My Secret is Mine
“Secretum meum mihi,” (“my secret is mine.”) was St. Edith's Stein's cryptic response when her best friend asked why she converted. We serve up interviews, historical sketches, Bible studies, book reviews and essays for Catholic women. MY SECRET IS MINE is for women with an audacious hope: that the Messiah makes all things new.
St. Margaret of Cortona Repents
St. Margaret of Cortona Repents by Kristen West McGuire Margaret of Cortona was born in the 13th century in the small Italian town of Laviano. Growing up as an only child, she was spoiled and willful, and her beauty attracted attention from wealthy men. After her mother’s death and a strained relationship with her new stepmother, Margaret, still a teenager, ran away with a nobleman from Montepulciano. She lived as his mistress for nine years and had a son with him. Despite living in luxury,...
Pray for Women Yearning for Emotional Intimacy
PRAY FOR WOMEN YEARNING FOR EMOTIONAL INTIMACY by Kristen West McGuire and Michelle Tykal Women and men do communicate differently, and it can lead to frustration in relationships. Communication does grow, change, and evolve. But when a relationship is in crisis, it can be tempting to seek out needed intimacy. The bodily changes of motherhood can wreak havoc with a woman’s self-esteem. Women need reassurance, perhaps even more as they age. This need can lead to positive habits like diet and...
Bible Study: The Proto-Evangelium
The Proto-Evangelium by Kristen West McGuire Genesis 3:11-20 11 And he said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?12 And Adam said: The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat.13 And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat. 14 And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou...
Meet Jenny duBay: Trauma-informed Healing after Domestic Abuse
MEET JENNY duBAY by Genevieve Kineke Jenny duBay is a freelance Catholic writer and speaker, certified wellness consultant, and trauma-informed life coach. She is the founder of a coaching apostolate, Create Soul Space: A Catholic’s Guide to Domestic Abuse. Her novel on the early life of Catherine of Siena, World between Worlds, was just published. She’s now hard at work researching and writing the sequel. Interview by Genevieve Kineke of Domus Aurea. Genevieve: I’m so sorry that domestic...
Adam, are you just a pansy?
WHO ATE THE APPLE? by Kristen West McGuire Part 4 of our series on Mulieris Dignitatem Let’s be clear. Eve ate the apple, and so did Adam. Even though God specifically told Adam not to eat the fruit of that tree. Based on her conversation with the serpent, Eve did know it was prohibited. Still, they did it. According to the Bible, Eve ate first. But it’s not like Adam tried to stop her. And men point to women, citing Eve as the first sinner. Oh, sure. Blame the woman. I look at these Bible...
NEW! Quirky Pilgrimage Column: HILL HOUSE
HILL HOUSE: THE GILDED AGE MANSION BUILT BY A RAILROAD MAGNATE FOR HIS CATHOLIC WIFE by Kristen West McGuire The James J. Hill House is located right next door to the Cathedral of St. Paul, although the Cathedral was built about 25 years later. (Mr. Hill refused to donate to that cause.) The Hills lived in St. Paul, Minnesota. James Jerome Hill fell in love with a beautiful waitress, Mary Theresa Mehegan. They had much in common: Irish immigrant parents, limited education, and childhood...
Historical Stats: Being Catholic in 1900 - 1965 - 2005
Being Catholic in 1900 - 1965 - 2005 by Kristen West McGuire Some people point to the 1950's and 60's as the “golden age” of Catholic America. Here’s a sampling of actual statistics: The number of registered Catholics has steadily grown in the U.S., from 10.1M in 1900 to 48M in 1965, and soaring to a high of 81M in 2005. In the 1950s and 1960s, about 25% of Americans were Catholic, but in 2005, Catholics were 27% of the U.S. population-- the highest ever. About 40 million Americans were...
Book Review: Perseverance that Won the Race
THE PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO, by Terry Ryan reviewed by Heidi Hess Saxton “On your mark, get set … go!” “Supermarket Spree,” chapter three of The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, encapsulates in a single scene all that is both wonderful and tragic about the Ryan clan dynamic – Evelyn rushing ahead with boundless enthusiasm, her hung-over husband Kelly skulking on the sidelines, the adoring kids cheering at the top of their lungs.And, as was also typical of Evelyn Ryan, the whole thing...
Pray for Married Women
PRAY FOR MARRIED WOMEN by Kristen West McGuire Marriage is hard work! Catholic marriage rates in the U.S. dropped by 77%, from 426,309 in 1970 to 98,354 in 2022. (See this extensive report in the New Oxford Review, citing data from Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.) And in our larger culture, the Catholic marriage vision is not reflected in popular music, major media outlets, nor in politics. It’s a mighty wonder when couples decide to get married in a...
Bible Study: Genesis 1 and 2
Created in the Image and Likeness of God by Kristen West McGuire Genesis 1:26-31a26 And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness: and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth. 27 And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the...
“Secretum meum mihi,” (“my secret is mine.”) was St. Edith's Stein's cryptic response when her best friend asked why she converted. We serve up interviews, historical sketches, Bible studies, book reviews and essays for Catholic women. MY SECRET IS MINE is for women with an audacious hope: that the Messiah makes all things new.