I read a lot in March! I am once again becoming the girl who always has a book in her hand, and I love it! I was not expecting to read The Turn of the Key, which was a book Emily got for herself at the library. But as she described the plot, I became intrigued. It's...
They Like Me! (Or Maybe Not, and I Still Don’t Care)
Over the past year I noticed a precipitous decline in my "likes" on my Facebook page, which is where I am most active and therefore is how I tend to gauge my "success" at this social media/blogging thing. This decline coincided with my sharing more "political" posts...
What I Read in February
I met my five-books-per-month reading goal for February, plus I read parts of lots of others. It seems weird to think of reading as something I need to schedule, but thinking of between three and five in the afternoon (when I don't have anything pressing going on)...
A Third Trip to San Francisco
Exactly one year ago today as I write, I was enjoying my third trip to San Francisco to spend time with my middle son. In fact, that is also where I was two years ago and three years ago today, give or take a day. This is poignant for more reason than one. Not only...
What I Read in January
I set a goal this year to read five books a month. In truth, I thought it a modest goal, since I used to read that many every week, give or take. But it was surprisingly challenging, perhaps partly because I am only counting books I finish each month even though I...
Let’s Talk about Free Speech
I'm seeing a lot of people online whining, frankly, about free speech and censorship and living in a communist country because President Trump got kicked off Twitter and Parler got shut down and now we'll be next and no doubt they are coming for our guns too. So I...
Word of the Year and Saint of the Year
It's a new year, y'all! And that means the Catholic internet is asking everyone these questions: What is your Word of the Year? Who is your Saint of the Year? If you are new to the concept I know it can sound a little strange--maybe even a little hokey! But over the...
2020 in Review: Your Favorites, My Favorites
As another year comes to a close it is painfully obvious that I have written very little. I don't know why that is as time was more plentiful than usual. Discernment is in order, for sure. But in the meantime, I am starting the new year off right with an annual...
What I Read in December
I did not read many books in December because Advent/Christmas. I will be making it up in January for sure! Just before Advent, I heard about The Reed of God on multiple podcasts. I took that as a sign to add it to my plans for Advent. It's perfect for the season,...
12 in 2020: A Year in Pictures
And now for a yearly tradition: recapping the year that just ended by sharing one photo per month. I try to choose some of my best pictures, but sometimes I have to forgo quality in order to pick one that really captures the flavor of the month, as you will see....
What I Read in November
Oh, look! Here I am again, being all consistent and posting about what I read in November! Normally our book club reads something scary around Halloween, often something by Stephen King. The above read (which we discussed outside and distanced around a crackling...
What I’m Reading These Days: Booktober and More
I've always been that girl with her nose in a book. Yet somehow in recent years I have realized that I am spending more and more time reading news online and less and less time sitting down with a good book. This month I decided to do something about that. I have...
My Catholic Vote
I love voting on Election Day, but wishing to leave nothing to chance in this crazy year, I took advantage of early voting last week. I marked my paper ballot for Joe Biden, coloring it in very carefully and staring at it for a long time afterward before I scanned...
More Than Politics
I recently was honored to appear on Julie Varner Walsh's brand-new podcast, More Than Politics, a "podcast for those of us who want something more than what we've come to expect from politics -- and from our political discourse. Each week, More Than Politics will...
Unethical Vaccines: From HeLa to COVID-19
I recently wrote an article on the connection between abortion and vaccines for the American Life League's Celebrate Life magazine: Baltimore, 1951: A young woman lay dying in her hospital bed, her body riddled with cancer. Before her death, doctors scraped some cells...
Dear Reluctant Homeschooler
If you are considering homeschooling this coming semester, not with enthusiasm, but with looming dread, this post is for you. Because a lot of people who have never wanted to homeschool, who looked forward to the departure of their kids on Monday morning, whose kids...
There Is No Foreseeable Future
There is no foreseeable future. Read it again: There is no foreseeable future. Now, this isn't a grammar rant, though that irksome phrase cries out for one. Because, y'all, unless you believe in clairvoyance (and actually even if you do!), no one can foresee any part...
Design a Custom Baptism Announcement or First Holy Communion Invitation with Basic Invite
May is the Month of Our Mother, but for Catholics it is usually something more: a time for First Holy Communion, Confirmation, and graduations. My Facebook Memories remind me that last year around this time we celebrated one nephew's First Holy Communion, another's...
Love Your Neighbor: Wear Your Mask
Once upon a time, a man was given the opportunity to pay a visit to both Heaven and Hell, accompanied by a guide. Upon arriving in Hell, he was amazed to see a long table laden with a banquet of every delicious food imaginable. But rather than enjoying the food, the...
Faith, Fitness, and Food: Three Quarantine Necessities
So here we are, about six weeks into this very strange time of Covid-19 quarantine, and I am a little embarrassed to admit how much I am enjoying myself, thanks primarily to faith, fitness, and food. Alliteration is great for blog titles, but I didn't have to work...
Another Trip to San Francisco
If I can say one thing with certainty about my third trip to San Francisco, it's this: my photography skills have improved since last year's trip. (If I do say so myself--we'll see if y'all agree with me!) THURSDAY We took a second trip to San Francisco to visit Teddy...
The Globetrotters Are Coming! (Sponsored)
I grew up watching cartoon versions of the Harlem Globetrotters on Saturday mornings, and now, thanks to U.S. Family Guide, I will get to see them in person! They are coming to Knoxville this Friday, and I'll come back here to tell you all about it (giving my honest...
A Trip to San Francisco
My first trip to San Francisco was also my first plane ride and my first time away from my family. It was 1981 and I had just graduated from St. Joseph Elementary School. My godfather had business in California and invited me along to keep his 12-year-old...
