Listen for the Voice
My kids talk. A lot. They’re not shy, and they have an overabundance of opinions. They pretty much communicate in some way – words, songs, yelling – from the time they wake up to the time they fall asleep. They…
Paddle Back to Shore
I was distracted the first few months of summer. Swamped. Work-crazy. Traveled home to help my mom. Baseball tournaments. One vacation, then another. All good stuff. But I may have missed a Mass. OK, maybe several. My list of excuses…
Confidence in the Path
Often it is a difficult test that reveals, or reconfirms, where our strength comes from. This month is the anniversary of my father’s death. We said goodbye to him in 2013 and I can hardly believe it’s been that long...…
Amplifying the Quiet: (Subtle) Evangelization
Growing up, Catholicism was present in our home but it was quiet. A consistent undercurrent of which we were almost unaware. We didn’t discuss it. It just was. My father was a typical Irish Roman Catholic who took us all…
Foundations, Faith and Fighting for Little Souls
Eight years into this parenting gig and suddenly I'm keenly aware of how experiences outside our home have an impact on our kids, and how truly important the influence of family and the Church is. Sure, we've struggled with parenting…
A Season of Self-Forgetting
Cheese. It’s my weakness. My Kryptonite. My Achilles heel. Two years ago, I decided to give it up for Lent. Abstaining is supposed to be difficult, right? I told people of my goal, mostly so I’d go through with it.…