Preparing for Lent 2026 🙏 📚

2026 Preparing for Lent header banner.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” - Ephesians 2: 8-9

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Thoughtful considerations for Lent

Happy New Year everyone! You might be thinking, “How can we already be talking about Lent??? It’s only the end of January!”, but in reality, Lent begins on February 18th this year. That’s less than 3 weeks away now!

So we wanted to take time to provide some wise past words from Emily and additional resources that will hopefully help you in thoughtfully making your plans this year.

Emily’s scriptural reading for Good Friday in 2023.

Lent Resources from Emily

Emily’s book, Catholics 101 does an excellent job explaining the Three Pillars of Lent. It’s available for purchase on Gumroad and she also has a blog series for free as well.

We also want to share a collection of the 6 Lenten Practices posts Emily wrote 10 years ago back in 2016 that are still relevant today:

Lenten Practice 1 : Fasting and Abstinence

Lenten Practice 2: Confession

Lenten Practice 3: Prayer

Lenten Practice 4: Stations of the Cross

Lenten Practice 5: Almsgiving

Lenten Practice 6: The Liturgy of the Hours

A wooden cross hanging over a church stage with a spotlight on it.

Other Great Lenten Preparation Resources

Maybe it’s your first time participating in Lent or it’s been a long time and you feel overwhelmed about where to start. There are excellent resources from Hallow about the rules for Lent and different want to commit to the Three Pillars of Lent through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Hopefully, this brings clarity on the purposes and helps you with deciding on how to move forward in your expression of Lent.

Past readings Emily mentioned she recommended for Lent were “A Time for Renewal”, by Mother Mary Francis, PCC; “Death on a Friday Afternoon”, by Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, and “On the Passion of the Christ” by Thomas a Kempis. She also mentioned her watch list included “Jesus of Nazareth” and “The Passion of the Christ”. 

Make a New Lenten Tradition

And finally, we just want to give a reminder that Emily’s book, Living Memento Mori, makes a great companion to this Lenten season and we hope you’ll pick up your copy to gain a new perspective as you walk through the Lent in 2026. Emily’s book also includes the Stations of the Cross and a study guide. If you already have a copy, thank you for your support, and we hope you will revisit Living Memento Mori this year!

Easter 2025: Special Reading and Pilate's Wife

From the movie, “The Passion of the Christ”. A representation of Jesus carrying the cross with Simon of Cyrene.

Who Would Believe?

Who would believe a baby born in a stable in Bethlehem would be worshipped by wise kings from afar, and later, so many throughout the generations that followed?

Who would believe this man who had no home of his own and traveled with fishermen, harlots, and tax collectors would become the most spoken name in history?

Who would believe this man was not just a man, but the only Son of God, whose mission all along was to take on all the punishment we deserved to save you and I?

Emily reading from the book of Isaiah in 2023.

Emily loved the time surrounding the sacred remembrance of Good Friday and Easter. April 9th would have been her 43rd birthday and she was even fortunate enough that her birthday would fall on Easter day on occasion.

A few years ago, Emily wrote this beautiful fictional piece called “Pilate’s Wife” about the ministry and trial of Jesus through the eyes of Claudia, Pontius Pilate’s wife (Matthew 27:19). Please takes some time to read it and consider this fresh perspective she’d woven.

Also, here is Emily’s special reading from Isaiah in 2023. If you scroll to the 6:10 minute marker then you can hear her 4 minute, striking interpretation of the Living Word.

Image depicting three crosses standing on a hill as rays of light pour into an empty tomb.

We hope that Lent this year was full of meaning, reflection, and times of serving one another. Our prayer is that you don’t lose the meaning of the season just because the official observation is almost complete!

Good Friday is upon us, with all the heartache the thought of this day brings. The thought of Jesus’ anguish in the garden over the reality of what was to come, the betrayal of everyone who had walked with Him, the mock trials full of lies to charge Him, the beatings, tearing of flesh, spitting in his face, being stripped naked, a crown of thorns pushed into His skull, and finally, being given his own cross to carry, where He was nailed to and lifted up to bare all our sins and iniquities. The Father turned His face from Him as he breathed His last and the temple veil tore in two so that we would know no more separation from Him.

But we all know the story didn’t end there.

Good Friday is here, but there’s hope emanating from an empty tomb. Easter is coming.

“He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.”

Matthew 28:6 (NLT)

Ash Wednesday and Lent 2025

Abstract landscape watercolor banner with splatters of paint and a purple cross.

Special announcement for this week: Living Memento Mori is only $3 on Ave Maria Press right now - this is the perfect time to pick up your own copy!

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Can you believe it’s already time for Lent to begin again?

Emily always loved to talk about the sense of renewal and what is truly means to remove distractions and recommit your focus on the Lord in the weeks leading up to Passover.

This is not a time where we fast to lose weight or post our ashes on social media to gain likes, but rather, fasting is a time rededicated to prayer, reading the Word, drawing closer to the Lord in worship, and volunteering. The ashes area symbol meant to remind us to soberly consider our own mortality. This is not a time to tell the world what you’re giving up and boast or complain of the hardships of fasting, but we should instead follow the words in Matthew 6:16 that say, "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting".

Remember, fasting is not to be on display for men, but a voluntary offering to our Father in repentance and dedication of our love to Him.

