-
Roe V. Wade and Where Do We Go From Here?
Apparently leaked documents seem to indicate that Roe V. Wade will be overturned in the Supreme Court and the fight will be brought back to the States — which most constitutional scholars agree (whether or not they support abortion) should have been the case, all along. So where do we go from here? If this leaked document does in fact indicate the final decision that will be coming this summer, what should we be doing to prepare for it? Politically, we already see various groups working in their states to amend constitutions to allow for abortion for all 9 months, for any reason — some political leaders (for example, Ralph…
-
9 Days of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving for An End to Corona Virus
So I’ve had a lot of time to think as I’ve been painting some walls in my house (#oraetlabora keeping me sane during quarantine) and I had an idea — and I’m really hoping you will join me! This is the idea: Starting today, what if you and I started 9 Days of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving for an end to the Corona Virus? You don’t have to be Catholic or even a Christian to join in. In fact, my guess is if you’re not, that your prayers will touch the heart of the Father just as much as mine do — maybe even more, because you’re taking a bigger leap…
-
The Goal of Prayer
Why pray? It’s a great question, and I think the answer lies in understanding what exactly prayer is. There is so much that has been said about prayer — I certainly can’t sum it all up in one post — but perhaps a simple image can help us reach the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the essence of prayer. This summer we went on a pilgrimage, and it brought us to ancient cities with beautiful monastic dwellings, hidden amidst the shops, bustle and chaos of city life. Discovering these beautiful, hidden gems and stopping for a prayer or Mass or just a moment to regain a little…
-
Embracing Your Abundant Life
“I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly” John 10:10 You know, contrary to popular opinion, Jesus didn’t come to earth to ruin all of our fun. Nope. He didn’t come to earth to simply deliver a bunch of “no’s” so that we would miss out on the amazing life we could otherwise have lived if we didn’t listen to Him. In fact, what I have discovered in my own life is that every single “no” He asks of us is a “yes” to something greater. It really is. After all, He came so that we might have an abundant life. Have you ever taken the time…
-
Finding Your Bedrock
A funny thing happens when you are about to drop your daughter off at college for the first time: you begin to evaluate how well you have prepared your child for this moment. You may even find yourself taking advantage of lulls in conversation or long drives to dive deep into serious conversations that you feel must be had before you can consider your child “ready” to leave the nest. You have, to this point, been the first line of defense, and that likely afforded your child the opportunity to grow up without full knowledge of the dangers and ugliness of humanity. You took on the role of protecting your…
-
Confessions of a Recovering Academic
Hello. My name is Moira, and I am a recovering academic. Likely, I’ll never fully recover — but that’s okay — the stumbles can help to keep a soul humble. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not study that is the problem: It’s what we do with all that knowledge we have gained. To those people with a natural inclination towards academics and learning, intellectual pride can be a major stumbling block to doing something beautiful with all that knowledge. It often leads to a total lack of gratitude to God for the intelligence that He gave you. It inevitably leads to thinking that you know better than everybody else —…
-
How to Pray, Why to Pray & Books I’m Currently Using For Morning Prayer
Prayer isn’t just a good thing, in many ways, it’s everything. Prayer does for the soul what breathing does for the body — it is essential. The truth is we were made for prayer, but that doesn’t necessarily make it easy. Prayer takes effort, patience and trust that God is working — especially when you can’t feel God’s presence or wonder if He’s even there. Our prayer life can be a bit of a mystery at times — incredibly hard to gauge, because God is often working below the surface in ways we may only understand later. It takes faith to put aside your doubts and come before God and…
-
Weaning Babies and Lent
It’s 11:30 at night, and life has been so busy that I’ve had no time to put a proper post together. So forgive me, if I ramble. 🙁 I’ve been pushing hard to get everything in order before I leave for a 20 year reunion with girlfriends from college. At the time of planning this trip, we had no idea it would fall in the middle of Lent, but God knows what we need, and maybe I needed a different kind of retreat this Lent. I also didn’t realize I’d be in the middle of weaning my toddler. I should have guessed that this little guy would be holding out…
-
7 “Sure-Fire” Ways to Keep Your Kids Catholic
That’s right, folks, here’s my “7 sure-fire ways to keep your kids Catholic”. In just 7 easy steps, you too can keep your kids Catholic. Don’t forget to pre-order my book, Forcing Your Kids to Be Catholic in 7 Easy Steps, available where all parenting books for desperate parents are sold. 🙁 Quantities are limited. So get it today before they are sold out! Now, on to my 7 Easy Steps…Satisfaction Guaranteed. ~Step 1~ Accept That There’s No “Sure-Fire” Way to Keep Your Kids Catholic. Sad, but true. From the get-go you have to accept the fact that your kids, my kids — they have free will. There simply is no…
-
Helping Our Kids Encounter Beauty
In last week’s post, Beauty Will Save the World. I shared why Beauty is the antidote to all the evil and ugly in our world. This week is more about the “how” to bring beauty into the lives of your kids on the daily. It will look different in every family, but I always appreciate seeing other peoples approaches to things that matter. Hopefully you do too! Without further ado, I offer you my 7 suggestions for helping kids to encounter beauty. ~1~ Is it Bad to Shelter Your Kids? Right up front I’d like to respond to two objections I hear out there in the world. The first is…
