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You are here: Home / Archives for Chris Williston

About Chris Williston

Husband. Dad. Catholic. Blogger. Living out my call to holiness in the vocation of marriage and in service to the Catholic Church.
@cwillistonvi

Vice-President, Co-Founder of ACNM

Seeking the Prayers of a Servant

Published September 5, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: ACNM, Blog

As I sat down to write this week, I was filled with heaviness.  The past several weeks have been filled with loss and sadness for friends and, I’ll admit, I find myself rather empty of much to offer the ACNM community. Stumbling for inspiration, I happened upon the realization that today (Sept. 5) is the… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published September 5, 2013

Conversations I Don’t Have

Published July 25, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog

When people find out that you have four kids, they often say strange things to you.  Sometimes they try to “justify” why they have fewer children, which always seems to reveal some regret or disappointment in their past.  Other times, they make you feel like you’re crazy. In an effort to keep things happy and… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published July 25, 2013

The Perfect Time for Parenting

Published July 11, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Young Adult

I’ll never forget when my wife, Michelle, told me we were pregnant the first time.  I unwrapped a gift to find tiny baby booties inside with a note that said, “Can’t wait to meet you, Daddy.” As I recall, I just started laughing.  And then I kept on laughing.  And then laughed some more.  For… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published July 11, 2013

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: A Review

Published June 13, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: ACNM, Blog, Reviews

I have a thing for pilgrimage stories. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise, I suppose, since my personal (and currently neglected) blog is entitled This Pilgrim’s Progress.  Knowing that alone, however,might not tip you off to how much I thoroughly rave about the film The Way, or the fact that I’ve listened to the… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published June 13, 2013

What Did the Pope Just Say?

Published May 22, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: ACNM, Blog

Hold your horses, Huffington Post.The Pope did not just change the doctrine of the Catholic church. Protestants… take a deep breath before you point fingers and claim that Catholics believe you have to work your way into heaven and that Pope Francis just said so. Are we calmed down?  Good.  Let’s take a look at… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published May 22, 2013

The Best Me

Published May 16, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: ACNM, Blog

Last week marked the premature end of an all-too-short era in the Williston house when, after a remarkable temper tantrum by my son, Lincoln, we decided to sell the Wii and Xbox on Craigslist. It all started, as most family crises do, with a father/son matchup in Mario Super Sluggers, a Mario Brothers-themed Baseball game… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published May 16, 2013

Superman and Catholic Spirituality

Published May 2, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: ACNM, Blog

This Friday, millions of Americans will flock to theaters to see Iron Man 3, the latest expansion of the Marvel universe series of films.  Early reviews are good and I’ll likely go see it, even after the failure that was Iron Man 2.  But, honestly, you can have Tony Stark.  My focus is on the… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published May 2, 2013

No, no, no

Published April 18, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog, Faith, World and News

All week long I’ve been trying to write about Boston, attempting to write some words of sense that are born out of a senseless situation. When sidewalks are awash with blood, an eight year old boy, among others, is dead, and limbs are lying on the ground, there is no sense.  All I have are… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published April 18, 2013

The Audacity of Pope Francis

Published April 4, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: ACNM, Blog, Faith, World and News

On Good Friday morning last week, I received this text message from a friend, “Your new Pope is all kinds of awesome.” You can probably derive from the message that my friend is not Catholic.  He read in the news about Pope Francis’s Holy Thursday visit to wash the feet of prison inmates and, like… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published April 4, 2013

Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience – A Review

Published March 21, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog, World and News

There are no bounds to Justin Timberlake’s celebrity. Musician, movie star, and all around charismatic figure, JT (as I’ll affectionately call him) had fans running around Austin last week at SXSW with the mere suggestion that he MIGHT make a surprise appearance. While his star has certainly risen over the last several years, it has… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published March 21, 2013

The Sound of Jesus Coming

Published February 20, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: ACNM, Blog, Faith

I’ve often wished that I could peek into the first century world to experience the sights and sounds of following Jesus.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the gospels but I wish that one of the writers had composed their narrative with all of the descriptions of a novel.  As it stands we get more… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published February 20, 2013

Catholic Time Travel 101

Published February 6, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: ACNM, Blog, Faith

The call came in at 1:20p.m. on a Tuesday. My professional association had run a nice “member spotlight” on me in its magazine.  It wasn’t much, just a few pictures of me and my family and a nice questionnaire about my career and personal interests. So, when a colleague called and mentioned it, I figured… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published February 6, 2013

Lance Armstrong and the Art of Confession

Published January 23, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog, Faith

  When is a confession not “good enough?” The question itself challenges my Catholic sensibilities.  I like to think that all confession is valid for the expiation of sin.  However, after watching Lance Armstrong in the public confessional of Oprah Winfrey’s couch last week, I suddenly have my doubts. Please understand, I don’t believe that… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published January 23, 2013

Christmas Unchained

Published January 9, 2013 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog, Faith

There was a time when I wouldn’t dare miss a new Quentin Tarantino film. I was in middle school when Pulp Fiction was released in theatres and,  as a teenage boy, I was fascinated by Tarantino’s violent, vulgar and verbose underground universe.  Soon after, I gorged myself on the complete Tarantino catalog, watching True Romance,… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published January 9, 2013

