We Knew This Was Coming. Why Weren’t We Ready?
"What time will you be home tonight?" Mark asked. "The usual time," Dawna responded, puzzled. "Around nine pm." "Oh," Mark said, disappointed. "I was hoping we could spend some time tonight talking about what this new baby is going to mean for us." When Dawna was expecting our first child, she was regularly taking stock of the changes in her body, attending to her emotional highs and lows, and thinking about what this arrival of the new member of the family would mean for our
4 minutes ago4 min read
Learning to Be a Peacemaker
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). When we hear this beatitude, we may think of a diplomat who negotiates a treaty to end a war, or a community organizer who arranges a face-to-face restorative justice circle between gang leaders and community members. But for most of us, the place to make peace is much closer to home: across the kitchen table, while driving together in the car, or late at night after a hard conversation. Ma
6 days ago3 min read
Love Is Something We Do
Look honestly at a typical Sunday. The soccer team has a 9 a.m. game, so the family skips Mass. One of you has to work through the weekend because there's a big contract bid due next week. The other worked late almost every night this week and wants a day off from everything. The kids have friends, games, and streaming. You did not plan to push God off the calendar. It was more like letting the calendar make the choice for you. And nobody--not you, not your kids, not your spo
Oct 243 min read
