Judge not, that you be not judged (Matthew 7:1) The last attitude of evangelism laid out by Pope Francis is a non-judgmental warmth and welcome. As parents, our children need to know that we love them regardless of what they do. They need to know that they can come to us about anything and that they… [Read More]
About Trey and Stephanie Cashion
Four Attitudes of Evangelical Parenthood: Patience – Part 4
The third attitude of evangelical parenthood is patience. As we write this, we’ve just returned from a stint at the grocery store – one that we thought was going to be 30 minutes. An hour and a half later, we’ve just put up the last of the groceries. And …. where are/were our children? Somewhere… [Read More]
Four Attitudes of Evangelical Parenthood: Readiness for Dialogue – Part 3
The second attitude of Evangelical Parenthood lies in a readiness for dialogue. All too often, as a parent, we can be “preachy”. That is, we desire to control any conversation to the extent that there may be a difference of opinion or lack of time. We, some of us more than others, really need to… [Read More]
Four Attitudes of Evangelical Parenthood: Approachability – Part 2
In order to answer our parental vocation to evangelize our children, Pope Francis says we must be approachable to our kids. We must develop and cultivate an attitude of approachability. As a parent, you want your children coming to you to ask difficult questions, right?! After all, if they don’t come to you, to whom… [Read More]
Four Attitudes of Evangelical Parenthood
Parents are called to evangelize their children – to be evangelical parents. Yet, all too frequently many of us fail to answer the call to share the “Good News” with them because we never preach the Gospel to our children. We leave that to the priest in the Sunday homily or the religious education teacher… [Read More]
Are You the “Disciplinarian” in Your Family?
The description of someone as a “disciplinarian” carries certain connotations. Typically, the “disciplinarian” in the family is considered to be the person who administers punishment, who is considered the more strict of the parents. You may remember when you were a child hearing your mother say (after disobeying her or talking back) something along the… [Read More]
The Giver and the Gift: A New Year’s Resolution
Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights – James 1:17 A little over 40 years ago, my mom taught me a lesson that I will never forget: The giver of a gift is always more important than the gift itself. I believe that it was either… [Read More]
Pope Francis, Parenthood, and Relationship
The end of our parenting should be to build relationships with our children. Without a relationship, teaching, questioning, admitting, and giving example – the topics addressed in the previous columns – become less effective. This is part of the point the Pope Francis has been trying to make with regard to dealing with people… [Read More]
Part 5 of 6 – Pope Francis, Teaching, and Parenthood
As with previous Popes, Francis teaches. It’s his job so to speak. As parents, we also are called to be the first and primary teachers, the “first heralds” of the faith to our children. We can learn a great deal about fulfilling that role by watching him do his job. In order to help us… [Read More]
Part 4 of 6 – Pope Francis, Parenthood, and the Importance of Admission
By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them. (Cathechism of the Catholic Church, 2223) Early in his pontificate, Pope Francis has given parents yet another tip – admitting our failings to our children. One of the common themes of Pope Francis has… [Read More]
Part 3 of 6 – Pope Francis, Parenthood, and Questions
Another important tool for parents that we have learned from Pope Francis is the use of questions in our parenting. In his interview with an atheist, when asked a question, Pope Francis responded with a question on several occasions. We, as parents, can learn from this. Questions are frequently the best response initially to… [Read More]
Pope Francis and Parenting by Example – Part 2 of 6
Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2223) From the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has led by example. He has put flesh on the message, so to speak. He as our “Papa” has taken ideas, concepts, and truths and concretely put them into… [Read More]
5 Things Pope Francis Can Teach Parents About Parenthood – Part 1 of 6
Pope Francis has taught us quite a bit about parenthood. In word and deed and in just the first six months as “Papa”, his words and his actions have taught us and can teach any parent something about raising children. Today, we’d like to share some of what we’ve learned from him and to challenge… [Read More]
New Evangelization, Reality TV, and Parenting
Effective parenting calls for new ways of communicating the Faith to children. In essence, parents must answer the call to the New Evangelization in their own homes with their own children. As parents, we’re called to find ways in every day life to convey the truths of the faith in ways that, perhaps, are a… [Read More]
Signs of Contradiction
Three Persons, One God. 100% God, yet 100% man. To save your life, you must lose it. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Christianity is full of seeming contradictions. Life is full of contradictions. The Christian must be comfortable with these apparent contradictions. In fact, part of the mystery of… [Read More]
The Mystery of Parenthood: God’s Vulnerability
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16) We’ve been contemplating this concept of the mystery of parenthood for years – the idea of living parenthood with a heightened sacramental sense. We’ve attempted to be outward, visible signs… [Read More]
Parenthood, Faith, and Mystery
In reality, it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear … Christ the Lord, Christ the new Adam, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of His love, fully reveals man to himself…He, who is the “image of the… [Read More]
Setting Your Family Ablaze – Part 5 of 5 – Evangelization
The last key to setting your family ablaze is to embrace the call to evangelization, “that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and testimony of life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 905). For most Catholics, this seems to be the hardest one to embrace. Faith and Integration, the first two keys, can be done… [Read More]
Setting Your Family Ablaze – Relationships – Part 4 of 5
Relationships must be cultivated if we are to set our families ablaze and begin to change this culture. Relationships are the third necessary piece to the puzzle of transforming our families. For them to flourish, three elements, properly understood, must consciously and actively be made present in our families through the parents. As with all… [Read More]
Setting Your Family Ablaze – Integration – Part 3 of 5
“There cannot be two parallel lives in [the Christian’s] existence on the one hand, the so-called “spiritual” life, with its values and demands; and on the other, the so-called “secular” life that is life in a family, at work, in social relationships, in the responsibilities of public life and in culture… Therefore, I have maintained… [Read More]
Four Keys to Setting Our Families Ablaze – Part 2 of 5 – Faith
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen … And without faith it is impossible to please Him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:1,6) If our families are to be set… [Read More]
Four Keys to Setting Our Families Ablaze – Part 1 of 5
I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! (Luke 12:49) Jesus desired then, and He desires now that a fire be kindled on earth. Today, as much as at any time before in history, we as Catholics, as Christians, must take these words to heart. We must “rekindle… [Read More]
The Mystery of Parenthood
Fifteen years ago at St. Mary’s in College Station, I walked down the stairs with my then 3 year old son. What happened on those stairs opened my eyes and subsequently my wife’s eyes to the fact that parenthood does more for the parents than it ever does for the children. On that stairway, our… [Read More]
