The Patheos Catholic Channel is hosting a Symposium on the Family in light of the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Family in October and the recent release of the working document for the Synod. Most people believe that Catholics take a rather dim and ignorant view of sex. I used to be one of them. Growing up, it seemed to me that there were two prevailing schools of thought among Catholics. The first I call the “Keep God Out of... Read more
The Patheos Catholic Channel is hosting a Symposium on the Family in light of the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Family in October and the recent release of the working document for the Synod. In the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on The Family, the Church will consider the mission of the Catholic family. One of the big questions we need to look at in wrestling with this larger issue is, “Should Catholic families be different in some way from other families... Read more
The Patheos Catholic Channel is hosting a Symposium on the Family in light of the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Family in October and the recent release of the working document for the Synod. The following is part of that ongoing series. In November 2013, I was asked by my bishop to provide a response to the survey in preparation for the 2014 Extraordinary Synod on the Family. Many of the questions in that document have to do with the faithful’s awareness of... Read more
Every once in a while the Holy Spirit allows me a glance at how he’s using my work to touch the hearts of his people. It’s always humbling and I’m always truly grateful for the experience. Earlier today, I came across a post by Molly Milroy of Ignitum Today titled, “Five Books That Changed My Life” I was genuinely blessed to find my book, The Life God Wants You To Have: Discovering the Divine Plan When Human Plans Fail listed among the... Read more
The Patheos Catholic Channel is hosting a Symposium on the Family in light of the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Family in October and the recent release of the working document for the Synod. In the last decade, especially, in a well-intentioned effort to be inclusive, educators and broadcasters have been redefining what it means to be a family. The simplest and most concise example might be this music video from the popular children’s television program, Sesame Street, which states,... Read more
In light of the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Family and the recent release of the working document on the Synod, the Patheos Catholic Channel is hosting a special symposium on the Catholic vision of marriage and family life and the specific challenges to both living out and promoting that vision. In light of this effort, I wanted to kick off my contribution by looking briefly at why the family matters at all. More Than “‘Cause God Said So” Many... Read more
A lot of folks are pretty upset with Facebook for “manipulating” them. A recent study showed that Facebook adjusted the algorithm that posts notifications to your wall. At various times, they let through more “negative” posts. Other times they let through more “positive” posts. Then they checked the tone of your status updates to see whether your posts trended more positively or negatively in response. This study has a lot of people concerned about emotional manipulation via social media. Should... Read more
Yes!!! 5-4 Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, & Kagan dissent. Read more
A new study may provide both a cautionary tale for parents of cool kids and a moment of schadenfreude for adults who were bullied in childhood. At 13, they were viewed by classmates with envy, admiration and not a little awe. The girls wore makeup, had boyfriends and went to parties held by older students. The boys boasted about sneaking beers on a Saturday night and swiping condoms from the local convenience store. They were cool. They were good-looking.... Read more
Servant of God, Fr. Patrick Peyton, is famous for the slogan, “the family that prays together, stays together.” In our books, our radio program and counseling practice, we strongly recommend both couple and family prayer as a way of increasing intimacy and responding to the differences that can divide. Of course, this isn’t just true for families. Prayer is the means by which Jesus’ own wish that all might be one in him (John 17:21) will be fulfilled. As Pope... Read more
Faith on the Couch
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