2014-12-27T10:36:17-05:00

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:36 am   By

Something fun: I was putting together my author bio for the 2015 CatholicMom.com Gospel Reflections e-book, and discovered my catechist book is now out in Kindle.  Woohoo!   Pretty cool, huh?  That makes me high-tech and stuff, right? If you know a religious education teacher who’s floundering big time, this book is your answer.  It’s short, readable, and gives you step-by-step methods that anyone can use to put together a passable Sunday school class. Yes! Even at your crazy parish, where... Read more

2014-12-27T10:37:13-05:00

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:37 am   By

Synod Survival Tip, and this works for parish and family life too: If you find yourself stuck on the grumpy loop, rehashing over and again the failings of Cardinal Clueless or Father Frustrating, pray for him as if he were dying. That’s right.  Imagine your nemesis on his deathbed, about to face his eternal reward, and pray as if his very soul were at stake.  If you are correct in perceiving just how far he has strayed from his vocation, then... Read more

2014-12-27T10:39:10-05:00

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:39 am   By

Today (October 13th) is the feast of St. Gerald of Aurillac, which means it’s time for me to point you to fun for junior historians.  Biography in general is a useful way to study history, because you quickly get past the generalizations and see what people really did.  Even better is biography written in the era you are studying, so that you not only find out what happened, but how the contemporaries viewed the events. St. Odo of Cluny wrote... Read more

2014-12-27T10:42:02-05:00

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:42 am   By

Here are a handful of resources for those who are interested in following all the sex talk at the Synod, but are having a hard time making sense of the assorted news reports. For beginners, take a look at: This homily text from Fr. Jim Leblanc on marriage, divorce, and annulments. If I have my facts straight, Fr. Jim was a lawyer before he became a priest and canon lawyer; he’s also a personable, genuinely pastoral guy.  He knows his... Read more

2014-12-27T10:43:15-05:00

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:43 am   By

There’s some exasperated amusement in St. Blogs over the new California laws concerning sexual consent on campus. We can learn about the human heart from doubtful laws.   Implicit in this law is the question, “Are you sure you want to do this?” Why do we ask that question? Because we know that sex outside of marriage is bad for women. If sex were, as corners of our contemporary culture so desperately insist, just this thing you do, a way... Read more

2014-12-27T10:44:45-05:00

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:44 am   By

The overall theme of this month’s Extraordinary Synod on the Family seems to be this: Catholics stink at being Catholic.  No, really, we’re terrible at it.  Now what? The specific topic is everything that has to do with family life, marriage residing at the heart of that.  It turns out Catholics, like the rest of the world, aren’t any better at marrying than we are at, say, remembering to read the parish bulletin.  And yet, weirdly, we still long for... Read more

2014-12-27T10:46:37-05:00

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:46 am   By

My daughter is in middle school, and I enjoy going clothes shopping with her.  How did such a thing ever come to pass?  That’s what I’m writing about this month at CatholicMom.com. Let’s clarify before you click: There is nothing you can do as a parent to take away your child’s free will. Therefore, you can do everything “right” and still have a kid who’s a nightmare to shop with, and who fights with you tooth and nail over your... Read more

2014-12-27T10:48:10-05:00

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:48 am   By

For those who are curious about the 2014 Synod of the Family, today’s first reading gives you a preview of what to expect: Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians 1:6-12 Brothers and sisters: I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel (not that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should... Read more

2014-12-27T10:51:19-05:00

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 10:51 am   By

(UPDATE: Link fixed.) It just came to my attention that Chris Tollefsen has an essay up at Public Discourse on the case against incest.  Those who’ve been reading me for many years know I’m a longtime Tollefsen fan, that’s just the way it is.   One reason is that Tollefsen is always getting into arguments on topics I’ve never thought about, and incest would be right up there.  My thinking on the subject until about half an hour ago consisted... Read more

2014-12-27T12:45:03-05:00

Last updated on: December 27, 2014 at 12:45 pm   By

Kathy Schiffer has been covering the story of the firing of Barb Webb, a teacher at Marian High School who was dismissed after she became pregnant.  The story is much more complicated than that, for as Ms. Webb explains herself, all the other pregnant teachers at Marian don’t get fired. Why are students, parents, alumnae, and faculty up in arms over this event?  Because it’s a break with tradition.  Nobody minded that Barb Webb was in an active, public lesbian... Read more

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