Catholic Fire

Feeding Your Family’s Soul: Dinner Table Spirituality by Donna­-Marie Cooper O’Boyle Stressed and exhausted, today’s parents struggle to meet their deadlines and check off their "to do" lists. This often results in well-meaning parents putting off their children’s faith formation for "another time" or relying on others to teach their children.  This book is uniquely suited to come to their rescue! Feeding Your Family’s Soul: Dinner Table Spirituality is a vital tool to enable parents to transform a regular dinner time into a prayerful faith lesson for their elementary school to high school aged children. With 52 fun and creative faith lessons (one for each week of the year), this book will encourage parents and caregivers to seize the opportunity in teaching the Catholic faith to the children (the captive audience waiting to eat!) while gathered at the dinner table, reminding them of the value of coming together as a family to break bread and share heart...

Photo Image via Catholic Herald On Sunday, October 4, Pope Francis opened the long-awaited Synod on the Family at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. A solemn Mass was dedicated to the theme of the family in the modern world. Vatican Radio reports: The Pope said that the readings centred on three themes, “solitude, love between man and women, and the family.” The First Reading came from the book of Genesis – the Lord giving Adam a helpmate. Pope Francis, reflecting on Adam’s loneliness, likened it to the drama of solitude experienced by men and women today – especially the elderly, widows and widowers and those left by their spouses. He said that many today are lonely because they are misunderstood and unheard – referring particularly to migrants and refugees. The Holy Father went on to say that we experience “the paradox of a globalised world filled with luxurious mansions and skyscrapers, but a lessening of the warmth of homes and families.” He spoke of the growi...

Losing a sister is like losing an arm or leg. Both are irreplaceable. My sister, Maureen, took her last breath and passed on peacefully to eternal life, surrounded by family in her home, on Saturday, May 16, 2015, due to complications of an aggressive cancer, multiple myeloma. She was my youngest sister, the baby of the family, and someone I felt I needed to nurture and protect. However, she was a feisty and independent lady with a bit of rebelliousness in her blood. I remember when my mom, worked the night shift in a nursing home, she asked that we play quietly in our rooms while she slept during the day. Maureen often had difficulty playing quietly. It seemed that her play time frequently required noise. I don’t remember her doing anything quietly. Her music, singing, dancing, talking, arguing, and playing were all loud. She may have been the youngest, but she was bound and determined to get attention one way or another. During mom’s sleeping hours, I usually quietly read books...

An explanation of the 2014 Synod, it's process and structure. The 2014 Synod of Bishops (October 5-19) is focusing on the Pastoral Challenges faced by Families all over the world.

It's time to plan ahead, guys, for that romantic day! If you haven't started yet, now is the time. 1. Attend a Night of Romance in your diocese, like the one offered HERE. 2. Go out to eat at her favorite restaurant, and read a poem you have written just for her. Then, present her with a single long-stemmed red rose. 3. Recreate your first date together, as they did in Parent Trap . Get dressed up and enjoy! 4.  Put the children to bed, build a fire and watch your favorite romantic movie together. Share your favorite  wine. 5.  Wake up extra early Valentine's morning, and make your wife breakfast in bed. Plan ahead, and cook something special like crepes or French toast. If work permits, go in late, and offer to get the kids ready for school while she sleeps in and enjoys her breakfast in bed. Add a favorite latte to her breakfast tray to show her you put in the extra time and thought to make her day. 6. If you want to cook for your wife but mornings...

During the first day of their fall meeting in Baltimore, the U.S. bishops discussed themes and priorities for their work as a whole, including evangelization, the family and Catholic education. The bishops listened on Nov. 11 to remarks from apostolic nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and conference president Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan on the importance of Christian witness and international religious freedom. They heard a report from the conference’s National Advisory Council, a 48-member group of laity, clergy and religious of various ages, locations, ethnicities and occupations, who meet to offer input on topics discussed by the bishops. The council supports a continued focus on evangelization and education, the development of a formal statement on pornography, a peaceful solution to the Syrian conflict, and an extension of the bishops’ “Call to Prayer” for life, marriage and religious liberty. Read the full story

October 25, 2013. (Romereports.com) Pope Francis proposed approaching “with respect and courage the families facing difficult situations,” as well as “marriages in crisis or those who are separated.” In the last gathering of the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Pope urged Christians to use their everyday life to show the “beauty of marriage and the Christian family.”   POPE FRANCIS “The family is where one learns to love, the natural center of human life. The family is made of faces, of people that love, that talk, that sacrifice for each other, and protect life, specially the most fragile, the weakest.” The Pope also asked parents to “waste time” with their children, so that they can realize that love is always free. The president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Archbishop Vicenzo Paglia, gave Pope Francis this icon where the Holy Family appears along with with two old men. “This icon represents the relationship between generations.” Pope Francis was ...