Fly Fishers of Men

Published July 11, 2012 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Faith

Last week, I discovered a new obsession and, in the process, learned a thing or two about the new evangelization. While the nation celebrated the Fourth of July with hotdogs and hamburgers, my Dad and I headed into the New Mexico desert to the San Juan River for our first fly fishing trip. There is,… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published July 11, 2012

I am not Brandon Vogt

Published June 27, 2012 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Faith, Family, Social Media and Tech

I know you can’t hear me sigh when I type these words, so you’ll just have to imagine it. I am not Brandon Vogt. A couple of months back, I made the fortunate mistake of following Brandon Vogt on Facebook. For those who don’t know who Brandon is, he’s what I’d call a celebrity.  Not… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published June 27, 2012

Book Review: Wool

Published May 30, 2012 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Reviews

Summer is upon us and we’re all looking for the next great read.  So, what’s on your reading list? For those looking for recommendations, I suggest you look no further than Wool. Wool, like The Hunger Games,  takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, but that’s where the comparison between the two series ends.  In this… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published May 30, 2012

The Silence of St. Joseph

Published March 19, 2012 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Faith, Marriage and Love

I have a friend who does quite a bit of public speaking about marriage.  Having heard him a number of times, I can usually anticipate his jokes long before he makes them. He pokes fun at the quirks that enter marital relationships and the way that our culture views marriages.  “I might be the one… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published March 19, 2012

The Attack on Conscience

Published January 23, 2012 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog, Faith, Family, World and News

Last week, the Obama administration’s Department of Health and Human Services announced the final version of a rule that would require all employers and insurers to provide sterilization and contraceptives, including some abortion inducing drugs in their health plans. Although it was earlier announced that certain religious organizations would be exempt from the rule, the… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published January 23, 2012

The Sky is Not Falling

Published November 14, 2011 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog, Faith

I am a news junkie.  It’s probably a diagnosable sickness. I get out of bed in the morning and immediately grab my phone off of the alarm clock cradle in which it rests.  The glow of the screen guides my steps to the bathroom.  I turn on the water for the shower and get my… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published November 14, 2011

#OccupyYourParish

Published October 17, 2011 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog, Faith

Last weekend was an oddity in Austin, TX… an overcast and rainy blip in an extended season of drought. As I got my family moving for Sunday mass, an email came in on my phone stating that the power was out in the religious education building and, thus, there would be no Sunday school for… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published October 17, 2011

Grappling with Fertility Issues

Published August 2, 2011 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog, Marriage and Love

For couples struggling to conceive, the ache of a missing child is one of life’s greatest hardships. Living month-to-month, unsure of the outcome at the end of each cycle, couples exist somewhere between the ups and downs of a painful rollercoaster. Friends have moved on to playgroups, family members are asking about grandkids and tremendous… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published August 2, 2011

3 Not-so-Secret Secrets about NFP

Published July 25, 2011 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog, Marriage and Love

A few weeks ago, my wife and I attended an evening of marital enrichment at the church.  We sat down next to a couple and commenced with the regular chit chat, quickly finding out that like us, the couple had recently had their third child.“Are you planning on having more?” they asked us.“Well,” we said,… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published July 25, 2011

What We Look For

Published June 13, 2011 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog, Faith

There are many joys to working with new media, but perhaps none more so than all of the “Stats” and other metrics provided by even the most basic of new media platforms.  I love the fact that everything is trackable because it not only gives me an idea of how people are responding to my… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published June 13, 2011

Summer Movie Preview 2011

Published May 31, 2011 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog

I used to be a movie buff.  As a kid and young adult, I would watch almost anything.  I knew my fascination with film had probably become an obsession when, after one particularly active movie-viewing summer, I received a letter from the president of Blockbuster Video, thanking me for renting more movies than 99% of… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published May 31, 2011

Throwing Stones at “The Church”

Published May 2, 2011 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog

About two months ago, I wrote a post on my personal blog entitled, “Why is the Catholic Mass So Boring?”  Now, let me offer this disclaimer: I do not find the Mass boring.  The Mass is the intermingling of heaven and earth, where the body of Christ (both the heavenly and earthly Church) meet the… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published May 2, 2011

Pressing on the Lenten Journey

Published April 5, 2011 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog

When this post goes live, there will be just twenty days remaining before Easter Sunday.  I can’t help but wonder where the time has gone. It seems like just a few days ago when we entered into prayer and fasting on Ash Wednesday.  The whole season of Lent, with its promises of sacrifice and devotion,… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published April 5, 2011

New Media for the New Evangelization

Published March 11, 2011 • Written by Chris Williston Filed Under: Blog

Why do we need New Media? What do blogs, podcasts, web sites, viral videos and other virtual expressions of faith have to add to the mission of the Church?  After all, we went almost 2,000 years without access to these means of communication and the Church has done pretty well for herself, hasn’t she? There is… [Read More]

Written by Chris Williston • Published March 11, 2011

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