Worrying About PK Syndrome
Heading back from the last of our diocesan Roman Missal workshops on Tuesday, a fellow diocesan director shared a story that confirmed a fear I’ve had for some time: that Preacher’s Kid Syndrome (the tendency for the children of Protestant ministers to rebel against the faith) is alive and well in the Catholic Church. Of course, in the Church, it’s not the children of ordained ministers we need worry about, but the children of lay ministers working in parishes and dioceses. This director’s son no longer practices the faith, at least in part because of his experience...
Read MoreTalkin’ ’bout my generation
For many years I was ambivalent about abortion in the United States. As a teenager, and even through college, I didn’t give it much thought becuase a) I’m a guy, and would never have to directly make that decision, and b) I never planned on getting a woman into the situation where I would need to help someone else make that decision. I knew the Church’s teachings on the matter and accepted them halfheartedly — like the vow of perpetual celibacy, I knew it wasn’t going to impact my life. Then, while I was in graduate school, I saw a statistic that jolted me out...
Read MoreWorking for the Church to Stay in the Church
It’s a mistake to assume that everyone who works for the Church is a Spirit-inspired paragon of holiness. In fact, I often say that I work for the Church because my faith is so weak that working for the Church is the only way I stay in the Church! When I started college I needed to find a work-study job as part of my scholarship. Unfortunately, being the lazy person I am, I waited too long to find something; by the time I looked at the job postings, most of the job were taken. By good fortune (or the work of the Spirit), the campus ministry department was looking for someone to run...
Read MoreTis the great fault of our age to underrate parental dignity
‘Tis the great fault of our age to underrate parental dignity. In the easy-going world, preference is given to profligate celibacy over honorable wedlock; marriage itself is degraded to the level of a purely natural contract, its bond has lost its character of indissolubility and its obligations are shirked to meet the demands of fashion and convenience. When parents, unworthy ones, do not appreciate their own dignity, how will others, their children, appreciate it? And parenthood will never be esteemed while its true nature and sanctity are ignored and contemned; there is no dignity...
Read MoreAging, Prayer, and the Divine Office
It’s been a while since I took “Spirituality and Human Development,” but one of the themes I recall from the class is that our spirituality and prayer life change as we age. The accumulation of experience allows us to gain new insights into the divine and opens us to new ways of communicating with God; this, of course, has an affect on our relationship to God. This has hit home for me a few times in my life. A year after completing my graduate studies I found myself engaging in new types of prayer — particularly an increased use of the Rosary and a greater sense of...
Read More“Building when no one can see…”
As anyone who’s read this site for any length of time has probably figured out, I have a passion for using new technologies to pass on the faith. Digital communication is still in its infancy and I believe we have only begun to see the effects it will have on the Church, evangelization and catechesis. Which is one of the reasons why, when my wife told me that the Catholic moms who run her favorite blog were looking for someone to help them design a web site with fuller capabilities than their free blogging site, I agreed to help out. The other reason is that I enjoy reading the site,...
Read MoreRespect has no substitute
Respect has no substitute; neither assistance nor obedience nor love can supply it or take its place It may happen that children are no longer obliged to help their parents; they may be justified in not obeying them; the circumstances may be such that they no longer have love or affection for them; but respect can never be wanting without serious guilt. The reason is simple: because it is due in justice, because it is founded on natural rights that can never be forfeited, even when parents themselves lose the sense of their own dignity. - Rev. John H. Stapelton, Explanation of Catholic...
Read MoreThe Rise of the Retrosexual
I’m a fan of the blog The Art of Manliness, which offers a useful counter to the dominate male images of our consumer culture. Brett McKay, the site’s founder, has reported on what he calls a “Menaissance,” a movement to re-establish a more classical understanding of men based on the values and style of the WWII generation. In this short video, Brett explains why he thinks is this happening and why it appeals to today’s young men:
Read MoreOn the Work to be Done
I’ve been out of the office the past two days on retreat with the DREs of the diocese. It was a wonderful, Spirit-filled retreat, and I’m grateful for the time “away” – until I get back to my office and see the pile of mail and paperwork on my desk! It would be easy to grump about the work to be done – signing bills, responding to voice mail, writing memos – but this Lent I’ve been trying to re-adjust the way that I look at the interruptions and intrusions. Instead of rolling my eyes and sighing, I’ve been trying to see them as God might see them: not as detours from my...
Read MoreThoughts for a New Father
My best friend and his wife recently found out that they will be welcoming their first child into the world this spring. At his invitation I sent him the following thoughts about fatherhood, having endured loved it through nine years and four kids. The remarks have been edited to remove personal information. #1 – Congratulations! You are no longer in control of your own destiny. Here’s the thing: you are now 100% responsible for another human being in this world. You have established a relationship that, short of death, cannot be severed or broken. (And I’m not even sure...
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