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This is a question that has been asked throughout all of history. Many poets, songwriters and philosophers have sought to provide an answer to people of every age and yet people continue to ask and to seek a love that will fulfill the deepest desires and longings of their hearts. For we were made to love and to be loved, and our hearts are restless until we find it. God is love and thus we should look to ...
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Lent has just begun, a season of reflecting upon the suffering and death of the Lord and go with him to the foot of the cross. Many of the faithful offer up a token sacrifice for 40 days to better learn how to love. These sacrifices have meaning, these little daily sufferings in a small way, prepare our mind and bodies for any real sufferings that will inevitably come our way. For most adults, suffering is nothing new, anyone who has lived past ...
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Billy Joel wrote a very popular song back in the 70s named Only the Good Die Young. It is a very upbeat and catchy song in which he sings about prayers, rosaries, confirmation and Catholic family life. The only problem with the song is that the author is not very happy about his encounters with one or more catholic families. Apparently the Catholics he met did not do a very good job of spreading the gospel or ministering to ...
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I absolutely love the courtship approach to dating for my children, but it isn’t enough. Courtship is the idea that young people should only enter into an exclusive relationship when they are ready to get married. I have discussed in a previous blog post exactly what Dating with Purpose looks like, so go check it out for more details if you wish. In short, Courtship, or Dating with Purpose, establishes a set of guidelines or best practices that should ...
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This past New Year’s Eve, my wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We decided to make it a big deal and so we let our adult children throw us a party to celebrate the joyous event. They rented a nice hall, brought in our favorite live band, had the event catered, bought a wedding cake, and invited a ton of our family and friends. It was a very nice evening of fun, fellowship and dancing and a celebration ...
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There can be joy in the dying process. I remember my reaction when my father was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. It was significantly different from the other times I had experienced the loss of a loved one. In the past, I felt somewhat devastated and every fiber of my being screamed no, but this time was different. Yes, I was sad about it, but interestingly, by some supernatural grace of God, I was ...
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I grew up in a loving family, we were very service oriented — giving of our time, talent, and treasure to help those in need. My parents constantly set an example, ...
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I believe that the cultural battles today are a direct result of a lack of joy-filled families. The scourge of abortion, declining birth rates, increasing divorce rates, and a pervasive hedonistic lifestyle can all be traced to a breakdown of the family. According to Blessed John Paul II in Familiaris Consortio, “the mission of of the family is to guard, reveal and communicate love.” Today ...
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Attitude, we all have one. Our approach to a person, situation or event usually has a great influence on how it will turn out for us and everyone else involved. One bad attitude can wreck an entire party. The same thing can happen within our homes. There is one chapter in the book Arms of Love, by Carmen Marcoux, that shows how one person who “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” can have a profound ...
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“To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others.” St. John Paul II Homily October 7, 1979
On Holy Thursday, the Gospel recalls the washing of the feet of the Apostles by Jesus. He instructs the Apostles to do the same. While there are many truths to be learned from this scene in St. John’s Gospel, we will ...
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