As Catholic Schools Week approaches in our diocese, I find myself reflecting on how we ended up choosing Catholic school for our children. Reprinted with permission from CatholicSistas.com Catholic school was not really on our radar when we started our family. My husband and I both grew up going to large public schools and did […]
Passing on the faith at home with Marian piety During his installation at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago last November, Archbishop Blase Cupich challenged those in attendance to pass on the faith to young people through their “authenticity of life, where words match deeds.” The message was not just for Catholic teachers and youth ministers, […]
Christmas traditions help a family cope after mother passes away In 2005 I lost my wife Joanne after her short battle with cancer. Nothing could have prepared me and our nine children for the future that lay before us. Our first Christmas without her was heart-wrenching. I remember decorating the tree, with every ornament that […]
There is a prevalence of inordinate fear and anxiety in Western culture today. Yet, we are called not to live a fear-driven life, but rather a life of deeply rooted faith and trust in our loving, all powerful, caring Father in heaven. Yes, He is your Father. We all innately desire safety and security. But, […]
Making date night work without too much work One way of being a better parent and spouse is making and keeping “date night.” Contrary to popular belief, this need not be (a) extravagant, (b) expensive, (c) so regular that it becomes boring (you can only do “dinner and a movie” so often), nor (d) require […]
Milk and toothpaste. That’s all that was left on my shopping list as I maneuvered myself, two shopping carts (one of the race car variety) and my five youngest sons toward the back of our local supermarket. The oldest boy was big enough to push a cart, only occasionally racing down an aisle or bumping […]
I think future generations will look back on our insane notion of “reproductive rights,” and they will be horrified. Back in the 70s reproductive rights meant terminating a life you already started. Today it also means creating life however you see fit and tossing out whatever doesn’t suit your desires. So not only have we […]
Dutifully, Catholics go on the hunt each year for the highly coveted, purple and pink candle ensemble vital to any serious Advent wreath. I’m eighty-seven percent sure that I buy a replacement set after Christmas in anticipation of the following liturgical season. I proudly congratulate myself for thinking ahead, taking advantage of the sale price, […]
I love the holidays. What an awesome opportunity it presents to get our large family together. One Thanksgiving a few years back, we were especially blessed to be in full force with all twenty-nine of us. The two military boys and eight college students had graced us with their presence. Additionally, several of the teens […]
There are more young people in the world now than ever before. According to the United Nations Population Fund’s latest report, this represents an unprecedented opportunity for progress, but only if future generations are smaller. UNFPA’s prescription to ensure a “demographic dividend” includes freely available abortion for adolescents, removing age of consent, drug and prostitution […]
Even with all I have lost in this life I still believe in love. Even when love seems silent, I believe in love. Even if God seems silent, I believe in Him for He is divine love, manifested to us in His Son Jesus Christ.[1] He abides with me. So too, my experience with human […]
The Vatican-hosted international interreligious colloquium on the Complementarity of Man and Women started in Rome yesterday with an address by Pope Francis. The purpose of the conference, which ends tomorrow, is to show the beauty of the complementarity of men and women, which has existed across cultures and religions. The Holy Father began his address […]
“Who has helped you the most in your fathering?” We asked that very question to thousands of men as part of our research. Some answered, “My father” or “My pastor.” But the most popular answer by far was, “My wife.” And when we asked, “Who helps you overcome struggles in your fathering?” the number one […]
Eight months ago after welcoming my youngest into the wide world, I rediscovered the wee hours of the morning. After my longest gap between newborns (almost five years) in which I’d grown used to sleeping and waking according to my own wants and needs, I had to relearn that sacrificial habit of fumbling in the […]
Tyler Blanski wrote a fabulous and insightful article on fatherhood the other day on Catholic Exchange. It reminded me of my own father and one of his favorite sayings: “offer it up.” Whenever something traumatic happened in the lives of his ten children, like spraining an ankle during football practice or hearing something hurtful by […]
When I was young child growing up in the 70’s, I remember seeing greeting cards and cheesy home décor with the quote, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry,” an oft quoted line from the melodramatic film Love Story. It never made sense to me. If that is indeed true, I would tell myself, […]
Life is more about getting up than it is about not falling. So my father commented once, long ago, when (of all things) we were watching figure skating. It wasn’t just any figure skating, though, it was the return of Scott Hamilton after his battle with cancer. For those too young to remember, Scott Hamilton […]
It’s July 2008 and I’m strapped to a surgical table as a fertility doctor siphons three dozen eggs out of my ovaries through a long needle. Blood is coming from between my legs, as the needle repeatedly perforates my vaginal walls en route to my ovaries in search of viable eggs. In the next room, […]
I was sitting in the easy chair at home when my five year old daughter Liz said, “Dad, I want to whisper something to you,” and put her lips to my ear. When her four year old sister Stephanie saw Liz whispering in my ear, she hurried over to the other side of the chair […]
In 1976 my daughter was born. I was head-over-heels in love with her. At the time I was a commercial writer for a television station; I remember clicking away on my manual typewriter in time with a new tune by Stevie Wonder: Isn’t She Lovely. To me (and a million other new fathers) that song […]
As much as I don’t like to think about it now, my 2-year-old daughter will not always desire to spend every waking minute with her mom. She prefers to engage with me now, but I know that the television, computer, phone and movies will grab her attention as she gets older. So I strive to […]
We were having oatmeal for breakfast, and the one-year-old handed me his spoon and said: “Feed!” He likes it when I feed him sometimes (as in: as often as I’ll agree to). The morning in question he was just too cute to turn down, so I took the offered spoon and started feeding him. He […]
We all know that the lyrics of rock music are often morally offensive; however, evidence is appearing which indicates that rock music itself may be harmful regardless of the lyrics. Although studies of the harmful effects of rock music are hard to find, there is a growing concern that there is something about the beat […]
Most Catholic parents have had to take an embarrassing walk to the back of church with small children who can’t quiet down. So, what might parents of small children, and those who are bothered by small children, do in these situations? From the perspective of others at Mass My family is at the stage where […]
