What is a Mary Garden?
Masha Goepel
May 17, AD2020
1 Comment
May at last! It is Mary’s month. The sun is shining and the last of our snow has finally melted away. Up in the woods
Lessons in Quarantine from The Desert Fathers
Masha Goepel
April 24, AD2020
No Comments
The holy men and women who lived through dark periods of challenge and uncertainty can guide and counsel us with their wisdom. Their words are
Byzantine Marian Devotions for Uncertain Times
Masha Goepel
March 20, AD2020
No Comments
In the western Church, we’re familiar with many of Mary’s apparitions and miracles. But our Church is broader than the face we see most often.
A Quick, Catholic Guide to Personality Types
Masha Goepel
February 19, AD2020
5 Comments
Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Melancholic or sanguine? Thinker or Feeler? Should you explored the Enneagram, or leave that one alone? Have personality
The Infant of Prague
Masha Goepel
January 22, AD2020
13 Comments
I don’t know when they started gathering. I only know that at some point, early in my marriage I looked around and realized that our
Wigilia: Awaiting Midnight On the Vigil of the Nativity
Masha Goepel
December 22, AD2019
1 Comment
When I was a child, I thought everyone spent Christmas Eve around a long, dimly lit table with plates of pierogis and white wine. Despite
The Fast of St. Nicholas: A Request from Four Exorcists
Masha Goepel
November 17, AD2019
12 Comments
In our family, the 6th of December is a magical day. Shoes set out in anticipation the night before are found laden with joy in
Saint Paraskeva Pyatnitsa
Masha Goepel
October 20, AD2019
2 Comments
Saint Paraskeva is a mystery. There are at least three saints named Paraskeva (or Paraskevi) in the Catholic Church; and though they have distinct feast
How to Live the Church Feasts in Your Home
Masha Goepel
September 18, AD2019
1 Comment
Last weekend, I gave a presentation on liturgical living at the Catholic Rural Life Festival in Maine. The festival, begun just a few years ago
Participate in St. Michael’s Lent this Autumn
Masha Goepel
August 19, AD2019
3 Comments
Seasons of fasting have breathed life into the Church for millennia. These days, most Catholics just stick to Lenten devotions but other seasons of fasting
The Proverbs’ 31 Wife: Wisdom, Self-Care, and Acedia
Masha Goepel
July 18, AD2019
4 Comments
If you hang around Catholic mommy blogs and spend time and women’s retreats, you’ll notice a familiar tone towards the wife extoled at the end
Friendship, Community, and Catholic Rural Life
Masha Goepel
June 18, AD2019
4 Comments
I never realized just how hospitable Catholic, rural living was until I moved to the woods. All of a sudden I was living the dream.
Through the Darkness: Funding Abortion Against Our Wishes
Masha Goepel
May 28, AD2019
7 Comments
This week, my state passed a bill which would require Medicaid to pay for abortions. Taxpayers in Maine will now be funding Planned Parenthood. We’re
Life on the Fringe as a Traditional, Radical Catholic
Masha Goepel
April 24, AD2019
14 Comments
What do you think of when you think of a radical? Is it someone with funky hair, piercings, tattoos, and bumper stickers? Is it someone
St. Joseph: The Springtime Saint
Masha Goepel
March 22, AD2019
1 Comment
Joseph, “You are the quietest of those who visit peaceful homes” * My woodland is still heavy under snow. A fresh coating fell last night,
Invincible Summer: Fasting in a Dark Age
Masha Goepel
February 20, AD2019
6 Comments
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter
