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May 2015

May 15, 2015

Letter to a Discouraged Evangelist

I wrote the following in response to a "What would you say?" question from Sherry...

April 2015

April 05, 2015

The Kissable God

The feasts of the liturgical year intertwine. At Christmas we adore the baby Jesus, cuddly,...

March 2015

March 18, 2015

Case Study: Best Practices in Parish Logistics

This is a follow-on to yesterday's post, in which I pointed out problems. Big ones....

March 16, 2015

May You Skip Your Penance on St. Patrick’s Day?

I have an irrational aversion to dressing matchy-matchy with the liturgical calendar, which backfired Sunday....

February 2015

February 23, 2015

The Antidote to both Clericalism and Nostalgia . . .

. . . is a thorough reading of the lives of the saints. Don't pick...

February 18, 2015

Atheism, Beauty, and the Loss of Penance

My young daughter, whose cuteness makes her look even younger, sat on the stool at...

February 16, 2015

Something Beautiful for Lent: Cultivating God’s Garden by Margaret Rose Realy

The book I've just finished reading is Margaret Rose Realy's Cultivating God's Garden Through Lent. I'm...

February 13, 2015

Why the Bad Music at Mass?

Fr. Longenecker writes here on why Catholics can't have good music, and he makes a...

February 02, 2015

Playing with Fire: Christ in the Temple

It's the Feast of the Presentation, the very last day of Christmas no matter how...

January 2015

January 26, 2015

So, Mr. Jesus. We Meet Again.

This Sunday's Gospel has Jesus out for a walk on the beach, and he sees...

January 15, 2015

Christian Community Renewal for Ordinary Moms

This story is for Melanie Bettinelli, who is far more thoughtful than I am, and...

January 14, 2015

You’re Invited to Simcha Fisher’s Baby Shower – Updated with Drink Recipe

Rebecca is a throwing a baby shower for Simcha Fisher -- I think you get...

January 07, 2015

The Real Presence and My Reversion to the Catholic Faith

My reversion to the Catholic faith was in some ways launched in full force when...

January 03, 2015

Friends in High Places: Get Yourself a Saint for 2015

Matchmaking time. Jen Fulwiler's Patron Saint Generator is up and running. If you haven't done...

December 2014

December 27, 2014

Diocese Pays for IVF, Does $2 Million Penance

In my comments yesterday, I neglected to fully rake the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend...

December 17, 2014

Something Useful: Cursive Worksheet Generator – You Specify the Text

What I'm thinking about today is . . . cursive. This site rescued a child...

December 13, 2014

Doing Something Right, Episode 2: Church Music

At my house tonight . . . Middle Schooler: What Mass are we going to...

December 07, 2014

The Immaculate Conception: More Good News than Your Enemies Want to Admit

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th, is a holy day of obligation in...

December 07, 2014

To Make Things Beautiful is to Make Yourself Human

In time for the Advent Wreath link-up at CatholicMom.com, my daughter put together this for...

November 2014

November 29, 2014

Well Hello, Advent. We Meet Again.

Someone reminded me it was Advent this Sunday. Yikes. But it doesn't have to be...

November 07, 2014

Adultery is Not the Only Option: Five Things You Can Do to Keep Your Vows Intact

Deacon Greg Kandra writes about a recent NY Times piece on priests who forsake their...

October 2014

October 20, 2014

#Synod14 – Prostitute Nation and a Jar of Perfume

If you want to understand the clerical food fight portion of this month's Synod on...

October 15, 2014

The Go-to Guide for New and Struggling Catechists Now Out in Kindle

Something fun: I was putting together my author bio for the 2015 CatholicMom.com Gospel Reflections...

October 08, 2014

#Synod14 – In Which Justice & Mercy Try Dating for a Bit

The overall theme of this month's Extraordinary Synod on the Family seems to be this:...

October 06, 2014

BREAKING: St. Paul Comments on the Synod for the Family

For those who are curious about the 2014 Synod of the Family, today's first reading gives you...

September 2014

September 27, 2014

If You Have to Ask, “Is that the Church?” It’s Time to Call an Architect

Last month I had the chance to visit Fr. Dwight Longenecker's parish, Our Lady of...

September 27, 2014

Be Catholic: Fight the Tyranny of “Fitting In”

My latest at New Evangelizers is up: Catholicism is for People Who Don't Fit In....

September 19, 2014

In the Face of Such Evil, the Only Thing Left is Hope

For those who know what such a thing is, the theme around my corner of...

September 01, 2014

Get Young Adults to Join Your Parish in Two Easy Steps, Guaranteed.

The question came up at Sherry Weddell's Intentional Disciples discussion forum: How does one attract...

August 2014

August 31, 2014

Something Good: Christian Soul Music with Actual Poetry in It

Just finished listening to the rough mix of Sam Rocha's freshly released album, Late to...