A little book caught my eye this past week in our church library, and I brought it home for some evening word respite. In today’s fast-paced, succinct-to-a-fault, bordering-on-rude e-mail world we live in, it is always life-nourishing for me to depart into a world of writing where the slowness of unfolding drama, clarity in word choice, and civility of sentences are present. A time where men are gentle-men and their better halves are gentle-women, and there is no distinction between faith and the general work and rhythm of the world. Published by oheed(1 (s "rd(in(AI DB7(this(work(is("(compil"tion(of(fiction"l(short(stories("'out(the(d"ily( lives of ordained men and women, who have chosen a different, though not better, path for life.

These are stories of nuns, monks, and pastors, who disguise themselves as schoolteachers, poets, and orators that live, eat, and breathe in the world. They encounter saints and sinners alike. They gain from each of them some insight as to how the world works outside the thick "nd(fortified(w"lls(of(f"ith7("(pl"ce(they've(left('ehind('ut(still(encounter:(a rnest(d emming way writes on “The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio,” F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the tale of a woman surprised by a prayer in “Benediction,” and a writer by the name of Morley Callaghan gives us insight into the changeless beauty of love with, “A Sick Call.” There are 26 stories altogether. After each of them I paused for a few moments to assess the unfolding of the plot, the words used, and what truth the author wanted to convey. e(think(this(is("(fitting(end(to(our(d"ily(life("s(wellJ(po(look('"ck('etween(the(rising("nd(the( setting of the sun and ponder our purpose, and the Truth the Author of Life wishes to reveal. Who needed my kindness (Ephesians 4:32)? Who wanted my presence (Psalm 16:11)? Whose drama did I enter into and was I helpful (James 2:14-17)? What lessons did I learn (Psalm 32:8)? What did God want me to see (Philippians 4:8-9)? Where did I fail to do good (Luke 6:24-26)? Did I act like a Christian and speak the words of Jesus in all I did (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)? Where did I proclaim the Gospel (Mark 16:15). Like the characters in this 1940’s book, we enter into the daily monotony not to be our ordinary selves, but to be a witness to ourselves transformed by the grace of God. Each day is an opportunity to be Jesus to those around us, in all that we say and do. And that, my friends, is more than a little good news. #tellyourstory Laura Stierman Director of Evangelization St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church