tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51628198725997859812024-03-13T11:42:27.142-07:00Seeking Finer FieldsA journalist and mother of three explores balancing a contemplative lifestyle amidst our technology-driven culture.Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-37388229924728321312016-07-25T05:29:00.000-07:002016-07-26T06:06:28.564-07:00Letting the Chips Fall
Against my garage wall, is
a little contained garden, set like a semicircle against the siding. How it got
there is amusing. A decade or so back, we needed a tree taken down in our back
yard, and we asked the yard men to go ahead and leave the chips for us in the
driveway. We liked the idea of free wood chips for our landscaping.
I will never forget watching the truck as it
started to Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-71011795842159209102016-02-04T07:39:00.000-08:002016-02-04T07:41:29.340-08:00Live Hopefully in 2016
My intrepid 82-year-old Mom, Virginia Robin, on a recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Why not write about hope? Mom suggested, when I mentioned my Worldview Wednesday deadline for Catholicmom.com. A couple days passed, then she asked again, “What will you write about?”
These are tough times, she said. “Tell people they have to keep hope. We owe it to the younger generations.” Our Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-857122370331920202015-11-29T20:33:00.001-08:002015-11-29T20:33:22.259-08:00Entering into Advent in Christ's Light
A friend wrote this morning from his little Catholic outpost along the Bay of Bengal in India: "We entered in to the Advent by making a small crib. Inside we kept the Holy Bible, and all the congregation lit a candle in front of the crib, and prayed for one intention. They need to hold on to that intention 'til 25th of December.”
Over the past year, when strikes and unrest were stirring hisMarianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-39910025066915669992015-05-09T13:14:00.003-07:002015-05-09T13:21:19.191-07:00Let's Be Refreshing
Plunging my nice organic peppermint into boiling water for
tea, the thought occurred to me: bruising and tearing the leaves released their
full flavor.
I just brought a big glass container of iced peppermint tea
to a priest friend’s 10th anniversary of ordination party, and I was
surprised to see the little children working the spigot on the carafe, taking one
serving, and then another.
Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-31453092505886466962015-02-01T16:29:00.001-08:002015-02-01T16:31:58.590-08:00As Morning Breaks: Daily Gospel Reflections
"With Christ joy is constantly born anew." Pope Francis
As a young mother of a baby girl, I was asked to write a Lenten Scripture reflection for our church's Living Stations of the Cross. I never forgot the honor of meditating on my bit of Scripture and contributing prayers to the event open to our whole parish. For Easter, the Director of Adult Religious Formation presented me with lovelyMarianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-6163347815372178542015-01-22T15:09:00.002-08:002015-01-22T15:11:34.187-08:00Steaming away winter blahs
I picked up this great Crate & Barrel steamer for $2 with the tag still on, unused, at a local resale shop. A little cleaning with white vinegar and a rinse, and it was good to go. It's been a long winter, and I'm trying to tweak my cooking a little bit each day, to combat the blahs. Also, I refuse to let this little steamer gather dust on the shelf with the pasta maker I picked up about twoMarianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-12719749655532591562015-01-15T13:11:00.001-08:002015-01-22T15:11:13.950-08:00Danielle Rose - Little FlowerMarianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-2326334108554233262014-07-18T23:13:00.000-07:002016-07-25T19:03:10.105-07:00Greet Each Day with a Smile -- In Memoriam, Joseph Francis Robin
My Dad, with older brother Alfred, in theirneighborhood near the Chicago Union Stockyards.
"Let's move!"
My Dad always joked these were his first words as an
infant. He was raised "Back o' the Yards" -- the Chicago Union Stockyards. Imagine the smell on a steamy day wafting from thousands of lowing cattle into those little
bungalows. It's easy to grasp Dad's wishes.
Dreaming big led Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-29228375794317029702014-04-19T23:47:00.004-07:002014-04-20T09:23:15.670-07:00He Is Risen! Alleluia! Happy Easter!
Ah, the colors, sights and sounds of Easter! May you be blessed with great joy and a new meeting with Christ, this Easter...My Holy Saturday was greatly improved by putting house cleaning aside to take a mid-day walk, on this rare Spring day. Rare, because it was just snowing last week, in April! Perhaps the warm days are here to stay? I was so filled with hope to see the following flowers Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-38253235549495170072014-03-05T06:46:00.001-08:002014-03-05T07:38:05.452-08:00Can "Liking" War on Facebook Help End It?
Image by Taylor, War Office Photographer, in public domain
Holy Trinity Church in Coventry, England
after WWII bombing.
A picture
making the rounds on Facebook caught my eye. It's like an image straight from
WWII: bombed buildings on a wide avenue, concrete and brick walls fragile as
broken eggshells.
