Seeking Authentic Voice

There are words inside of me, challenging, difficult words emotional, reactive words words that reveal my fear words that rise up again because I am confronted with old emotions, long resolved -  or so I thought -  which need to be worked through again. What do I do with these words? If I keep them inside will they fester? If I say them out loud will they  be heard as a hope to deepen understanding and not just complaining or whining or being the kind of person who keeps bleeding out words of pain - you know that kind of pain,  over and over until we all  wonder when that person  will grow up and gain insight  and maturity and maybe some reconciliation. Yeah. Those words. And those feelings.  Sure. I can hand the words  over to God.  I can do my part to be fully aware of their impact on me, the way that the words are honest and real. And the way that words are rea...

Lucy, also known as St. Lucia, lived in Sicily in the third century. She was rich, young, and Christian. Raised in a pious family, she vowed her life to Christ. Her father died when she was young and so her mother arranged a marriage for her. For three years Lucy managed to keep the marriage on hold, preferring instead to devote herself to a Christian life of service. Legend has it that to change her mother‘s mind about the marriage and support her devotion to a Christian life, Lucy went to the tomb of Saint Agatha where she prayed for her mother’s long illness. Her mother was cured and subsequently agreed to end the engagement and allowed Lucy to devote her life to God.   Lucy’s rejected pagan bridegroom denounced Lucy as a Christian to the governor of Sicily, because it was still illegal to be a Christian at that time. The governor sentenced her to forced prostitution. Think about that, forced prostitution as a punishment. This “punishment” is still inflicted on some women tod...