Catholic Family Night: Printable Resource

When I was little, I still remember my neighbor being called in by her mother for "family night" and me not being invited. How rude! Now that I have my own family, I also want to have a weekly time for my family to hang out... even without neighbor kids. I am jealous of the "family home evening" I see on Mormon mommy blogs, where it is simple and consistent. The Catholic Church has a richness of teachings on the family and they are little or not at all known to the average Catholic.

Here are some guides I am making for our own use, that I would like to share with you. They will look at Church documents such as Gaudium et Spes, the Catechism, Familiaris Consortio, Letter to women/children/families, Dies Domini, etc. The document will be updated as more sessions are added (it is a work in progress).  

There are blank spaces to write in an opening prayer/song and a treat. There are some ideas for social nights, to do instead of a "teaching" night. More to come soon! Please tell me if you find this useful!

Session 1: For the family, not at the expense of the family

Download PDF here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxHDqRCogEdwLUFLNWN0RG9pUDQ&authuser=0

Article on CatholicStand

Is the World Overpopulated?

Julie Machado • March 12, AD2015 • 1 Comment

I was flipping through an English textbook and there was a page about overpopulation in which it described the growing amount of people in the world, the lack of resources and solutions to this problem, namely “family planning”. Then there was a writing prompt for an essay on how to save the planet and limit family size.



Keep Reading here: http://www.catholicstand.com/world-overpopulated/

We're not taking the time to nurture friendships and community

This part of what Emily Stimpson says on the Jennifer Fulwiler show (link here) (don't you LOVE the Jennifer Fulwiler show?) sent a bolt right through me. This is one of the things that I feel like I am most failing at right now, both for myself and for my baby:

“Young people don’t know what friendship looks like. (…) Why do you think that is?...”

“Well part of it I think is their parents’ fault. People our age and over who have been busy and on the move and focused on their career, there have been divorces that have fractured communities, and we learn friendship from our parents. We learn what it means to love, and spend time and be real and just to be in community by being in community. And I think as a culture we’ve become so obsessed with making sure we’re getting to all the soccer games or making sure we’ve got the corner office that we’re not taking time to nurture friendships and community. So part of it’s learned. But it’s also social media is a very easy crutch…”

I'm working on it. Do you take the time to nurture friendships?

If I don't have time, maybe I'm doing the wrong things.

I am constantly writing and rewriting lists of priorities and schedules for myself. Constantly getting frustrated about not getting everything done. I've come to the recent conclusion that maybe the things I get done and barely get done are ENOUGH. Time and space are limits, we are limited beings and I need to rest in the fact that I cannot bend time and time isn't even mine... it was given to me. Maybe I can't get to that craft, theme party or play date for the baby because God doesn't want me to. If I were worried instead about doing what God wants with my time, I'm sure he would give me enough time for those things.

I really like Jennifer Fulwiler's post about Mother Teresa's schedule and how she rests. She has peace at the end of the day, knowing what I got done, I got done.

So if I start my day with prayer no matter what and am just able to get "basic" things done like food, bathing the baby, doing a little exercise... maybe that's okay. And relaxing with my husband at the end of the day and going to bed early is more important than staying up to finish something on my to do list. What I got done, I got done.

Article at Ignitumtoday

Minimalism
March 4, AD 2015 | Julie Machado

              Minimalism takes work and effort. It is an exercise of saying no to many things in order to focus on saying yes to the important ones. It is well worth it since minimalism also brings many benefits to both body and soul. Lent is a season for minimalism, both inside and out. We are invited to visit the desert, like Jesus, and say no to “extra” food, noise, decorations, festivities, things, activities, etc



Keep Reading at: http://www.ignitumtoday.com/2015/03/04/minimalism/