When I first found it, I wasn’t even sure what it was. I was going through a trunk of personal items that had belonged to my dad when I ran across a little brown jewelry box. Dad passed away when I was just fifteen; I’d gathered an array of his possessions and kept them tucked [...]
After experiencing my own unplanned pregnancy, and now working at a crisis pregnancy resource center, everything that I ever thought about being pro-life has completely changed. I realized that before I got some perspective, I actually wasn’t very pro-life at all. Yes, I believed that abortion was wrong, so in that sense I was pro-life, [...]
“Wash more dishes,” my spiritual director inevitably advises me. This kicks off a prolonged spate of whining on my part. My children are brilliant whiners, and they have taught me well. “But … I’m not good at it!” I insist plaintively, sometimes silently, sometimes out loud. “And I don’t like it. And I didn’t do [...]
I can hardly tell you how often I’ve had the following thoughts lately: “She’s married with three kids and she is only a year older than I am, what am I doing with my life?“ “She’s traveled to six different countries in the last three years, what on Earth have I been doing?“ “He’s got a great [...]
Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruits of the Holy Spirit. These include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. It seems that as mothers, we can use an extra helping of each of these. Dear Holy Spirit, Please help me to love my children even when it is hard: when it is 2 [...]
“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 [...]
As millions of students and their parents are preparing for life after commencement, they’re also preparing to deal with massive student loans. Increasingly, people are concerned about the student debt situation brewing on college campuses. The present state of student debt is not a pretty picture. According to a report published by the New York [...]
Just as it is helpful for women to talk to women now and again regarding the spiritual life, the same holds true for men! David N. Calvillo’s book, Real Men Pray the Rosary: A Practical Guide to a Powerful Prayer, is a forthright conversation with men (and us women who sneak a peek) about his own [...]
To: Marybeth From: Not Crazy About Carpools This question might be filed under, “What are these people thinking?” My high school freshman got a ride home from a recent sporting event from a teammate’s parent. The conversation in the car turned to a high school party that took place a couple of weeks ago where [...]
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 18 years and everybody’s throwing [...]
We all walk around with secrets. I’m not sure if I should thank God for that aspect of human nature. Some of them are good secrets. They remain unspoken for a variety of reasons. Perhaps we’re afraid people might think we are foolish or unreasonable for harboring thoughts of something we can never achieve or [...]
“I’m not that interested in ‘mass’ communications. I’m much more interested in what happens between this person and the one person watching. The space between the television set and that person who’s watching is very holy ground.” – Fred Rogers The traditional family unit has been negatively hit from so many directions in our world [...]
Question: Hi Mary! I’m 16, and discerning. At the moment, I feel God wants me as a sister, but I’m still unsure. There’s a guy I know who has expressed his interest in me, and I feel the same way. I’ve asked several people if it would be wrong to date if I felt drawn [...]
Around Mother’s Day, all of the card and flower commercials will say something to this effect: “Your mother was in labor with you for 2½ weeks, so now you should thank her by spending $19.95 on our Flowers-by-Mail.” They tell us that we should honor our moms at least once a year. We all know [...]
Imagine giving your mother a gift that is born of the emotions in your own heart and hand-created simply for her, to share not only the love you feel, but the many ways in which she has touched and shaped your life. You may think you’re not creative enough to come up with such a [...]
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 Natural Family Planning (NFP). In some cases, however, particularly the case of sexuality, abstinence [...]
God gives Moms big hearts because He knows they’re going to need them. Especially when the Mom in question happens to live in a family full of jokesters. Take our family, where the Jokester-in-Chief is none other than Dad himself. One time Mom went down to the basement to do a load of laundry and [...]
When you fall in love, you want to spend as much time together as possible and learn all you can about your loved one. For author Chris Stepien, his ebook Three Days: The Search for the Boy Messiah was about love. His love of God led Stepien to want to know him better. His love [...]
The great 20th century novelist Chaim Potok wrote, in his novel, My Name Is Asher Lev, “You have a gift, Asher Lev. You have a responsibility.” My Mom had a gift of 89 years, 89 years to live her life; 89 years to meet her goals; 89 years. This gift of time, for Mom, for [...]
To: Marybeth From: Irritated Aunt My 13-year-old son will be confirmed in a solemn ceremony at our church. We have invited our extended families to join us for the confirmation and, afterward, for a nice dinner in our son’s honor. We would like everyone to dress appropriately (and modestly) for the occasion, but I’m certain [...]
The Huffington Post must have known the publication of “My Wife Is Expecting Twins and I Am Not Happy About It” would cause waves. Tsunami-level waves, where people were aghast to read paragraphs like this one: Two blessings, two bundles of joy. How could you not be happy, you ask? Of course I’m sympathetic to [...]
A few days ago the FDA announced its decision to lower the age for access to over-the-counter emergency birth control from 17 to 15. It used to be that if minors needed speed-dial abortions they would have to see a doctor for a prescription. Since most minors can’t get to the doctor without a parent being [...]
My husband is so lucky that we only have girls. Whenever we’re out someplace public like the zoo, Legoland, a grocery store, or church, and a child has to go to the bathroom, it’s automatically the female parent who has to take her. Lucky me. This especially came in handy (for my husband) at church [...]
