I stood atop Sentinel Dome, perched high above Yosemite Valley. It was one of many rounded globes of granite in the High Sierras, and likely the one most easily accessible by car. The sun was poised to set, hovering low in the west and bathing the blue-grey stone and evergreen pines in a warm, golden glow. My legs were singing from the hustle up the trail, and my heart was soaring. I wasn’t alone on the dome, not by a long shot. Small clusters of European tourists - taking ad

This interview was a part of a four week series originally published on The Catholic Woman. How do you define the feminine genius? Is it something innate to every woman or something else? Feel free to elaborate on what you think it is, and what it isn’t. The “feminine genius” is the unique way in which God desires to manifest himself, in His image, within woman. If we are all made in the image and likeness of God, this is innate to our very being, from our genetic makeup to o

This blog was originally posted on The Catholic Woman. To listen to the spoken word version of the letter, listen here. My dear sisters, Have you ever wept at the mountains? Have you ever seen something so beautiful, so good that you couldn’t help but release the ache for something more inside of you? Rolling down your face with a few tears and a silent sob. I have. This summer I hiked into the alpine woods to encounter God but found Him along the highway at a tourist site. I

I was sitting on the chapel floor, staring at the tabernacle, in tears. I was supposed to be happy. That was the promise, right? If I followed Christ and the teachings of His Church, then I was supposed to find joy, freedom, fulfilment…but I was so unhappy. I thought of my non-Catholic queer friends who were so full of laughter, and I couldn’t square my experience of them with how I thought I was supposed to feel. In my anger with God, I finally broke down and told Him all th

The Adirondack Mountains are most beautiful in fall. I once heard the season explained as “God showing off." The tension and dynamism of the natural world during this time of year forces me to face my humanity, and there is a tendency to lose myself in the color and the spirit of this swansong to the green and life. In fall, I feel deeply my inner self and the inescapable reality that everything that lives must die in order to come back to new life. I was raised in these moun

This blog was originally published at Courage International's Truth & Love website. Any high school teacher both loves and loathes the team-based review game. They’re fun and functional, but often bring a streak of chaos to your classroom. When my former students selected team names, I would refuse to let them incorporate a word I didn’t understand. Either that, or I would look it up on “Urban Dictionary” - a collaborative online lexicon for all things trendy and possibly ina

This blog was originally posted at Courage International's Truth and Love website. “You seem very…managed.” I sat across from a priest on a retreat. He had just heard me describe a few elements of my relational history. This was his response. “I mean, it’s sort of like a filing cabinet,” he went on. “You pulled open these nice, neat folders to show me, then put them back in.” In the immediate aftermath of the conversation, I felt frustrated. You can’t be emotional all t