Parenting

What did you say? I can’t hear you. Did you lose your voice? I never truly appreciated the Gospel story found in Luke 1 when  Zechariah doubted God’s plan for his life to have a son in his old age and the angel said, “But now you will be…

Does your child have a beloved Catholic teacher or a catechist? Show that dedicated teacher how much you care by gifting him or her with a token of appreciation. Here are eight teacher-friendly gifts all under $25. Prayers and Devotions The…

Even though my four children spoil me on Mother’s Day, this day is always tinged with sadness for me because my mom, Sharon, passed away nearly seven years ago. She died from breast cancer two months shy of her 70th birthday. Mother’s Day…

What are you buying your mom for Mother’s Day? If you’re looking for presents that will please and pamper her, then check out these eight elegant or useful gifts chosen especially for moms. Fran's Gray & Smoked Salt Caramels Fran's fair…

“Hi, Jesus! I love you, too, Jesus! Mmm …” my oldest daughter blows Jesus a kiss as we drive past a Catholic church on the way to a play date. Normally, I initiate the ritual, but she does it on her own today. The motion is natural to her,…

Q: What’s with babysitters these days? I have hired at least a half-dozen teenaged girls in the past two years, and the issues that have arisen have led me to conclude that it’s not worth the trouble for my husband and me to go out for an…

This year it will be a quarter of a century since my wife and I brought our first child to Mass for the first time. Every Sunday Mass since, with the exception of a business trip, retreat or getaway here and there, we have knelt, stood, and…

Q. Whenever we ask our 13-year-old son what he wants to be when he grows up, he says, “All I want to be is rich.” Our son’s fixation on money and materialism bothers us. He never talks about how he’ll achieve his goal of wealth or what…

It had been a bacon-and-egg, aster-and-bluebells, children-hanging-on-every-limb kind of Sunday, five stars all around. By 3 p.m., I was comfortably buzzed on sunlight and motherhood, the grass looking a little greener than usual, my mood a…

Q. How do you suggest defending against the culture’s assault on childhood when it comes via an “inside job?” My soon-to-be-ex-wife previously saw and resisted it, but in recent years she has pretty much given into it rather than fight it.…