One of the biggest challenges facing Catholic parents today is trying to navigate tricky conversations about everything body-related with our kids. I work in menstrual cycle education– I first started as an NFP teacher about a decade ago, but slowly expanded into...
Saint John Bosco is well known for his work with disadvantaged youth and his innovative educational methods. In a time when teachers used corporal punishment and public shaming, John Bosco’s methods were seen as hugely controversial. Influenced by his first...
What comes to mind when you think about raising a teenager in today's world? Technology overload? Social media addiction? The constant struggle against anxiety and being overwhelmed? It's easy to focus on the challenges, isn't it? But what if we shifted our...
During our teenage years, our relationship with the Lord begins to change. As children, we typically love Him without caring about the details. We love Him with the love of a child with wonder, often praised in the Gospels. However, when we begin our teenage years, we...
Sin can be a challenging concept to teach to children, especially in today’s world where sin is not only tolerated but often celebrated. But as Christians, we know that sin is real and it damages our relationship with God. We are in a spiritual battle…good versus...
We all know that a great story can be one of the most effective ways to build up a child’s faith and strengthen their relationship with our Lord and His church. Many Catholic authors I know, including myself, strive to tell stories that will echo in your child’s heart...
Passing on your family’s traditions and rituals is of immense importance. From the way birthdays and name days are celebrated to the particular foods that are served at great feasts, traditions include all “the ways things are done in our house.” These small things...
For the Grieving Heart The time following the loss of a baby is numbing and painful as you try to navigate all of the emotions that are flooding your entire being. The grieving process is complex and leaves you wondering when your heart will find healing again, when...
For some reason, family prayer can be difficult. Carving out time in a day and gathering everyone into the same room seems particularly hard. It was hard when my wife Ashley and I had only three kids. It seems perfectly impossible now with sixteen. But even in the...
Years ago, I said something to my 11-year-old son which he found to be unsympathetic. His response? “I don’t think that is what a real parent would say to her child.” I have no idea how he came up with his frequent one-liners, but perhaps all 11-year-olds have this...
How you support your priest depends on how well you know your priest. There are, of course, things priests universally or generally appreciate—like prayers or a mug that says “Don’t make me put you in one of my homilies”—but as lay people, we have a responsibility to...
Occasionally, when I am feeling particularly adventurous, I load up the minivan and bring my five kids (eight and under) to the nearby Benedictine monastery for one of their hours of sung prayer. It is a little monastery, and when we go, we outnumber the nuns...
After a career change, I had the privilege of beginning my teaching career this past year at St. John Paul II High School in Avondale, AZ which is run by the Sisters of St. Cecilia, better known as the “Nashville Dominicans.” I was blown away by the fidelity of the...
Miscarriage, a word that I never thought would happen to me. It wasn’t really on my radar and I didn’t give it any thought when I found out I was pregnant with our first baby. Yet, it was this very word that defined my first five pregnancies. It is the word that...
Our baby is graduating from college this year. Gulp. I’m not sure how we got here so quickly, but like it or not, it’s happening. Actually, I love it. Watching our kids become who they were meant to be has been the greatest honor. They don’t have it all figured out,...
I had fifty eyes glaring back at me with exhaustion and boredom. It was my first foray into a Catholic middle school classroom as a guest teacher for religion. I was twenty-one years old, relatively “hip” by preadolescent standards, and one week on the job as a new...
When you hear the word retreat you probably think: solitude, monastery, deep prayer, and peace. These are all images of a retreat that you may have attended or have envisioned yourself participating in some day. It hardly lines up with the word,...
Here are 3 ways in particular that I rely on the Holy Spirit to parent: The Holy Spirit sanctifies me and fills me with God’s love when I am empty, He comes through on his scriptural promises, and He gives practical gifts which bear fruit. Let’s dive into these one at...
Recently, the lyrics to the song “One Spirit, One Church” by Kevin Keil and Maryanne Quinlivan, OSU, began running through my mind: We are a pilgrim people, we are the Church of God. A family of believers, disciples of the Lord. United in one spirit, ignited by the...
As the snow and icy wind begin to die down and melt into the sunny warmth of spring, I can’t help but get excited about the gardening season! Not only do I love the sprouts of green interrupting the once white and brown landscape, but I also love the sacredness of...
Your Lord and Savior is Now the Size of a Grape! | Month 2 The Life growing within our Blessed Mother’s womb has been busy this month. Baby Jesus’ organs are developing quickly. He already has a brain and a beating heart! The Most Holy Face of Jesus continues to...
The longing for genuine connection and community has never been more pronounced. Building and nurturing community is an essential endeavor in response to Christ’s call to discipleship. The quality of a community is reflected in the quality of...
It had to be wrong to love something this much. I had worked on my fantasy novel since I was a teenager, poured so much love, time, and pencil dust into it, that it became its own person. As Athena once sprang from the mind of Zeus, so this novel had gestated in my...
The beauty of the beast. “Sixteen is the terrible twos times eight plus a driver’s license.”—One mother in speaking for many. “Just enjoy them now; those teen years are coming.”—a forewarning from veteran parents to the beginners. Poll one hundred...
Imagine this: You stand outside your teen’s bedroom door. You knock a few times and there’s no answer. A few moments pass by and you knock again. All is quiet. You make an executive decision to enter the room. As the door opens, you find your teenager sitting down...
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Tip: These make amazing Catholic Christmas Gifts too!