The following article is part of our ongoing series on the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life.  To learn more, join our Facebook discussion group:  CatholicHŌM (Households on Mission)–Family Discipleship. Family prayer isn’t supposed to be stressful.  If that comes as a surprise, keep reading.  Help is on the way. In my work with families, I find that the more concerned you are with “getting prayer right” (being in the “right” position, staying still for the “right” amount of time, saying... Read more

The following article is part of our ongoing series on the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life.  To learn more, join our Facebook discussion group:  CatholicHŌM (Households on Mission)–Family Discipleship. One of the most important practices in the Rite of Christian Relationships in the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life is what we call “discipleship discipline.”  This loving-guidance approach to childrearing is largely inspired by St. John Bosco’s work with children. He wasn’t a parent, but he was a great Christian teacher... Read more

This article is part of a series on the “Liturgy of Domestic Church Life.”  To discover ways to experience more grace at home, join our facebook discussion group, CatholicHŌM (Households on Mission)–Family Discipleship. Every parent has had that moment where our kids get under our skin and we react. We might find ourselves lashing out, or making threats we know we have no intention of following through on, or punishing too severely, or just giving up,  or a million other... Read more

This article is part of a series on domestic church life.  To learn more about creating a dynamic domestic church,  join the conversation on our Facebook discussion group CatholicHŌM (Households on Mission)–Family Discipleship. A friend made me aware of this article in The Catholic Thing about the frustration the author, Randall Smith, felt about watching mass online. He writes… The danger for me is that I get spiritually numb.  It’s easy to get busy with work and just skip it without a thought. ... Read more

This article is part of a series on the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life.  Want more information on having a more dynamic at-home faith life?  Join our  Facebook discussion group: CatholicHŌM (Households on Mission)–Family Discipleship. The Liturgy of Domestic Church Life is a model of family spirituality that helps Catholic families “bring Jesus home” in more meaningful ways so that we can make the faith the source of the warmth in our home.  “Liturgy” is a word that refers to the work God does... Read more

In the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life, the Rite of Relationship is concerned with modeling Christ’s love in everything we do in the home.  How can we, as parents and kids, challenge ourselves to stop settling for the love that comes naturally to us, and intentionally use this moment to live more like Jesus. Gentle discipline is one of the four ways families can celebrate the Rite of Relationships (along with prioritizing family time, extravagant affection, and promptly, generously, and... Read more

To say that people are stressed in the face of global pandemic is an understatement.  Beyond the very real concerns about our health and the health of our loved ones, the shelter-in-place orders combined with the loss of so many normal spiritual resources are making many people feel unmoored.  Psychologists have coined the term Covid Stress Syndrome to describe the psychological effects of the pandemic, and the CDC has released recommendations for dealing with the emotional fallout from this crisis. How... Read more