Conversation on Married Life

Death with Dignity?

Now that the Culture of Death has found its poster child (Brittany Maynard, who moved to Oregon where it is legal to hire an assassin disguised as a "doctor" to help her kill herself), the big push for more states to adopt Oregon's so-called "Death with Dignity" law has begun in earnest.

The following video from Chris Stefanick is the best response I've seen.  It needs to be spread far and wide.  The Culture of Life has its own poster child.

Who is truly dying with dignity?  Brittany or Lizz?  You decide.

This means war!

Brothers

John Paul singing the Salve Regina to baby Fulton...


JP Serenades Baby Brother from Domestic Church Militant on Vimeo.

Denver Catholic Biblical School

In the spring of 2009 I heard Matthew Kelly speak when he came to Denver.  He convinced me to go to Biblical School.  Well, not explicitly, but he asked us to imagine a future conversation that might sound something like this:

God:  So how was your life?
You:  Oh it was really amazing, God.  Did a lot of great things.
God:  Read any good books?
You:  Oh yes, lots of good books.
God:  Did you read my book?
You:  Yeah, well, um, I read bits and pieces, you know, heard most of it while at Mass, but...
God:  But you didn't sit down and read the whole thing?
[Awkward silence.]
God:  In 76 years you didn't have a chance to read the whole thing?

...I enrolled in the Denver Catholic Biblical School the following Fall!  I didn't want to just read the whole thing, I wanted to study it, and this gave me the structure to do it in 4 years - all 73 books.

I graduated in May of 2013, and after 25 years of schooling, I can honestly say that this was the best four years of instruction I've ever received.  The DCBS provided an authentic education.  Educare, from the Latin, means to draw out; that is, to draw out of a student his natural desire for wisdom and virtue.

Check out the Biblical School's new promotional video, which I'm honored to be a part of.  (My 15 seconds of fame start at the 4:00 minute mark.)

Oh, the memory of a 3-year-old

It only took me a year to upload this one.  During our road trip to the Midwest last summer we listened to "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss several times.  A couple weeks later, John Paul picked up the book and "read" the whole thing.  The mind of a 3-year-old is amazing!


Oh the Places You'll Go from Domestic Church Militant on Vimeo.

Finding Meaning: An Intro to JP2's Theology of the Body

This is an intro talk I gave recently at a high school Theology of the Body retreat.  The audio quality isn't the best, so my working copy of the talk is below.


Finding Meaning: An Intro to JP2's Theology of the Body from Domestic Church Militant on Vimeo.

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I'm going to start with a video clip from an old sitcom called Everybody Loves Raymond.  In it, a young daughter in the family starts asking some very deep questions about life, and you'll see how the family reacts.

“Religious scholars spend their entire lives trying to answer this question.  You're not going to just flip open the Bible and find the meaning of life.”  Did you catch that?

So a little girl starts asking about the meaning of our existence and the family freaks out.  Do you think this family's reaction to this question is typical in today's society?  I'd say so.  People tend to think that this is an impossible question to answer.  But is it?

Beautiful Basketball

I will definitely be showing this video to any future teams that I coach.  The Spurs play the game the way it is meant to be played.  The sports-radio guys always yawn and complain about the prospect of another NBA Finals including the Spurs, and I just don't get it.  What's not to like about this team?

The Big Picture: Love

The mainstream media would like to have us believe that Pope Francis is changing the Church's teachings on homosexuality, contraception, sin, hell, male-only ordination, etc. etc. etc.  That he somehow represents a "break from his predecessors."

Of course, if you know anything about the Catholic Church, her teachings, Jorge Bergoglio, his current office in the Chair of St. Peter, his authority (or lack thereof), or what the man actually says/writes, you know how utterly laughable such a notion is.

Many have been anxious to take some of our Holy Father's words out of context, when all he's asking us to do is to keep the truth about morality in context.  Chris Stefanick of Real Life Catholic breaks it down:

Are you seeing it?