Below you’ll find a couple past Lenten related blog posts, written by Emily, that have resources for your benefit and also a shout out to her other book she wrote, Catholic 101 (learn more in the 2018 post). We pulled a passage (pages 59-60) you can read below as well that goes through the Three Pillars of Lent.

Lent 2017
Lent 2018

Woman with Ash Wednesday cross on forehead.

Lent: Overview and the Three Pillars

Lent is probably not going to win the “favorite liturgical season” contest, but the older I get, the more I like, appreciate, and need Lent. It’s spring cleaning for the soul. The English word “Lent” is from the Old English word lenten meaning “spring season”, so it’s appropriate to think of it this way. It’s the annual time to get the dust, cobwebs, and trash out of our soul, and focus anew on making it a cleaner, tidier, and more welcoming place for God to dwell.

As a liturgical season, Lent lasts from Ash Wednesday to the afternoon of Holy Thursday. Since the date of Easter is movable84, unlike Christmas, Lent can either begin quite early (the beginning of February) or rather late (March). It is 40 days, representative of the time Christ spent in the desert before he began his public ministry. As we’ve seen, 40 is an important number in Catholicism.

But Lent is, first and foremost, a penitential season, which is probably why it gets a bad rap. No one really likes penance—at least no one who is psychologically normal.

But the Bible, and Jesus, are pretty clear on the need for penance. Penance can mean many things, but in Lent the Church gives us the three pillars—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—to help guide us in our practice of penance fitting for the season.

Prayer Lent is an excellent time to improve your prayer life. Maybe that means beginning to pray regularly—in the morning before breakfast, before you go to bed, a rosary after dinner. Maybe it means attending Mass during your lunch hour. You could consider adding a holy hour once a week, or once a month. There are so many ways to deepen your prayer life that you really can’t choose wrong. The only wrong choice would be to do nothing.

Almsgiving means giving money or goods to the poor, either directly (bringing canned goods to a food pantry, donating clothes to a shelter) or indirectly through a 60 charity or church. (putting money in the church poor box, sponsoring a child overseas, donating money or items to help refugees.) This is part of Catholic life anyway, but it takes on a special significance during Lent. We should try to give more, so that it’s really a sacrifice, that we’re really giving something up to help other people.

Fasting means eating less food on a given day. For American Catholics, that means one full meal and two meals that, together, do not equal the one full meal. (We’ll talk more in detail about almsgiving and fasting in the next section, as well as abstinence, the sibling of fasting.)

The forty days of Lent can be a powerful time in your spiritual life—but only if you take the time to prepare for it and think about what you want to do with it. Instead of dreading it, see it as an opportunity to progress in your prayer life, and to get to know Jesus better.

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We just want to give one more reminder that Emily’s book, Living Memento Mori, makes a great companion to this Lenten season and we hope you’ll pick up your copy to gain a new perspective as you walk through the next 6 weeks.

Pick up a copy of Emily’s book:
Amazon
Ave Maria Press
Seton Shrine

Celebrating Living Memento Mori 5th Anniversary! 📖

Living Memento Mori 5th Anniversary banner with a picture of Emily and her father when she got her first physical copy of her book.

Can you believe it’s been 5 years since Living Memento Mori was published? We know if Emily was still here she would be have made a post to celebrate (here is her post celebrating the 1st anniversay), so we wanted to honor her legacy. Lent starts this year on March 5th and now it the perfect time to pick up your copy of her book and use it as a companion for your journey this year.

You can buy her book using the options below and be sure to check out the awesome testimonials from Amazon!

Pick up a copy of Emily’s book:
Amazon
Ave Marie Press
Seton Shrine

3 testimonials from Amazon for Living Memento Mori

Emily’s Commentaries

We also wanted to share archived videos from Emily of her book club commentary on each chapter of her book, Living Memento Mori. These would be great if you’re using her book for a book club or for your individual journey through as well. These are housed on Facebook, so please sign in to access them!
(Click the image below).

Emily’s commentary video library. Click the image to go to library. Sign into Facebook to see videos.

Lent Week 6: The Blessing of Giving 👈

Mother Teresa said: “if you do something, and I do something, then together, we will do something beautiful for God.”

Here are some global income statistics from in 2023 to consider:

• The average global personal income is $9,733 per year.

• The average global household income is $12,235 per year. (zippia.com)

• The median per-capita household income is only $2,920 per year. (zippia.com)

• Making over $100,000 puts you in the top 10% of global earners, while making over $1 million puts you in the top 1%. (zippia.com)

• The minimum wage in Bangladesh is set to 1,500 Bangladeshi taka (BDT) or 14.62 USD a month. (skuad.com)

When we saw those number all we could say was WOW. Have you ever stopped to consider how truly blessed you are? Maybe you’re not a millionaire (or maybe you are), but we all have something or some way we can give to others. Whether it’s a donation to an honorable charity, sponsoring a child or family in need, volunteering of time to a food bank, helping an elderly person run errands, volunteering to help at church events or any number of God-honoring acts, the Lord will be pleased by your offering to Him. And have no doubt, our Father is faithful to provide for all His children and He loves when we have a giving heart.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Lent is the perfect season to consider making changes in your giving. Consider how your obedience to God in being a cheerful giver will have a ripple effect on the lives around you. It’s good to wisely budget your money, but Matthew 25:35-36 tells us the truth behind the heart and actions of giving. It’s in these acts that we bring a tiny glimpse the Kingdom of God down to earth here and now.

