The Undoing of Saint Silvanus

Jesus loves us. He is not scandalized by our failures. He is not limited in what he can do with what’s left after family disasters. Nothing is beyond his redemption when he is invited in. No one with a whit of breath left is beyond the reach of his grace.

The pain of a hard good-bye is the heart’s tribute to the privilege to love.

Sometimes all you could do for the suffering was to make sure they knew someone was suffering right there with them. Someone who had also felt stricken, and smitten, and afflicted.

I’m about to enroll you in a class with Miss Manners. You’d qualify for a scholarship.” “I’ll

Here’s what you say on the curb, plain and simple: ‘I love you, Jillian. I’m glad you are my granddaughter. I don’t want to lose touch with you.’” “It’s easy for you to say stuff like that, Adella.” “No, it’s not! It’s worth it to me to say stuff like that. You don’t say that kind of thing because it’s easy. You say that kind of thing because it’s true and you want the person to know it. You look them in the eye and say it even if your face turns red and you break out in a sweat.” “I don’t think I can do that without making a fool of myself.” “Why? Because you just might shed a tear? So what? What would be wrong with her seeing that your heart hurts to see her go?