Puberty
Having Necessary Conversations About Right Relationships
Necessary Conversations As a child, I was the constant victim of bullying. I don’t know why, but my sisters and I were consistently targets for bullies in our neighborhood, on our school bus, at school, and even in extracurricular activities. While I got through it in the end, bullying gave me very low self-esteem that…
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 MorePhysical Maturity: Setting Standards & Boundaries
Physical maturity according to God’s plan begins with the realization that the body is good. God created the human person as an integration of body and spirit. The body expresses the spirit. So our bodies reveal the “Imago Dei” – the image of God – to the physical world. God calls us to respect both…
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 MoreShould I Allow My Child to Struggle?
Necessary Conversations It’s difficult to be a good parent and raise children who love life and are faithful to God’s plan. It’s hard to know when to let them struggle and when to bail them out. It’s tough to discern when letting them struggle might break their spirit and when protecting them might make them…
Read MoreCan You Celebrate Your Family in the Face of Imperfection?
Download the PDF(opens in new tab) 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,…
Read MoreCivility: Time for a Comeback
Download the PDF(opens in new tab) 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…
Read MorePreparing Yourself to Discuss the Deep Moral Issues
If you don’t feel knowledgeable or equipped to discuss the deeper moral issues with your child, don’t worry. You are not alone. Several factors make these moral issues challenging to approach: Catechesis in moral issues has been lacking and even confused since the 1960s. Fully understanding moral theology requires a bit of philosophical knowledge that…
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…
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