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(From John Hart Studios, used w/o permission.) This post is not about global warming, the coming ice age, or manure burying London. Don't laugh: in 1894 the Times of London ran a warning that London would be under nine feet of manure by 1944. ( July 9, 2011 ) Wikipedia has a list of fizzled apocalypses, from 634 BC to 2013 AD; and that's another topic. Topics. ( February 25, 2014 ; November 29, 2013 ) Synod 14, an extraordinary assembly of the Synod of Bishops, is in progress. It's running from the 5th to the 19th of this month. In this post, I'll be looking at what I expect from the Synod; what I don't expect; and why I'm not upset that the Synod probably won't address the annual collision of Mother's Day and fishing season in Minnesota. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas I've been asked, to write something for this Sunday's bulletin, but what to write? How about something of an 80-year-old, celibate, Deacon. Right off someone is going to ask, "well, priests retire at 70 what about Deacons?" We are required to send a letter of retirement to our Bishop when we turned 70 years of age and so I did. I got a letter back from the Bishop when we turned 70 years of age and so I did. I got a letter back from the Bishop saying, "your time clock is not run out yet, you can go on for a while." I was so proud of him that he even remembered that I worked on clocks. So now 10 years later having had lunch with our Bishop a few months ago and for some reason telling him I was 80 years old, he said, "Ak, only 20 more years ago." I'm not sure what that means, are you stuck with me or am I stuck with you? Ha.... (Guest post) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Our oldest son was a senior in high school on September 11, 2001.  In his valedictory speech on his graduation day in June of 2002, he mentioned the tragic event that forever scarred the hearts of  all Americans.  In part, here is what he said:  ...this year we looked on in disbelief on September 11th as innocent lives were taken by the evil of terrorism.  The pain we felt...was acute, but strength is often forged in the fires of misfortune...through the 9/11 tragedy, I hope, we learned to respect and protect life, every human life.  It is this that our society needs most today.  Our society's moral values have been in a downward spiral for quite a while, and this trend shows no sign of getting better unless there is a change in the way we think.  At the heart of this moral decline is a cheapening of human life.  Pope John Paul II has called this the "Culture of Death."  Choices once unanimously considered criminal and rejected by the common moral sense are gradual

It’s good to be posting again! I was in an unexpected blogging break because we moved on short notice from Iraq to the U.S. (Pittsburgh area). We aren’t fully settled in yet, and are still job hunting, hoping we find something soon so we know we can definitely stay in the area and start getting put together. It’s been an absolute whirlwind of a month, with so many unknowns and unexpected changes, hopes and disappointments, sad goodbyes and happy hellos as we left our friends, family and community in Iraq, and have started making new connections and renewing old ones here in the U.S. We are still praying so hard for the community we left behind in Erbil, and are so deified by the solidarity with which they have welcomed all the refugees that have come to the city from other places in Iraq. I think it’s going to take a long time to fully process everything that’s just happened (and still is happening as we try to keep getting settled on this end). God was blessing us so much

I often find myself in tears during Mass.  Not always, but sometimes.  And these tears come out of the blue, when I least expect them.  If I don't remember to tuck some tissues into my purse before I head out the door, chances are I'm going to be in trouble.  I'm going to be wiping my nose on my sleeve like a five-year-old. Sometimes it's the lyrics of a particularly moving hymn that make me cry, or the stirring music combined with the unequaled beauty of a Catholic church's interior.  Sometimes it's just that in those particular surroundings, I feel closer to God, and that nearness hits me just so and goes right to my core--to my very soul.  And I am left feeling vulnerable and unworthy of His love, and yet profoundly loved by Him. I've talked before about how seeing my sons dressed in tuxes, standing on the altar in the role of groomsmen at one another's weddings, reduces me to tears.  But even when there isn't something particularly noteworthy

