The Church in Daily Life through the Young Ladies’ Institute
Blessed is She awoke in me to the desire for female-led and supported organizations. But it felt hard to connect. I thought back to my childhood and what I saw...
How to Make an End-of-Year Retreat
For the last couple of years during the holiday season, my husband and I have carved out time away from our kids and normal routine for an “end-of-year retreat.” Maybe...
One Family's Santa-Free Christmas
It’s that most wonderful time of year when children are bribed with candy canes to allow adults to finish their egg nog and we’re constantly scrambling to get that best...
Can Catholics Believe in Santa Claus?
Every year, we are bound to witness heated discussions about the relevance of Santa Claus within our Catholic circles. Good Catholics exist on both sides of the debate: Is it...
Christmas Cards: Who, What, When, and Why?
Ah, Christmas! The season when we actually look forward to mail. Well, that is until the credit card bills start pouring in. Envelopes that don’t resemble statements arrive alongside catalogs...
When the Holidays Make Your Grief Bigger
Everyone has a story. When I meet people for the first time and express genuine interest in their lives, many respond dismissively. “Oh, my life isn’t that exciting. It’s pretty...
The Serenity Prayer and Letting it Go
Often, I feel like Queen Elsa in the 2013 Disney film, Frozen, with "let it go" repeating in my head like a scratched record or a warped mix tape warbling...
7 Ways to Gift Differently with Meaningful and Minimalist Gift Giving
Have you had this conversation in your head, too? It goes something like this: “This is all just too much. You’ve spoiled me. I forgot so-and-so! There are simply too...
A Marriage Blessing
It all started when my grandma came home from Rome a few summers ago. She said, “Oh Honey! There were all these couples in their wedding attire meeting the Pope....
Let's Not Talk the Talk
When I started out in the working world, my older sister gave me some advice about gossip. She said I should never say anything to anyone that I would not...
On Gratitude and Choosing Joy
Thanksgiving seemingly always comes out of nowhere. Isn’t that the case every year? Suddenly it is that time of year in which we are running around, making plans, preparing good...
More than Saying Thank You: Cultivating Gratitude in Our Teenage Children
In 1 Thessalonians, we read, “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus" (1Thessalonians 5:18). But trying to teach that lesson...
