Columnists

My mind was racing after she asked the question. I had successfully dodged the question lo these many years, and suddenly there I was. Read more...

Not long ago, my children and I were heading westward on the Long Island Express-way, hoping to see the statue of Our Lady of America during its historic visit to New York City... Read more...

Archive for family culture

• Raised on Song and Story
• A Lenten Tea
• Sowing a Seed

“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet, I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” Read more...

Archive for guest

• Literature for Life

On December 16, 1998 I became something I never expected to be. I became the mother of a disabled child. On that day, in a dreary hospital office of a “leading” children’s neurologist, my then, three year old son Ryan was formerly diagnosed with autism. Read more...

When spirits run low a catechist must retreat, not into the shadows but into the light of the Holy Spirit, only then can he/she pass on the faith effectively. Read more...

Archive for confirmation

• Silly Questions, Serious Answers
• Habits of Effective Catechists
• Three Suggestions for Avoiding Burnout
• The Adventure of Teaching High School Catechism

I had to pull my daughter out of formal faith formation classes this year. It was a frustrating decision for me, because she understood the faith content of the class, but she is cognitively delayed and couldn’t manage the bookwork for the course... Read more...

Archive for special needs

• The Least of Our Brothers
• Adapting to the Special Needs Student
• Multi-Sensory Approach
• Literal Language
• Removing Distractions

Many years ago, pornography was delivered to a house in a brown package. Now, it often makes its way into our homes through the internet and television. Many children younger than six or seven are being exposed to hardcore pornography. Some Catholic and Christians are becoming addicted to internet porn. Read more...

Archive for theology of the body

• Abstinence: A Blessing or a Curse?
• Desperately Seeking Pregnancy
• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About NFP But Were Afraid to Ask
• NFP: The Long List
• NFP: The Antidote
• Sex Lines and Videotape
• Common "Mis-Conceptions"

Late Friday evening December 11th, in the bitter cold, a hundred parishioners of Sagrado Corazon in Windham processed through the streets of Willimantic in honor of the Solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Read more...

Archive for hispanic catechesis

• The Importance of Catechesis in the Hispanic Community

One of the biggest logistical challenges I face when coordinating youth ministry events and programs is deciding on the right time to hold such affairs. Read more...

Archive for youth ministry

• The Death of the Youth Group

A critical ingredient for the optimal effectiveness of any catechetical endeavor is conviction. I can tell you that with every beat of my heart and every breath that I take, I am radically and immeasurably convinced that the Catholic Faith is the fullness of Reality; the fullness of objective Truth. Read more...

Archive for RCIA

• The Truth Works

12 qualities for effective catechesis Read more...

Archive for catechist training

• 10 Skills To Develop As A Catechist
• 3 Themes to thread through each class
• Using Different Learning Styles
• The Spirituality of A Catechist

It is not an easy task for the teacher to unplug themselves from the classroom. But summer has endless benefits. Read more...

Archive for high school

• The Sacramental Shuffle
• Inflicting Pain Upon Students
• Lessons from The Carpenter
• Can't Wait For Friday
• The Perfect Story
• The Most Hated Subject
• In The Darkness

Lately, I have been finding myself on the receiving end of some serious form-filling-out…..insurance forms, medical forms, grocery store card savings forms. They just seem to be piling up. Read more...

Archive for home education

• The Small Things
• 'Tis the Season: Journeying Toward the Sacraments
• Catholic Boot Camp?
• Honoring the Memories
• “I Like Being Catholic.”

More on the unity of Body & Soul. Read more...

Archive for middle school

• Messengers & Bodyguards
• Fairy Circle
• Transition & Ascension
• Le Mot Juste
• Tents, Temples & Churches
• Big Pictures
• Integrated Arks
• Anastasis
• 5x8=55
• Presbyopia
• The Ineffable Bow
• Leitourgia
• ¿Quién aquí habla Español?
• Samson & Eucharistic Prayer #1
• Textbook Fatigue
• Off the Reservation
• Two-Minute Cadre
• Eikonographia
• Bibliophilia
• Preparation H

Hey, everybody. I am WAY behind the eight ball because of several speaking engagements and my book launch, so please excuse this entirely thrown together column... Read more...

Archive for site news

• Good News, Bad News
• The Big Event
• Joyful Obedience
• Hey! Look at Me!
• Haiti and Suffering
• Global Warming
• We Need You!