The King’s Criteria In the rhythm of this getting-back-to-normal after the long Thanksgiving holiday, if we glance up we see that Advent is just ahead. And while Thanksgiving can often bring many blessings as we enjoy time together, oftentimes relationship challenges surface as well. We speak of Advent as a time to prepare… [Read More]
I Already Love You (The False Self Part II)
Since the last post seemed have struck a chord with y’all (I received quite a response!) I wanted to pick up where we left off, and give you my two best “signposts” for how to move forward in this whole allow-your-false-self-to-be-chiseled-away thing. Signpost #1: Keep your eyes fixed on our merciful, loving Father There is… [Read More]
Meditation and Decisive Times
We live in decisive times. And while perhaps that’s always true in some way, I think we can say that in a particle way about our times today. I don’t have to describe it for you too much, because you live it as well. Tensions are high. The pace of available information is frenetic. And… [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]
The Mystery of Iniquity – Rejoicing in weakness
Each Lent it seems I come back to this theme – how do we think about sin and weakness? It’s been helpful for me to examine my own understanding – I can’t make much sense of redemption if I have a distorted view of the sin and weakness that necessitated such a Savior. And an unhealthy view… [Read More]
The Heart
This past weekend the wisdom of the Church invited us to experience a beautiful truth – the unity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Church led us into this discovery of this union by celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart on Friday that leads us into the Memorial of… [Read More]
Learning to Follow (A Reflection on “The Three Parts of Dance & the Trinity”)
I’m learning to dance. I’ve always loved to dance, even since I was the little girl in shiny gold shoes tearing it up at my uncle’s wedding. True story. I did tap and ballet for about a year when I was four. Since then, it’s been all about freestyle. I have rhythm, which helps a… [Read More]
5 Relationship Myths Debunked
Cinderella. Belle. Jasmine. Disney’s version of Rapunzel. Disney’s version of Ariel. All of these love stories have their struggles – what with missing glass slippers, evil sorcerers, solitary confinement and being half-fish – but they all end the same way: happily and without problems. Hundreds of other movies and songs tell us the problems in… [Read More]
First Comes Love, Then Comes…
This past Saturday Pope Francis presided over a Mass during which several couples celebrated the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony (aka, Marriage). What made these couples “unique” according to social understanding of the Catholic faith is that all of these couples were either living together or who have had annulments. It seemed odd to the media… [Read More]
Receptivity and Love in the Parable of the Sower
Over the last two Sundays and a daily mass in between in between, we have been hearing the parables where Christ describes the Kingdom through the imagery of the sower and the seeds, and we also heard Psalm with the same imagery. Here is the version read two Sundays ago “A sower went out to sow. And as… [Read More]
Breaking the Girl, Part Two: The Hype of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and Why Slavery Isn’t Love
Let me start off by admitting that when I was in college I was addicted to romance novels. I would binge-read stacks of them in bed while eating my way through a roll of cookie dough. Healthy, right? It started out as a means of escape from my seemingly soul-crushing breakup with my boyfriend of… [Read More]
What Engagement Taught Me About Single Life
When I was single and all of my close friends were single, life was pretty great. We stayed up watching movies, talking, or going out dancing. We had girls night all the time, talked about boys, and attended as many Catholic happy-hours that we could manage, always looking out for that one Catholic guy who… [Read More]
How Hormonal Birth Control Screwed Up My Life, and Is Screwing Up Yours, Too
I know what you’re thinking, “Oh, here we go again, another crazy Catholic lady harping on why birth control is evil…” While I may be crazy and Catholic (the two are not mutually exclusive), I’m not here to write about the moral and theological evils of birth control. So, you can chillax, friend. Calm yourself…. [Read More]
Join Together: A Response to “The Economics of Sex”
Men and women have to get on the same page if we’re ever going to get marriage and family life back in good shape. I usually write book reviews here, but reading and then telling you *most* of the story and how well I thought it was written is just part of my skills as… [Read More]
A Husband in Good Times and in Bad
There’s a real beauty to the cycle of life. Some are at the point where their friends are retiring, others, where they’re reaching the peaks of their professional careers. I’m in the time in my life when all my friends are getting married and having kids. It’s so common, that sometimes the excitement can be… [Read More]
Another Dating Blog: Change? No, thanks.
