family life Archives

‘Man Up and Love Your Wife!’

Our marriage is infinitely stronger, better, more exciting and more enjoyable because we stopped contracepting. Our sex is better. Remember when you got married, when everyone went away and you and your spouse were able to unite for the first time? Remember how amazing that was? When we’re in a situation where we need to abstain, we tend to be more flirtatious. We get to experience that honeymoon feeling again.

Olympic Swimmer Retires for Best Possible Reason

She broke the news via an open letter on December 19, ending her career as a professional athlete. Missy Franklin, Olympic swimmer and role model for many, is retiring. In her letter, the 23-year-old, five-time Olympic gold medalist cited her upcoming marriage and deep desire for family as the primary reason for her decision. “I…

3 ways to Teach Kids about Guardian Angels

The concept of guardian angels is difficult enough for adults to grasp, so it’s unsurprising that these supernatural beings often get reduced to a sort of heavenly Tooth Fairy when explained to children. Angels are much more than some kind of God-given imaginary friends, so it’s important to teach our families the difference between cute…

NFP: A Key to Christian Unity?

This year, the Week for Christian Unity falls on January 18-25. As in years past, ecumenism efforts have culminated during this time, with internationally-coordinated events and even an official theme. But now, in 2018, events could align to create a new platform for Christian unity: reproductive health. With more attention than ever on the dangers…

First Words from Bishop Alfred Schlert

Photo credit: Ed Koskey, AD Times The Most Rev. Alfred A. Schlert, 56, was installed as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Allentown on Aug. 31 at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena. He is the first priest from the diocese to become its bishop. Here is an excerpt of the remarks he made…

A Reflection on National Watermelon Day

One of my favorite parts of teaching kindergarten was prepping the calendar each month and perusing “silly day” websites for fun holidays to share with the kids. There are entire indexes of these little-known, pseudo-official holidays, and they’re worth a look. Some of my favorites include Speak Like a Pirate Day (September 19), Bubble Wrap…