Here are the three nicest things anyone has ever said to me, and how they are teaching me to level up my affirmations.
The 3 Nicest Things Anyone Has Ever Said to Me… and How I’m Paying Them Forward
AmendoAuthor: Teresa Coda
Help! My mom mails Christmas brag letters
U.S. Catholic
Q: My mom includes what I call a “brag letter” in her Christmas cards. I find this so egotistical especially during a holy season, and I am uncomfortable being included. How can I address this with her?
Offer up the little pains of parenting
U.S. Catholic
I’ve always cringed when I hear the expression “offer it up.” While the phrase actually refers to something called redemptive suffering—the idea that our suffering can unite with Christ’s on the cross and, in doing so, can take on redemptive power for ourselves and others—redemption isn’t what comes to mind when I hear someone (usually an older woman or a Catholic mommy blogger) use the expression.
We’ve got the wrong idea about sin
U.S. Catholic
An unexamined and rigid view of sin does not bring us closer to God.
Don’t let comparison steal your joy
U.S. Catholic
Comparison is toxic. God lives in moments of bliss and misery.
This Jewish Blessing for Special Occasions Is Great for Catholics, Too
Busted Halo
As a Catholic, I embrace the idea that God exists within the context of my everyday life, and I welcome the Shehecheyanu as a verbal manifestation of that idea. It helps me put words behind my feelings of joy and gratitude, and moves me to verbally recognize God’s abundant blessings in the everyday moments of life. As I continue on in this year, I have a feeling that I’ll be saying the Shehecheyanu a lot more.
Is smoking marijuana a sin?
U.S. Catholic
Q: It’s now legal to use marijuana recreationally in my state. Would it be a sin if I partook in this?
Pie-Chart Progress: A Fun Visual That I’m Using for Self-Improvement
Amendo
Becoming better versions of ourselves — learning more, growing kinder and stronger, expanding our perspectives — is hard work that takes introspection, honesty and discipline. Pie charts are a fun way to guide yourself on the journey…and to make it a little more colorful along the way!
We haven’t baptized our pandemic baby yet. It’s fine.
U.S. Catholic
There are moments when I wonder if I’m trying too hard to control the circumstances of my daughter’s baptism, if—with both a nagging perfectionism and an air of hubris—I’m trying to micromanage the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps I am. Then again, Jesus turned water to wine during the wedding at Cana even though everyone would have survived without it. A crass utilitarian he was not. He did the unnecessary—the extra—in favor of celebration and delight. If the Son of God himself wasn’t a “check the box and be done with it” kind of guy, then, well, I don’t have to be either. I’m holding out for my daughter’s baptism with patient hope and joyful anticipation.
Ask an Apostle: My priest says limbo is real
U.S. CatholicQ: My priest keeps talking about limbo and purgatory. Don’t such teachings fall into the discarded stuff after Vatican II? How should I address this with him?
Teresa Coda 