Posts by CathFamily
Serenity 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…
Read MoreWaiting for an annulment
When I met my husband, Bob, we had to wait for his Catholic Church annulment to go through before we could even consider or plan a marriage. We went a year or so spending time as ‘brother and sister’. We could have moved in like so many do and started living as husband and wife…
Read MoreTips to Celebrate Halloween
Many families have their doubts about celebrating Halloween. For some, the practice of trick-or-treating is seen as yet another invasion by American culture. For others, the association with pagan ritual is viewed as inappropriate and even dangerous for children. In fact, Halloween has deep Christian roots, dating back to the eighth century, when Pope Gregory…
Read MoreMy annulment Journey
The journey towards the annulment of my first marriage and full reconciliation with the Church began in early 2012. However, I had been struggling with the psychological, physical and mental stresses of a failed marriage since 2007. The end of the civil proceedings in 2011 allowed me to proceed with the petition for annulment in…
Read MoreMyth-busting: annulment and divorce
Back in 1997, and after about two years of waiting, I received a decree of nullity, which is more commonly known as an ‘annulment’. This was not a ‘jump for joy’ moment for me because I never wanted to divorce in the first place. Despite all the betrayal and pain that had occurred, I would…
Read MoreSharing Faith through words & song
Two artists explain the ways in which they feel called to evangelise beyond their own parish or family. Fr Rob Galea Fr Rob Galea is an assistant parish priest at St Kilian’s parish in the Sandhurst diocese. He’s also a sucessful recording artist who has placed his music career at the service of God through…
Read MoreHow my children teach me about God
At the breakfast table last week our four-year-old says to me, “Mum, I had a dream last night, that Jesus smashed into the earth and it shook and wobbled”. “Oh, that’s interesting,” I responded. Then I asked her, “So what happened to our house, darling?” “Our house was fine Mum, because Jesus can come in…
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