Archive by category: Theology of the BodyReturn
RSS
St. Joseph's Guide for Fathers on Father's Day

St. Joseph's Guide for Fathers on Father's Day

My father and I were never close. He worked in the diplomatic service and was away from home—or so it seemed—more than he was with his family. But even when he was physically present, he was not a person who showed or shared emotions easily. We were estranged when he died and there is not a day that goes by—but especially on Father’s Day!—that I don’t feel regret.I know I am not alone. I know that there are fathers separated from their children for a myriad of...
Read More
3 Tips for Couples Growing in Prayer Together

3 Tips for Couples Growing in Prayer Together

As Catholic Christians, we know that prayer is vital to keeping our soul in good health, cultivating virtue, and growing in intimacy with God. If prayer is an important element of your life, then you most likely have a desire to share it with your spouse. Sometimes this can be an awkward feat, though, since we all have different personalities and preferences in types of prayer, or especially because we may have never seen a prayer life modeled or talked about by a married couple. Hopefully shari...
Read More
Bone of My Bones, and Flesh of My Flesh

Bone of My Bones, and Flesh of My Flesh

My grandmother told me she would have given birth to a dozen children, if she could have. When I asked her why, she responded that twelve seemed like a nice number. In contrast, my mother deliberately chose to have two children, spaced eight years apart, so that she could raise them as “two only children.” My grandmother remarked ruefully, “I never understood your mother.”Nowadays, families of more than two children are as rare as ice cream in the sun. Typical family size...
Read More
Discover Theology of the Body: A Video Lecture Series

Discover Theology of the Body: A Video Lecture Series

I have a confession to make. When I was 16 years old, I was already in the convent, working in the department of our publishing house where we typed new manuscripts (on old really large machines...we're talking the 70s before the desktop computer). I typed and proofread Saint John Paul II's General Wednesday audience talks which eventually were published as one book titled The Theology of the Body. Yet, even though I can say I read them (almost 30 years ago now), and a understood them (a...
Read More
How Pope St. John Paul II Changed My Life...and My Marriage!

How Pope St. John Paul II Changed My Life...and My Marriage!

Growing up, I loved the idea of love, thanks to a steady diet of Disney magic and, later, romantic comedies. Fast-forward to college, and I realized my younger self’s concept of romance was little more than infatuation when compared to what it could really be.St. Pope John Paul II introduced me to another view, and I fell in love with love for real.My college boyfriend and I decided to attend a summer retreat in Allenspark, Colorado, where the pope stayed when he came to Denver for World Y...
Read More
How TOB Can Help You Have a Happier Life

How TOB Can Help You Have a Happier Life

A couple years ago I went to a Theology of the Body (TOB) Congress in Philadelphia. One thing stood out for me: so many people I talked to said that learning about TOB had made their life happier. I recall one man who was an ordinary Catholic guy—I’ll call him Joe from New Jersey. He said that his wife had started listening to talks about TOB and was very enthusiastic about it. He wasn’t too interested at first. His wife, however, would play the CDs when the two of them were in the car. After...
Read More
The Art of Being

The Art of Being "Old Fashioned"

The film "Old Fashioned," releasing this Valentine’s Day weekend, seeks to make an art of being old-fashioned.
Read More
5 Tips for Families Facing Challenges

5 Tips for Families Facing Challenges

A friend just called me to ask for prayers for a sister who is having problems with her teenage son. We talked about many things including the challenge of being there as family members struggle through issues and challenges in today’s society.  The fabric of our relationships stretch and strain to absorb so many challenges today—big and small! The good news of the Gospel is that being born into a family is being born into a community.Particularly as Catholics we have an inescapable connection...
Read More
The Human Heart Is Made for Love

The Human Heart Is Made for Love

The human heart is made for love. As women we dream of the one who will love us as the one. We want to be special to someone. We want to be loved, and held, and cared for, even as we care for others and courageously make a difference in the world. The human person—male and female—is made for love. How do we know this? Because we were made by Love and in the image of God-Love. This is the very meaning of our existence. We are called to live in the image in which we&rsqu...
Read More
Love As Mutual Self-Gift

Love As Mutual Self-Gift

Single women, married women, women religious…. We all have in common our desire to give and receive love, to image the eternal Love who has made us, daily nourishes us, and forever calls us to himself. Our hearts are arenas for the drama created by the struggle between love and lust. The beauty of love, the loveliness of giving life, wrestle with the down-and-dirty aspects of making a living alone or with a husband, raising a family, and just the narrowing of our horizons that results from keep...
Read More
Page 1 of 2 FirstPrevious [1]