The promotion of dignity within family through the love, mercy, and hope of Christ.
by Deacon Stephen Bowling I hope you won’t think me too weird here, but I have a silly little ritual I always perform every New Year’s Eve. It’s something that forces me to look both backwards and forwards at the same time and spiritually reflect upon my life, and just how well I am fulfilling … Continue reading “Better Days”
by Ed Harpring The Advent season is finally begun. Joy and anticipation are in the air as we try to patiently prepare ourselves for the Christ child. Advent season is also a time of Marian devotion with back to back feast days of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe. St. John Paul II … Continue reading The Christmas Poem of Saint John Paul II
Submitted by Michelle Herberger . . . the original article, written by Nancy Guthrie, can be found HERE. "Merry Christmas!” “Happy New Year!” As the end of the year approaches, everywhere we turn someone is telling us we should be happy. But for those who’ve recently lost someone they love, the holidays can seem more … Continue reading What A Grieving Person Wishes You Knew This Christmas
by Martine Bacci Siegel The holidays offer plenty of reasons to be stressed out and anxious -- the gifts you haven’t wrapped, the pile of cookie exchange invites, the office parties. But for many, the biggest source of holiday stress is family -- the family dinner, the obligations, and the burden of family tradition. And … Continue reading Holiday Stress!
by Deacon Stephen Bowling Have you heard yet this year that song which always seems to be everywhere during the Christmas season? Andy Williams’ recording of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” was released in October 1963 (just before John F. Kennedy’s assassination) and has been trying to bring hope and happiness to … Continue reading “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year . . .”
by Deacon Derrick and Mistianna Barnes Mistianna: When Derrick and I started dating, got engaged and finally, got married, I thought Derrick was my knight in shining armor. He daily total me how “perfect” he was and I naively believed him. I believed him simply because, he was perfect, for me and to me! He … Continue reading “Every Trait a Person Has Becomes Magnified in Marriage”
by Ed Harpring November is one of my favorite times of year. Why? Fall, Thanksgiving and family. The month begins with a cool crispness in the air and the myriad of emerging fall colors delighting us with their increasing intensity. The end of the month brings Thanksgiving and the once a year Feast that calls … Continue reading Thanksgiving, Families And Adoptive Families
by Michelle Herberger The clock has “fallen” back. The daylight hours are dwindling away and sooner than one would like to imagine, Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas will be upon us - the seasons of gratitude, promise, light and hope, of warmth, love and excitement. For those grieving the death of a loved one, this time … Continue reading “Seasonal Survival”
by Martine Bacci-Siegel I wish to give thanks to you, Lord, with all of my heart; I will tell of your wonderful deeds. – Psalm 9:1 It is our human nature to dwell on the negative. This tendency is called the “negativity bias,” or the propensity to focus on problems, annoyances, and injustices in our … Continue reading “Gratitude And Giving Thanks . . .”
by Deacon Stephen Bowling Well, it’s November and you know what that means . . . more pumpkin spice stuff than you can shake a stick at (yuck) and enough articles about the “virtue of thankfulness” to fill the Grand Canyon. Just because we celebrate a great holiday about gratitude on the fourth Thursday of … Continue reading Gratitude Is All In The Attitude . . .
