A new essay of mine was posted today on Open to Hope reflecting on the season of Advent and showing up for one another in our darkest hours. I love this quote from Sister Joan Chittister: “Have you never been imprisoned by your fears, your embarrassments, your humiliations, your inadequacies? […]
Elizabeth Brady
19 posts
Some thoughts as we enter the season of remembrance. Read it in full here. I have come to appreciate that memory lives in a separate space and at times Mack and I share a moment. Often I laugh out loud and “re-member” Mack’s great laugh and feel his warm spirit […]
My most recent essay, “The Downstairs Thief,” has been published on Open To Hope. I had a vivid dream that took me several years to understand, but the meaning came to me a few weeks ago when I was asked to share a storytelling experience at “Loving Through It” at […]
I am honored to be asked to share this evening with a great group at the Learning to Live event “Loving Through It.” Monday, February 20 at 7 PM – 9 PM EST The State Theatre 130 W College Ave, State College, Pennsylvania 16801 I will be sharing my piece, […]
A reflection on Holy Saturday It is Holy Saturday, the gap between death and resurrection, the gap in which those of us who have lost loved ones live. I have been reading this morning of other mothers who have survived, literally “live beyond” the deaths of their own children. Women like Jennifer […]
My latest essay “Sit Still and Uncover Your Eyes” was posted today on Modern Loss, a website dedicated to “candid conversations about grief.” Modern Loss was included in a New York Time’s piece “An online generation redefines mourning’’ by Hannah Seligson that reflects on the new era of public grief via […]
For the many of us who have an empty seat at the family table this Easter, I have found the Holy Week readings in the Magnificat so nourishing. A little encouragement from Monsignor Charles Fink: “Death does not have the final word about human destiny.” Peace to you and yours […]
Elizabeth has recently posted a new piece on Open to Hope, “Lent as a Verb, Not a Noun.” The standard preparation for Lent asks us to step away from our busy lives and consider our mortality: for you were made from dust, and to dust you will return. Until Mack died, […]
I was so struck by this reflection on Christmas by Brent Strawn of Emory University entitled “A Pale Blue Christmas” I had to share it. He is challenging the trend in some churches of adding a new service into the regular Christmas fare to invite all who mourn. But, Strawn […]
One of the spiritual dynamics of death that is hard to describe in daily, polite conversation is the continued love, presence and spirit of the loved one if we’re willing to acknowledge them and our inner lives. My latest essay for Open to Hope posted October 10 speaks to this […]
I’m really pleased to share that my first essay for Open To Hope, “Another New School Year Begins,” was posted on their site earlier today. Open To Hope is the kind of resource that you don’t know exists until you need it. After Mack died, I began to read every book on […]
We always light a candle for Mack in the various churches we visit. Today we each lit a candle at Michaelerkirche circa 1217. The ancient church was a hub of activity today; you can see a guy carrying a ladder in the background of the photo, he climbed up to change […]
One of the delicate balances of our new life is celebrating Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, first and last days of school, birthdays, Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Groundhog Day…you get the picture, the list of celebrations is endless…how do we celebrate life with Izzy and honor Mack as an important and […]
This Lent I have been using the Magnificat app on my phone. I appreciated this reflection from Pope Benedict XVI: Holy Saturday is the day of the ‘death of God,’ the day which expresses the unparalleled experience of our age, anticipating the fact that God is simply absent, that the […]