The other day when meditating on a joyful mystery of the rosary: The Finding of Jesus in the Temple, I wondered: Did they ever consider making this a sorrowful mystery, “The Losing of Jesus for Three Days?” Mary’s experience of searching anxiously for her son reminded me of one of my own experiences—one where the […]
I like to think of myself as a low-key, even-tempered, patient woman. I also like to think of myself as a fast runner. Unfortunately, neither of those statements is actually true. First, we’ll address the issue of my athletic prowess. I have run several races, including the following distances: 5K, 8K, 10K, half-marathon, and 25K […]
How do you think of the Sacrament of Reconciliation? If you are like most Catholics, you probably think of it as little as possible! Or, perhaps, you think of it as something good to have available in the event you do something really, really wrong, but not something you need to concern yourself with otherwise. […]
Yesterday, someone close to me shared the pain of his son’s incarceration due to drug abuse and brushes with the law. Also this week, I received a letter from a prisoner sentenced to twenty years for meth. He was a graduate of St. Mary’s High school where my kids go. After reading Amazing Grace for […]
Who can turn away a sweet little girl, boxes of cookies in her wagon, smiling hopefully at your front door? And who can turn down the savory pleasures to be found in every box of Thin Mints and Samoas and Savannahs? Well, I can. You see, the proceeds from the sale of Girl Scout cookies […]
I’ve long been confused by the story of Martha and Mary from Luke 10:38-42. It reads: As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what […]
In her National Post article “Only planet: Why one child is often enough,” Connie Jeske Crane reviews Susan Newman’s book The Case for the Only Child: Your Essential Guide. The book challenges the negative stereotypes surrounding the phenomenon of “onlies” — children who grow up with no siblings. She confronts the societal notion that only children […]
What comes to mind when you hear the word “parenting?” Perhaps being attentive, nurturing, caring, loving and wanting what’s best for a child. But what happens when parents’ good intentions go awry? Take the case of Thomas Lobel: Thomas was adopted by same-sex couple Pauline Moreno and Debra Lobel when he was 2 years old.[1] […]
A few months ago, I was e-commiserating with a friend about the physical challenges of having children. We were neighbors in the hospital as she delivered her seventh on the same day my fifth was born. Obviously, neither of us were surprised with the toll childbirth, sleepless nights, and nursing took on us. With the […]
The Gray Lady ran an opinion column this weekend by Emily Rapp, mother to 18-month-old Ronan. Ronan has Tay-Sachs disease and, by all medical estimates, will die in a particularly gruesome manner before he is three. The subject is chilling, but I was particularly struck by her critical analysis–wisdom gained in suffering–of our parenting culture. […]
Okay, now this is just sad. Toys help children to learn and prepare them for life. That’s why industrial designer Ben Forman (benformandesign.co.uk) has introduced a new dollhouse to help today’s modern preschooler prepare for the inevitable unhappy changes in her family structure. It’s called Detacho. Detacho families, like so many contemporary American families, can […]
There are many wonderful books about Catholic saints available. Most of you probably own some of them. Perhaps you even have some collecting dust in your home. They looked so interesting, but you never found the time to read them. So, why should you purchase another one? Because in the new A Book of Saints […]
Call it an occupational hazard, but I can’t look at the Occupy Wall Street protesters without thinking, “Who parented these people?” As a culture columnist, I’ve commented on the social and political ramifications of the “movement” – now known as “OWS” – whose fairyland agenda can be summarized by one of their placards: “Everything for […]
Today was a beautiful fall day and I spent some of it outside blowing bubbles with a two-year-old. I would blow the bubbles and he would chase them and try to catch them – giggling with delight the whole time. As I blew the bubbles again and again, I couldn’t help but reflect on the […]
Dear Reader, I have so many friends whose kids are either beginning or ending the orthodontia journey, I found myself revisiting the history of my own daughter’s mouth-capades. After 6 years of having some form of wire contraption glued in my daughter’s mouth (and us living off of mac & cheese, the clouds parted and […]
Ok, fess up. Are you a good parent or a bad one? Last week, bad parents were all over the news, so if you weren’t plastered throughout the media for pouring hot sauce down your son’s throat, shaving your daughter’s head for lying, or otherwise terrorizing the little ones in your care, you’re not as […]
What does Scripture say to parents about evangelizing their children? At what age of the child should parents begin? One day, the Pharisees tested Jesus with an important question – of all 613 of the Bible’s laws, which is most important? The Lord quickly shot back a response: “you shall love the Lord your God […]
It happens every year: after weeks and weeks of summer break, there are times when I just can’t take one more minute of family “togetherness.” The bickering. The teasing. The incessant need to be entertained. Sometimes I let the kids out of the car at the bottom of the 500-foot driveway and make them run […]
Who can name the geniuses who have wrought our modern world? The scientists and engineers whose imagination, sweat and determination created the artifacts of material culture we use and rely upon each day? I’m not talking Thomas Edison, Henry Ford or the Wright brothers. Everyone already knows about light-bulbs and cars and airplanes. But how […]
Dr. Morse gave this speech April 23, 2011, at Hong Kong Baptist University, at a conference of Western and Chinese scholars, entitled “The Family and Sexual Ethics: Christian Foundations and Public Values.” China is experiencing numerous problems due to family breakdown, including the one child policy, high divorce rates, and an imbalanced sex ratio. This […]
[Dr. Morse’s Commencement Speech to Providence Academy High School, Delivered June 3, 2011 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.] Faculty and Students of Providence Academy; Class of 2011; parents, friends and benefactors: this is a wonderful and memorable day. For many of you, graduating from high school was always a foregone conclusion. So maybe you feel this day […]
Dads, when you let the National Education Association, Hollywood and the cast from Glee raise your daughters, you shouldn’t be surprised if they turn out to be self-absorbed, painted little Paris Hilton wannabes. As Doug Giles, columnist and host of the nationally syndicated Clash Radio program puts it: “Fathers, don’t let your babies grow up […]
Are you looking for a book which will help your family increase in virtue? Catholic Family Bootcamp is an ideal resource for assisting your family not only in reinforcing the spiritual virtues, but also in strengthening emotional bonds with your closest family members. “I have only one goal in providing you with this devotional book: […]
It’s always painful to read a book that makes you feel like you have failed/are failing in every way that truly matters. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it. I felt that way after reading School of the Family by Chantal R. Howard. Howard has had an eventful life. Although still only in her twenties, […]