The Edel Gathering is this weekend and there were some of us who couldn't attend, as much as we would have loved it! Rita over at The Catholic Review: Open Window thought it would be great to host a blog hop wherein we'd have a virtual conference! I loved the idea and thought to share how I keep the faith alive between Sundays, with kids. I'll admit, I don't always do a bang up job each week. Because work.You'll see what I mean. Finding the time to share the Catholic faith with my children isn’t easily done during the summer months especially when they’re not in school. I work full time from 8:30AM - 5PM Monday through Friday. The time I have with the kids is limited, but I make the best of it. Here's what we do to keep the faith! Check in with them about their feelings about their prayer life. Little ones can struggle too and experience spiritual dryness just like adults. Let them know that they’re being heard and share with them how you work through the

On May 9, our second-oldest son got engaged to a lovely young lady whom we are thrilled to welcome as a fourth daughter.  This is a date my husband and I will never forget because it is also the birthday of my late father-in-law, a figure beloved by so many, who would be 86 if he hadn't been taken from us--way too soon--back in 2003.  Papa lived for his grandchildren, and he would have certainly approved of his grandson's choice of a mate. Three of our other sons are married already; son #1 got married in December of 2009, son #3 in December of 2013, and son #4 in February of 2014.  Now son #2 and his bride-to-be are looking at a November 2014 wedding date.  Our firstborn pointed out recently that the oldest four in our family were born less than five years apart, and now they're going to all be married within five years of each other.  He had quite a head start on his younger brothers, but the three of them are making up for lost time by getting married in one 11-mont

This seemed a good day to talk about motherhood, family, and why Minnesota has the start of fishing season fall on Mother's Day weekend. My wife says it may be so that mothers can have some time alone . If that's so, Minnesota's DNR blundered. They say this weekend is "Take-a-Mom fishing weekend." Ephesians and Diapers 'Family' is very important to Catholics, or should be. The Catechism devotes quite a bit of space to what a family is, and how families should work. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2201 - 2233 ) . ( September 24, 2009 ) On the other hand, I'm not allowed see marriage as a casual agreement between consenting adults. For starters, we all have duties: children and parents (Catechism, 2214 - 2220 , 2221 - 2231 ). When I married my wife, I knew what I was signing up for. Ephesians 5:22 - 25 points out that as her husband, I must love my wife "even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her." That

When the gearshift pulled up and into his hand, my husband realized it was time to junk our 21-year-old car. The Saturn we bought as newlyweds had about 232,000 miles on the speedometer - six years ago when the speedometer broke. It has no horn, no ceiling upholstery, no working gas gauge and so on.  Since New Jersey only checks emissions on cars now, it did pass inspection recently. After a long winter that felt as if everything was stalled, life is moving at a fast pace. Keep Reading...

I grew up in the shadow of my sister who was 18 months older than me. I followed her around, copying her every preference and obeying her every request. She convinced me that her likes and dislikes, friends and fashions were the best and only choices possible for me.  When she was 16, she got married, leaving me wondering who I was without her. Perhaps like me, you habitually compare yourself with others, find yourself lacking and stop trying to succeed. Stuck in comparison mode, we can never develop into the person God created in his image.  God doesn't create clones. When we measure ourselves against others, all we see are our weaknesses. Our uniqueness hides from others and ourselves. Blessed John Paul II wrote about this, "We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son Jesus." Continue reading at JOYAlive.net

We four returned this afternoon from Pittsburgh, where we toured the University of Pittsburgh campus for an admitted students' day, ate at Primanti Brothers, and attended Mass at the Newman Catholic Center. A few insights: First, Pitt is a wonderful place. I had to stop myself from buying one of these sweatshirts; our oldest still is mulling his options for college and whether he prefers a large university to a small liberal arts college. Keep Reading...

At Our House: St. Joseph's Day Feasting As I drove to the 65,000-square-foot wholesale bakery at the top of a hill, I could smell the bread baking, even behind my van's closed windows. Inside the retail store of  Anthony and Sons,  there were more smells - and sights - of bread baking. Some of my students work here and I have never visited. Today, being St. Joseph's Day, I decided to. I never tire of discovering the treasure troves of my faith; tonight my parish will celebrate with a special Mass so we might contemplate the man who raised the son of God. Keep Reading

Sunday afternoon I took a brisk half hour walk in the late winter air to watch our son coach basketball. Along the way to Lucky's final game coaching a team of 9 and 10 year old girls, I heard water dripping. Snow is melting and findings its way to water drains. Keep Reading...

