All Saints, All Souls and All Hallows Eve

Someone asked if we celebrated Halloween and how:  A WOMAN’S PLACE… This caused me to think about all the things I love about what the secular world calls Halloween and that we Catholics sometimes call All Hallows Eve. WHERE I AM COMING FROM Well, lets see… I’m a strongly orthodox Catholic and have a masters in theological studies from a nice orthodox school of theology whose professors were all approved by a rather strongly orthodox Bishop; I’ve studied ESCHATOLOGY which is a fancy way of saying I studied the stuff the Church teaches about death and what comes after and … Continue reading

Parental Rights Violations: But it’s only those people….

Native Foster Care: Lost Children Shattered Families on NPR. The above article was quite disturbing because it highlights a parental rights violation perpetrated by our own government which WE have DONE NOTHING TO REMEDY. Unless there is abuse happening or other serious endangerment issues there is no legitimate reason for the government to take children from their homes.  In this case the claim is neglect. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition. The article says that while the Native … Continue reading

New Age classes at the Parish Church

Recovering Dissident Catholic What Does the Prayer Really Say The above two links are to a commentary about New Age classes, often costing $100 or more to take, being held in parish churches. There are so many reasons why this is wrong, but the above links spoke to that very very well.  The comments were good too! I want to talk about why I think these classes happen and why so many Catholics (and non-Catholics too fall into these traps) take up these activities. We are community creatures.  We need fellowship and not just during the Mass.  During Mass we … Continue reading

Advice for the beginning home schooler: another blog

Here is a really useful web page of advice for the beginning home school person: At home with the Gabois Family. I dislike music on a blog page because it slows down the loading speed and clashes with the music so often on in our home.  Turning off the speakers on the computer solved that problem. She uses the same sort of mix of educational materials I use and a few that I plan to go look up since I suspect I will love those too. The great books approach is always sound, solid and worthy.  There are books missing … Continue reading

Parenting and the Catholic Christian

I read an article on a report here.  This article makes me very sad because what it tells me is that Catholic parents are giving their kids the SAME upbringing as the totally non-Christian secular culture at large. The research report can be found here. We need to take a look, a good CRITICAL look. The article is about the hook up culture on Catholic campuses and shows that for many Catholics there is no difference between them and those who are of no religion at all. Rather depressing indictment of Catholic parenting in general. Perhaps if we taught children … Continue reading

Advice for a New Home School Family: Scheduling Do’s and Don’ts

Here are some do’s and don’ts for the new Home School Family on the topic of scheduling. DON’T be tied to the public school schedule in any way not required by law.  As long as you cover the material needed you can do it according to a schedule set by YOUR family! DO decide as a family how you want to divvy up the days off from school.  For example: you can take off special religious days even if the public schools ignore them. DO be creative in your decisions on how to schedule. For example: You can plan for … Continue reading

Humans are created to do Honest Work…but not all honest work has a paycheck attached

All the quotes were borrowed from: Online Parallel Bible. Our lives are to be a balanced path called a vocation.  Our vocations include many elements, one of which is honest work.  It is the plan of God for every human being to seek and do honest work. From the beginning of human existence as recorded in Genesis, to the admonitions of the apostles in the New Testament, every able bodied person is to do some sort of honest work. Not all work worthy of doing has a paycheck attached.   Think about that.  It is a very important concept because in … Continue reading

Why I am a Home School Momma!

It was inevitable that my vocation would include home education but I did not begin there. It all began back in college.  You see, I graduated and my first job was at a small private school.  My task was to teach arts and crafts and to plan field trips.  I loved the work and decided to go back to school and add a teaching degree to my BA. THAT was a major turning point for me.  I enjoyed the classes.  I was NOT impressed with my fellow students.  This was my first time to doubt the quality of education given … Continue reading