The topic of loneliness and exclusion from parish life came up recently, and I threw down the gauntlet: I don’t think most of us have a real community at our parishes. Even those who seem so busy or involved or catered to don’t necessarily have much going on in terms of genuine social and spiritual relationships. To which I propose the following quiz, to see if your parish really is your community. Not counting close family members: Do the people... Read more
The courts are back and forth on whether the current HHS rules violate the religious freedom of non-church religious employers. (You, for example, have some kind of religion or philosophical system. If you were an employer, wouldn’t you want to follow your principles, even if it was just a public car wash or a daycare you were running? You are the kind of people these cases are talking about.) Kathy Schiffer writes on the latest in the ping-pong: A federal... Read more
Thank you for keeping your clothes on. One can only take the St. Francis thing so far. Sincerely, Everyone You’ve Ever Known. St. Francis Facepalm by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (known as Guercino or Il Guercino), [Public Domain] courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Read more
The boy is headed out to spend the weekend with some family friends (adults, not teenagers). His dad, not much of a reader so if he says a book is entertaining it probably is, hands him a recent work of adventure-sci-fi to fill the downtime. What the boy digs out of the new school books box instead: The boy does not have perfect grades. He is a normal teenager with the usual spread of strengths and weaknesses. But if he’s... Read more
Here are some recent stories about young men who’ve saved people from being kidnapped: Teen Named a Hero after Saving Woman from Kidnapping Hero Teens Save 5-Year-Old by Chasing Kidnapper on their Bikes The way these young men acted was heroic. We don’t need to know what their grades are, or what kind of job they have, or whether they remember to put the trash out every week without being reminded. We can be certain that whatever else is going... Read more
It’s the time of year when desperate directors of religious education drag parishioners out of the pews and shove them into classrooms. Someone has to teach these kids, and those someones usually come in three categories: Experienced teachers who don’t know much about the faith; Knowledgeable Christians who don’t know much about teaching; Really nice people who are willing to give it their best. Turnover can be high, and the last few volunteers tend to arrive about three weeks into... Read more
A reader reminded me I wrote something half-decent that ran this past week at CatholicMom.com. Following some thoughts on the Bread of Life discourse: When I enter a Catholic church, am I aware that I’ve just stepped into the court of the King of the Universe? Do I treat my time in His presence with the solemnity, majesty, and awe that such a visit deserves? Maybe you, too, like to pray over the scriptures and reflect on them. If so,... Read more
What I’ve been doing instead of blogging lately is getting ready for school — organizing the house, buying books, writing up the calendar. No, this is not one of those posts where I explain that this is the very best method and your children will rot if they do something else. –> FYI If you’re also posting your non-hubris-laden plans and I don’t regularly read your blog (or I fail to read it this one time), you can tweet it... Read more
I do not understand why the courts tolerate “accidental life” lawsuits. What a waste of time and money. The parents wish their child were dead. If that doesn’t shout “Terminate my parental rights!” I don’t know what does. Place the child in the custody of parents who want a child, done. Anything else is nonsense. Meanwhile, if we need a scheme to employ lawyers, why don’t we make it a crime to profiteer off the desire to kill your relations?... Read more
I’ve written before about the importance of discipleship and the ease with which you can start a small discipleship group. (No, really! It’s easy! Do it!) Today Sherry Weddell writes: Life After Sunday is a beautifully written, very inexpensive, highly flexible adult small group process that fosters encounter and discipleship and is downloaded directly off Lumen’s website. Inspired by Communion and Liberation. I know the authors! Take a look. There are 26 different topic modules which can be gone through... Read more
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