When we parent from a place of ownership, we overlook the gracious involvement of God in our lives.
Your children are yours—but they don’t belong to you
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The way you parent affects everyone—not just your kids
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Parents are called to bless not only the lives of their children, but also the lives of their teachers, bus drivers, nurses, babysitters, coaches, and friends.
Instead of savoring the moment, do what the disciples do
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The disciples know as well as anyone that life is full of loss and wonder, and they just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
To become wholly pro-life, care for fragile families
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A decades-long study on vulnerable families aligns closely with the themes of Catholic social teaching.
Help! My mom mails Christmas brag letters
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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
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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
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An unexamined and rigid view of sin does not bring us closer to God.
Don’t let comparison steal your joy
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Comparison is toxic. God lives in moments of bliss and misery.
Is smoking marijuana a sin?
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Q: It’s now legal to use marijuana recreationally in my state. Would it be a sin if I partook in this?
We haven’t baptized our pandemic baby yet. It’s fine.
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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.
Teresa Coda 