Tag: Family

Lent and Easter in the Domestic Church

“God bless you and keep you,” my husband says, tracing the sign of the cross on our wiggly daughters’ foreheads. After our family finishes our night prayer in the living room, and the squabble discussion about whose turn it is to blow out the candle on the family altar is peaceably resolved, each of our girls receives her blessing. “God bless you and keep you,” I also pray for each of them, marking them with the sign of the cross as well. This pairs well with a bedtime hug.

This simple daily practice is one way that we try to live out our family’s vocation to be a domestic church. Through baptism and the sacrament of matrimony, Christian families live their daily life “in the Lord.” Just like the universal church, the Holy Spirit forms the Christian family into a communion of persons, a communion of life and love. Jesus is present in their midst and works in and through them. Continue reading “Lent and Easter in the Domestic Church”

Christmas and January in the Domestic Church

Christmas lasts until Jan. 10 this year.

Though the stores have switched their displays from Christmas décor to weight-loss accessories and Super Bowl gear, if you visit any Catholic Church you will encounter smells like pine, balsam and incense. You will see Christmas trees sparkling with lights and sanctuaries lush with velvety poinsettias. You will hear Christmas songs sung at Mass. And you’ll hear the story of the Nativity over and over again. It is as if we need time to let the grace of Christmas soak in.

By late December, however, our consumer culture is sick of Christmas. It has been celebrating it since November with a glut of holiday products and treats, a frenzy of seasonal activities, and lots of shopping. But the church has been waiting for the Lord through the holy season of Advent with silence, prayer and penance. Now that he is here, the church is ready to revel in Christmas with all her senses!

Continue reading “Christmas and January in the Domestic Church”

Top 10 Ways to Make a Family Rosary a Reality

Praying together doesn’t have to be such a struggle

You know that the rosary is a powerful, Christ-centered prayer, and you would like to pray it as a family to bring its many benefits into your household. You envision a reverent domestic scene, gathering with your children around the family altar. They are purposefully fingering the appropriate beads and reciting the Hail Marys and Our Fathers with devotion. In Latin. Gregorian chant wafts softly in the background. Angels smile.

In reality, the children sprawl in various attitudes of beleaguered exhaustion on the couch and floor. Your tween daughter’s rosary is intricately woven between her fingers as if it were auditioning for a new career as brass knuckles. Whether you have eyeball-rolling teens or couch-acrobatic toddlers, here are 10 creative ideas for incorporating the rosary into your family’s daily routine in ways that are engaging, meaningful and, most importantly, doable.
Continue reading “Top 10 Ways to Make a Family Rosary a Reality”

Your Place in the Domestic Church

“The work of evangelization begins at home.” –Pope Francis, April 2014

These are the resources included on the handout for the talk I gave at Holy Rosary, Edmonds on Sept. 19. The talk provided lots of practical ways to live out the liturgical year in the domestic church. You can download a PDF of the handout here, but all the live links are below. Continue reading “Your Place in the Domestic Church”

Pope Francis’ Bite-Sized Advice for Families

The pope’s weekly teachings pop with truth, freshness and vitality

If you have five minutes and a smartphone while waiting in the grocery store checkout line, you have enough time to read one of Pope Francis’ recent Wednesday audiences on the family.

Through this yearlong series, Pope Francis has been preparing the church for the World Meeting of Families this month in Philadelphia, as well as for the bishops’ Synod on the Family, which will gather in Rome in October. He urges prayer for the success of these important events, and highlights the importance of educating ourselves more deeply about the truth of marriage and family at this time. Continue reading “Pope Francis’ Bite-Sized Advice for Families”

Take Your Marriage Beyond “OK”

Getting regular ‘tune-ups’ can enrich even the best relationships

Why would a normal couple with a good marriage invest time, energy and money in marriage enrichment? Most of us can see the need for couples in crisis to read self-help books, take seminars, get counseling or go on special retreats. But if you think your marriage is cruising along anywhere between “OK” and “pretty good,” why bother?

We need to be willing to invest in regular care and maintenance for this most important relationship, as much as, if not more than, we do with our car or career. To have the best marriage possible — the most joy-filled, super-solid, radiant marriage, which God intends for you — we need to be willing to keep growing, to keep learning, to get inspired, to sharpen our skills and to aim for excellence. Regularly! That’s what marriage enrichment is all about. Here is a “course catalog” of Catholic and Christian marriage enrichment resources for you to consider for your ongoing marriage education. Aim for 25 “credit hours” a year! Continue reading “Take Your Marriage Beyond “OK””

An Examination of Conscience for Married People

Confessing the ways you’ve fallen short can strengthen your marriage

It’s a quiet Saturday afternoon at my parish, and I’m sitting soberly in the line of chairs in the back of the church outside the confessional. Sinner that I am, I am no stranger to this great sacrament of mercy, where I have found such amazing forgiveness, healing and grace. But this time, my examination of conscience takes a different direction. Father is going to hear a lot about the big and little ways I have failed to fully love my husband. How in my thoughts, words and actions I’ve hurt him and weakened our love, or missed the opportunity to think, say or do the loving things I should have done.

A good sacramental reconciliation is excellent preparation for Easter. Many parishes offer special penance services during Lent, and our priests generously make themselves available for more opportunities for confession. But how often do we examine our conscience for the ways we have missed the mark in loving our husband or wife? This Lent, instead of giving up chocolate or lattés, consider dedicating the season to working on your marriage. A good marriage-focused confession would be the perfect start! Continue reading “An Examination of Conscience for Married People”

The Work of the Synods on the Family: 2014-2015

The pastoral needs of the Family in the world today are the focus of the two synods of October, 2014 and October, 2015. On February 4th, 2015, I presented a talk outlining the work of these two synods, as well as a little explanation about the upcoming World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

This talk was a real high for me. Over 900 feet high, to be specific! I spoke in the swank Columbia Tower Club to the Seattle chapter of Legatus, a group of Catholic business leaders and their spouses. What a fun group they were!

Here is the Prezi slideshow for this presentation:

Towards the Ordinary Synod on the Family: October 2015

Salt and Chastity

A pure gaze focuses our desire on our husband or wife alone

When people defend pornography, they often say things like, “It’s not hurting anybody. What harm is there in just looking? It’s not like you’re doing anything.” Remember Lot’s wife, whose wistful gaze back at Sodom and Gomorrah caused her to turn into a pillar of salt? (see Genesis 19:26)

She “just looked” back at the town where sexual immorality was rampant, and it destroyed her. She turned into something sterile, the stuff that tears are made of.

The way we look at others is morally and spiritually significant. Looking with lust objectifies others and harms marriage. A pure gaze, on the other hand, sees the other in the full dignity of their personhood, created in the image of God, and it strengthens marriage. A pure gaze is an important part of marital chastity. Continue reading “Salt and Chastity”