For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ Matthew 25:35-36

May whatever you have planned to give to the Lord and to others be a holy and pleasing offering to the Lord. May He fill you with strength and his protection as you grow closer to Him.

Lent Week 5: The Heart of Prayer ❤️🙏

“He (Jesus) also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’” (Luke 18:9-14)

We’ve all read Jesus’s parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18, but we want you to read it this time from the perspective that you are the Pharisee. Now read it again with the perspective that you are the tax collector.

How did each perspective about prayer make you feel? What was going through your mind as you read from their viewpoint?

The 2nd Pillar of Lent we’re talking about is prayer. Why is prayer the easiest thing for some people to do and the hardest thing for others? Some people pray with a flow like it’s first nature to them and other have more “ums” and “uhs” than they have actual words in them. But you know what? The Father loves them all, whether eloquent or inarticulate. As you go through this 5th week of Lent, remember that any sincere prayer uttered from a soft heart is much better than a hardened heart that speaks none at all.

Emily wrote about different prayers that can are common during Lent and gives resources in this article.

What are your prayers like right now? Are they self-focused or focused on others? Maybe you could start a prayer journal to write out daily gratitudes to the Lord. Maybe you could keep a journal of prayer requests for yourself and others. Or maybe you could do both if you’re feeling ambitious, but start somewhere and let the Lord lead you in growing your prayer time with Him. He loves to be in communion with us.

May whatever you have planned to pray for or about be a holy and pleasing offering to the Lord. May He fill you with strength and his protection as you grow closer to Him.

Lent Week 4: The Mindset of Fasting

For the next 3 weeks, we wanted to dig a little deeper into the 3 Pillars of Lent: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. We hope you enjoy past writings from Emily that are good reminders for these pillars, as well as enjoy the additional thoughts to ponder.

So let’s talk about fasting. The image above was chosen because we know Emily would appreciate the fine English aesthetic. :) Now, if were were honest with ourselves, it’s the least “enjoyable” of the pillars for most. It’s giving up our everyday life schedules we are so used to and comfortable with in exchange for going without. It’s an interruption. It’s a disconnect from the familiar. But honestly, it can be downright irritating when we don’t have the right heart and mindset about it!

Emily gave a list of reasons for fasting in this great post from Lent 2016 here.

Here is the summary of her 4 points on why we fast during Lent:

1. It’s in Scripture (Matthew 4:1-2. 17:17-20)

2. It’ll show us where we need discipline in your lives.

3. It will make us grateful for what we have and remember those without.

4. It will help us recognize our sins.

Take this week to dig into what fasting up until now has taught or shown you about yourself and your mindset. Remember, you’re fasting because you get to focus time on your relationship WITH God, not for making others believe you are so much more righteous than they are or making them sympathize for your sacrifices during fasting. Give thanks to God for this time you get to dedicate to Him!

Matthew 6:16-18 - “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”’

May whatever you have planned to fast be a holy and pleasing offering to the Lord. May He fill you with strength and his protection as you grow closer to Him.

Lent Week 3: Call Outs, Podcasts, and Book Lists

We hope Week 3 of Lent has gotten you to a place to recognize the things in your life that have been hindering your relationship with the Lord and you’re now working on how to create discipline in your life. It seems that sometimes we fast one thing and still allow other things to “fill in” that time we were intending to dedicate to the Lord. Don’t beat yourself up when this happens once, but don’t let it keep happening with excuses. Let’s all keep a dedicated mindset of discipline to honor God with our fasting, prayer, and willingness to give of ourselves to others (whether time, volunteering or by monetary means).

Callouts, Podcasts, and Book Lists

Emily really loved to root on her friends in their work and endeavors for the Lord’s Kingdom so this week we wanted to highlight some of them and other resources for Lent.

Image of Jennifer Fitz

First, a good friend of Emily’s, Jennifer Fitz, author of the book Lord, You Know I Love You!: A Discernment Retreat Using the Great Commandment. We believe her book will be a great tool in helping you develop better discernment in your life through helpful instruction and contemplative questions. Her blog can be found here.

Jennifer also did a wonderful write up of Emily’s book as well that can be found here.

Second, another amazing conversation Emily had with Katie Prejean McGrady for a Lent podcast miniseries from a few years ago (presented by Ave Marie Press).

Be sure to check out the other 7 episodes in the miniseries, because each author shares their unique perspectives on different Lenten topics.

Tribute image of Emily DeArdo from Ave Marie Press.

And lastly, Ave Marie sent out a wonderful email tribute to their subscribers about Emily (Image above is taken from that email) and we are so thankful for their partnership with her during the last few years in getting the word out about her book to others. We want to return the favor and let you know that they a wonderful Lent resource book list that we think would be helpful to you in this season.

Pick up a copy of Emily’s book:
Amazon
Ave Marie Press
Seton Shrine

Ash Wednesday 2024: Remembering Joy in Suffering

Hello everyone!

Knowing how much Emily loved Jesus and spent her time serving Him and spreading her faith, we couldn’t let Lent or the time leading up until the Holy Resurrection Easter celebration pass without doing something special. For this Ash Wednesday, we wanted to share some former content from Emily that we think will bring encouragement and the Lord can use to guide you.

