Family

In 1977 my mom and dad took me and my younger sister to see the original Star Wars movie on the big screen at Cortana Mall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which housed a new theater that had just opened a few months earlier. I was almost 7 years…

Valentine was a priest in Rome who was martyred on this day in AD 270. There are several theories regarding his patronage of young lovers. According to one, he administered Holy Communion and last rites to Christian prisoners before being…

There was a time in our life where Mass was a quiet place for worship. Time to reflect on life and all that has been given to us. Then, we had kids. These days Mass can be more like a three-ring circus, but without cotton candy — we have…

January marks the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the annual March for Life, so it's a natural time to promote respect for life from conception to natural end. But what does it mean to “respect life”? What does it mean to be “pro-life”?…

One of the most striking themes present in the Gospels is how our Heavenly Mother would ponder or reflect on “things in her heart,” specifically when related to her son. Mary’s example demonstrates to modern parents how to go about our…

Words — and names — are powerful. My youngest daughter, Zélie, is learning words, sentences, and questions. Watching her young mind develop simply amazes me. At age 2 she is only at the beginning of life, and everything is new for her. I…

SPICY-SWEET BOURBON PECANS Does the thought of the approaching holidays fill you with panic? If so, you are not alone.  December can be a particularly chaotic time for most families. There’s shopping, school holiday events, office Christmas…

Go to Mass There is no better opportunity to give thanks for all the blessings of the past year than going to Mass with your family. On a day so focused on thanks, it is only fitting that we should give praise to the one who is most…

Proclaim Scripture Use black fabric paint or marker to decorate pumpkins with short Bible verses. This is a perfect opportunity to bring faith into your decoration and remind your child or grandchild to thank God for the fall harvest. It’s…

We’ve all got our temperaments and our children do too. It easy to pick out which of my children is the heart-on-her-sleeve mini-me of her father and which one is the spitting absent-minded image of myself. But our children don’t just get…