October 31, 2013 by Raffy Pekson II

Pope Francis Celebrates Joy of Family Life

Pope Francis addressed 100,000 people at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican last October 26, 2013 during the Year of Faith celebration of family life. “A Catholic wedding is not simply a beautiful ceremony; through the sacrament of marriage a couple receives from God the grace they will need to fulfill their mission in the world,” Pope Francis said.

Catholic-San Francisco wrote that vowing to love one another in sickness and health, joy and sorrow all the days of their lives, Catholic couples put their lives in the hands of God and rely on him for strength.

The faithful who attended the celebration, from children to grandparents, were invited by Pope Francis to speak to him and the crowd, to share the story of their family lives. “The sacraments are not decorations in life; the sacrament of marriage is not just a pretty ceremony. Christians celebrate the sacrament of marriage because they know they need it,” added Pope Francis.

Read more at Catholic-San Francisco, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

Photo from wikimedia.org

October 22, 2013 by Raffy Pekson II

Which Parenting Style Works Best

Singaporean Daniel Wong writes through the work he has done with thousands of students and parents, he has come across a lot of angry, bitter children and their loving but confused parents. “As a parent, sometimes love isn’t enough.”

“Just to be clear, this article is about parenting from a child’s perspective, which is my area of expertise given that I’ve worked with many youths,” he adds. Parenting can mostly be summed up by two traits: unconditional acceptance of their children and expectations of excellence of their children.

Read more about these traits and the various categories a parent goes through in parent at Yahoo! Singapore.

Photo from source.

October 18, 2013 by Raffy Pekson II

The Secret to Raising Kids and Staying Sane

“I have said it before and I will say it again — and again; parenting is hard,” says Northumberland guest columnist Leisse Wilcox. “There are times we high-five our sweethearts and smugly boast about how great we are at this.

Then, there are the other times.” Wilcox continues that those are the times when it is most important to steal away for a “sweetheart getaway,” a night away for you and your honey to go and be a couple again. In these getaway events, she offers three rules so that you get back on the horizon to put it all in perspective.