As it is the Christmas Holiday season, I thought Catholic Dads might have a little more time to read a lengthier post than usual. It is also slightly more tangential to our theme than usual, but I hope it may prove interesting. It is a short fable. – Our family – one might almost say [...]

I’m pretty rushed at present, trying to get lots finished before I close the business down for the Christmas holidays, to spend time with the family. So just time for a brief post today. However, I have just started to read a very thought-provoking book, by an English Professor of Education, James Tooley. It is [...]

Congratulations to my brother, Shoe, and his wife, Girl Friday, on the birth of their first born daughter, Babs!

This week we celebrate another milestone as Antonia turns 21. So that’s it: officially grown up. The first of our children to emerge at the other end from our slightly odd approach to parenting (at least by modern standards). So it is interesting to look back. Ant is currently at University, where she is studying [...]

It may be, as you read this, that you get the impression I am repeating myself (if you were around here last year, and have a very good memory). There’s a reason for that, and it’s called tradition. There is something wonderful about growing up with an annual cycle of practices which grow ever more [...]

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 [...]