Miracle Moments

My oldest son Johnny, turns 26 today and I am so grateful for the gift of his precious life. I am also captivated by how God is cultivating my child's renewal and redirecting his focus. Johnny has been a member of Comunita Cenacolo for two years, entering "Our Lady of Hope" in St. Augustine, Florida in May 2009 and transferring to Borgoro Italy nearly a year ago. I can't believe how the time has flown! I would like to share with you part of a letter he sent us this week...because I feel his unique life is becoming a powerful example for all of us. "I wrote a letter to Mother Elvira expressing my desire to go/open the mission in Liberia. I've arrived at a certain point in my spiritual journey where I feel/hear/sense God calling me to my path. For me, it is 100% clear in my heart that the next step in my formation involves being at ground zero with the poor. Funny thing to me is, I really feel I stood for all this before with the band and all the rhetoric ...

Twenty one years ago I took a plane ride with the man who is one step away from being declared a Catholic Saint, Blessed John Paul II. I flew with a host of network news people and other Vatican officials, aboard the Pope's plane to the former Czechoslovakia. It was both an honor and a privilege to be part of the papal entourage at a time when miracles were unfolding behind the iron curtain. Being the girl that I am, I wore a suit I bought just for the occasion. A dark blue Ann Klein jacket and pleated skirt, which I dubbed "The Pope's suit." It's still hanging somewhere in my closet. As you can imagine, it was an exhilerating experience watching this living saint move among the sea of humanity who came to hear his powerful message of solidarity and hope. In fact John Paul had been called the "Hope of the World" for boldly proclaiming the redemptive power of the cross to the suffering everywhere. When we landed in Prague, I learned very quickly, th...

My son Benjamin today became a Eucharistic minister. He's just 17. I find that extraordinary. As I watched the priest confer the blessing upon Ben and a handful of Jesuit High School students, I marveled at the mysterious movement of our merciful God-in my middle son's life. A year ago Ben was thinking about ending his life by jumping off a second floor balcony at school...And now today-he was at school, being inducted into a privileged group of ministers who will be giving life, by distributing the true bread of life, the Holy Eucharist. I thought about Ben's difficult journey, from anorexia to recovery, but also how his journey of suffering has led him straight to the source of true lfe, Jesus Christ. God gave Ben life, then renewed his broken life. Now Ben will be passing on God's saving love, by distributing the body and blood of Christ crucified, to countless Catholics who will be participating in the gift of eternal life, Christ's redemptive death. It was...

Many moons ago when I was too young and much too emotionally immature, my older sister,  shared a secret she had been keeping from our family for far too long. She was gay. I remember reading the surprise letter she wrote me and not knowing what to think or say and so I did the worst thing possible-I said nothing. I simply didn't know how to respond or how to feel about the news. I didn't Love my sister any less, I just felt as though this was one more McCall family secret that had been buried. Unfortunately though, I failed to show my sister the unconditional Love of Jesus Christ and I did not reassure her that I would always be there for her-front and center-no matter what. That silence created a great divide between Ela and me-even further than the many miles that separated her home in California from mine in New Orleans. Through the mercy of God's everlasting grace...Time and trouble and tons of tears have brought us closer than I could ever have hoped for. We hav...

Twenty four years ago today, April 27, 1987 the Blessed Mother allegedly appeared in Hrushiv Ukraine with a warning and words of consolation. She came on the Feast of the Ascension, exactly one year after the nuclear reactor disaster at Chernobyl saying "Do not forget those who have died...Chernobyl is a reminder and a sign for the whole world." In 1990 while producing a television documentary in Ukraine, I visited Hrushi and interviewed a handful of people who had witnessed the apparition above the church of the Holy Trinity. In all, some five hundred thousand witnesses claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary over a four month period. Mary apparently told them she came to thank the Ukrainian people because they had suffered so much at the hands of a raging lion who had been prowling around seeking whom he could devour. She said their suffering would come to an end and one day Ukraine would become an independent state. She then urged disciplined, Christian fortitude, ...

We cried buckets of tears, carried heavy bags under our eyes from all the sleepless nights, harbored a heavy, broken heart that felt like it was going to burst-and then suddenly-without warning-relief. Nothing could have prepared us for that moment, no one could have told us it was coming. We simply would not have believed them. On the day our sons or daughters entered community, we entered a profound feeling of freedom that we had not known could exist. We experienced a new sense of peace and joyful hope that somehow overrode all the past pain and fear. For the first time, in a long time, we felt like living, really living. When the doors of community opened, the door to a new way of life flew open. This weekend I was reminded of that remarkable reality during a parent's retreat sponsored by Comunita Cenacolo. As I sat and absorbed the talks and the prayer, the testimonies and the teachings, I felt the continuing evolution of all the spiritual principles I have held dear. Ou...

My friend Kat is celebrating her birthday today enjoying God's hand in creation along the beautiful California shoreline. She is spending a few days with my sister in Mendocino California which is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and nestled among an artist colony. They sent us beautiful pictures of the cliffs and white peaked waves and I wondered why anyone would ever want to leave that vision. I'm so happy for her getaway because she's deserving of abundant blessings and lots of old fashioned merry making--having given others more heartfelt Love then I could ever describe. Their dogs, Sophie and Boris made the cut and are traveling with them, enjoying the perks of parents who like to spoil them-and everyone else. My kids and I know this firsthand! So today we prayed for safety and lots of sunshine for the birthday girl, Kat...And we gave thanksgiving to God for giving her life and giving her to us so that our lives will be fuller and more fruitful-just by knowing her! ...