This whole winter it feels as if I have been stalled. In our small town, there is a seemingly never series of water main breaks, which means we can't use our tap water. A pipe burst under the river, which meant the air was filled with the smell of gas. There have been blackout after blackout in many neighborhoods because of our ailing electrical system. And despite all the efforts of so many, our public schools appear to be breaking and our elected officials indifferent. One of our sons is struggling in school. And the older child is still waiting to hear back from the many colleges to which he has applied. No word from any of them yet. Oh and then there is the snow, inch after inch of snow, day after day, delaying the start of so many school days. It feels as if my family will never unfreeze, never move forward from our permafrosted positions. Keep Reading...

I believe people are put in front of us for a reason. Today was an example of that... Today was super busy: studying, Mass, lunch with friends, a visit to a grant competition for our older son and then the fitness center, where I haven't been in more than a week. Tomorrow looks even busier. Keep Reading...

14th century:Holy family and the Presentation … Since preschool, society has pushed you to excel, to rise above your peers.  You were groomed for success, to get into the best universities and snatch the most prized careers. Well, it is nice to have confidence, to fulfill your dreams, and have a sense of satisfaction in your chosen field of work but that will not make you happy. Just take a look at the generations that have gone before you.  The all too common mid-life crisis is a testament to the failure of a life focused on career advancement to the exclusion of family. Men and women bemoan the fact that they did not have time for nurturing and loving their spouse or children. All too often, family life crumbles to ashes, sacrificed on the altar of success. As for childcare, society relegates this arrangement to women who are often treated as second class citizens. I want to yell out as loudly as I can  that raising children is definitely not a default chore for women wh

On the Feast of the Holy Family, December 29, 2013, Pope Francis invited all Catholics to pray for families as the Church prepares for an Extraordinary Synod to examine the troubling disconnect between Church teaching and the reality of modern family life. In his  Angelus address  given to the crowds in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis recited for the first time his new Prayer to the Holy Family. (Full text available  here .) The prayer seeks the help of the Holy Family while at the same time revealing Pope Francis' vision of the family as it is and as it could be. It paints an ideal portrait of family life and yet acknowledges the severe difficulties faced by many. It concludes with a heart-felt petition for the renewal of the sacredness and inviolability of the family. Pope Francis' prayer is a short primer on the theology of the family and deserves careful contemplation. Let's see what he says. The Splendor of True Love Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in you we cont

I'm not sure where I got the idea that if my husband and I did all the "right" things parenting, our boys would glide through childhood and adolescence and smoothly into adulthood. I'm not sure where that idea came from, or how it is I came to believe that watching them glide is preferably to the reality of watching them experiences the ups and downs of growing up and learning, often the hard way, how to make mistakes. Keep Reading...

Victory, O Lord by Millais (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons). Sunday’s Mass readings were all about prayer–winning battles through prayer, supporting each other in prayer, and never giving up. I love encouraging people to grow in their prayer life!  But today I want to ask a question that might seem odd to you: Can you pray too much? There are three ways in which I believe you can. Don’t let prayer keep you from living out your vocation   Again, this might confuse you. Haven’t I said before that prayer helps us live our vocation better ? That’s true. But you still need balance. If you are a stay-at-home mom with small children, you should not be spending hours a day alone in your room praying. If you are the father of a young family, you should not be spending most of every evening at Church. If you are a college student, you should not normally miss class to go to adoration. St. Francis de Sales, instructing lay people in Introduction to the Devout Life, wrote,

Tonight at the 5 p.m. Mass, our high school freshman was trained by an older woman to become a lector. He sat beside her, a few pews in front of us, and listened as she whispered directions and instructions. In a few weeks, he will share the lectoring responsibilities with her and then, if all goes as hoped, he's at the ambo on his own. It was moving to witness her sit beside him during Mass, passing on the faith. Keep Reading Here