McGrath Institute Blog

During my daughter’s early weeks of life, I started to read her poetry as I fed her. I’d like to say it was because I knew she found the sound of my voice soothing, or because I hoped to instill in her a love of literature from an early age or because I believe that vocabulary formation begins in these first, tender weeks. These things may all be true, but that’s not why I fill her sweet little ears with metered verse. No, I read her poetry to pass the time.

Honoring the sabbath is a challenge for us all, but it is particularly acute for our busy teens. By introducing them to small practices like these, we can help them lead Christ-centered lives. 

Parents (and all people) today are rightly concerned about the safety and well-being of our children, especially when it comes to sexual abuse. While we can and should put institutional safeguards in place to reduce the risks of abuse, we parents can also teach our children to speak up when they feel unsafe or uncomfortable. For that to happen, we need to invest our time.

On February 11, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the title given to Mary when she appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 in Lourdes, France. There are a number of ways to commemorate Our Lady of Lourdes as a family. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is coming up on February 11th. Tomorrow, we’ll post some ways to celebrate this great feast of Our Lady, but today I wanted to share with you one of our favorite family activities for the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes—baking a grotto cake!