“You are loved. Do you hear me? YOU ARE LOVED!” were the words the priest said emphatically. This was the central theme of the three-day mission led by this priest in my parish. He was so convinced of this truth, and was trying to convince everyone else who attended, that he actually had buttons made […]
Recently, I was speaking to a group on the virtue of chastity. A highly charged topic, for sure. One woman raised her hand and offered that what she was most afraid of was being alone the rest of her life. She felt she was in a Catch-22 of sorts. She was afraid that if she committed to […]
A feeling of dread came over me as I noticed the fat, overstuffed envelope crammed in my mailbox. It was yet another mailing from my attorney. They seemed to be coming almost daily. Somedays they were bills, and on other days they were copies of the many voluminous letters he was sending or receiving. No […]
At the workshops I give for divorced Catholics, I am often asked how to find the perfect spouse. Many people approach meeting their future spouse like it is a treasure hunt. They believe that the reason they have not met “the one” yet is because they are not looking in the right way, or in the […]
Unfortunately, going through a divorce these days is a very public matter. Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, Twitter, and email, it seems the entire world knows all the details of your personal life and trials. You can’t help but feel tried in the court of public opinion. As a result, the tendency is to […]
I have a cat. When my kids were younger, they used to love to dangle a string over the cat’s head to make her jump and twirl. They used to say the cat was “dancing.” It looked more like “squirming” to me. I was never really sure if the cat enjoyed this or not. Frankly, […]
After my divorce I was carrying a very heavy cross. Surprisingly, what made my cross so heavy was not the usual challenges of being a single parent, financial uncertainty, or dealing with a difficult ex. I certainly had my share of these challenges. What turned my cross from wood to lead was my difficulties with living […]
Recently, I was on a flight to New York. I was sitting in an aisle seat. The middle seat was empty, and a young woman was sitting in the window seat. She caught my attention because she was what I would call “edgy.” She was dressed very flashy, had a purple streak dyed into her […]
Marriages are supposed to be for life. That’s how God designed them. Divorce is an obvious sign that something went seriously wrong with that plan. Most divorces don’t happen overnight. It is usually the result of a cumulative series of events. If you are totally honest with yourself, you can see what role you played […]
The first year after my divorce was overwhelming. Along with being a single parent to three young kids, I was working full-time and trying to put my life back together. I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. My response was to put my head down and push through the […]