First, we wanted to share archived videos from Emily of her book club commentary on each chapter of her book, Living Memento Mori. These would be great if you’re using her book for a book club or for your individual journey through as well. These are housed on Facebook, so please sign in to access them
(Click the image below).

Click the image to access Emily’s archived commentary videos for Living Memento Mori.

“A life that has suffering can still be a life of joy.”

Emily had a great conversation with Kyle Heimann in February 2020 in which she talked about some of the things she was going through and how her book was her life and not just a book. She wrote it with the hopes of it reaching others facing similar trials or needing some hope. Our quote from the interview was, “A life that has suffering can still be a life of joy.”, and we hope you all can take time to meditate on that with the Lord as we go into Lent.

Lastly, we plan to post more helpful content over the next 6 weeks of Lent up until Good Friday. There will be special messages from those who knew Emily, more videos, and content Emily shared previously. Please comment if you have anything specific you’d like to see touched on in the coming weeks.

May whatever you planned to fast be a holy and pleasing offering to the Lord. May He fill you with strength and his protection as you grow closer to Him.

Holy Week: Binding Up Jesus' Wounds

“The greatest acts of fidelity are the silent ones. We must never allow ourselves to underestimate the value of those supposed small acts of fidelity…In our day Christ is suffering much, both from members of His Church and from those outside it. By humble, silent fidelity, we are in our measure trying to heal these wounds that Christ receives. He must not be wounded by us. Let us take this deeply into our hearts. Where are we going in Holy Week? To heal the wounds of Christ in His Mystical Body, the wounds we too have inflicted on Him. …

“May this week be, by our manner of living and our silent fidelity, a week of great renewal for the Church.”

—Mother Mary Francis, PCC

Yarn Along: Ursina body!

About to begin bust darts after separating the sleeves from the body

It’s an Ash Wednesday Yarn Along! :) And we’re continuing adventures in top down sweater knitting!

I am loving this sweater. It’s so fun to knit, and I love the color and yarn I’ve chosen (Quince and Co Lark, in limited edition color way blue balloon). (Ravelry notes here)

In the photo above, you see the sweater after I separated the sleeves from the body (this link is genius for explaining it!), and began the bust darts in size D. (The sizing options are part of the pattern) The bust darts give you extra fabric so that you’re not pulling your sweater down! They’re genius! It gives you more length right where you need it.

After the bust darts it’s just regular rows, working the half brioche stitch when you get to them (that’s the bit in between the stitch markers). Now I’ve finished the body rows and I’m on to the triangle detailing at the bottom of the sweater, which you can see here:

From the designer’s website: you can see the sweater can be cropped or full-length. (I chose the latter.)

The triangle detailing is one of the things that drew me to this pattern in the first place because it directs attention up toward my face as opposed to on places I don’t want attention directed! The v-neck collar does the same thing.

you can see the bust darts here--those will smooth out after blocking.

I have 48 rows to do for the triangle shaping, and then it’s on to the sleeves. I will say I’m a litttttle nervous about the sleeves, but the one thing I’ve been using as a motto for this sweater is: do not read ahead. Read the directions one line at a time and do what that line says!

Since today kicks off Lent, my reading is all Lenten: Restore by Sr. Miriam James, SOLT, and Just Rest (a bible study of the Book of Exodus) by Sonja Corbitt.

What are you making or reading?

It's Time for Lent!

Botticelli, The Man of Sorrows

In case you were unaware, Lent starts on Wednesday. Yes, this coming Wednesday, March 2!

So, let’s talk about Lent, shall we?

First a few things…

• My friend Jen Fitz has written a retreat ebook, called Lord, You Know That I Love You, that is currently free on Amazon. That’s right, free! I highly encourage you to go check it out! The sale runs through the end of the month. (as in, through Monday, Feb. 28, 2022)

• Not sure what Lent is? Or what we do during it? You can check out this post, which has a link to a weeklong series I did on Lenten practices!

• Do you want to know more about the basics of Catholicism? Then you’re in luck! I wrote a whole ebook about them, called Catholic 101! It covers the church year, the sacraments, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and lots more! You can read it on any e-reader, as well as on your desktop/laptop/phone, and you can even print it out if you want to read it on paper. It’s $5!

• And, of course, Living Memento Mori is, dare I say, perfect for Lent. If you’d like a signed copy, email me.

My Lent is usually focused on a few things. I can’t fast, but I can abstain from meat, so I do that on the days required (Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent). I also don’t use food for a penance. Instead, I give up book and yarn buying, and with the money I save from that, I use it for charitable donations (ie, almsgiving in Church parlance). Two of my favorite charities are Mary’s Meals and our local diaper bank.

I am single. I know you probably know that, but when I talk about things like penances and living Lent, I want to remind you that since I don’t have a family, I have a lot of flexibility that you might not have. Take what’s good here, and leave the rest. :) So when I say I want to try a monastic horarium for Lent (which I do, generally, try to do during Lent, in order to deepen my prayer life), that’s something that a lot of people can’t do, because they work outside the home, or they have children that wouldn't exactly allow them to pray all seven offices of the Liturgy of the Hours or have a holy hour every week!

