In all the discussions about abstinence-only sex ed lately there is much talk about spit and water, licked ice cream cones, and tape that is no longer sticky. Obviously, as many other writers have already pointed out, that kind of abstinence-only sex ed leaves much to be desired, especially for the women who – for one [...]
In the struggle for life, talking about God is indispensable. Only in this way does the value of the weak, the disabled, the nonproductive, the incurably ill become apparent; only in this way can we relearn and rediscover, too, the value of suffering: the greatest lesson on human dignity always remains the cross of Christ, [...]
You’re probably expecting me to say something about strapless dresses and not showing too much skin, but I’m not. Okay, I can’t resist so here’s my opinion on the subject: Don’t be trashy, The Dress is about your wedding day, not your wedding night. With wedding season upon us, what I really want to talk [...]
In honour of Mother’s Day… A fellow writer recently asked somebody to write something positive about motherhood. She said “Some of us not-yet-moms are scared of motherhood because all we hear is that you’re miserable and debilitated for nine months, then have a day of the most excruciating pain ever, then you don’t sleep for [...]
Have you ever seen the letters “WWJD?” The phrase “What Would Jesus Do” appears on bumper stickers, wristbands, coffee mugs and various other tchotchkes from time to time. As a young mother, however, I often find myself asking, “What Would Mary Do?” To me, Mary, the Mother of God, is an amazing model of perfect motherhood. She was [...]
I find it very intriguing that so many people today are having kids with their significant other or living with them but seem deathly afraid of the commitment of marriage. I say this because for me the decision to get married, even though it was a lifelong commitment, was much less daunting than when I [...]
I don’t really like abstinence. Wait. What? I certainly think restraint is valuable–I resist the kind of trips where you go to Target for two things and come out with ten. I try not to eat meat on Fridays. I teach NFP. In some cases, however, particularly the case of sexuality, abstinence seems to miss [...]
“You’re crazy.” Well, thanks for your kindness and tolerance in regards to my way of life. We hear a lot about tolerance and accepting others nowadays, but this is usually the response I get from people when I tell them that my husband and I don’t use contraception. Let me tell you, I love when [...]
“The English language lacks the words ‘to mourn an absence.’ For the loss of a parent, grandparent, spouse, child or friend we have all manner of words and phrases, some helpful, some not. Still, we are conditioned to say something, even if it is only ‘I am sorry for your loss.’ But for an absence, [...]
Did any of you catch the recent “Princeton mom” flap? Princeton alumna Susan Patton, in an open letter to women attending Princeton, advised that they should find a husband in college–otherwise they’d wind up divorced from a not-very-smart man they’d meet later in life. (Ouch!) Then Kathleen Gerson fired back, countering that it’s objectively better for young women to marry later in life. And then Ross Douthat [...]
Have you heard? “Catholics are homophobes.” or “Catholics hate gays.” With homosexual marriage on the fore front of society, I get tired of hearing from others what Catholics believe. What do we believe about marriage? To put it short and sweet, “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a [...]
Dustin, may I call you Dustin, good thanks. Before we get started talking about the conjugal act of marital intercourse, why don’t you introduce yourself for a moment. Are you married? How many kids do you have? How do you bring home the bacon? What is Engaged Marriage? DR: Thanks for having me! I’m 33-year-old [...]
I used to have a big yellow bumper sticker stuck to my car’s rear windshield. In red letters, it said CHASTITY IS FOR LOVERS. I’m fairly certain our culture begs to differ, as evidenced by various statistics (88 percent of unmarried people between the ages 18 and 29 are sexually active*) and by a reader who [...]
Love. What does it mean to love someone or something? How are we called to love? What does today, Good Friday teach us about love? With the events of this past week weighing on my heart and the unbearable division of Christians I have witnessed all around me (most notably in new Facebook profile pictures [...]
Happy Holy Week everybody! In this edition of The Warrior Catholic Show, we take a look at Christ’s Passion. In the overwhelming commercialism of the holidays, it can be hard to keep a true perspective of the religious aspect and the true meaning of what we are actually celebrating. Christ’s Passion was the fulfillment of [...]
So I am pleased as punch to tell you that I just had a baby! My sweet little girl came crashing into the world exactly two weeks ago today, after eight hours of the hardest natural labor I’ve had yet. When it was over, my OB told me I made it look easy, but I’m pretty sure [...]
The blogosphere has been abuzz about all the sex The Bachelor isn’t having. It’ll be abuzz again now that his engagement is public. This started when America discovered that Sean Lowe, this season’s star of ABC’s The Bachelor, is a “born again virgin” – somebody who is saving sex from now on for marriage. And [...]
Imagine my surprise when a friend who works with the parish youth group asked me to give a chastity talk to the middle and high school aged girls. “Who, me?” I said, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. I thought, Why not someone who has actually lived chastely her whole life? Me? I did it all wrong. [...]
She is not sick. Stop jacking your wife up on hormones. Freedom. It is dumb to let a little pill control your wife. All. Nothing says “I love you” better than actions that say “I desire your complete goodness, fertility included.” Counter-culture. Planned Parenthood will think you are crazy; this is a good thing. [...]
I sat in my seat in a circle of students in my counseling theories class. Pen in hand and a self-inventory worksheet on top of a book on my lap, I thought about the question at the top of the paper: What did you learn about love from how your parents treated you? This is [...]
Grateful for the invitation to talk about chastity on Tell Me More, NPR’s nationally syndicated radio show hosted by Michel Martin. I was part of a panel of women – Monique Matthews, an author from Los Angeles and Lisa Marziali, from the first episode of TLC’s The Virgin Diaries - who also have committed to saving sex [...]
I live in Christchurch, New Zealand. A city that over the past few years has been struck by several large earthquakes. As a result our city doesn’t have that many buildings left standing. Most of our churches are gone. Masses are celebrated in halls or parish centres. Whole parishes themselves don’t exist and our city is [...]
I’m 24 years old and two years out of college, which puts me at that age when nearly all my friends are getting married. It seems to me very common that young married couples of the “good Catholic” variety are beginning their marriage with a year or two (or a few) of NFP. Our generation [...]
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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