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.
Book Review: The Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot
The Four Quartets, Explained by Thomas Howard Reviewed by Kristen West McGuire T.S. Eliot reminds us of what we do not know. And perhaps much we had forgotten. Even, things we did know, if only because they were written on our hearts. For this review, however, I’ll start with what I do not know. Because I am guessing you are with me, dear reader. My American education is recent enough that I missed a lot. And even though I’ve been to London, my geography of England is, well, sketchy at best....
Adrienne, on a Bridge, Over the Rhine River
A TALE OF COURAGE by Kristen West McGuire She just stood on the bridge, looking at the water. The Rhine River is not sparkling and clear, but vast, dark and hurried. It swells along, merely ignoring the bridges of Basel, too important to be bothered. For a long time, she merely considered the complaints that brought her to the precipice. Adrienne von Speyr had faced death before, without fear, stoically. Her father died in 1918, and she had contracted tuberculosis that stole three years from...
Pray for Women in Academia
PRAY FOR WOMEN IN ACADEMIA by Kristen West McGuire When I told my graduate school advisor of my first pregnancy many decades ago, I expected her to share my joy. I was shocked when she did not. Studies reveal that women academics have vastly lower reproductive rates than the general population. Oh. Perhaps that explains it? While there is some truth to the observation that colleges and universities are dominated by secular liberals who may be somewhat disdainful of full-time motherhood, it is...
Bible Study: Wisdom Speaks to Us
WISDOM SPEAKS TO US: by Kristen West McGuire Proverbs 8:22 - 9:6, 13-18 22 The LORD created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth; 26 before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world....
Interview: Dr. Michelle Gonzalez Maldonado
SCHOLAR AT THE CROSSROADS by Kristen West McGuire Kristen: You are Cuban American, right? Tell me about your childhood. Michelle: I had a very Catholic family. My father became a deacon when I was 19. I became a lector at the family Mass when I was only ten years old. My brother was an altar boy. It was very much a part of our cultural worldview. Being Catholic was not just going to Mass on Sunday. We had a home altar to Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre (Our Lady of Charity, the...
Essay: "All That I am, I Owe to Her."
ALL THAT I AM, I OWE TO HER - Hans Urs von Balthasar and Adrienne von Speyr by Kristen West McGuire Near the start of World War II, Jesuit Hans Urs von Balthasar was offered a choice: teach in Rome or serve as a student chaplain in Basel (Switzerland). The Swiss native chose to return to his homeland, which was surrounded by German troops. During the summer of 1940, he was introduced to Dr. Adrienne von Speyr, the wife of Werner Kaegi, a history professor. She was recuperating after a serious...
Book Review: Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
NECTAR IN A SIEVE by Kamala Markandaya by Beverly Mantyh Markandaya chronicles a woman who loves despite the cost. We hear the story through the memories of Rukmani, a peasant woman in early 20th century India. The fourth daughter of a village head man, Rukmani’s father teaches her to read and write despite accusations of impracticality. Rukmani’s parents arrange a wedding to a man she has never seen before, who lives in a town she has never visited. “…they could not find me a rich husband,...
Death Visits the Martin Household
Death Visits the Martin Household by Kristen West McGuire On February 24, 1877, Sr. Marie-Dosithee of the Visitandine convent in Le Mans died of tuberculosis. Her sister, Zelie Martin, had just realized that her breast cancer was terminal. Of her five girls, Leonie worried her the most. How could she face leaving her rebellious, difficult daughter? Small Leonie had suffered from eczema and had a frail constitution. Where her older sisters were pretty and vivacious like their mother, Leonie...
Pray for Families Adjusting to a Difficult Diagnosis
Pray for Families Adjusting to a Difficult Diagnosis by Kristen West McGuire When chronic medical problems are first diagnosed, the family’s pain can be overwhelming. Parents must navigate immediate medical treatment options and financial considerations. Time and logistics can morph into enemies, as families juggle the needs of the patient amid work and regular household duties. It may not be possible to truly understand someone else’s experience. When seeking to offer help, be receptive to...
Bible Study: Job's Wife Copes While Job Philosophizes
JOB'S WIFE COPES WHILE JOB PHILOSOPHIZES by Kristen West McGuire Job 1:8-12; 2:4-10; 42:10-17 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nought? Hast thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in...
“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.