I have a few books: Restore and Just Rest (a study of the book of Exodus). I will try to incorporate more offices from the Liturgy of the Hours —right now I say lauds (morning prayer) and vespers (evening prayer) every day, and I’d like to add in compline, night prayer. I can find time for more prayer because I’m going to limit my time on certain social media platforms, mostly Twitter right now, because I know I’m spending too much time there and Lent is a good time to try to restore correct balance in how I spend my time.

Is there anything that you would like to see me do during Lent? Living Memento Mori book club? Stations of the Cross on Facebook Live? Anything else? Please let me know!

What does your Lent look like? How are you preparing for this season?

Seven Quick Takes--Fourth Friday of Lent

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Hi everyone! Sorry no quick takes last week. I was on the last day of the Evil Antibiotic and my body was just blah. So there was no blogging, or really much of anything. But I feel much better now and my sleep schedule and energy and coming back! Yay!

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Most recent posts:

The Cardigan is DONE!

Podcast Interview and Best Of List for Living Memento Mori!

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This Lent has been sort of meh. I didn’t really make a good plan this year, if I’m being honest. I did my usual things of no book buying and no chocolate but I wanted to stay off social media more than I have. So….Lent’s not over and I can still do something about that! I’m going to try to be better with set limits. How’s your Lent going?

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I am doing Stations of the Cross every Friday on my Facebook page during Lent, however!

(yes, I just wrote about social media and here’s Facebook. It’s the best way to communicate with video, I’ve found. IG live is sort of fiddly for me and I need to figure out videos without social media…it’s on my to-do list.)

I post a prayer request thread every Wednesday on my page as well! So these intentions are prayed for during the stations and in my own prayer a well. We use the prayers from Living Memento Mori for the stations, so you can follow along in your own copy if you want.

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Here’s your weekly dose of Patty:

She also got her blanket!

And you can also clearly see her two teeth! She’s working on an upper tooth now, her mom says, so she’s sort of crank-tactic. This week she tried to eat a spider and was very put out when her mom didn’t let her.

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If you would like a signed copy of the book, they are $20 and they include a bookmark, a prayer card, and free shipping! Drop me an email.

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I’m still waiting for the second dose of my COVID vaccine to be scheduled. It hasn’t quite been a month yet, but it will be next weekend, so…..I’d like to know if I’m going to be getting it then! I am totally chomping at the bit to be fully vaccinated!

Seven Quick Takes--Second Friday of Lent

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Hi, everyone! How was your first week of Lent?

Mine was MEH. I thought I could get away with king just little social media. No, I really can’t. I need to be strict about it. So I’m really going to try to only use it for book/writing things and some random updates on my personal page on FB. Because man I use way too much SM. So. Time for timers!

In other news, we WILL start Stations tonight! 7:00 PM EST on my Facebook author page!

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Patty and her family are safe and warm in Texas. :)

Patty was supervising her mom’s yard work when this was taken. :)

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I got my first COVID vaccine!

Yayyyy! My parents and I all got it at a drive-through clinic here in town. It went really fast and really well. I did have a sore spot the next day, but it was minor. Didn’t stop me rom doing anything or sleeping on it.

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I had clinic on Monday. It was….special? I mean, not bad special. I get to go six months without being seen which is the longest I have ever gone in my life between pulmonology appointments, so yay! And my old transplant coordinator at Children’s is now at the New Resort, double yay!!!!! As I told my doctor, “We’re getting the band back together!”

But in some non-yays, I am learning the ways of the new place. The first thing being, they will not take you early. Doesn’t matter if they have time, doesn’t matter if the doctors are ready. They will not take you early. So I now know I don’t have to get up as early as I did, because if I’m there early I just….sit there. Until it’s my turn to be called.

Actually, you can tell this hospital is not used to people being on the ball, because they say they want you there a half hour before your appointment time. I’m assuming this is because people tend to be late. I, however, am almost never late. If I am late, I am probably dead. :-p So, now I know!

Also in the lab, I had a freak out with the tech because she saw all the orders for me in the computer—we were doing vitamin levels and that always require like 40 orders—and she freeeeeeaked. “Well, what do you normally have drawn?! There are orders from two doctors in here! Who do I call!? What labs do you normally get drawn?”

I do not know. I tell her that. She asks me again, in increasing levels of panic.

We did this about four times.

Then I had to give her the clinic number so she could….call and ask them if they really wanted all these labs.

It was insane.

If it’s in the computer….it gets drawn. Sigh.

But, everything was good. PFTs were good, a random treadmill test was good, everything was good. Everyone is happy. We’re working on getting my colonoscopy scheduled….what joy. :-p (it’s a little tricker for me because we have to use the port, and we have to make sure I have lots of anti-emetics (anti-nausea) drugs on hand because my stomach hates the prep. We’re talking projectile vomiting hates the prep, folks. )

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The nice thing about this clinic, however, is that it’s close to a French cafe and a local yarn store! So I went to the yarn store and picked up a really quick project—the yarnicorn cowl.

Knitting in clinic!

Done the next day!

I’ve never used a really chunky yarn like this before and it was SO FUN. It’s from Knit Collage, if you want to check it out. I definitely am going to use more of this in the future! (I used the Lagoon and Nomad color ways here, in the Cast Away yarn.)

