“Why are you taking pictures of a church that doesn’t care about its people?!” were the words that rudely broke the silence as I was trying to inconspicuously take a few pictures of a magnificent old church near where I was visiting. I turned around to see a disheveled older man who clearly hadn’t had […]
During a recent all-day workshop, I had repeated often my view that if one had to go through a divorce, it was a blessing to be Catholic. My point was that our Catholic faith offers so much hope and healing, particularly through the Sacraments, that to have to go through a divorce without them makes the […]
“Singing is praying twice,” said St. Augustine. He understood that the power of music and song can lift our hearts and minds to God in ways that nothing else can. The song, “Blessings,” by Laura Story, is a wonderful example of this. This song speaks so beautifully to the truth that, even in our sufferings, […]
During a recent all-day workshop, I had repeated often my view that if one had to go through a divorce, it was a blessing to be Catholic. My point was that our Catholic faith offers so much hope and healing, particularly through the Sacraments, that to have to go through a divorce without them makes the […]
I happened upon this quote a few years after my divorce and it has never failed to renew my hope. I pray it does for you, too. As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him-to give God “elbow room.” We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, […]
“Singing is praying twice,” said St. Augustine. He understood that the power of music and song can lift our hearts and minds to God in ways that nothing else can. The song, “Blessings,” by Laura Story, is a wonderful example of this. This song speaks so beautifully to the truth that, even in our sufferings, God […]
I have a fiercely independent streak in me. I have come to understand that this is more often a weakness than a strength because it is motivated by my pride. When I was facing a difficult challenge due to my divorce, I tended to focus only on what I could do to overcome it. I often […]
Not long ago one of my teenagers was grumbling about not being able to go out with friends because she had mismanaged her money and did not have enough money to buy gas for her car. She was not happy. We had a brief parent/daughter exchange about what lesson she learned from not managing her money properly. I, […]
Dealing with teenagers can be a real challenge. A typical teenager is concerned with one thing in their lives: themselves. As a result, they tend to make their relationship with their parents very transactional. They expect to request and to receive, and nothing more. Give them the car keys, and they are happy. Give them money […]
I assumed that Friday, April 8, 2016, would start out like every other day that week. It was Spring Break and I had spent the week sharing some major quality time with my 6-year-old son while my wife was in Florida relaxing with some of our other kids. I was wrong. The pope had published his post-synodal apostolic […]