Renee Fuentes

A New Home for Christmas

Many of us have been there. Finding an apartment, signing a lease, packing boxes, renting a U-Haul, moving furniture, and unpacking the same boxes in a new place. Then, 11 months later we get ready to do it all over again!   In the five years leading up to our...

To Women Who Work

This piece is based on a talk given by the author during a young adult women’s retreat for the Diocese of Arlington on October 16, 2021.   In his 1995 Letter to Women Pope Saint John Paul II says, “Thank you women who work! You are present and active in every...

Encounter Jesus in The Chosen

“To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.” ― St. Augustine of Hippo Have you seen it yet? Seasons 1 and 2 of The Chosen, co-written and directed by Evangelical Christian...

Confessions of a Chasti-holic

Here’s something I’ve never told anyone before: I missed the first and only chastity talk at my small Catholic school in fifth grade.   I didn’t hear one until college. By then, I had forgotten the belief of saving sex for marriage that my upbringing had taught...

Relationship Precedes Mission

The following are reflections from a participant of the 2021 GIVEN Catholic Young Women’s Leadership Forum that took place from June 9-13, 2021, in Washington, D.C.   “It is thus my hope, dear sisters, that you will reflect carefully on what it means to speak of...

Nothing I Hold Onto

I Lean Not On My Own Understanding. My life is in the hands of the maker of Heaven.   There was, and is, so much about our faith that I struggle to understand. Concepts like our Trinitarian God, saving sex and sexual acts for marriage, and Christ’s redemptive...

An Imminent Conversion

It was around 11:00 am and I was in the bathroom at work crying. It’s never a place you want your emotions to spill over, but these were happy tears. I had been scrolling through a photo library to find a picture of a friend to wish him happy birthday and saw a video...

An Extrovert’s Guide to Finding Community

In the aftermath of a cannonball shattering his leg in battle, St. Ignatius of Loyola was lying in bed and wondering if he would ever walk again. Was his lifelong dream to lead an army into battle gone forever?    While lying in bed, St. Ignatius was brought two...

November 4

I’m not one to make election predictions, but I do predict that on November 4, 2020, we will not know who will be the next president of the United States. I’m worried that our country is not prepared for this kind of non-result in a general election, especially this...

A Weekly Pilgrimage

Have you ever had a profound conversation in the most mundane place? God can work anywhere.   I was at the hair salon and I pulled out a rosary to pray as my hair dye set in. Jesus had other plans because as soon as the hairdresser saw it, he immediately asked me...
November 4

November 4

I’m not one to make election predictions, but I do predict that on November 4, 2020, we will not...

Called by Name

Called by Name

I was talking with a friend recently about a conversation she had with a religious sister about...

The Hunger for God

The Hunger for God

I know what it’s like to struggle with habitual mortal sin. I know what it’s like to justify it,...

Pin It on Pinterest