Sweet Talk

Does your parish have a divorce healing support group? Maybe it’s time. Years ago when I had just moved to a new area, I offered to help start a ministry but the pastor flatly told me, “We don’t have any divorced people in our parish.” WHAT? I was dumbfounded. I thought, Father, God love you,[...]

  THRIVING MARRIAGES – Free videos to super-charge your marriage, with Anne Nelson and other Christian marriage experts A RENEWED HOPE (Smart Catholics) – Virtual Conference with 38 Savvy “Smart Catholic” Speakers THEOLOGY OF THE BODY – Virtual Conference on all things TOB!  

DANISH PASTRY –  Modified from a recipe found on Epicurious 2016 I can still smell and taste those fresh, cardamom-scented Danish the mothers served in the 1950’s on Frist Friday after Mass at Our Lady of the Assumption elementary school.  On a cold rainy day, we would process through the drizzle from Mass to our[...]

In my coaching practice, every client asks what God’s will is for them. That’s good! It means people sincerely want to please him. It also may mean they are hoping to hear an answer other than that which God has already given them. At this point in life, we should KNOW God’s basic will for[...]

No, it’s not some creepy Catholic thing about sex.  What IS “Theology of the Body?” It’s a treasure map. It’s a marriage manual. It’s the key to every heart’s desires. It’s a beautiful bible study, rich in spousal imagery. It’s the answer to the very meaning of life! It was the seventies and I was[...]

Separation sounds like a bad word when it comes to an ailing marriage, but it may be just what the doctor ordered. But first, let’s separate it into two areas: Separation within a marriage Separation from a spouse Some separation can be loving In marriage, the two are meant to become one[1], but that doesn’t[...]

“We respect your belief, Mom and Dad, but we’ve decided to live together.” “I don’t need to go to Mass. I have my own way of praying.” “I’m not even sure I believe in God anymore, Dad.” ACK! What’s a Catholic parent (or grandparent) to do when the lack of a mature faith in their[...]

The Reluctant Bride – Auguste Toulmouche 1866 I was in my forties when I realized that all my life I had only been “dating” God when he had been waiting for my full “marital” surrender. I thought I was intimate with God; I prayed regularly, went to Mass, and received the Sacraments. I could still[...]

Imagine a man got drunk, then angry at his wife, slapped her hard across her face, made the kids cry, kicked the beloved family dog, and then tripped down the stairs and gravely injured himself. His actions hurt the whole family, but the nurses and doctors at the hospital care less about what he did[...]

Five a.m. is way too early to head out the front door to work. But that’s what I must do when I travel to a conference and catch American’s early morning flight out of Palm Springs, CA. Part of me is still back in my bed, asleep on my pillow while the other part is[...]