This week Tripp Curtis, the recently bereaved husband of “Mommy Life” blogger and author Barbara Curtis, posted a short article about his wife that read in part: Barbara told how “seeing my children experience a happy childhood was the next best thing to having one myself.” She wished to “receive that kind of love.… Is […]
Gay “marriage” hijacks the definition of mother and father and turns these words into the gender neutral “parent” in family law. You may recall that in 2011 the Department of State tried to change children’s passport applications from “mother” and “father” to “Parent 1” and “Parent 2” in a bow to LGBT pressure. Thankfully, conservative outcry was able […]
Parents are Not to Know (But They are Expected to Pay) The day before Thanksgiving, I got a call from a harried reporter. “The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a statement on “Emergency Contraception,” he said. “I’d like to get your take on it.” The 10-page document turns out to be a full-throated endorsement […]
Yes, the secularism, the retail racquet, the commercialism has taken over our American culture and it is never more apparent than in this final month before Christmas. “Good grief!” you may despair. But do not fear. The true meaning of Christmas is still strong with people of Good Will. The best way to effect change […]
From the time they were very young, my kids have been drawn to soft fabrics. Christopher wears his footie pajamas on the hottest summer nights. Sarah’s retinue of stuffed animals requires so much space I often find her hanging off the bed at night. (Getting her to sleep under the covers is a chore because, […]
He’s a business owner, a basketball player, a biography reader, and a nap lover. He grew up playing on his grandparents’ farm and climbing fences in the backyards of Bexley, Ohio. As a young man, he worked his way through Harvard, eating 11-cent boxes of macaroni and cheese and mooching off tea sandwiches at business […]
When you were a teen, did your dad ever talk to you about what it is to be a man? Probably not. And if he did, did you listen? Probably not. When I was growing up I found that my dad was hardly ever there for me. He was a ‘good father’ by being at […]
Determined to have a real Thanksgiving this year (the thought of cooking a full turkey dinner for three people depressed me), I invited a couple of families to join us. Eagerly I began planning the menu and polishing the silver, and began looking around the home with a critical eye, making mental note of all […]
“As for me and my household, we shall serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 “What does it mean to be a holy family?” I asked my second grade First Communion class. Most of the eager young hands in the room went up. “Be nice.” “Obey your parents.” “Do the 10 Commandments.” “Pray.” “Good answers,” I encouraged […]
There is something about teaching one’s children about the facts of life that inspires fear in the hearts of parents everywhere. When that day came for my boys and me, I nervously searched my local library for an appropriate book (many I found were clearly not appropriate from a moral standpoint), sat down on the […]
Shopping for dresses for my seven-year-old daughter is as epically frustrating as trying to find cell phone service in an elevator. Everything is too short, too skimpy, too adult, too sexy, too much! The fashion industry apparently thinks seven-year-olds should start dressing like Victoria’s Secret catalogue model-wannabes. Like me at 20 years old! Yes, (*strike […]
“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple…So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” […]
“You know what I’m most scared of, Mom?” Last week, Christopher snuggled up to me as we savored our all-too-short time together. “The riots. The kids at school said there’s going to be rioting if Obama doesn’t win.” I considered this a moment. My first instinct was to reassure him, to tell him it was […]
What is one activity that every family should do together daily? No matter how functional or dysfunctional a family is, this activity will make things better. Answer: Pray together. Holy Family Prayer Book, Prayers for Every Family by the Missionaries of the Holy Family is a simple yet practical book. Rather than overwhelming one with […]
It’s hard to believe but Advent is right around the corner. Are you searching for a meaningful Advent practice to bring more faith and spiritual growth into this busiest of seasons? O Radiant Dawn: 5-Minute Prayers Around the Advent Wreath (Ave Maria Press, 2012) may be just what you are looking for. Lisa Hendey, founder […]
Tom and Barbara came to my office seeking help for their teenage son, who was caught viewing online pornography. Though they continuously monitored the home computer, they were shocked to discover that he had been viewing pornography downloaded onto his Kindle. He and his friends had also been viewing porn on their Playstation system. Tom […]
Could failure to follow God’s commands be robbing your family of grace? God not only became one of us, but he was born into a family with parents: Our Blessed Mother Mary, and a father, St. Joseph. There’s no escaping the message that families are intended to be holy places for children to grow […]
The highest-grossing movie of all time, Avatar,features a giant willow-like tree that represents the center of culture and religion for the Na’vi inhabitants of the planet Pandora. The tree has extreme spiritual significance because it allows the Na’vi to communicate directly with their Mother Goddess, Eywa. It also allows them to connect at the same […]
Judge me if you will, but I’m completely unimpressed by celebrity culture. While I’m sure that these are all perfectly lovely people in real life, I just can’t fathom why I should care about who is in/out of rehab (again), or what the Kardashians are wearing. If you wanted to torture me, you’d force me […]
If you do an Internet search for “Catholic Fatherhood” how much data would you find in comparison to Panda Bears, Applied Linear Algebra, and Welding Theory? According to John Clark, author of Who’s Got You, Catholic Fatherhood comes in last. The results respectively were 1,914, 1,706, and 284. Catholic Fatherhood netted 270 results. Clark surmised […]
Remember in 2005 when we first heard about “sexting”? In a culture where kids grow up inundated with sexual language, sexual images, sexual music, sexual television, sexual education and encouragement to explore their sexual selves — parents, nonetheless, expressed horror to learn that kids were sending nude and sexually suggestive or explicit pictures to each […]
I first became a mother at the age of 38 when my husband and I became foster parents to three children under the age of five. Three frightened, angry, fragile kids who spent every waking minute – which, between them, constituted pretty much 24/7 that first year – thinking of creative ways to destroy the […]
Editors note: This was given as a homily on Sunday, October 14th, 2012 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in New Brighton, MN. The gospel was for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, Mark 10:17-30. Recently I spoke with a senior at a Catholic high school and he was telling me that […]
How can your family find healing, strength, and protection in the sacraments? They can learn how in the book, Seven from Heaven (The Crossroad Publishing Company) by Elizabeth Ficocelli. As a matter of fact, that question is the exact subtitle of her book. “God’s powerful presence in the seven sacraments is the reason they hold […]