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Quick ad break! If you haven’t picked up Living Memento Mori, please do so? Support your local Catholic author! :) I also have a patreon, with memberships starting at a buck a month!

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Next week’s yarn along is going to be AWESOME because…..the cardigan is finished. But more on that next week!!!!!! :)

Seven Quick Takes--1st Friday of Lent

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Hello everyone! How’s your Lent going so far? (The weather might be providing your penance….)

So far mine is going well. I’m adapting this monastic horarium for my use, which is great for adding in extra prayer and also dedicated times for spiritual reading, Lectio, and work. So I get a lot more done, partially because I use this schedule and partially because I’m on social media less, although I think I might need to cull that even further. We’ll see how it goes.

(Fun fact: I was discerned being a cloistered Dominica nun! At Summit!)

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Little Patty and her family are definitely getting penitential weather. They live in Texas, so they lost power, gas, and water, and then had to go to her grandparents’ house for a bit. Now they have gas, power, and “60% water pressure” (according to her dad) so Patty and her family are warm, but so many families aren’t. Pray or them!

Patty does not seem to mind being bundled up….

And yes, she has two teeth now!

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Patrice Fagnat-McArthur wrote a lovely review of Living Memento Mori! (You can find all the reviews of the book here). If you’d like a copy, there are nine left on Amazon! Yes, more are coming, but you know you want it now, right? :)

In other book related news, don’t forget that I’ll be doing Stations of the Cross, using the prayers in my book, starting next week! (We were going to start tonight but….see next point.)

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This is going up later than usual because I had an ENT visit this morning. No, not Tolkien Ents, Ear, Nose, and Throat. I knew that it was going to be AN APPOINTMENT, meaning we’d have lots of thing to do, and we did. Ears were vacuumed (that’s the BEST seriously), and my sinuses were found to have infection. Yayyyyyy. (Not) So that means cipro, which means not moving for two weeks so I don’t rupture any tendons. Seriously, no working out. It sucks because I just started working out again yesterday and it was great. But, alas. Cipro for two weeks.

So because of that I am headach-y and dehydrated (because of all the heat that’s on), so my cochlear implant is hurting my head. So it’s going to go off making me deaf for the rest of the day, but that’s OK. But it does mean no stations tonight. Next week, though!

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I also have clinic on Monday. I have basically three hours between the testing part of clinic (labs, chest X-ray, and PFTs) and seeing my doctor. So I might go to the yarn store. I’ll definitely hit the local French bistro for lunch because it’s one of the perks of being at New Resort. I’m close to really really good food.

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My cardigan is ALMOST DONE! Yay!!!!!!!!!! Just about an inch more to knit on the collar and then I can cast off!

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I get my first COVID vaccine tomorrow! REJOICE!

Seven Quick Takes--Let's Talk Lent

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Hello friends!

From the blog this week: Yarn Along with progress!

Also speaking of yarn, I’ve started this Whatever the Weather knit along from Wonderland Yarns, and I LOVE IT. Essentially you take the low/high/average temp (whichever you choose) of the day, and that correlates to a yarn color. So you can see the temperatures of the year in yarn!

Here’s January—I chose the daily highs.

It’s a “mystery” knit along because we get a new “clue” every month. I think that every month is going to have a different stitch pattern, bordered by garter stitch rows (at the top of the bit here, you can see the rows) . But that’s just my guess. And I love working with these yarns—they’re so buttery and squishy!

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OK let’s talk Lent.

First, get a copy of my book. Please and thank you. :) If you would like to choose your retailer, here is a list of places you can get the book. You can also get it from your local Catholic bookstore!

Really, though, every sale means so much to me. My publisher has goals for sales, and I want to meet them so I can write another book! This really is a team effort. So thank you!

(also please leave an Amazon review if you haven’t.)

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I will be praying the Stations of the Cross, using the Living Memento Mori reflections, every Friday during Lent (except Good Friday), on my Facebook page. Check the events tab for all the dates! (If you like my page then you’ll get updates and you’ll know when I’m going live, so that’s another option to following along!)

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Since I can’t give up anything food related for Lent, and I am also VEHEMENTLY TOLD NOT TO FAST, I’ll be giving up social media usage except for book related and Stations related things. Also no yarn buying. :) Normally I give up buying books during Lent, but given that I’m still sort of stuck in my hobbit hole until I get the vaccine, I’m letting myself buy books.

I want to use SM as a force for good—hence doing stations on FB—but I also have to use it mindfully. I’ve found a lot of good on social media—I’ve made wonderful friends and connections. But, gotta use it mindfully, just like any other tool or “thing”. This is also a very Dominican thing—things aren’t bad in and of themselves, it’s how we use them. And as preachers of truth, we want to use media! That’s how we get the Word (and the word) out!

I’ll also be doing the Consecration to St. Joseph again, as well as 33 Days to Greater Glory. Last Lent I read about St. John of the Cross and then I read his Dark Night of the Soul. Not entirely sure what I will read this Lent. Probably more of the books I have stock piled here? :)

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It is probably not likely that I will receive both doses of the vaccine before Easter. However I am VERY much hoping to get to Mass during the Easter season and then be back to normal Mass going and sacramental life!

