Posts by CathFamily
Godparents: Choosing Wisely
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…
Read MoreSacrament Essentials: Baptism
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…
Read MoreBaptism is about belonging
If there is one word which sums up the essence of Baptism it would be ‘belonging’. Through Baptism, we become members of God’s family, a son or daughter of the Father. We belong to God for all eternity. As a consequence, we also belong to the family of God here on earth – our brothers…
Read MoreChild-Honouring Discipline
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…
Read MoreSacrament Essential: First Eucharist
Theology in a nutshell The sacrament of the Eucharist is a sacred meal where we break bread and share the one cup that has been transformed into Christ’s body and blood. It is the paramount sign of our unity with and in Christ. It has been described as the ‘source and summit’ of the Church’s…
Read MorePoppy’s Story
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…
Read MoreSerenity and Suffering
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…
Read MorePreparing your child for first communion
Make mealtimes special. Just as the Eucharist is at the heart of the life of the Church, family meals are the heart of your home, the ‘Domestic Church’. In the lead up to the First Communion Day, use your family meals as an opportunity to share memories of your own First Communion or ask your…
Read MoreChalking the Door
a New Year’s or Epiphany house blessing. The practice of writing a special code over the entrance to a home with blessed chalk is a centuries-old traditional blessing of a home each January. It’s a reminder of God’s presence in our daily lives and a dedication of the year and everything that will happen during…
Read MoreWhy Catholics Celebrate the New Year
Writer Jared Staudt states the case for celebrating New Year’s Day as a part of the Christmas feast, not just a secular marking of a new year. The marking of the dawn of a new year is no secular holiday, because time and history have been drawn into the coming of God into the world.…
Read MoreMy Loved One Is In Trouble
Parents and other family members who are the ‘first responders’ are the ones best-placed to accompany a person who feels on the outer of the Church community. Often, these first responders themselves are in need of encouragement and affirmation. An addiction, an unexpected pregnancy out of wedlock, or a ‘coming out’ announcement can come with…
Read MoreThe Field Hospital
James’s conversion to the Catholic faith and the shedding of his old ways was a gradual journey, aided by the Catholics who befriended and welcomed him. It took me a number of years to move from coming out as gay in my late teens, through a season of promiscuity, before settling into a committed gay…
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