“Change is inevitable – except from a vending machine.” – Robert C. Gallagher I don’t mind change. Well, I don’t mind little changes. For example, I rearrange my bedroom to match my moods. I would change my hair color for the same reason, if I was allowed to have blue/purple/pink/green hair at work. I love… [Read More]
Another Dating Blog: When Love Feels Conditional
Hello my dear blog-readers. This week’s blog is going to take a step away from the educational, and towards the personal. That’s right, my following blog posts are going to be dating blogs. Hooray! C’mon – you know you’re excited to read about my dating mishaps. I hope you can learn through my missteps, and… [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]
A (Chaste) Movie Review of “Don Jon”
After my last post on pornography, I felt it was only fitting that I follow that up with my take on the new movie by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, called “Don Jon”. If you haven’t seen the trailer, it’s about a young man who is into fast cars, hookups and porn. Oh, and he claims to be… [Read More]
The 10-Minute Phone Call That Changed My Day
“You know, of the 10,080 minutes you have in a week, I sure am glad you spent 1/1,000 talking to me,” quipped my 87-year-old grandfather. The fact that I called him was a complete fluke. He’s been on my mind for weeks. I’ve wanted to call for longer than that, but I was busy. You… [Read More]
Relationships 101: The #1 Way the Internet is Messing Up Your Love Life
Part Four of “Relationships 101”. See part three here. We left off the last post with the number one way the Internet is messing up your love life. Remember what it was? It has become so pervasive that about 30,000 people use it EVERY SECOND (Daily Infographic, 2013). It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that has been around… [Read More]
Relationships 101: Using the “D” Word
Due to requests to blog about dating, this will be the first of a series addressing various issues in dating as a Catholic, Christian, or any other person of the world who wants to date for the purpose it was intended: to find a spouse. Yes, I used the “D” word. Before you get carried… [Read More]
Slave of Two Masters, A Book Pre-view
With the arrival of summer, I have been stressing out about money. Vacations, weddings, extra weekly outings with friends in town, switching apartments…etc. I know I’m not alone in this – every summer there is a HUGE push in sales, advertising, etc around vacations, summer activities, entertainment, fashion, food – all that. I’d like to… [Read More]
Chastity: Getting Real with Something No One Likes to Talk About
This blog starts with a definition, followed by a confession: Firstly, I want to define chastity. If you look up the definition of “chastity” in a dictionary, the first few definitions will say something like “abstaining for all sexual intercourse” or “see – chastity belt”. Not exactly the definition I’m going for here. If you… [Read More]
The Ascension and Authority, Relationship and Revelation
Yesterday was Ascension Thursday, the traditional day when the Feast of the Ascension is celebrated. However, most parishes in the US will celebrate the Ascension this coming Sunday (see this article for an explanation of why the date was moved!). In these Easter weeks leading up to the Ascension, and then Pentecost, we’ve been hearing… [Read More]
No really, I’VE GOT THIS: The Perfectionist’s Struggle of Letting Others Help
Before you begin this blog, please answer the following questions (to yourself, or out loud if you like that kind of attention): 1. Would you consider yourself a ‘perfectionist’? 2. Have you ever been accused of being an over-achiever? 3. Are you one of those people that says “I’m fine!” in response to everything? If… [Read More]
Getting Over Myself: Battling the Ego in Relationships
You know that moment when you realize that you’re wrong? You’re looking at someone, or maybe you’re by yourself in the car or at work, and it hits you: you messed up. You made a mistake. You did or didn’t do something, and as a consequence, you’ve hurt someone else. As the reality hits you,… [Read More]
The Pro’s and Con of Dating A Catholic Man
Dating in the secular world is interesting, to put it mildly. It also happens to be confusing, messy, disordered and sometimes scary. I say this because I’ve done it. Because I’ve done it, I have had all too much practice having awkward conversations about why I go to mass as much as possible, why I… [Read More]
Unsolicited Advice on Kissing
There’s something to be said for a good kiss. That said, what is to be said cannot be said because it loses something in the saying. So say what you will, but to say that you can say all that needs to be said about a good kiss is to say that you can say… [Read More]
“The Perfect Love” just in time for Valentine’s Day
So today is Valentine’s Day. I remember when I was in middle and high school, my group of friends would go bowling and bring fancy decorated bags/boxes for later exchanging those little pre-maid valentines you get at Wal-Mart. Of course, later on, I would sort through them looking for one from whichever guy I was… [Read More]
The Search for Real Men (Review: “Wild at Heart”)
I am not sure that men and women will ever truly understand one another. I am a woman of faith, though, so I know that there are some things I accept and believe without understanding them; they’re called mysteries. Similarly, I can’t quite pin down why I had such a different reaction to Wild at… [Read More]
More Like “Drab” (Review: “Captivating”)
As a Catholic woman, I like to read books and articles about Christian femininity. I have many friends who are wives and moms. Their Facebook links to articles from places like Faith and Family Live keep me from getting too complacent in my singlehood. One of my old housemates recommended Captivating, by John and Stasi… [Read More]
