But not for too long. I am going to Trinidad and Tobago for Christmas. Call it a vacation, call it time off, I call it visiting family. Some people HAVE to go visit family on a Caribbean island while it is cold back home, I guess that person HAS to be me. Some people get [...]
So you wanted to be a monk, or a nun, but God called you to married life. Not to worry! The next best thing to being a monk or nun, is living next to a monastery or convent. The benefits of living in close proximity to religious are numerous. Imagine, waking up in the morning to the [...]
That Christmas has become more and more secularized is obvious. But we are not helpless against the tide. There are things we can do to restore and maintain the meaning of the holiday for ourselves and for our families, and for those around us. We can start by making our own personal observance of Advent [...]
**Originally written in December of 2009** #6 and I went Christmas shopping at the mall yesterday. I was looking for gifts, and he was in his sling beaming his toothless grin at an adoring world. He loves the sling because it allows him to meet people eye to eye, and he is a boy [...]
Over the past several weeks, faithful Catholics have been circling the wagons in an attempt to understand what’s gone wrong with the culture, and what one ought to do going forward. The recent election, more than any other in recent history, has struck a nerve. But don’t worry, I’m not writing about the election today. [...]
November is, for me, a month associated with death and dying. On November 1, we celebrate the feast of the all the Saints. In addition to celebration, I remember the due date of the baby we lost. He would have turned three on November 1, 2012. How fitting that the 2nd is a day of [...]
***Warning:This is a Crying Post, Grab Your Kleenex*** Three years ago, we lost our Bernadette half-way through pregnancy to a knot in her cord. My husband cried; my children cried; I could not cry. Tears would occasionally leak down my cheeks, but it was more overflow than mourning. I was too numb to actually [...]
Thursday – January 8, 2009 My hands were shaking; my whole body trembled as I watched the home pregnancy test, now sitting on the counter on account of my shaky hands, turn positive. Pregnant? Really? I holler for your Dad to come to the bedroom. He cried he was so happy. You see, you were [...]
Our first child was lost to miscarriage. He was too young to know his gender but my husband felt confident that he was a boy and so he was named Peter Mark. His due date was January 15, 2008 and in honor of his loss I take a moment on the fifteenth of each month [...]
There are a number of states where marriage is on the ballot this fall. Some states seek to clarify the definition of marriage by adding the language that marriage is only to be legally valid between one man and one woman. Other states are seeking to legalize gay marriage by popular vote, something which has [...]
I cried so hard on the drive home. I probably should have pulled over. Or figured out a way to hold back the tears. But I didn’t fight it, and I always fight it. This time, I gave myself permission to dwell in my tears a little. A little carried well into the afternoon, and [...]
The minute a child is born, his identity begins to form. As he is exposed to different things, he learns how to perceive the world. He learns what is right, what he should not do, what happiness is, and what sorrow means. He observes and then reacts. Most of all, his virgin mind absorbs the [...]
Human beings are essentially social in nature. The second theme of Catholic social teaching is the importance of social relationships and participation in society for human flourishing. Because of the importance of the family, community, and participation, I will break this principle into two posts: the family first, and community and participation second. The Family [...]
Scott Hahn in his book “First Comes Love” cites the monumental work of Harvard University Professor, Carle C. Zimmerman’s entitled “Family and Civilization” which citation, I paraphrase in this article. Zimmerman studied families in different societies throughout history. He classified families in these societies into three categories: the trustee family, the domestic family, and the atomistic [...]
I have been told more times than I can count that if I were truly against abortion I would have to be pro-contraception. “Contraception prevents unwanted pregnancies,” the argument goes, “so putting women on reliable birth control would cut down on unwanted pregnancies and there would be fewer abortions.”
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” My brother and I spent the the Labor Day four-day weekend with my Bible study group at a beach [...]
Every morning, my six month old baby boy looks up out of his crib with wide blue eyes and smiles around his pacifier as I pick him up. I’m his Mama, you see, and he loves me. But I’m not the only mother he has known. For nine months, he grew and was lovingly cared [...]
This is a post I wrote for my youngest brother who leaves for basic training next week. I would appreciate it if everyone could say a prayer for him sometime this week. Dear Matthew, You are going to Basic Training next week. You already read the book. In fact, you read the book before it [...]
Yesterday, the Church celebrated a plethora of saintly feast days. Two of those saints were Anne and Joachim, the humble parents of Christ’s Blessed Mother. In honor of their great feast day, I would like to reflect upon the couple’s role as parents, and examine the influence of another holy couple upon a more modern-day [...]
The only time I have ever wanted to be a missionary of any sort was when I met a Franciscan sister from Togo. She was radiant, especially because her love of Christ was obvious in every word she spoke and movement she made. I was drawn to her and as she spoke of her order’s [...]
One month ago today I gave birth to a baby girl. She was big, as in eleven pounds nine and a half ounces big. She was beautiful, with long fingers, a sweet chin, and delicious chubbiness all around. She was alive which, after miscarrying my first child and delivering a stillborn with my fourth, was something [...]
I have never met her and don’t think I have even conversed with her on the net. But if Dwija of House Unseen has her baby today, there are plenty of names to choose from. I am sure her and her husband have had plenty of chats on finding another name for a fifth child! Congrats [...]
Guest post by Rebecca Frech at the award-winning blog, Shoved to Them Chastity and the Teen Girl Some time ago, Jennifer Fitz asked LarryD from Acts of the Apostasy all about chastity and teenage boys: So here’s a two-part question I still need you guys to answer for me: How should a boy deal with [...]
Q. How do you pronounce “ignitum”? A. Well, you have some options. The Romans would have said ig-NEE-toom. In church, we’d say “in-YEE-toom.”
Why?
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