Created on Thursday, 20 June 2013 18:46  Written by Stefano Gennarini, J.D. ROME, June 21 ( C-FAM ) The family is the central way of proclaiming the "Gospel of Life," a top Vatican official said this week during a weekend-long celebration of Blessed John Paul II's letter by that name. In the family “children witness the Gospel of life in the relationship of their parents with one another and in the relationship of the parents with them,” Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke said in remarks delivered at a conference held during the commemorative event. Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, said “A new reading of the Encyclical Letter must be at the core of the observance of the Year of Faith." Dr. Douglas Sylva chaired the conference, which was sponsored by C-FAM, publisher of the Friday Fax, in conjunction with the Pontifical Council on The New Evangelization. Sylva is Chairman of C-FAM's board of directors. Pope Francis celebrated Holy Mass commemorating S...

Pia de Solenni is an ethicist and cultural analyst based in Seattle. Visiting Rome to participate in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture, she spoke to CNS about feminism and gender roles.

Fr. James Kubicki, S.J. from the Apostleship of Prayer has a beautiful post on his blog Truth and Charity about consecrating your family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is something my family has done with a group from our parish in church and we are so happy we did it. It is a faith commitment I recommend to everyone, particularly during this Year of Faith.

An Arkansas woman has given birth to her 18th child. Michelle Duggar delivered the baby girl by Caesarean section Thursday at Mercy Medical Center in Rogers. The baby, named Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar, weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. "The ultimate Christmas gift from God," said Jim Bob Duggar, the father of the 18 children. "She's just absolutely beautiful, like her mom and her sisters." The Duggars now have 10 sons and eight daughters. MORE ~ Via The Chicago Tribune.

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com Via Esther.

It is being hosted by Super Sarah (who really is that kind of host) this week, who shares a unique theme and lots of tantalizing posts. Here are just a few of my favorites: Heidi Saxton's "Sex and the City" A Microcosm of Real Life? Marcel's Our Culture - Here we have a reflection of how we have to fight the growing secularization of our culture in our church. Shattered Paradigm's Ten Powerful Secrets for How to Build a Great Marriage - An excellent list to guide you. Ebeth's A Word about Evenings WITHOUT Television - "There are so many things that are far more thrilling and fulfilling to do in the evenings than..." You can guess what follows, perhaps, but maybe you'll get some "detox" ideas for your house too! Be sure and stop by Sarah's to read all the exciting posts.

Via Heart Mind and Strength: Beginning Monday, May 19th, Lisa and I will be hosting a new show for The Catholic Channel Sirius 159 . The new show, Fully Alive! with Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak, will air weeknights from 10p-Midnight Eastern (7-9pm Pacific). We'll have the opporunity to interview the best and brightest secular and Christian authors on marriage, family and general psychology topics and relate their work to the Catholic vision of the human person. Plus, we'll take your calls to help you find faithful solutions to the problems that stand in the way of your coming fully alive in Christ. PS. We'll also continue our terrestrial radio program, Heart Mind and Strength which airs weekdays from Noon-1pm Eastern on the Ave Maria Radio Network.

Esther emailed me about this one, so here are my responses: 1. Who is your man? Sweet William - Bill 2. How long have you been together? 15 years 3. How long did you date? 1 year 4. How old is your man? 21 - That's what he always tells people. 5. Who eats more? I'm 5'6" and he's 6'6", so take a guess. If you said him, you're correct. :-) 6. Who said “I love you” first? He did. 7. Who is taller? He is. 8. Who sings better? We are both good singers. 9. Who is smarter? He is. 10. Whose temper is worse? I have a hot temper when provoked. Certain things trigger his temper and then watch out! 11. Who does the laundry? I do. 12. Who takes out the trash? He does. 13. Who sleeps on the right hand side of the bed? Me. 14. Who pays the bills? He does. His math and accounting skills are better than mine. I did this for many years when I was single and am happy to relinguish the reponsibility to him. 15. Who is better with the computer? Me. 16. Who mows the law...

Family is Key to Happiness, NOT Money and Sex Says New Survey of Youth and Poll: Family ties key to youth happiness

I have added a new image to my sidebar - St. Gianna Beretta Molla - whom I pray to daily for an end to abortion. For those of you who are unfamiliar with her, Gianna Beretta Molla was an Italian doctor, wife, and mother who refused to have either an abortion or hysterectomy when she was pregnant with her fourth child. Doctors had discovered in the second month of her pregnancy a fibroma tumor in her uterus. As a doctor, Gianna knew the consequences of not fully treating the fibroma. She chose the life of her child over her own. On the morning of April 21, 1962, a healthy baby girl was born, Gianna Emanuela. Her mother died of septic peritonitis a week after the birth. Gianna was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1994, during the international year of the family and was canonized on May 16, 2004. ~ This description is courtesy of the St. Giana Beretta Molla Guild. What is her special gift to the culture of life? "The Church celebrates her new saint at a cultural moment w...