In the Facebook image, stands a vast carpet of humanity. Just as
people crowd to Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-87090974129593844932013-11-11T05:41:00.002-08:002013-11-11T05:42:28.219-08:00Send Concrete Help to Philippines
Photo courtesy of Nasa/Wikipedia
Typhoon Haiyan as it made landfall overthe Philippines, November 8, 2013.
"Send concrete help," Pope Francis urged thousands of visitors at St. Peter's Square on Sunday, after Typhoon Haiyan left a feared 10,000 people dead across the Philippines. The Holy Father led faithful in prayer for the souls of the dead and survivors struggling without food, water or Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-69980174619747852602013-10-24T12:48:00.003-07:002013-10-24T13:26:57.290-07:00Find a Mission to Love this October
Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Majestic and wild -- Lake Pend d'Orielle, Idaho.
A few snowflakes fell today in the Chicago area, but it's nothing like Idaho or Montana!
Weather is extreme in this Northwest Territory, presenting “severe
highs and lows,” according to Montanta's Disaster and Emergency Survivor
Guide. “Add to that the high risk
for flooding, wildland Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-92222922802958910112013-10-17T15:51:00.001-07:002013-10-17T15:53:40.888-07:00Happy Birthday, Jane Eyre!
Happy Birthday, Jane Eyre!
Click above to see great Huffington Post article...
Yes, Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books of all time, showing a woman determined to keep her standards high in spite of almost unendurable temptation. One way to find balance in our techie world? Dust off a classic piece of truly great literature, get the teapot brewing, and dig in...
Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-30955294898793507582013-08-26T08:53:00.001-07:002013-08-26T14:27:01.395-07:00Finding "Shalom" in Chicago<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-64100929788932215782013-06-28T14:41:00.002-07:002013-08-26T05:09:38.116-07:00Finding friendship across the globe<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-73988235425879746742013-04-25T11:21:00.002-07:002013-04-25T11:21:56.100-07:00Find balance before you click
Printable version here.
Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-67427863967216944272013-03-14T18:40:00.001-07:002013-04-25T11:47:25.869-07:00Pope Francis to cardinals: 'I hope God forgives you' :: EWTN News
Photo by Presidencia da Republica/Roberto Stuckert Filho
Pope Francis to cardinals: 'I hope God forgives you' :: EWTN NewsMarianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-40337039469256092672013-03-13T22:13:00.001-07:002013-03-13T22:13:06.773-07:00http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/Vatican.php?id=7236http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/Vatican.php?id=7236Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-5942193529819174972013-02-16T06:21:00.000-08:002013-02-16T06:45:25.940-08:00From New Year's to Lenten Resolutions
Good-bye Shire Breakfast,hello, fasting...(no one could
eat this much in one sitting
anyway, right?)
A couple days before New Year's, my husband and I went out for a "Shire Breakfast." Denny's was featuring a menu with dishes spun off the "Hobbit," the newly-released movie based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic tale. Saturday breakfast Bartholomew-style means heading out into pre-daylight. After 23Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-83344572097431341402012-12-30T09:44:00.000-08:002012-12-30T09:49:05.687-08:00Pray the News in 2013
Illustration by Erin Bartholomew
My family is "praying the news" more often now that we have a friend in India. My daughter drew an "Indian Nativity," and we reached out to an Indian priest at our parish, who invited us to help him edit a newsletter to raise funds for schools he founded to serve "untouchables" in India. (See St. Patrick's Academy website here.)
As we leap into Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-37039594770961565612012-12-22T12:38:00.002-08:002012-12-22T12:44:14.564-08:00May our voices bless<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-51484614222290874452012-12-18T12:22:00.000-08:002012-12-18T12:22:12.424-08:00Christmas crafts can heal<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-50729426719481517452012-11-30T10:42:00.002-08:002012-11-30T11:44:07.133-08:00Jesse Trees Help Define Advent
Making these Jesse Tree Ornaments with friends set me up
for decades of future Advent seasons.
Photo by Marianna Bartholomew
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Photo by Bartholomew
I'm still savoring earth tones as these final autumn days slip by. I refuse to hurtle too swiftly into Christmas themes when Advent hasn't even begun. I remember in grade school, Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons were distinct. I loved making pilgrim hats and Indian headdresses and reenacting the first Thanksgiving dinner. Is that too politically incorrect to happen todayMarianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-88544793954964772442012-11-03T19:36:00.000-07:002012-11-03T19:36:21.630-07:00Pray for those still in darkness and cold
To those suffering effects of Hurricane Sandy, our thoughts and prayers continue to be with you. See this New York Times update of recovery efforts: Update.
And a "Quest for Normalcy" story at CNN.
Here is a time-lapse video of New York City in the midst of Sandy:
New Yorkers "are facing desperate situations as they rebuild their lives...please pray for all who are Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.com0