Chet Collins's Blog: Catholic Husband, page 19

Universal Church

To prepare Benedict for receiving his First Communion and Confirmation, Alison and I thought he should go to Reconciliation the week before. It’s not a hard sell for Benedict. He’s seen me go regularly for years, and every time I invited him to come, he always accepts.

Our pastor was away on vacation, leaving only the Associate whose primary responsibilities are care for the Hispanic community in our parish. In fact, he speaks very little English at all.

I knew this ahead of time, and tried my bes...

Friday Night Adoration

This week, Benedict will complete his initiation into the Catholic faith when he receives the Sacrament of Confirmation. With just a few days to go, I took him to Adoration on Friday night.

Our parish has Mass, Holy Hour, and Confession every Friday night. It’s an opportunity that I wish I would take greater advantage of. Being in the presence of Peace itself is so relaxing, especially as the capstone of my week.

Benedict is still a little boy, flexing his autonomy, but not yet at that period of g...

Sacred Treasure

Benedict is about to receive his First Communion, and he’s very excited about it. We’ve prepared for nearly a year, and the time is almost here.

Belief in the True Presence is a concept that most adults struggle with. To a child, it’s simple. Jesus said it is so, my parents say it is so, and so it is.

The Sacraments are our fuel to get us through the journey of life. I hope that Benedict carries this treasure with him, wherever he goes.

A Time for Play

Work expands to the time that you give it. Work is a good thing, giving structure and purpose to our days. It allows us to share our skills with others, and to provide economically for our family.

After many years out of the workforce, I’ve suddenly found myself back in it. Eight years away, and I’m surprised at how little has changed. Many times throughout the week, I experience something and remember just what it feels like to work.

I have a weekly hours cap, and I work right up to it. My origin...

Parental Love

Our long holiday from democratic debate over one of the most contentious issues of our time appears to be ending. In the theme of this year, a return to reality is upon us. What’s so devastating is that we have to have this debate in the first place.

Society has become desensitized to the violence of abortion and anesthetized to reality. The process of performing an abortion, whether by depriving the child of a healthy environment or through the physical act of ending their life, is inherently vi...

Turn On Your Brain

The culture of rage is here, a general acceptance of rule breaking in the furtherance of political ends. Rage is primal, reaching into the area of your brain that runs your internal “fight or flight” response. It shuts down logic and instead pursues action, no matter how unhinged.

A sad consequence of this indulgence of rage is that it rewards the party that can convince the highest number of people to turn off their brains. Alexander de Tocqueville marveled at the educated electorate that he met...

A Fresh Look

For over a year now, we’ve lived in our new house. I think that it takes time to get used to your new environment before you deeply understand what changes would improve your lifestyle. We’re at that point.

My father-in-law was here last week for a visit. An extra pair of hands, along with the natural feeling of renewal that springtime brings, inspired us to move on to the next phase of home improvement.

When we moved in, our house had an intercom system. We removed four of the five speakers short...

The Paradox of Time

There’s a quirk in human psychology when it comes to time. We have lists of things that we’d like to do, but never enough time to do them. Yet, when our schedules open up, we’re more likely to drift to watching TV or wasting time, rather than investing it in quality activities from our list.

The path of least resistance is too easy to take. I enjoy a lazy river as much as the next guy. The mistake is believing that important things like work and chores get in the way of recreation.

A healthy amoun...

Victory

Easter is here and the tomb is empty. The timing of Easter this year was prescient. In my listening to the “Bible in a Year” podcast, I lined up exactly with the events of Holy Week. The same went for my daughter’s Bible curriculum. For her school work, we read a story and the next day she narrates the story and draws a picture. In her telling, Jesus was hiding behind a tree, waiting for Mary Magdalene to show up. The image she drew of Jesus lying in wait was amusing.

Now that we’re into the Eas...

The Human Person

It’s a great paradox that in the Information Age, when every book every written and every fact known to man is available on your phone, that our connection to the truth is at great risk. The future that GK Chesterton presciently wrote about over 100 years ago is coming true; we are drawing swords to defend the basic and observable truths in the natural world.

Under the banner of progress, the new Imperialists seek not to seize lands and property, but to colonize minds. Submit and convert to their...