It’s no secret that I love “back to school time.” Since we educate our children at home, I’m not doing a happy dance because they will all leave my house on a big yellow bus. No, I’m delighting in something…

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I sat with my teenaged son last Wednesday afternoon and watched (South Carolina governor) Mark Sanford’s press conference. Patrick would have preferred to have been watching the first 15 minutes of the landmark U.S.-Spain soccer game. But I had a…

It was one of those infamous rabbit trails that can bear great fruit in prayer. Pope Benedict has declared the Year for Priests to begin June 19. Additionally, he has said that St. Jean Vianney is to be patron of…

It’s almost a universal response these days. I tell someone we have nine children and they respond with some variation of “Wow! That’s like ‘Jon and Kate Plus Eight’ only with one more. I don’t know how you do it.”…

We took the children to Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception last week. This outing is a favorite pilgrimage for our family, one we make several times a year. Often, when we go, my…

I’ve gotten several e-mails recently asking parenting advice. I don’t know if I’ll ever be comfortable answering those requests. I’m learning as I go and I don’t presume to know enough to comment on someone else’s home situation with an…

It’s been one of those weeks. They don’t happen very often, but when they do happen, we all become more aware. This is a countercultural life we lead and it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to swim against the tide.

There…

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We’ve looked at three components of a daily spiritual plan for peace: a morning offering, time for spiritual reading and meditation and an intentional plan for the day. These were three of the strategies I put into play to bring…