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Next week is clear but then I have three doctor appointments to round out February: eye doctor, ENT, and then transplant clinic. I hope everything goes well but I will keep you updated.

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And finally, here’s your weekly Patty. She cut her first tooth this week!

Virus Lent

My porch, enjoying some nice late winter sun!

OK, NO, I AM NOT SICK.

So if you were worried about that, relax. :)

However, my team is being abundantly cautious, so I am essentially living like I did immediately post-transplant, which means I”m not really going anywhere and no one sick can come to me. Which is actually the general rule, but now it’s just more….heightened. Fortunately my family members who are local work from home and don’t travel much, except my sister in law, but her travel is domestic and so far she’s fine (thankfully!).

So, for me, no Mass. No My Fair Lady on Saturday (sadness!). No doctor appointments like my diabetes education class. And I’m fine: I mean I’ve got the things I need here to keep the house going and clean, to keep myself fed and medicated.

Which brings me to—-

If you have any burning issues that you want me to write about, let me know because now I have time! :) I think my long-thought-about Outlander and Catholicism series might finally take flight!

I am hoping to keep my adoration hour. I chose it because I am the only one there at the time, and if I’m not going to Mass then I want to be at adoration. Also there are enough seats in there that we don’t have to be cheek and jowl, so there’s plenty of SPACE, and I can wipe down chairs and such with wipes if I want to/have to.

My diocese hasn’t—as of this writing (3/12 at 12:31 PM) cancelled Masses. So Masses are still going on.The governor is limiting big events with crowds and I think he’ll probably come out with an order about that today, banning big gatherings and such to prevent the spread. So far in Ohio we’ve got four cases—three in Cleveland and one in Summit County, which is near Cleveland. I don’t blame the governor for wanting to be cautious.

Let’s keep each other in prayer and let’s be smart, OK? Don’t go to Mass if you’re sick at all. Don’t shake hands at the sign of peace! Don’t crowd people at Mass—let’s give each other room, if at all possible.

I hope we all come through this OK. Praying for all of you—pray for me too? :)

Seven Quick Takes Jumble Bag

linking up with Kelly!

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Around these parts this week…

Yarn Along

My interview for the Ave Explores Lent Podcast is live!

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I’ve started Bullet Journaling again—I’ve missed how it keeps all my lists and various things together, so I’m back to doing that. It’s fun! At least I think it is. I’m a big believer in having my life in one place. I still use my Emily Ley Simplified Planner, but my bullet journal is a place to keep my lists, medical information, travel plans, all sorts of things like that in one place as opposed to scattered throughout the house on pieces of paper.

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Trying to get back in the workout groove—I’ve worked out three days this week so far and hoping I can do it today. I’m just so darn tired. Maybe it’s the weather? It’s really gray here. Hopefully I’ll perk up in a little bit and manage to do something!

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Next Saturday I’m going to see the touring production of My Fair Lady and I am really excited about that. I haven’t been to a show in forever. Really. And I’ve never seen My Fair Lady on stage. So I’m excited about that!

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Favorite thing I’ve cooked this week: Outlander KItchen’s Scotch Broth. Give it a try, it’s really good! (If you can’t find pot or pearl barley, you can use quinoa or couscous instead!) And it’s so not hard. It cooks for a while—so it takes awhile—but it’s mostly hands-off cooking.

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A photo I took last week of Venus and the moon:

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How’s your Lent going? Did we all make it through the first week OK? :)

Seven Quick Takes--Friday after Ash Wednesday

Linking up with Kelly!

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So first, around the blog this week:

My Interview with Danielle Bean is live, and the book is a Lenten Pick!

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My interview with Kyle Heimann is now live: listen to it here!

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This week’s Memento Mori art: El Greco, St. Francis Venerating the Crucifix

(Yes, I’m going to try to have Memento Mori art during Lent!)

Speaking of Lent, how’s it going for you? We’re two days in….are you feeling OK? Keeping up with penances and prayers? Remember, no meat today! Go to your parish fish fry!

My Lent has been going pretty well so far. I’m doing a lot of study—a lot of Lenten reading. One of the things I’m trying to do is order my day around the monastic timetable of the nuns in Summit, NJ (I had discerned entering with them back in the day—fun fact!). No, I am not (yet) getting up at 5:00. No, I probably will never voluntarily get up at 5:00! But I do stick to the times of work and study that are here, and that gives me set times to get things done, as it were-household chores, and my Lenten reading and such.

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Currently I’m reading Union with God, Exalted, Consecration to St. Joseph, and 33 Days to Greater Glory. Oh, and using the Memento Mori devotional and journal in the evening right before bed. Whew! It’s a lot. But Union with God and Exalted are for study—I read a chapter a day and take notes—while the Consecration and 33 Days are devotional. That helps break it down.

I’m also saying my breviary—lauds and vespers, of course, and on days when I’m home and can do it, the Office of Readings and None around 3:00.

It probably sounds like a lot, but remember I’m not married and my job is….well, writing. :) And to write, you gotta read and study! It’s very Dominican, my Lent plan.

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Obviously if you’re still looking for Lent reading, um, my book is good for that! ALSO, Take Up and Read’s Hosanna study, of the Gospel of Matthew, is GREAT, go get that too! (It is also, at the time I’m writing this, on sale!)

