Mystery of Parenthood

083 Parenting Tips from the Parable of the Prodigal Son

On Tuesday, April 3, 2019, Trey and Thaddeus talk with Arland Nichols about Parenting Tips from the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Because of the Incarnation we are called to become perfect through the Beatitudes written in the pages of Scripture and written upon our hearts as well. As Fulton Sheen urged in Three to Get Married that God must be at the center of the home and in the center of the marriage for really fruitful, life-giving, happy marriages to be possible. Unless we articulate to our children that love is the sacrificing of self for the other and that parental authority is there to help them to do that, then we are robbing our children of their best chance at happiness. What's at stake in parenting is the very relationship that children will imagine with God and eventually live out. Parents are called to be a visible sign of God's love for them; a visible sign of the Church's care for their soul. A number of examples were given to see this at a work in the family. We hope you enjoy this episode, take a moment to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And remember, pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!

082 Theology of the Body

On Tuesday, March 19, 2019, Trey and Thaddeus talked with Monica Ashour about the theology of the body. Monica hit on three points: 1) the body as a teacher 2) the body as a gift and 3) the body deserving reverence. They also talk about the sacredness of sex in a marriage, and how spouses are meant to be co-redeemers with Christ for their spouse. This conversation is full of insightful information on how we are to treat and use our bodies to glorify God and serve our spouses. They talk about the differences between a man and a woman, and how spouses should learn to accommodate the other according to how the other might be feeling-to be sympathetic toward your spouses' emotions and even their body language. The spouses must practice in their marriage a dying to self and an imitation of Christ for one another. Enjoy this profound episode, take a moment to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And remember, pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!

081 Rules in The Church and in Parenting

On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, Trey, Stephanie and Thaddeus answered some questions from last week's show with Dr. Sarah Bartel, like: is it okay to get married during Lent? They also talk about rules in the Church and in parenting, and why we should understand why we are called to follow those rules. They even touch on Lenten practices, and Fridays being penitential days. Enjoy this episode packed with lots of information, take a moment to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And remember, pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!

080 Love and Marriage and Weddings

On Tuesday, March 5, 2019, Trey and Stephanie interviewed Dr. Sarah Bartel about weddings in the Catholic Church. Dr. Bartel co-hosts the radio show Enduring Love for Sacred Heart Radio and co-edited A Catechism of Marriage and Family Life. She holds a Ph.D. in moral theology from The Catholic University of America and serves as a marriage and family life consultant within the Archdiocese of Seattle. In this interview, they talk about Catholic weddings and marriages, the reality of the tough days, and how we are called at times to carry certain crosses and make sacrifices for our spouses. They dive into the real-life, day to day aspects of marriage and tell us how love isn't always just a feeling, it's a choice.  Dr. Bartel tells engaged couples to go through marriage prep, learn natural family planning, and ultimately keep your eyes fixed on God through all of it. Enjoy the episode, take a moment to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And remember, pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!

079 Preparing for Lent as a Family

On Tuesday, February 25, 2019, Trey and Stephanie encouraged listeners to take time to prepare for the coming of Lent within the family. To begin with, they recommended a family catechesis on sin throughout the season that varies with the maturity level of children—i.e. from ‘no-no’s’ to woundedness or loss of opportunity for fulfilled relationship followed by a family catechesis on repentance that, again, must vary with maturity level—i.e. from being sorry for having done something sinful to recognizing repentance as a great gift of the Father’s love for us or repentance as an opportunity to seek that alone which can proffer true abiding joy. They also went through potential Lenten practices for families: what to give up, ways to pray together, e.g. a family examen. Finally, they encouraged parents to bring mortification into the practice of Lent for themselves and their children, i.e. helping our children to see mortification with the heart of Jesus as a pathway to excellence by relating it to their experience with sports, dance, or whatever they’re passionate about. The Memory Verse is 1 Peter 5:6–8, "Be you humbled therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation: Casting all your care upon him, for he hath care of you. Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour." Enjoy the episode, take a moment to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And remember, pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!

