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Renewal, Rebirth, and Struggle
This is what spring looks like in my neighborhood. It's so wonderful to see the trees show off their finery! I'm especially appreciative of it this year, having just seen some of the flooding back in my home state of South Dakota. Please join me in praying for those affected by the overflowing rivers and streams. Just as with our own spiritual renewal, sometimes the change of seasons brings sorrow as well as joy.
Friends in Faith: MEG Gilroy
Mary Ellen Gilroy was one of the Mother Cabrini girls in northern Manhattan, and she’s got some interesting stories about what it was like to go to school at the very same place where the first U.S. saint was laid to rest. (Far more interesting, I might add, than my whine about wishing I’d gone to Laura Ingalls Wilder Grade School.)

MEG’s also got some great stories about her time in the Foreign Service, from Canada to Haiti to Morocco and Malaysia and more. I learn a lot from her in our daily email exchanges and periodic dinners. But most of all, I learned from her example of loving, uncomplaining service in the years leading up to the death of her beloved husband Harlie about two and a half years ago. MEG was never away from home overnight during those days, and served in roles her life around the world didn’t prepare her for: overseeing the remodeling of their home so Harlie would be more comfortable, serving as his healthcare advocate, and being present with him in hospice as his life slipped away.

To me, MEG is the greatest example of loving service I’ve ever been privileged to see. She reminds me that the Lord is happiest when we are serving him in the same way.
On the Nightstand: Be Brave in the Scared
It was September 27, 1992, and Mary and Jerry Lenaburg were at the baptism of their second child and first daughter, Courtney. It was then that Courtney had the first of what would be many grand-mal seizures in her twenty-two years of life.

I've heard Mary's amazing story of faith and what caring for Courtney taught her, Jerry, and their son Jonathan about surrender, forgiveness, and love. This month, I'm delighted to be reading that story on the page in Be Brave in the Scared: How I Learned to Trust God During the Most Difficult Days of My Life. I'm thinking you'll probably want to read it too; it will officially be released on May 10 (fittingly, two days before Mother's Day) but you can pre-order it now if you like.

As I wrote this little item, I kept accidentally typing  Be Brave in the Sacred instead of  Be Brave in the Scared. In this case, maybe either is correct.
Changed Hearts and Souls: Blessed Buonadonna and Lucchese
Buonadonna found the change in her husband difficult to believe. After all, they'd been married for several years, and both were dedicated to making as much money as they could as merchants in Italy's Tuscany region. But Lucchese had met this special man and as a result, wanted to give away goods Buonadonna knew people would pay for. The man, you see, was Francis of Assisi. Eventually, Buonadonna caught the same fire as her husband. This image ( https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IIIOrdFran.jpg ) shows the couple as they became the first formal lay Franciscans, remaining married and devoting their lives to service. Fittingly, they died on the same day, April 28, 1260, when Lucchese was eighty.

I like the example of evangelization inside and out of immediate families that this couple presents, and will be writing more about them later this month in my Wednesday's Woman feature (short profiles of beatified and canonized women).
The April To-Do List
Easter, of course, will be the highlight of the month. It's my absolute favorite day of the year, with its awesome, faith-affirming message of redemption and resurrection.

Beyond that, some fun and a lot of catchup after my busy March are on tap.

  • April 11, I'll be interviewed about women saints on an episode of Catholic Life, a local cable access show. It's always nice to talk about things spiritual with host John Buckreis.
  • April 24, I'll be at a dinner honoring the 40th anniversary of Landings International, the program that did so much to help me return to faith.
  • April 26, I'll be helping out at the WMET Fishers of Men Dinner in DC.

Toss in some writing, and that's my April!

Praying that the closing days of Lent; Holy Week; and the Easter season draw you closer and closer to Him.

In Christ, Melanie