Adolescence
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me
Necessary Conversations As we approach Christmas our thoughts are drawn to the comfortable sights and sounds of the holiday. As followers of Jesus, we remember the “reason for the season” by reflecting on Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. Another thing that Christmas should remind us of, however, is that the manger that the baby Jesus was…
Read MoreCivility: Time for a Comeback
Download the PDF A recent experience literally made me stop in my tracks in disbelief. While on my nightly walk, I noticed a group of grade school children arguing in a neighbor’s yard. Their voices were extremely angry as they stood face to face poised for physical combat. Unmistakably, a line had been drawn about…
Read MoreValuing Being More Than Doing
Download the PDF A mother’s wisdom and love are never wasted. It can be so easy to fall into a utilitarian way of valuing ourselves and others. Utilitarianism is a philosophy that values people based solely on what they can contribute to society. Accomplishments become a sign of value. Our culture may not explicitly say…
Read MoreUnderstanding Gender Identity
Necessary Conversations There are two things that really frustrate me: being confused and not being told the truth. That is why the culture’s campaign on gender is difficult for me to understand. Can you relate? The term gender is confusing to me because it used to mean the same thing as “male” or “female” (a…
Read MoreRaising Catholic Kids in a Secular World
Are you interested in raising holy, happy, and respectful children? Try incorporating these ideas into your family life. Number One: Share the gift of faith with your children. Faith allows us to believe in God. Make sure that your house and life is filled with knowledge of the Triune God. Read bible stories with your…
Read MoreA Breath of Fresh Air: Five Messages on Chastity That Will Put a Smile on Your Face!
Why is the Catholic Church’s teaching on human sexuality a light in the darkness? The Church’s teachings are a light in the darkness because the Church presents God’s plan for authentic love and human fulfillment. Let us look at five key points about the good moral habit of chastity. Chastity is about finding fulfillment in…
Read MoreChastity and Related Virtues
Virtue A Virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good. We develop virtues or good habits through education, good acts frequently done, and perseverance in struggle. There are four virtues that are considered pivotal to human persons: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. These virtues are stable dispositions of the intellect and will…
Read MoreWhat Is Sexuality?
Sexuality – Sexuality is more than just a biological reality. It is a person’s capacity to give and receive love as either a man or a woman. Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person (physical, psychological and spiritual) in the unity of his body and soul. Each person is more than a body that…
Read MoreHaving Necessary Conversations About Human Sexuality
Necessary Conversations As a parent of a son and daughter, both in middle school, I am deeply concerned about the perception of sexuality that my children are absorbing through the culture they are immersed in. The sexual revolution has caused us to accept a number of assumptions about sexuality rather than the good news that…
Read MoreCan You Celebrate Your Family in the Face of Imperfection?
Download the PDF Over the past ten months, we have reflected on various themes about what it means to be a family. In doing so, we have been joining the Church in an ongoing reflection. This reflection could be said to begin with Pope Saint John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter Familiaris Consortio, “The Role of…
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