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Parenting
How having children changed Mass and why we keep going
There was a time in our life where Mass was a quiet place for worship. Time to reflect on life and all that has been given to us. Then, we had kids. These days Mass can be more like a three-ring circus, but without cotton candy — we have…
Ways to be a pro-life family
January marks the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the annual March for Life, so it's a natural time to promote respect for life from conception to natural end. But what does it mean to “respect life”? What does it mean to be “pro-life”?…
Learn to ponder as parents in the midst of daily life
One of the most striking themes present in the Gospels is how our Heavenly Mother would ponder or reflect on “things in her heart,” specifically when related to her son. Mary’s example demonstrates to modern parents how to go about our…
Our favorite Thanksgiving traditions
Go to Mass There is no better opportunity to give thanks for all the blessings of the past year than going to Mass with your family. On a day so focused on thanks, it is only fitting that we should give praise to the one who is most…
Five no-carve pumpkin decorating ideas
Proclaim Scripture Use black fabric paint or marker to decorate pumpkins with short Bible verses. This is a perfect opportunity to bring faith into your decoration and remind your child or grandchild to thank God for the fall harvest. It’s…
When our children reflect our negative traits
We’ve all got our temperaments and our children do too. It easy to pick out which of my children is the heart-on-her-sleeve mini-me of her father and which one is the spitting absent-minded image of myself. But our children don’t just get…
Five suggestions to strengthen your family in love
What is the one virtue that can radically transform your family life? Charity! Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. (Catechism of the…
Five tips to a fabulous faith-filled family vacation
Recently, I traveled from Ohio to Vermont for a quick Fourth of July getaway and the week after that I headed to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for another 700-plus mile road trip. These two long road trips were not only an opportunity for…
Do I worry too much about my kids?
Q: I’m the mom of three children — two boys ages 9 and 6, and a 4-year-old daughter. I wonder if I am unreasonably consumed by fear and anxiety about my kids’ safety and well-being. This issue is starting to be a source of friction between…
The whispering mom
What did you say? I can’t hear you. Did you lose your voice? I never truly appreciated the Gospel story found in Luke 1 when Zechariah doubted God’s plan for his life to have a son in his old age and the angel said, “But now you will be…
