Posts by Francine Pirola
The Spiritual Ancestors of Jesus
A constellation of traditions exist to mark the miraculous event of Christmas: God becomes man in the person of Jesus Christ. The Jesse Tree is one such tradition. It’s the perfect complement to the great ‘Season of Saints’ in early November where we celebrate the spiritual descendants of Jesus (All Saints and All Souls Day).…
Read MoreSaint of Generosity
Who is St Nicolas? Born in the third century in modern day Turkey, his wealthy parents raised Nicolas to be a devout Christian. Responding to Christ’s radical call of total devotion, he gave away his wealth becoming Bishop of Myra while still a young man. He spent a number of years in prison under the…
Read MoreMary’s Garden
In this month of May, dedicated to our Mother Mary, consider planting a garden in her honour. Before Christianity, many flowers and plants were associated with pagan gods such as Diana, Venus and Juno. As Christianity spread, in recognition of God’s presence in and through the glory of nature, missionaries ‘christened’ many flowers with themes…
Read MoreSaint Paul
Apostle to the Gentiles Passionate and fervent, St Paul is famous for his dramatic conversion recounted several times in the scriptures. As the story goes… Saul (his Semitic name) was a devout Jew and a Pharisee. Believing the fledgling group of Christians to be a dangerous cult, he set out to arrest the followers of…
Read MoreHeavenly Connections – All Saints Day
One of the most beautiful traditions of the Catholic Faith is the celebration of the lives of the Saints. Not only do these men, women and children give us inspiration by the way they lived their faith, and often died for it, they also continue to offer us help in our daily lives. Though it is common to…
Read MoreThe Renaissance of Marriage
With the feast day of one of history’s most sainted couples occurring this month it’s an opportune time to affirm the contribution that marriage makes to our community. Marriage as a Resource When we in the Church think about marriage and family life, mostly we think in terms of supporting couples. We look primarily towards marriage and family…
Read MoreParenting Tips
Andrew Mullins is the Author of Parenting for Character (2005) Finch Publishing. Through his extensive experience as a School Principal, where he regularly counsels parents, he has distilled his wisdom into a short article for CathFamily. The following is an excerpt. 1. Be united with your spouse. Unity between spouses makes parenting more likely to…
Read MoreGrandparent Power
Almost every grandparent thinks their grandchildren are pretty special. Grandparents are allowed to be biased – after all, every kid deserves a doting grandparent to counter the nuisance of stressed out, nagging parents. Grandparents enjoy a privileged relationship with their grandchildren. ‘All care, no responsibility’ is often cited as a license for fun… grandparents seem to relish the opportunity…
Read MoreCyber Rascals
Digital communications have revolutionised our social relationships. Text messaging, email and social network communities mean that today’s young person has instant access to friends and acquaintances across the globe. Unfortunately, like all innovative technologies, some young people choose to abuse the power of digital communications. A new brand of bullying has emerged and is wreaking havoc on the lives…
Read MoreFamily Vocations
Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York recently noted the link between marriage and vocations to the priesthood and religious life: “We have a vocation crisis to life-long, life-giving, loving, faithful marriage. If we take care of that one, we’ll have all the priests and nuns we need for the church.” In this Year of the Priest, it’s a clarion call to…
Read MoreYour Home: A Living Church
The Domestic Church The home is the place where we learn to love. It is in our homes that our children are first introduced to love; in our homes where husbands and wives most profoundly model sacramental love; in our homes where we learn and practice forgiveness, compassion, encouragement, humility, trust. We cannot know God without knowing what it is to be loved.…
Read MoreChildren & Media
“Training in the proper use of the media is essential for the cultural, moral and spiritual development of children.” Pope Benedict XVI Raising children in the 21st century certainly has its challenges. There are so many influences on our children which enter our homes and our children’s lives without our permission and often without our knowledge. Music lyrics and videos, gaming,…
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