Denise, ~1994 “Did you hear that Ralph had a heart attack?” he said. “Oh, no,” she answered. “But, he was a workaholic.” “Right. And he smoked two packs a day.” Why do we do that? Why do we blame the victim instead of the deadly thing that has hold of him? Why do we, in […]
Author: Maria
I’m Maria. I’m Denise’s older daughter. I think this is going to help me grieve, and help us all to remember my mom.
The Face of the Shepherd
Denise, ~1995 Annie hung up the phone. Her mother was crying again. Her mother always cried at Christmas. Widowed at the age of thirty-five with two small children, she had always been miserable throughout the Christmas season, and cried whenever someone gave her a gift because she felt she couldn’t give one back, and she […]
The Tapeworm
Denise, ~1990 My grandmother had a thing about tapeworms. She used to tell this story about a relative of hers who had a tapeworm. This relative was told the way to get rid of the worm was to stop eating and the worm would starve to death. She did stop eating for several days and […]
Questions for God when I see him
Denise, 2016 How come this one dies and that one survives? How come the hurricane hits that place and not the other one? Why do some people do terrible things and congratulate themselves after, And other people suffer lifelong guilt over a hurtful word? And why, in the name of all that is holy, the […]
from The Cure at Troy
by Seamus Heaney History says, Don’t hope On this side of the grave… But then, once in a lifetime The longed-for tidal wave Of justice can rise up, And hope and history rhyme. So hope for a great sea-change On the far side of revenge. Believe that a further shore Is reachable from here. […]
Resistance
Denise, Resurrection Farm Newsletter, 1994 Is there a link between doing direct service for individuals and taking a public stand in the name of Justice? Is our well being linked to that of the poor, the marginalized and despised? I think so. Our own freedom to be ourselves, to follow the Gospel according to our […]
God’s Underground
Denise, 1998 He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full. Psalm 33:5 Devastated by the loss of a job I loved, I approached the bureaucracy of the state unemployment office with fear and shame. The job counselor, an older man, listened to my story with patience and compassion, […]
Call to Witness
If we could read the sacred history of our “enemies”, we should find in each man and woman’s life, sorrow and suffering enough to disarm hostility. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Denise, 1995 Those of us who know God as a merciful, compassionate and loving presence, who follow a Christ we know as non-violent, and all-embracing, […]
My Sister
Denise, December 2001 All of December of that year, I was waiting for my sister to die. We had visited her in November when the brain tumor has begun to grow again, making a slight bulge in the side of her temple. I cried all the way home at the thought of my funny, sharp, […]
Miracle of the Monkees
Denise, June 2004 It was my first year as a single mother and life was pretty desperate. I had a minimum wage job and two pre-teen children. Every month was a race to get to payday before the food ran out. There was no money for extras. The girls loved the Monkees, watching the reruns […]