So far, I have focussed very much on the father’s role within the family, and the various ways in which he can influence his children’s upbringing with a view to helping them to keep their Faith. However, every now and then, one has no choice but to stand up and be counted in the world [...]

On Saturday, a bishop hit my daughter. It’s ok: she was being confirmed, and that is part of the traditional rite. It is designed to remind the person being confirmed that he or she may be required to suffer for the Faith, and rather beautifully is accompanied by the words Pax tecum (peace be with [...]

It is a profound truth that nothing is created evil. At the beginning of Genesis, God looked at creation and saw that it was good; and He looked at mankind and saw that it was very good. From this the theologians have realised that evil is typically the seeking of one good (say, happiness) in [...]

You know the old thing about a fish can’t see the water it’s swimming in? I was reminded of that when I realised that I had been writing this column for more than a year, and have not yet mentioned devotion to our Blessed Mother Mary. One of the surest ways to keep your kids [...]

The most fundamental reason to keep our kids Catholic is because it is God’s will for them, and the surest way to help them to gain the eternal salvation which is their destiny. But it is also true that there is a crucial role for them to play in society as Catholics. One of the [...]

A long time ago, when Ant was little, our Parish Priest died unexpectedly on Christmas Day. We explained to Ant that he had died, and she (at the age of about 4) said: ‘Is he in the kitchen?’ So we tried to explain again that he was dead, that he wouldn’t be saying Masss for [...]

I thought with both Ant and Bernie at University, the interrogations would get easier. But no: Charlie and Dominique simply expand to fill the space available! So on Sunday morning, we were reading and discussing a chapter of Sheed’s Theology for Beginners (as part of Dominique’s preparation for Confirmation later this autumn). It was on [...]

As a father of three girls, as well as one boy, I had long lived in dread of the teenage years. Teenage girls had always been a mystery to me, and having witnessed some of my friends having very torrid times with their teenage daughters, I was not looking forward to ours reaching that age. [...]

Mealtimes are always hazardous at the Trovato house. You never know what the kids are going to launch at you. Now Ant is at University, the odds aren’t quite so bad, and once Bernie goes to her new university in a week or two I may stand a chance: it will only be two to [...]

We had a great week camping in Scotland (apart from driving for hours to Mass on Sunday only to find a lay-led Eucharistic Service…). But I returned reflecting that I had spoken and played less with Dominique than with any of the others. It was just a feeling, but a little unsettling. So I paid [...]