When we follow the Jubilee Way in the footsteps of Bernadette, we are reminded of the heart of the message of Lourdes. Bernadette is the eldest daughter of a very poor family, with neither knowledge nor power, and in poor health. Mary chose her to transmit her message of conversion, prayer and penance, which fully accord with words of Jesus: “What you have hidden from the wise and understanding, you have revealed to babes” (Mt 11:25).
No matter how the election goes, no matter how sorrowful we may be that wrong candidates won the various elections, or how happy we may be that the right candidates won, we must stay in constant prayer. As Christians, we do not put our faith in the princes of this world, who will always fail and falter to some degree. We put our faith only in the Prince of Peace, who never fails to fulfill his promises and never falters in giving us the graces we need.
Is it possible that there might be some repercussions for home schoolers from the November election?
Home schooling rights are not in danger. There is a whole string of court precedents which support homeschooling, going back nearly 100 years, and those precedents are not likely to be over-ruled. However, the National Education Association is against private schooling generally and home schooling particularly, and they may propose more state restrictions on home schooling if they feel public sentiment moving their way. Certainly those enrolled in an accredited school, such as Seton, have the best protection.
This monthly column is devoted to examining the role of the Catholic father, and how we fathers can better live our calling. Mostly, it has been about theory.
This time, it is about practice.
When Sarah Palin was selected as a nominee for Vice President, it was quickly reported that her eldest daughter is pregnant and unmarried. Upon hearing this information, several commentators expressed surprise that evangelical Christians did not condemn Sarah Palin and her daughter. Someone commented that these Christians who stood behind Sarah Palin would have been the first to kick out of the house any pregnant daughter of their own.
When I was a child, I loved reading so much that my mother had to pry me away from my books to get me to eat meals. As a result, I was able to maintain A’s in all the reading-related subjects such as reading, English, spelling and vocabulary with virtually no study on my part. I devoured historical fiction, which gave me a frame of reference when I studied those time periods in history class. At the same time, formal history and geography study, which were separate subjects when I was young, would send me running to the library in search of more fiction and non-fiction to satisfy my curiosity about ancient Egypt or Tudor England.
Have you ever noticed that when something interferes with praying our daily Rosary, the day just doesn’t seem right?
Consider combining students who could take the same courses in the same grade level. Children in adjacent grades may be able to be combined in one grade level for some subjects. For instance, in subjects like art, music, and physical education, teach the same course to two or three children.
“Why can’t we ever do anything fun?” my seven-year-old son asked the other day.
October is here and most of us have settled into our home schooling year. Let’s face it, more than a few are already feeling overwhelmed, and even veteran moms see the holidays looming and are wondering if all the shopping, cleaning and baking will tip the family into chaos. This newsletter (and our archived articles you can access on our website) will continue to give you tips to keep your home schools running like clockwork, and a call to a Seton counselor is always in order.
