Archive for December 2017

A wife has a very powerful position in a family. As Maria says in ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’, “The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants”. Stereotypically the wife is the Nurturer – the caring sensitive parent, wanting the best for…

Godparents are more than just parental back-up or a nominated guardian should parents die while their children are still young; they are specially chosen spiritual mentors for your children. They have a special role to play in your child’s upbringing and especially their faith journey. Don’t choose someone simply because you owe them a favour…

Initiation Rituals A common thread in human cultures, tribes and societies is ritualistic initiations that mark the various stages of life. They relate to all kinds of stages, such as; welcoming a new baby, introducing boys to manhood, marriage, grandparenthood and death. Catholicism has always supported the fundamental wisdom of the human need for ritual…

Byron & Francine Pirola It’s 3am and Bron and James are in a standoff. Their toddler has woken for the third time that night and is not interested in going back to sleep. Demand feeding worked well for the first six months, but now, she is 11 months old and the sleep deprivation is taking…

Think for a moment about the ways you discipline your children when they act in challenging ways. Perhaps your three year-old has just stabbed his older brother in the face with a fork. Or maybe your teenage daughter has screamed an obscenity at her younger sibling. Or you’ve just discovered your eight year-old is pocketing…

Most parents I speak to tell me that discipline means “punishment”. And when we discipline our children it’s our duty to mete out punishment to teach our children a lesson. But what do they learn? Not a great deal, evidently, because they’re usually up to no good again in next to no time – but…

As you gaze at the bright blue eyes, and cheeks rosy from teething, you might be forgiven for thinking that Poppy Hookway is simply another ridiculously photogenic baby. But Poppy is far from your average six-month old. She’s making a difference, one high five at a time, all thanks to her lucky fin. The lucky…

Jean’s life story is not the way she would have written it. It includes early years of childhood abuse, same-sex attraction and depression, and later years of heterosexual marriage and children. She writes of the blessing of being able to trust God as the author of her life. The Serenity Prayer is a blessing and…