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Suffering

Catholics Do What?, Contraception, guest post, large family, Living Humanae Vitae, Marriage, motherhood, NFP, pregnancy, Sex, Suffering
Alleged miracles, hyper fertility, and the Cross {Living Humanae Vitae Part 5}

You may already be familiar with Bonnie Engstrom’s story from her blog, “A Knotted Life.” If you are, then you know that her son, James Fulton, was stillborn. His allegedly miraculous return to life – through the intercession of Venerable Fulton Sheen, is the official alleged miracle for the beatification…
June 18, 2018
current events, mental health, PPD, Suffering
You know someone struggling with mental health (and you probably ate dinner with them last night)

Have you ever been so depressed or overwhelmed with anxiety that you had the thought “I wish I could just stop existing?” The classic suicide questionnaire used in doctor’s offices to assess mental health includes some version of the concept of “the means and a plan,” but for many people…
June 8, 2018
infertility, Living Humanae Vitae, Marriage, NFP, Suffering
Think you know a “perfect” family? Maybe you can’t see the whole picture {Living Humanae Vitae part 4}

Have you ever looked longingly at someone else’s cross and thought to yourself, “I’d trade places with them in a heartbeat,” while morosely focusing on your own troubles? Have you ever wondered, “I wonder what’s going on with that family – they seem to have it all together,” and figured…
June 4, 2018
Catholic Spirituality, Catholics Do What?, guest post, large family, Living Humanae Vitae, Marriage, motherhood, NFP, pregnancy, Suffering
Suffering, surrender, and seven boys: {Living Humanae Vitae part 2}

I’m honored to introduce you to these next contributions to the Humanae Vitae series – their story is both extraordinary and unusual, and has the potential to open a dialogue about a rarely-discussed aspect of NFP; namely, that NFP is optional. Not optional as in “one of a variety of…
May 21, 2018
Catholics Do What?, Contraception, Living Humanae Vitae, Marriage, NFP, Sex, Suffering
This couple went a year without sex (and lived to tell the tale): {Living Humanae Vitae part 1}

Our first contributor wishes to remain anonymous because of the personal nature of her piece, but was generous enough to share her story here. Following the back to back arrival of their 4 children, this couple laid their cards on the table and discerned that in light of the challenges…
May 14, 2018
Catholic Spirituality, Easter, feast days, liturgical living, motherhood, Suffering
A Cross of Splinters

I was going to double down on Lent this week. I had big plans, flush with grace from surviving Palm Sunday’s armed liturgy, sweating with the exertion of having spent 90 minutes sit-stand-and kneeling + slapping palm ‘swords’ out of my toddlers’ (and not-so-toddler-sized kids’, ahem) fists. My prayer…
March 27, 2018
About Me, advent, birth story, Catholic Spirituality, pregnancy, Suffering
Am I not she who is your mother?

I will never forget my labor with Genevieve, thus far my only daughter (though that title may be ceded in mere weeks now.) Partly because it was drawn out over 3 agonizingly long days of prodromal labor – not hideously painful, but hugely exhausting – and partly because she was…
December 12, 2017
mental health, motherhood, PPD, pregnancy, self care, Suffering
Motherhood + mental illness

This is a tough subject to write on, but it’s probably in my top 5 most-emailed about questions/comments, so I know it’s one people are hungry to read about. There is a frustrating level of stigma and shame which still surrounds mental illness: the way we talk about it on…
September 13, 2017
Culture of Death, euthanasia, Parenting, Pro Life, Suffering
Charlie Gard: martyr of the culture of death

Sorry, is that language too strong for you? It must be the pregnancy hormones rendering me a raging, maternal she-bear grieved over the state-sanctioned murder of an innocent child. But, but, he was going to die anyway. Extraordinary means! The Cathechism says! Etc. Etc. Etc. True. All true. And yet,…
July 28, 2017
Abortion, Bioethics, Catholic Spirituality, Catholics Do What?, Culture of Death, euthanasia, guest post, Parenting, Pro Life, Suffering
On Charlie Gard

(I’m honored to introduce today’s guest author: JD Flynn. He is a husband, a father, a canon lawyer, and a great friend.) In the middle of the night, when she was just six days old, our daughter Pia went into cardiac arrest. Twice. Pia was in the hospital already, and…
July 7, 2017