Also, if you’ve read my book, can you take a second to leave a review on Amazon? The more reviews, the more publicity it gets on Amazon, which means more sales! Yay!

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We actually had a snow day yesterday. As in, it was cold and there was snow. Amazing. It’s been such a milk winter (I AM NOT COMPLAINING!) that I actually wanted a snow day, and I got it. I did a lot of work on my November Blanket (which is a ginormous monster right now but really close to being done!), because when it’s cold you want a big fat knitting project that will keep you warm while you work on it!

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Can you believe it’s March on Sunday? Where did February go? January always seems so long and then February is just gone, and it’s even a leap year! But I’m excited for March, because I’m going to get to see the touring production of My Fair Lady!

Seven Quick Takes, the PRE LENT edition!

linking up with Kelly!

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OK so Ash Wednesday—and Lent—are NEXT WEEK.

Let’s get ready to Leeeeeeeeeeeeeent!

First off I assume you have my book in hand, yes? :) Because it’s perfect for Lent! (If not, go get it at any of these fine retailers! [scroll down to the bottom] Or ask your local Catholic bookshop to get it for you!)

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Penitent Mary Magdalene, El Greco (notice memento mori!)

OK, so, that’s one thing you can do for Lent and I would greatly appreciate it. :)

But let’s talk other things.

Before we start, here is the USCCB’s Lent homepage, with resources and documents and all sorts of things.

There are the three “pillars” of Lent: Fasting, Almsgiving, and Prayer. Let’s talk fasting first.

Fasting normally means food. It means one full meal and two “snacky meals” that do not equal a full meal. Obviously no snacking in between meals. This applies to Catholics 18-59, and Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are the only required days of fast.

If you are like me, and fasting from food is not permitted for medical reasons, then you can fast from other things. I will “fast” from social media on these days—facebook, IG, Twitter, etc.

In this category you can also include what you’re giving up for Lent. For me, it’s book buying, and yes, that is hard. This year I’m expanding that to cover things that aren’t necessary. (The one exception to this is the NYC trip in April. It’s during Holy Week, it’s Birthday Week, and I’m going to buy scrummy yarn at Purl Soho. I JUST AM.)

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Let’s talk almsgiving. Obviously tithing to your parish needs to happen. St. John Paul II said that when we tithe, it should feel like a sacrifice. So maybe take a look at your charitable giving and see if you can up it—maybe not permanently, but for Lent? Can you drop some money in the church poor box (if you have one), or give to the charitable works collection?

Let’s also remember to support charities that do work both domestically and internationally. Mary’s Meals is a great example and one of my favorite charities. For $21, they can provide food for one child at a place of education for a year. A year! For the cost of three months of Disney Plus! Or, in my case, a hardback book. That’s amazing.

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And finally, prayer.

This can include, of course, The Stations of the Cross. You can perhaps get to Mass a bit earlier to spend time in prayer before the tabernacle. You could add a holy hour (holy 15 minutes, if you’ve never done a holy hour before?). You could add a daily rosary with your family. There are so many things you can do here.

Some good Lenten reading in this stack!

Here’s my general plan: I’m going to add another hour of the Liturgy of the Hours, either Office of Readings or Compline or one of the midday little hours. My spiritual reading is going way up: I’m reading The Dark Night of the Soul and also Union With God According to St. John of the Cross. (So I’m doing a little Carmelite spirituality this Lent!)

I’m also using Sonja Corbitt’s Exalted: How the Power of the Magnificat Can Transform Us as a guide to lectio/study. Not sure which it will be yet. Maybe both! I’ll also be reading Fr. Gaitley’s 33 Days to Greater Glory, because I adore John’s Gospel—it’s my favorite—so this book is perfect for me.

Generally, I want to re-direct my reading and make it more spiritually-based and I need to study a bit more. Lent is a great time for that.

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In order to have more time for this, I’m cutting back on social media, not entirely like on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but…partially. I’ll be implementing the Advent rule of a “social media cutoff time” in the evening. For Advent, it was 9:45. For Lent, it’s 9:15—unless there is hockey on, and then I’ll stay on Twitter to the end of the game so I can follow. No hockey, no extra tweet time. I’ll also be on social media in “chunks” during the day—like a fifteen minute block here or there, to do things and check notifications or whatever—but not sort of continually. I’m still thinking about how that will go. Since I have book promotion to do and book events to talk about, I do have to be on SM to share all of that with you, and I want to share it, so that’ll be part of what happens when I am on. It’s more about being intentional with the use, I think.

So that brings me to….

What are you doing for Lent?

Tell me in the comments! :)

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I have a diabetes education class today which’ll be interesting, because my type of diabetes is interesting. I take insulin, but I’m not a true Type I. My body doesn’t use insulin correctly, but I’m not a true Type 2. Sigh. It’s a mess and a half. And it’s not even true CF Related Diabetes (CFRD), because my pancreas does make insulin and my body does use it to a certain extent! Aye caramba!

I’m hoping that the educator will be able to answer some of my burning questions, though!

We’re tweaking the insulin a bit—I’ve added some intermediate acting at night which has had a nice effect on my morning BGLs. So that’s good!

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Post from the last week:

Signing at the CCWC!

Also, if you want a signed copy of the book, email me! They’re $20 and that includes shipping. If you have a copy and would like a bookplate (which I sign), email me as well!