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) marks the beginning of another set of celebrations in the DCM.  The 24th is the Nativity of John the Baptist, the 27th is the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the 29th is Sts. Peter and Paul.  Out of 17 solemnities (the highest form of celebration in the Church) in the Liturgical calendar, 4 of them come in these next eight days of late June.  It's good to be Catholic!

In honor of this solemn feast, I wanted to share another great new video by Chris Stefanick at RealLifeCatholic.com.

"For the past two thousand years, since the birth of the Church, Catholics have risked their lives, just to be at Mass.  Beautiful ornate cathedrals have been built, because of what happens inside those cathedrals at Mass.  And I just joined the pope and tens of thousands of Catholics in procession behind the Eucharist, because of what happens at Mass.  What do all these people see at Mass?  If you're not seeing it, you're missing something pretty amazing."  ~Chris Stefanick

Happy Father's Day

The Third Way

"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be."
~Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Are all practicing Catholics "enemies of the human race" (as a majority United States Supreme Court opinion has declared them to be)?  Does that mean Mother Teresa was an "enemy of the human race"?

What does the Catholic Church and the Bible actually teach about homosexuality?  Does the Church "discriminate against gays"?  What would Jesus do?

The following documentary was recently released, and it must be watched often and spread far and wide.  In only 38 minutes it presents a critical and beautiful message of love.  It goes a long way in clearing up some confusion about Christian teaching on homosexuality and answering the questions above.


The Third Way from Blackstone Films on Vimeo.

Little Lolek

John Paul hit the slopes for the first time yesterday and made his namesake proud.  Blessed Pope John Paul II (nicknamed "Lolek" as a child) was an avid skier and was reported to have made over 100 secret getaways to the mountains during his reign as Pope.

I took him to Eldora yesterday, and he did great for his first time.  His brother, however, did not fare so well in his absence.  Kolbe cried when we left and then moped around all day whining for "Yon Paul".  Sarah even found him crying in John Paul's room!


Little Lolek from Domestic Church Militant on Vimeo.

Nothing makes me prouder....

As a mom, there is nothing that makes me prouder than when one of my children learns a new skill.  Crawling, walking, saying Mama (and Dada, I suppose) are accomplishments that have brought me such joy and they aren't even my own personal accomplishments.

Today, I enjoyed another proud Mama moment.  It is snowy and FREEZING in Denver and we were homebound because I chickened out on the drive to my usual Wednesday playdate.  The boys and I were enjoying a fun morning of snowflake making, puzzles and Memory games, and had made the move to the basement for a thrilling game of Candyland.  As John Paul and I played, Kolbe mostly moved the other pieces around and tried to steal the cards and chuck them around the room.  Then, John Paul drew a double purple and counted his move aloud, "one...two."  Kolbe looked over his shoulder and started counting too - ALL THE WAY TO 10!!!!!  I almost died.  I told him to do it again and he did.  I ran for my camera and quick grabbed this video for fear it was a fluke and Ryan wouldn't believe that he really did it.

He was so proud of himself and once he received my praise he couldn't get enough.  He is a bit of a camera ham and would've let me film 5 minutes of him counting if the battery hadn't died. 


The Count from Domestic Church Militant on Vimeo.
*He does skip the number 7 every time, but he isn't even 21 months old.  Give the kid a break!!!!

We also found some extra clips that we didn't know we had when Ryan was making Kolbe's movie. Here is an additional out-takes video to enjoy.


Extra Kolbe Outtakes from Domestic Church Militant on Vimeo.

Thankful for Kolbe

Finally!  It took me too long (20 months) to make a video of Kolbe's pre-birth and re-birth.  John Paul's video was done within 5 months.  Typical second-child syndrome I guess.  Making and watching this video made us sad for our Vianney, but it also deepened our joyful thanksgiving for the gifts of John Paul and Kolbe.  My favorite part is watching John Paul visit his little brother in the hospital.

Below, you can also watch some outtakes.  Be sure to watch them to the end, the funniest one is last!


Making Me New from Domestic Church Militant on Vimeo.



Outtakes from Domestic Church Militant on Vimeo.