My youngest daughter, Gesumina, is nearly four years old, and she does not speak. While her receptive communication (meaning, her ability to understand language) is excellent, her expressive communication (what she can say) is limited to a vocabulary of only about a dozen words; a typically developing child her age would be expected to have a vocabulary of over one thousand. Because of her speech delay, Gesumina (or “Jezzo” as we usually call her) utilizes a variety of methods to express herself, such as pictures, sign language (a mixture of “official” signs and ones she has created herself), objects, and babbly sounds. Those of us who are with her every day have become fluent in her “language”, and can usually understand her quite easily: rubbing her thumb and forefinger together means she wants me to sprinkle salt on her broccoli, a “peep peep” sound while she pumps her fist in the air means she wants me to read her “Thomas the Train”, pointing to a picture of the sun and then to her sister means she is commenting that Sabina likes yellow. Gesumina is a sweet, happy, playful little girl, and our interactions feel so organic and fulfilling that I honestly forget sometimes that she “should” be talking.  Read More

When I logged into Facebook on Easter Sunday, the photos I saw posted by friends revealed the joy of the holiday: smiling little girls in puffy pink Easter dresses, happy families gathered together for Church and feasting, dogs wearing bunny ears, giggling children carrying bright baskets and hunting for Easter eggs. It was a veritable barrage of cuteness and good cheer. This was not how Easter went down at the House of Ludwig.  Read More

by Tara Ludwig As Lent comes to a close, and we look forward to Easter, we cling to the promise of the Resurrection, and Jesus’ message of hope for all people. And yet, when many of us look at the world we actually live in, things seem distinctly hope-less; one could spend hardly 5 minutes watching the news before deciding that the most rational thing to do is to just give up all together. I have ...  Read More

by Tara Ludwig Judas Iscariot (1878) by Eilif Peterssen As Lent comes to a close, and we look forward to Easter, we cling to the promise of the Resurrection, and Jesus’ message of hope for all people. And yet, when many of us look at the world we actually live in, things seem distinctly hope-less; one could spend hardly 5 minutes watching the news before deciding that the most rational thing to do...  Read More

by Tara Ludwig The Parable of the Rich Fool (1627) by Rembrandt In the world of social media, it is common for people to post photos of themselves traveling to exotic locations, eating a lavish meal, or doing something exciting along with the hashtag, “Living My Best Life”. This catchphrase, “Living My Best Life”, as I understand it, means getting the most out of life by filling it with as much pl...  Read More

by Tara Ludwig Christ and the Rich Young Ruler (1889) by Heinrich Hofmann If we were asked to envision in our minds an image of someone who was hopeless, most of us would picture a person with slumped shoulders, a sad frown, and a tear-stained face. Few, if any of us, would imagine someone smiling on a tropical beach, a diamond-laden celebrity on the red carpet, or a rich CEO driving his yacht. An...  Read More

by Tara Ludwig The Storm on the Sea (1633) by Rembrandt van RijnOriginal Stolen from Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA in 1990 Somewhere along the road, our culture’s understanding of the concept of “hope” has gotten badly muddled. If you do a Google search of the word “hope” you’ll find many inspirational sayings and quotes that are operating on a definition of hope that sounds someth...  Read More

by Tara Ludwig Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (1655) by Johannes VermeerHangs in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh The English Cardinal Basil Hume once famously said, “the great gift of Easter is hope.” But as we enter the Easter season of 2023, hope can feel difficult to access, as many of us are weary of a world that has seemingly just been limping along from one calamity to the...  Read More

Wayside Shrine in Bohlingen, Germany Ever since a car smashed into me on my way to work on July 27th, 2013, pain has been a daily part of my life. And I do not mean the trivial pain of a stubbed toe or a bonked elbow, but an agonizing, all-consuming pain, as the nerves that travel into my neck, shoulder, arm, and hand were crushed inside of my chest by the impact. In the last decade I have endured...  Read More

Wayside shrine between Krensheim and Poppenhausen, Germany I am not a “dog person”. To be honest, I have spent most of my life as an actively anti-dog person, after a couple of frightening run-ins with big dogs during my childhood left me fearful and wary of any animal larger than a house cat. Our family never owned dogs when I was growing up, and frankly I couldn’t see why anyone would want to; d...  Read More

Wayside Shrine in Hinterglemm, Austria Yesterday my 8-year-old son, Cirocco, celebrated his First Reconciliation, an important step on the way to receiving his First Communion this spring. Our church put together a very nice little ceremony, with candles, and prayers, and kid-friendly songs. All of the children looked adorable, parading into the sanctuary in their Sunday best. I fully hoped that ...  Read More

Wayside Shrine in Heverlee, Belgium My uncle, Andrew Jude Aber, recently died of pancreatic cancer. It was Uncle Andrew who, 45 years ago, sang in a rock band called Knowhere and introduced his bass player (my dad) to his little sister (my mom) who fell immediately in love, thus beginning the story of their long journey together. So without the gift of Andrew's life, my life, and the lives of my c...  Read More