078 Why Does God Allow Us to Fail in the Spiritual Life and in Our Endeavors?

On Tuesday, February 19, 2019, hosts Trey and Stephanie Cashion took the previous week's theme about why parents should allow their children to fail and applied it to the relationship between God the Father and us, His children.  Trey and Stephanie spend time showing resonances between family life and human life in general that teach the need for perseverance, faith, hope, and mortification. Enjoy the episode, take a moment to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And remember, pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!

077 Revisiting (and Revising) the Seven Secrets of Purposeful Parenting, Pt. 2

On Tuesday, February 5, 2019, hosts Trey and Stephanie Cashion completed their annual review of the Seven Secrets of Purposeful Parenting. They covered secrets 4 through 7 this time. Purposeful Parents: 4) Coach 5) Build Scaffolds and Use Funnels 6) Tell Stories 7) Say Yes. This week's Memory Verse is Proverbs 29:17: "Instruct thy son and he shall refresh thee, and shall give delight to thy soul." All that and much more on this episode of Mystery of Parenthood. Enjoy the episode, take a moment to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And remember, pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!

076 Revisiting (and Revising) the Seven Secrets of Purposeful Parenting, Pt. 1

On Tuesday, January 29, 2019, hosts Trey and Stephanie Cashion began their annual review of the Seven Secrets of Purposeful Parenting. 1) Parenting is Hard: Nothing about parenting is easy, neat, and perfect. It is meant as a reminder that parenting is a challenging, but in hindsight, it also reminds you to not take yourself too seriously or be unreasonably hard on yourself. Persevere. Don't quit. 2) Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing: "Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare." Obedience tied with a relationship. Going after the heart of the child. So you have to show the child your own heart. Look for the teachable moments and enter into the moments of their lives, good and bad, to carry their crosses with them. 3) Purposeful Parents Read and Write Mysteries: visible & invisible, spiritual & material aspects to parenting; praying specifically so that children can see very obviously how God answers prayers, Draw meaning out of practical experiences that the children have.
This week's Memory Verse is Hebrews 12:11: "Now all chastisement for the present indeed seemeth not to bring with it joy, but sorrow: but afterwards it will yield, to them that are exercised by it, the most peaceable fruit of justice." All that and much more on this episode of Mystery of Parenthood. Enjoy the episode, take a moment to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And remember, pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!
 

075 Dr. Sarah Bartel: A Catechism for Catholic Family Life?

On Tuesday, January 22, 2018, hosts Trey and Stephanie Cashion welcomed special guest, Dr. Sarah Bartel (@drsarahbartel), co-editor of The Catechism of Catholic Family Life, a "Baltimore catechism" for marriage and family life that takes the CCC content and arranges it in life-cycle order under a question-and-answer format. Learn about how a Catholic scholar continued her work while also living out her marriage and family. She also discovered that so much of the Catholic understanding of matrimony comes back to many fundamental teachings and understandings about sacramentality, e.g. Gaudium et Spes, 48. Every sacramental marriage has a profound ripple effect that touches many, many areas of life. She urged listeners to read Pope Paul VI's little known address to women in which he urged women to understand it was up to them to maintain mankind's humanity. This week's Memory Verse is Ephesians 5:25: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church and delivered himself up for it." All that and much more on this episode of Mystery of Parenthood. Enjoy the episode, take a moment to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And remember, pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!

074 Adam Arehart: Striving for Parenting Clarity

On Tuesday, January 15, 2019, Trey and Stephanie invited Adam Arehart (@stcharleschurch) back to the show to consider the crisis in the Catholic Church as an abuse of authority. Discussion ranged widely over the various factors that affect our ability to be clear with our children. This pertains to the rules and expectations of the family; the love and care we communicate to our children, and the moral voice we speak with to them as we prepare them for adulthood. This week's Memory Verse is James 1:19-21, "You know, my dearest brethren. And let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to anger. For the anger of man worketh not the justice of God. Wherefore casting away all uncleanness, and abundance of naughtiness, with meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls." Enjoy the episode, take a moment to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And remember to pray, parent with a purpose, and prepare for God to amaze you!