Raising Independent Catholic Kids in an Age of Conformity
Sexting, drugs, alcohol, cyber-bullying, teen suicide, rampant materialism, technology addiction, and me-first mindsets—the list of challenges to young people today can seem overwhelming. As parents...
View ArticleRediscovering Integrity for our Children
What is integrity? Integrity is a word that continues to fascinate me, and over the years the depth of its meaning grows within me. Originally, I understood the definition of integrity as an honest...
View ArticleI am His Beloved
I paused before exiting the guest bedroom. It was still new to me, since we had moved only a little over a month prior. But the walk-in closet beckoned me to open it, reminding me that I had thrust...
View ArticleYour “Most Solemn Obligation”
Without question, parents are the primary influence on the faith lives of their children. Study after study shows that when parents are strong spiritual leaders, and when fathers—yes, dads in...
View ArticleSeven Essential Lessons for Dads
Our state in life is where we live out our vocation; it is the path by which we journey to Heaven. God has called each of us by name to Himself. In baptism we each received a share in the divine...
View ArticleSetting Others Free to Love
When I was younger I was overly sensitive in my dealings with others. This hypersensitivity caused me to become offended easily and to refuse to show love to anyone I felt slighted by. Needless to say,...
View ArticleWhat are the Obstacles Between Men and Christ?
As long as we live in the world our life is a constant struggle between love for Christ or giving into lukewarmness, to our passions, or to comfort seeking, which destroys love. Faithfulness to Christ...
View ArticleWhat We Learn From Darkness
“I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart.” ~ Psalm 16 For decades I’ve called myself a morning person, an early bird. I am drawn to the light for so many...
View ArticleGive Us Joy
It had been one of “those” weeks. You know the kind: where everything falls apart and even planned family fun crumbles into disaster. I recently gave birth to our third daughter, and her presence in...
View ArticleWhat are Obstacles to Catholic Authenticity?
Why is it difficult to be the same person at work, home, church and with our friends? I have observed this problem for several years, but lately I have become more aware of the challenges people have...
View ArticleA Dozen Thank Yous
I can still hear it—the sound of the old car horn and the commotion in the house as my sisters and I scrambled toward the door trying to make it to the car before it drove off without us. It was the...
View ArticleAll of Life is Bittersweet
Come, Lord, and tarry not; Bring the long looked-for day; Why these years of waiting here, These ages of delay? (Advent hymn) I left the neuropsychologist’s office dumbfounded. If Sarah had received a...
View ArticleDecember by Candlelight
Every day we look forward to the gift of another dawn as the sun begins to peek through the curtain of the night to bring the vibrancy of color back to us yet again. It is a ritual of sorts, isn’t it?...
View ArticleWhat You Can Learn from the Holy Family
The Feast of the Holy Family celebrates the holiness and joy of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph of Nazareth. Each year, this celebration occurs on the Sunday following Christmas Day, unless...
View ArticleFinding Time to Breathe
Suffice it to say that everyone is “busy” these days. Some of us use the word loosely, as an excuse to bypass the things in life we’d rather not face, what’s inconvenient, or what we view as boring....
View ArticleWhen You Feel Like You’re In Exile
It’s been nearly a year since my husband and I moved our two young daughters out of the only home and neighborhood they’d ever known. My belly was bulging with our third daughter in utero as I packed...
View ArticleA Courageous Example and a Loving Parish
I recall a Sunday Mass in 2016 when I had an opportunity to witness a very special moment at my parish. An eighteen-year-old young man with high-functioning autism was taking his first turn as a lector...
View ArticleWhat Kindness Really Means
We exited the restaurant with exuberance still lingering from our family dinner conversation. It was a rare treat to take everyone out to eat, so we relished the time spent ordering what we wanted,...
View ArticleConfidential to Wives and Mothers: Going ABOVE and BEYOND
I’m pretty shocked at the number of women I’m talking to these days who find it an intrusion to cook every day for their families. I’ve noticed this a lot lately in real life, and then today again in...
View ArticleFour Critical Principles for Catholic Fathers
“It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.” (Pope St. John XXIII) I often feel completely lost and befuddled as a Catholic father in today’s world. How do I...
View Article