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The Pearl of Great Value is a Story- Your Story
The parable of the Pearl of Great Value (Matthew 13:45-46) asks the reader for what would they sell everything. What would you give up...
maureenmontague
Apr 14, 20242 min read


No Spiritual Surrender
As this Holy Week proceeds to Easter Sunday, people of the Christian persuasion make their plans for church services, Easter egg hunts,...
maureenmontague
Mar 27, 20241 min read


The Ministry of Cats (and Dogs)
I know that I have built rapport with a patient when they share their pet photos with me. The invention of the camera phone makes this...
maureenmontague
Mar 21, 20242 min read


Repairing Holy Space Within and Outside
I believe that our lived experiences can be deeply symbolic and meaningful. Our physical actions can reveal a hidden reverence for or...
maureenmontague
Mar 10, 20242 min read


My midlife discovery: beautiful silence
It was a revelation to find my voice when I was a girl and young woman. This voice expressed itself in the language of art and writing. I...
maureenmontague
Feb 9, 20242 min read


Be responsible for your passing: creating an advanced directive
The reason earthly life is so precious is because it ends. It just does. And I don’t think our culture has a proper understanding and...
maureenmontague
Jan 20, 20243 min read


2023: From the Frivolous to the Sublime, a Year in Review
I just finished streaming The Mandalorian, which includes baby Yoda and a cast of characters whose names I have trouble recalling. I am...
maureenmontague
Dec 31, 20232 min read


What is Written on My Heart
No one wants the call from the doctor that the biopsy shows cancer. I go that call in October, but it was softened by the fact that this...
maureenmontague
Nov 25, 20232 min read


Ministry of a Warm Blanket
Many times, I’ve visited with a patient who simply needed a kind word and a warm blanket. A couple weeks ago, while chatting with a...
maureenmontague
Oct 15, 20232 min read


My, my, what a big Soul
Some folks touch our hearts. They have a special quality…it can be their amazing talent, generous heart, mental tranquility, or an...
maureenmontague
Oct 9, 20232 min read


What Masks Are We Wearing?
I decided a few months ago to reclaim my maiden name on this journey to honor Spirit. My path is my own and my name should be my own. And...
maureenmontague
Oct 7, 20232 min read


Teach Me How to Pray
“If you are in a hospital bed, then you are likely experiencing a crisis,” I often tell patients that are struggling with anxiety. The...
maureenmontague
Aug 1, 20232 min read


When your work is a privilege
An unexpected and amazing part of my residency experience has been coordinating a research project for Mayo Clinic. The topic is the...
maureenmontague
Jun 1, 20232 min read


Baptism and Birth (for Mother’s Day)
One of the rituals hospital chaplains can have the opportunity to provide is the baptism of a baby. Typically, a family waits to pursue...
maureenmontague
May 13, 20232 min read


Hand-Making an Imaginative Life
When I was a little girl, my sister and I played dolls. We had a menagerie of Barbies, trolls, wooden animals, and Cabbage Patch dolls....
maureenmontague
May 1, 20232 min read


Faded tattoo: celebrating a middle-age birthday
It was thirty years ago that I got my first tattoo. A little yellow moon with a blue heart. I designed it myself. My poor mom had a fit...
maureenmontague
Apr 5, 20232 min read


Humble Miracles and Broken Blessings
One of the responsibilities that I have as a Chaplain Resident is to provide an interdenominational worship service for the psychiatric...
maureenmontague
Feb 6, 20232 min read


Deep in the Heart of January
I drove out to the frozen Mississippi River to visit with new friends and see a part of the world that I had not known existed until...
maureenmontague
Jan 15, 20232 min read


A Christmas Gift for 2022: a new thing
This Christmas season is strange. It is different. I had the opportunity to spend time with my family and friends in a pre-season...
maureenmontague
Dec 24, 20222 min read


How to Say the Perfect Prayer
Training as a chaplain is the most beautiful and challenging education I have embarked on since I learned how to be a mother. This...
maureenmontague
Dec 7, 20222 min read
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