Amid the violent chaos of the impending crucifixion of Jesus were at least a few children. The eighth station shows they were in the crowd with their mothers, maybe the same ones who once asked the indignant Apostles whether Jesus could bless them. Jesus, who once said the meek were blessed, has also said the… [Read More]
Where Is Jesus?
A mother and father bring their small child to a shopping mall on an extremely busy day. They take turns keeping their eyes on the little boy and holding his hand as they move from store to store and then to the food court with a few bathroom breaks in between. Mommy suddenly glances around… [Read More]
A Hat Tip to the Holy Ghost Writer
If you like this story, you can thank the Holy Spirit. As I’ve learned so many times since discovering my faith 11 years ago, there is no such thing as a coincidence. Whenever my monthly deadline to write for ATX Catholic approaches, I frequently turn to the Holy Spirit and the daily Mass readings for… [Read More]
Be Like Jesus: Ask for Help
School is very helpful. Kids learn stuff. They make friends. And their moms are suddenly free to do things without them. I was dreading the end of school last spring and eager for the start of school this fall because I was going to have a lot of meetings that I couldn’t bring the kids… [Read More]
A Labor of Love
We often get distracted from the best thing because we pursue many good things. This thought is the key with which Fr Patricio Rodriguez, ISP, opened up this passage from the Gospel of Luke in a recent homily: At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they… [Read More]
Parents & Teens, Freedom & Boundaries
Here at ATXCatholic I don’t often write about my job as a therapist, but today I’d like to delve a little bit into it, through the lens of good theology and a Christian understanding of the human person. I’d like to delve into the concept of boundaries in relationships, specifically between parents and teens. Tricky for… [Read More]
A Mother’s letter to her daughter for her Confirmation
“Mary treasured all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) Dear Roise, Treasuring the life of her child is what a mother does. At this culminating moment in our lives, as you prepare for your Confirmation, this letter is a reflection, a letter of love, encouragement and appreciation, and it is a… [Read More]
Need Some Humility in Your Life? Become a Parent!
We had it all planned out: My husband and I would leave our little girl with my mother on Friday night. We’d drive to Houston and stay in a nice hotel for TWO. WHOLE. NIGHTS. Two whole nights of sleeping straight on through until we felt like waking up, be it 8 AM or noon…. [Read More]
Let the Children Come to Me
[This is a guest post by Norine Shaivitz.] “[Jesus] called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, ‘Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.’” Matthew 18:2-3 I wonder if the child Jesus chose was perfectly quiet and still, after… [Read More]
Making the Rosary Fun for Kids
It’s never too early for children to learn how to say the Rosary. Here’s some documented evidence: That was my younger daughter when she was just two-and-a-half years old. I didn’t know how (or have any desire) to say the Rosary until well into my 30s, so let’s not make the same mistake with the… [Read More]
Miracle Stories: The Case of the Missing Tumor
Quick, I need the number to the Vatican SMU (Special Miracles Unit). Okay, maybe this one is not worthy of getting on the Pope's calendar. But it is certainly the most amazing miracle I have experienced. It involves my eight-year-old daughter who is a happy, healthy cancer survivor. In fact, just a couple of years… [Read More]
A Response to “Should Children Make Up Their Own Minds About Religion?”
I did not grow up in church. That surprises people who have only known me as an involved Catholic, but it’s true. My mom’s side is the Catholic side of the family, and they’re only occasional churchgoers. My dad’s side is mostly non-churchgoing, and they’re not Catholic. When I go home for Christmas, I go… [Read More]
You’re Not a Bad Mom If You Spend Time with People Who Are Not Your Baby
This segment of “Bad Mom” brings us to Part Two of this three part series. (See Part One here.) Mother’s Day was yesterday, and if your guilt about not being Super Mom 24/7 kept you from enjoying your well-earned day, then please, read this post. Preferably with a coffee or piece of chocolate. You’ve earned a… [Read More]
You’re Not a “Bad Mom” If You Don’t Breastfeed
I’ve only been a mom for about 4 months now, and I recognize that I’m definitely still in the newb phase of parenting. But these 4 months have felt like a crash course, full of guilty, stressed and confused feelings over what I should or shouldn’t be doing. In an effort to normalize these guilty… [Read More]
Parenting teens with mace… I mean, GRACE
After a fierce conflict on the battle- field that parenting a teenager is at times, I was standing in my front yard trying to calm down. I was furious, so calm was not easy to come by. I tried to look around and notice my surroundings, to take refuge in the present moment. It was… [Read More]
Wails from the Cry Room: A Design for the Future
What’s the least desirable place inside any church to attend Mass? The cry room, of course. Spending time inside a cry room is a little bit like visiting a mini war zone or taking a trip back to the wild, wild west. You step into a crowded cry room and immediately feel, and sometimes smell,… [Read More]
Dear Little Sister: A Christmas Letter
It’s a little late in the game to issue you an Advent challenge. Instead, as my gift to you this Christmas Eve, I’m turning over this blog space to a distinguished guest author: my eight-year-old daughter. First, some background information: In our household we’ve always tried to focus much more on Jesus than Santa during… [Read More]
How Adoption Saved My Life
On September 22, 1966 a little boy was born in Minnesota. His mother, for reasons unknown, was unable to keep him and left him in the hands of a group of nuns who devoted their work to the care of children without parents. Unbeknownst to the boy and his mother, there was a young couple… [Read More]
Transparency, Not Hypocrisy
Sometimes the Scripture is approached as if Jesus was an authoritarian parent, giving us demanding lists of do’s and don’ts. As I was listening to the readings at daily Mass on Wednesday, and to the priest’s beautiful homily that followed, I could see how someone might only hear the do’s and don’ts. Don’t blow trumpets when you… [Read More]
3 Ways the “My Five Wives” Pilot is Like a Punch to the Heart
As I prepare to get married and live with a dude, there are many changes happening in my life. One of those changes is getting cable TV, since my darling fiance’s quality of life dramatically improves when he is able to watch the Cornhuskers year-round. I never considered myself a big TV person, but now… [Read More]
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]
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]
Faith and Frozen [the movie]
I admit it, even as an adult I love animated children’s movies. There’s something about the humor, the joy and the fun that children’s movies have that many adult movies don’t. Kids movies don’t take themselves too seriously, yet often have a life lesson or two to share with us. And Disney’s most recent animated… [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]
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]
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]
Creating Peace in the Home for the After School Frenzy
“All works of love are works of peace.” Mother Teresa Two weeks into the school year, our adjustment has been pretty smooth, save for a few afternoon meltdowns and the obligatory back to school germs. Nevertheless, there’s a natural groove, the kids have been quite happy and we’re feeling abundantly blessed! But… [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]
Conversations I Don’t Have
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]
on Tolstoy, summer and gold in the sand
Summer is half way over, and I’m just now getting into the groove. Staying up a little later, waking up later, too. Letting things go slack, allowing everyone a little more space, more time, more freedom. It’s like I’ve exhaled, finally, from the school-year before. And I realize how much stress I carry with me… [Read More]
The Perfect Time for Parenting
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]
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]