2019 in Review: Your Favorites, My Favorites
It's become a yearly tradition for me to highlight the year's most-read posts (according to WordPress stats), and also to share my favorite posts from the year. Many of the most-read posts are oldies-but-goodies, and I choose to celebrate their staying power rather...
12 in 2019: A Year in Pictures
It is time for the first post of 2020, and one of my favorite annual traditions, the past year in pictures! As always, it is difficult to decide whether to choose the most artistic picture of the the month or the one that is most representative of the month, so what...
Quote Me: Cast Your Cares on God
I'm excited to share that I was recently a guest on a podcast! Lindsay Schlegel interviewed me for the last episode of the first season of Quote Me, in which guests discuss a favorite quotation and its impact on their lives. My quotation was "Cast all your cares on...
How to Fit Regular Prayer into Your Busy Life: It’s Not What You Think
For most of my adulthood, my prayer life has consisted of Mass on Sunday, various random calls on God on the saints as necessary throughout the day, and petitions in bed at night--if I did not fall asleep first. I would marvel at folks who attended Mass daily, or...
Merry Christmas Gift Guide
Now, I am not one to start Christmasing early. We celebrate Advent hard and save Christmas for its proper 12 days as much as possible in today's world. But part of having a peaceful Advent for me is doing my Christmas shopping in November. If you want to get an...
Visiting Zoo Knoxville
As the mother of two animal fanatics, I have visited many remarkable zoos all over the country. I am especially fond of (and proud of) Zoo Knoxville, which I have watched transform over the past 40+ years since my first visit on a school field trip. We have had...
Five ObamaCare Facts and a PSA
For this year's ObamaCare update, I am sharing five ObamaCare facts. The Affordable Care Act and ObamaCare refer to the same thing. I hope that's obvious to you, but it isn't to everyone--I have seen many a "man on the street" video with folks saying how awful...
A Labor Day Weekend Visit to Cincinnati
Knoxville (my hometown) is four hours away from Cincinnati. I've always heard people saying what a great place Cincinnati is. But I never did more than drive through (and that not often) until Labor Day weekend two years ago. We had a particular reason for visiting...
When to Say Yes and When to Say No: Respecting Your Spiritual Gifts
Several years ago my parish decided to bring the Called and Gifted workshop to our parish to help our members discern their spiritual gifts and to encourage them to use them in parish ministries. As a member of the organizing committee, I traveled to a neighboring...
Books Worth Reading: Christmas Part II
I've written previously about our family's Christmas book tradition and shared some of our favorites. Just in time for you to order before Christmas, here are five more of our all-time favorites. Who Is Coming to Our House I am pretty sure this was the second...
What This GenXer Wants Millennial Catholics to Know
I am a member of the Catholics Online Directory (and if you are a Catholic blogger or artisan or speaker, you should be too!). One membership benefit is having promotional posts published on the Catholics Online website. Founder Amy Brooks of Prayer, Wine, Chocolate...
Five Steps to a Catholic Social Justice News Feed
I need more from my Facebook feed than pictures of artistically arranged food and smiling babies and adorable kittens (not that I don't love those things). I rely on Facebook for information and spiritual enrichment too. Because as a faithful Catholic I am...
Glenwood Cemetery: A Post for All Souls Day
Catholics are especially called to pray for the dead on All Souls Day. We are encouraged to visit a cemetery to do so if possible. So to commemorate this day, I am giving my readers a virtual visit to a graveyard. I was delivering a meal to a new mother two years...
Five Apps to Help Busy Catholics Pray
If you are busy like I am (and who isn't busy these days), daily dedicated prayer time may seem out of reach. And yet we NEED daily prayer to help us cope with our overwhelming, stressful, too-busy lives. As Saint Francis de Sales famously said, "Every one of us...
Fall Break in New York City: Travel Tips for the Newbie
Growing up in Tennessee, New York City was to me the epitome of everything frightening about Up North: crime, noise, crowds, and unfriendly people. Two stops in the Port Authority bus terminal while in college confirmed all my worse fears. I had very little desire...
Guest Post: Honoring the Dignity of the Shortest Lives
The following is a guest post from my friend Heidi Indahl, and all photos are hers. You can learn more about Heidi and her ministry at the end. From Conception to Natural Death. As Catholics, we use this phrase often. Honoring the dignity of life from conception...
Thirty Years: A Marriage in Pictures
John and I were married thirty years ago today, at 12:30 p.m. to be precise. To celebrate our anniversary and to reflect on what all those years have meant, I am sharing one picture from each year, with commentary. August 12, 1989, as we emerged from Immaculate...
GUEST POST: What I Want Christians to Know about Mental Illness
This guest post was written by a young Catholic man who asked that I publish it anonymously due to the personal nature of the subject. I was happy to do so as mental illness affects so many families, including mine. There has been a significant growth of awareness...
June Summer Fun
A quick look at the summer fun the Shollys had in June . . . The first week of the month, Emily and Lorelei were in Nashville, which made for a very quiet house. Things got lively mid-week, when Jake and Jessica dropped in for a day to leave their dog, Homer, with us...
Educator Spotlight: Beth Einhorn
This article was originally posted on the Culture of Life Studies blog. Beth Einhorn teaches English and language arts in grades 5-8. Her passion for teaching, coupled with her 12 years of teaching experience, give her the tools to not only inspire students, but to...
Illegal or Unthinkable: One Pro-Life Catholic’s Perspective on How to End Abortion
Confession: I really don't want to write this post. Despite evidence to the contrary, I don't court controversy and don't enjoy being bombarded by people from both sides of our country's political divide. And so I've been uncomfortable but quiet over the past few...
