How and When do we correct our friends when they make incorrect statements about the Catholic Faith?

This isn’t an easy subject because we are all at different places in our faith, so our knowledge and understanding of the Faith is going to be at a different comfort level for each individual. Yet, we all have a duty to uphold the truth to the extent which we know it, and to right wrongs when the Faith is discussed. The question becomes how do we do that?

An argument against the immediate implemention of NFP in a new marriage.

I believe NFP is an acceptable practice for Catholics and there are many reasons for its use. What I am arguing is that I don’t think it is something that all Catholics need to use, nor do I think its immediate use in a marriage is the intended purpose of the Church’s teaching. There are various arguments that are made contrary to this, but I honestly believe that your first  months of marriage should really be about your union with one another in God. There is in fact a Tri-union with him in your marriage, one that should be open to His promptings – whether they are to have kids easily and quickly or not. Now, are there certain instances where marriage needs to and should come without the immediate ability to have kids? Sure. Are there marriages where couples are completely open to life and know that there are reasons to be much more deliberate and strategic about conceiving? Sure. My point is not the exceptions but the norms.

Help your boys become Battle Ready by having them put on the Armor of God each day, literally.

We must see our life as Catholics to be something of great importance, and not simply something that we do on Sundays. The Devil doesn’t take days off, and he strikes when we least expect it. His hope is that we approach each day thinking about him less and less, because it is then that he can most easily get to us – when we least expect it. “Putting on the Armor of God” in a very literal sense will help our boys develop the mindset and understanding that each day is a Battle and that we must enter each day – BATTLE READY!

We must lead our pack, our families, in the faith. We must be an alpha male, and take on all that it means: sacrifice, bravery, leadership, and instruction. It is our role as a father to lead not only ourselves to heaven but also our wife and children. My family is “puppy-sitting” this week, which [...]

To start, I want to apologize that this post will be absent picture and frills. I am posting it via my phone. (Summer in Alaska is fast paced and hectic, we only get so much sun and warmth!) I wanted to write about the concept of ‘The Sacred’ this week. The idea that there are [...]

Physical labor allows us to actualize our humanity as well as tilling the soil that is our soul, preparing it for spiritual growth.

There is an accomplishment to hikes and other physical activity. A start and a finish. Once you start, you have to finish, there is no other choice. Even if the hike is a 100 yards, once you start you have to finish. That accomplishment is what Bl. John Paul II explains as becoming more human. We are created in the image and likeness of God, and so when we utilize our bodies in work, we are actualizing our creative purpose. Similarly, when we pray, we are actualizing our spiritual purpose. The two seemingly go hand in hand, and so it is no wonder that monks and nuns have learned to combine the two into their rhythmic and systematic way of life. We too, should find a way to do the same.

Be a Culture Warrior and get your kids encountering the Sacred in new ways this summer.

Many of us will have vacations, family get togethers, weddings, sports, and other hobbies that will fill up the weekends during our summer. But if you are reading this blog, then you most likely have kids, and if you have kids we know there are about 100 days to summer. I would put money on the fact that about 5 days into summer, before any of these “big events” happen, many parents will hear: “I’m booooooooooooooored.” Now, many of the dads (and moms) that read this blog don’t appreciate their children sitting inside during the summer watching T.V. or playing video games. We also don’t want to just set let loose in the culture to see and hear all the things the world wants them to hear. So what do we do?

Do you make sure your kids get their RDA of the FAITH?

What if we made an effort to spend as much, or even half as much time we spend in front of a “screen” instead doing something to keep us spiritually healthy? What if we payed attention and made sure we did something each day to make sure our children were stronger in their faith? What if we kept a “Faith Diary” of what our kids did each day that involved the Catholic faith, and at the end of each month adjusted it to make improvements? What if we concerned ourselves with making sure our families get their “Recommended Daily Allowance” of God the same way we make sure they don’t eat too much sugar? If we want want to prepare our children for heaven we need to keep them spiritually healthy, and the only way of doing that is to make sure they get their RDAs of Faith.

Is there ever an appropriate “time” (reason) to grab our kids and walk out on a homily?

My question is, can this ever be OK? Is it ever appropriate to leave Mass, or is there a Sacred nature to the entire Mass to the point that regardless of what is said we must remain? Is there a continuity of prayer and attention that must be kept, which leaving would rupture and actually minimize our participation and worship at Mass? Now, leaving my friend aside as simply an anecdote, I think we can all think of Homilies that we have heard that have made us go, “Wait, what did he just say?” But can it ever be so over the top that we get up and leave? Most drastically, should we ever grab our kids and do the same?

We must teach our children that it is important to live in the world, and yet never be of the world.

But what about the Faith? How much effort is put into making our children good and strong Catholics? The world is a battle field of good and evil, and yet we throw our children out their with what sort of knowledge? How do we prepare them for the battles to come in the world? How do we encourage them to be strong Catholics in the world but not of the world? Do we meet with our pastors and discuss their spiritual knowledge and development? Do we prompt them to read things about the faith? Do we spend time praying, discussing, and understanding our faith?