Catholic Digest

Where’s My Applause?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

In August, I volunteered to teach sixth graders for our parish religious education program. I was encouraged to do something apostolic by my spiritual director, Father Steve, and since I'm always perfectly docile and obedient (ahem)...

Eucharistic Adoration: Supplementing our human perspective with the Divine

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

I met John at the door last night when he came in from work. I had had a bad day and it was important for everyone I vacate the premises.

"What about Patrick's Cub Scout meeting," John asked as I ...

What we want for our children

11 — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Today (January 8, 2012) is my son's 25th birthday. He has the same birthday as Elvis Presley, arguably one of the most famous rock musicians of the 20th century. My son is also a musician. Though his instrument o...

Contemplative prayer

14 — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Over the past several years my focus has been on relationships. Those with my children and also my relationship with God. It was somewhat easier for me to build the relationships with my kids because they were, and still are, right in front of me ...

Dangerously Delicious

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Someone like me could easily become a neurotic mess during the month of December and years ago, I was. But--I'm happy to report--I've grown a bit since then and I no longer covet the kind of holiday found within the gl...

Human Failure

11 — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

As I write this, Christmas 2011 is a week away. I keep wondering what happened. There was a time when, by Thanksgiving, I had all my Christmas shopping done. There was a time when I made 85 percent of my Christmas gif...

Reconciliation Rocks

10 — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

If there’s one thing you can be sure about with teenagers, it’s that you can never be sure of what they’re going to say. For instance:

“Reconciliation rocks...

Preparing My Heart For Christmas

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

A few years ago, I attended an Advent reflection for women where a former homeschooling mom turned professional teacher gave a presentation on living Advent as a Catholic family. By the time she finished, I was wiping my perspiring foreh...

What do you think of the New Roman Missal?

10 — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

So how did you do with the new Roman Missal translation at Mass this weekend? I flubbed the “And with your spirit,” response a few times, but I left Mass feeling more energized and involved than I have in a long time. I had to ...

Take Up The Cross

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

When he throws a book in anger because he doesn’t understand or because he simply doesn’t want to work and I so badly desire to just react to his poor behavior and tell him what I really think of him, I must remember the invita...

Does God Have a Gender?

11 — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Some time ago, I wrote a blog answering a friend’s question about where God was when 9/11 happened. After it was posted, a dear reader gently took me to task because of my use of the pronoun “He” when referr...

Losing Teeth, Gaining Wisdom

10 — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

I’m not sure which event my son is dreading more: his upcoming oral surgery, or his confirmation retreat this weekend. At least when he gets his wisdom teeth pulled, he’ll get anesthesia and painkillers. But very litt...

Chance Encounters Of The Abandoned Kind

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

On embracing God’s will in all things

"I was 43 when I found out I was going to have my twelfth baby," Mrs. Jones told me over pancakes and bacon served by the Knights of Columbu...

Doubt, Faith, and Sparrows

14 — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Fall is a busy time in our house. With school and other activities starting up, it takes me a while to adjust. Plus, I’m back to taking my spiritual direction classes, and this year I’ve got a heavy schedule. We're doing a...

Why are you a Catholic?

11 — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

I am a convert. No big revelation there, there are quite a few of us in the Church. I became a convert on December 12, 1981, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. For those of you who are into numbers, you will real...

On Accepting Help

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

To quote Betty Duffy, "I had a booger of a sin to confess.” I decided last night I couldn't put it off any longer so I scoured the internet looking for a local church that holds confession during the week (t...

Where was God?

11 — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

A while back, I wrote a blog about September 11, 2001 (and other disasters in our nation’s history), in which I asked the question, “Where were you when...” I got some really good responses from readers as well as fri...

Called on the Carpet

10 — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The sports car revved and twitched like a pony at the gate. Waiting impatiently at the traffic light, it was the kind of car that shouted power, wealth, and life in the fast lane. But its license plate made another statement: IM 4GVN.

&...

Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 05:00:00 GMT

I think a mouse died in my wall. I’ll let you use your imaginative olfactory senses to hypothesize about the smell but I will say it amazes me that an animal so small can produce an odor so large.

...

Miss Communication

11 — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Email, texting, social networking sites, etc. It seems to me that, the more technology we develop to help with communication, the less community we have. I see folks sitting in restaurants, with friends right across the table f...

Mary's Example

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Last week was a bad-parenting week. I yelled at the kids.

A lot.

It seems like everywhere I turned, someone was touching something they...

Where were you when...

11 — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Where were you when……, it is a question we find ourselves asking as the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 approaches. As I hear myself and others asking this question, it makes me think of ot...

Faith, not fear

14 — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 05:00:00 GMT

A couple of months ago I had a wonderful experience. I'm studying to be a Spiritual Director for the Diocese of Trenton, NJ. It's a 3 year program and I was getting frustrated because it's a long program, with a significant investme...

Love is...

11 — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Like many parishes across the country, our parish shares a priest with another parish. We are lucky that our partner parish also has a wonderful deacon who occasionally comes to our Masses, and sometimes does the homily.&nb...

Embracing My Cross: The path to TRUE happiness

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

I traipsed up the aisle with a baby on my hip and four little ducklings waggling behind just before the choir belted the first verse of "Sing Ye To The Lord". We stopped at the entrance of a pew and my Sunday-dressed brood file...

Front pew Catholics

11 — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

A visiting priest recently made a comical remark about the fact that you could tell we were in a Catholic church, because all the front pews were empty. (Now, I was up front, but that’s mainly because that ...

One Word

16 — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Recently a friend asked me, “In one word, why are you Catholic?” Without hesitation, I responded, “Sacramentality.” I was shocked at how quickly that word came rushing out of my mouth.&am...

Toddler tenacity: on teaching my little one about protecting the weak

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 05:00:00 GMT

"That was the hardest one I've ever done," I complained to John as we buckled our seat belts in the church parking lot after Mass. "I'm exhausted and I need a nap," I whined.

&l...

Grief and Introspection

14 — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:00:00 GMT

This week would have been mine and Joanne's 21st wedding anniversary. Its one of those times that could be good or bad depending on how it goes. Thankfully we are also celebrating my son Matthew's 17th birthday so there's some happi...

Waving the White Flag of Surrender

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 05:00:00 GMT

I laid my weary head against the Confessional gate and sighed loudly, worn from the weight of my brokenness. It was Good Friday and we had waited over two hours for an empty seat and an available priest. When it was my turn to ...

Of Confession and freedom

14 — Tue, 31 May 2011 05:00:00 GMT

The Sacrament of Reconciliation, otherwise known as confession, seems as if it's losing popularity as time goes on. When I was a young boy, on Saturday evenings the line for confession was 10-15 people deep on both sides of the church. Today,...

God in the Forest

11 — Tue, 24 May 2011 05:00:00 GMT

My tears came faster and harder as I stumbled through the woods. Finally, I forced myself to slow down, although I just wanted to run until I dropped. I didn't know this part of the forest, however, and knew I could just as easily run over a ...

God is here

Mon, 16 May 2011 05:00:00 GMT