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The Practicing Catholic

Intentionally, joyfully living the faith ... we hope.

Pope Francis

Gestures of Love for Parish Life

October 6, 2015 by Lisa Schmidt Leave a Comment

During his homily at the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis spoke on the importance of sharing little gestures of love within the family. These little acts of love are vital to the heart of a parish family, too. Here are some examples of little gestures we can do within our parishes to welcome others and foster a culture of encounter. What ideas can you add?

Posted in: Faith, Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: CatholicMom.com, Deacon's Wife, Parish Life, Pope Francis, St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Even Papa’s Peace Doves Get Pecked Sometimes

February 4, 2014 by Lisa Schmidt 1 Comment

“Christians who are afraid to build bridges and prefer to build walls are Christians who are not sure of their faith, not sure of Jesus Christ,” Pope Francis.

Bridge building can be hazardous, huh? Just take a look at what happened to the peace doves Pope Francis released while, ironically, praying for peace in the Ukraine where violent protests have raged since late November.

The moment provided a bit of inspiration for my latest piece at CatholicMom.com.

Posted in: Faith, Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: CatholicMom.com, Pope Francis, Relationships

Wasting Time and Holy Leisure

November 5, 2013 by Lisa Schmidt 6 Comments

The Church fathers, St. Benedict in particular, wrote about the need for Otium Sanctum or Holy Leisure. It refers to an ability to rest and take time to enjoy beauty, to be at peace through the activities of the day, to pace ourselves. Or, as Pope Francis might say, simply wasting time with one another. Do you waste time with your children? What does that look like in your home? Do we, collectively, even know how to waste time with one another?

Posted in: Family, Pray Work Rest & Play, Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Holy Leisure, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Pray Work Rest & Play

Helping Heal Hearts Wounded by Miscarriage

October 6, 2013 by Deacon Joel and Lisa Schmidt 10 Comments

“Open your hearts to life!” has become a recurring theme in Pope Francis’s pontificate. It’s also the theme for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2013-14 Respect Life Campaign that kicked off in parishes across the nation on Respect Life Sunday.

The phrase “Open your hearts to life” can be a difficult one for many couples who are quite open to life yet find their hearts overflowing with grief due to pregnancy/infant loss or infertility.

This is one area that seems to be a bit off the radar screen and weighs heavily enough on our hearts to call us to action.

Posted in: Family, Schmidt, Joel, Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Deacon Formation, Diaconate, Miscarriage, Miscarriage Memorial Mass, Pope Francis, Pregnancy and Infant Loss, Respect Life Sunday

Consecrate Your Home to St. Michael the Archangel

July 11, 2013 by Lisa Schmidt 27 Comments

Pope Francis recently consecrated the Vatican to St. Michael the Archangel’s protection. So I pondered: If Pope Francis consecrated the Vatican to the Archangel’s protection, can Joel and I do the same for our home and family, the domestic church?

Posted in: Faith, Family, Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Deacon Formation, Diaconate, Domestic Church, Family, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, St. Michael the Archangel

Take 5 with Mark Brumley

July 10, 2013 by Lisa Schmidt 6 Comments

VIDEO: Lisa interviews Ignatius Press President / CEO Mark Brumley about Pope Francis’s first encyclical Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith).

Posted in: Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Lumen Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Take 5

5 Things Parishes Can Do To Stop Losing Young Families

July 6, 2013 by Deacon Joel and Lisa Schmidt 6 Comments

Pope Francis’ first encyclical Lumen Fidei (Light of Faith) was released on Friday, and we spent some time reading through much of it together late last night. Hey, what are you going to do … watch a rerun of Law & Order or read our Holy Father’s first encyclical? Choices, people, choices!

Coincidentally, our latest post for Catholic Stand was scheduled for today, too, and we were ready to submit a post about tangible things parishes can do to stop losing young families and start raising up the next generation of saints. As we read Lumen Fidei, we found pearls of wisdom and nuggets of gold to weave into our post. In other words, we wanted to strike while the iron was hot!

Posted in: Family, Schmidt, Joel, Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Catholic Stand, Family, Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis

Joy {pretty happy funny real}

April 11, 2013 by Lisa Schmidt 12 Comments

J is for JOY! Still marching on with my Blogging from A to Z Challenge but with a bit of a twist today. Let’s allow the pictures to tell most of the story. Here are a few things that have brought me JOY over the past couple of week, in {pretty, happy, funny, real} fashion.

Posted in: Family, Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Blogging from A to Z, Das Schmidt Haus, Jude, Lucy, Pope Francis, pretty happy funny real

Wordless Wednesday: Papal Drive-By

March 20, 2013 by Lisa Schmidt 7 Comments

If you’ve been following along, you know my mom is having quite the time in Rome this week. Here was her “view from the pew” as Papa Francesco passed by in the popemobile at his Inauguration Mass.

Posted in: Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Pilgrimage, Pope Francis, Wordless Wednesday

Sunday Blog Bits

March 17, 2013 by Lisa Schmidt 2 Comments

Today’s blog bits include some great photos of my mom with Timothy Cardinal Dolan over in Rome. Meanwhile back in Des Moines, we experienced a most festive and celebratory proclamation at Mass for our new Holy Father Pope Francis. How about you? What did you hear or see at Mass regarding the selection of our new Holy Father?

Posted in: Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Pilgrimage, Pope Francis, Timothy Cardinal Dolan
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