Ginny’s Gems

Want the latest news from Pope Francis or the Vatican? Ever have a question about a prayer or response said in the liturgy or the significance or historical development of ...

from a Homeschooling Mother | The reason I began to homeschool is not a single reason. I was disheartened at the level of education my eldest son was receiving in the public school. In addition, we were staunch fighters against the so-called “family education,” which was nothing more than a cover and masthead for sex education.

Download this ‘St Joseph’ Crossword! A fun activity to challenge your knowledge of facts and trivia. For all ages! Answer these questions: On Good Friday, we remember Jesus’ ___. | Jesus celebrated the Last ___ on Holy Thursday.

Jim Shanley This past February, our daughter Katie married her fellow Christendom graduate, Peter Spiering. It was one of those joyful rest stops on our family’s journey of life. In ...

by John Clark | Does social networking fulfill man’s need to partake of society, thus removing his binary reduction to man or beast? Is the internet a society at all? These are philosophical questions best left to sociologists. I don’t have the answers. I merely ask them in an everyday, pedestrian sense.

by Mitchell Kalpakgian | In the “Preface” to The Great Divorce C. S. Lewis explains the nature of moral error in the modern world as an endless progression on the wrong road-- the assumption that all roads sooner or later lead to the same destination.

Marc Postiglione unpacks Pope St. John Paul II's encyclical, 'Redemptor Hominis' - 'Redeemer of Man', a message of personal dignity, freedom and truth.

by Kevin Clark | When you first graduate from college, you attend many weddings. For the five years or so after college, several weddings seem to come every year—some weddings where you know the betrothed well and you are actually in the wedding party, and some where you merely witness the proceedings.

by Dr Mary Kay Clark | Contact someone you know who is homeschooling, and see if there is a support group in your neighborhood. Contact people in your parish and tell them that you are looking for a Catholic homeschooling support group. Contact Cecilia at Seton

by Christine Collins | Without fail, it happens every year at just about this time. The Christmas holidays are a memory, winter seems to be lasting forever, and school has been in session since before you can remember. At least, that’s how it feels when March rolls around and all we want is to be sipping iced tea with a novel in the backyard while the kids play in the sprinklers.

by Dr Kalpakgian | By giving Curdie “some” of the truth Irene led him to “all” of it. By giving Curdie time and being content to be misunderstood for a short period, Irene led her friend to the fullness of the truth. To be a messenger like Irene is to speak the simple truth and let God do the rest.

by Pope Francis | Children are not capable of accepting the faith by a free act, nor are they yet able to profess that faith on their own; therefore the faith is professed by their parents and godparents in their name. Since faith is a reality lived within the community of the Church

by Monica McConkey | Lent is a great opportunity to refocus our efforts to draw closer to Jesus. Although we can certainly give up a few of our favorite things, we can also add extra prayers and sacrifices. It’s easy to lose focus or momentum throughout the 40 days of Lent. We can get discouraged when we falter or fail our Lenten promises. Sometimes a tangible way of tracking our progress can motivate us to stay on track or even return to it!

by Fr. Robert Skeris | The Gospel of the eight Beatitudes is surely one of the best-loved passages in all of Holy Writ, and deservedly so. For the fact is that men of all climes and times have regarded the Beatitudes as the ladder, so to speak, or the staircase by which the saints ascend to Heaven.

by Liz Beller | As a new stay-at-home mom, I’ve been going through a lot of adjusting. Since when did staying at home all day leave me with less time than I had before?

by Jennifer Tutwiler | These days, the measure of good parenting seems to be how care-free and enjoyable an existence we have enabled for our children. Children are expected to play with their toys, play outside, play with their friends, play sports, play with video games... and yet today’s children are some of the most behaviorally challenged in human history.

by Kerry Costanzo | I love the poem, "The Beautiful Hands of a Priest," and I began thinking the other day about how one could write a similar reflection on the hands of mothers. While a mother’s hands do not share the dignity of those of a priest, they nevertheless have their own special value.

One of the ends of marriage is the procreation and education of children. Procreation has gotten a good deal of attention in the recent history of the Church, but education is often of less interest.

Inspired by C.S.Lewis, John Clark explores 5 options to help your homeschooler become a home-grown philosopher - because the world needs it.

by Kerry Costanzo | Let's face it. In this kids-eat-your-treats-and-break-your-things world, it's every mom for herself. How many of you moms out there have faced this scenario: It's 11 PM at the end of another homeschooling day.