Category: Stories

Wholesome Family Life in a Broken World

Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse interviews Ambassador Eduard Habsburg about his new book, Building a Wholesome Family Life in a Broken World. They discuss the importance of chastity, the role of faith in marriage, and the qualities to look for in a spouse, drawing on lessons from Habsburg family history. The conversation emphasizes the need for a stable family environment for children and the significance of commitment in relationships. 

Three Things I Learned About the Transgender Issue in 2023

by Jennifer Roback Morse December 28, 2023 at National Catholic Register In 2023, I learned three things about the political push to enshrine transgenderism in U.S. society.  My line of work takes me into some unusual situations and allows me to talk with some fascinating people. I thought I’d summarize the year 2023 with a […]

​On my Dad’s Shoulders, a New World Opened for Me.

My earliest memories were bank holidays, when my usually serious father would be relaxed and happily bundle the family onto a train to get to a large park. There we joined up with the extended families. All the fathers would organise a cricket or mock rounders game with the older children which Dad joined in […]

I Have Striven to Raise my Sons as I imagine my Dad Would Have Raised Me

Despite how fathers are often portrayed in our American society today, fathers of strong character are essential to the well being of the family; to the wife and mother and the children. My own memories of my dad have been created from the stories told to me by my mother and uncles, and by a […]

I was Richly Blessed by My Father

My father was quite the man. After working his way through medical school, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, the Captain of Death in those days. A baby and another on the way struck severely at his sense of responsibility. He said he never doubted that he would live. He recovered, but lost a lung in […]

So Blessed

Dad played children’s records and other good music all the time. He also played piano by ear while singing lyrics, played hangman on a school-size chalkboard, played wiffle ball and beach ball baseball in our backyard and on the street in front of our house, took us to the park and to visit grandparents, played […]

In Honor of Arnold E. Hedtke, Jr.

I consider myself fortunate because my father was an exemplary man. I grew up in an era when you could count on your father to say what he meant and that he meant what he said! Basically, he was a man of his word and expected the same from everyone, including me. Setting an example […]

Thank You, Dad

My mom and dad were reluctant immigrants from Ireland, arriving here in 1958, the year I was born. The streets of NYC were not paved with gold for them. And my father’s social drinking habits became full-on alcoholism in the new world. Despite this, my old man was grounded in his Irish-Catholic faith. His work […]

Fond Memories

My dad was completely dedicated to ensuring that the three of us children had a college education. He had several job reversals throughout his life, but I never heard a complaint from either my mom or dad. They loved each other very much and were very dedicated to one another and to caring for us. […]

​Leading by example

As a youngster, I was helping my dad paint our garage. A neighbor saw what we were doing and that it was such a nice day for outside chores. He proceeded to paint his garage. When my dad saw what the neighbor was doing, he suggested we put aside our painting to assist him, which […]

Their Only Monuments Are in the Hearts of Their Families

Sunday is Father’s Day. Last week, we lit a yahrzeit candle (a memorial candle) for my father, Harold Samuel Feder. If it was in my power, I’d light candles for him from here to Jerusalem. He was, quite simply, the best man I’ve ever known. My father’s life spanned the 20th century. He was born […]

Do Your Best. Others Are Depending on You.

My dad’s boyhood dream was to fly airplanes for a living. At age 19 in early 1941, my dad was a licensed civilian pilot trained by a precocious 22-year-old instructor (Bob Bean) at the Max Conrad Flying School. In August 1941, dad enlisted in a Navy aviation pilot program.

Motherhood Is…

Motherhood is morning snuggles in your bed with children who finally went to bed on time thus, waking up before you did. Motherhood is also singing loudly and terribly in the morning because you are running out of ideas to help your children get out of bed and get ready for school in a positive […]

Mom Teaching me Follow-Through

A tribute to: My mother, Ellen Marie Whatcott (nee Shillington). She taught me to follow through with what I said I would do. On one occasion, as a youth, I agreed to take care of dogs owned by my manager, Gary Hainsworth, while they were on vacation. One particular evening, I was not in the […]

A Mother’s Love

My mom, Lois Hodges, has such a positive attitude. She loves bringing people together in unity and love. One way she’s always done that is with her in-law children. She came up with a different word for them: “in-love”s. Son-in-love, instead of son-in-law. Today she was telling me about Jesus on the Cross entrusting the […]

Busy being a Mom

Mom was busy. Not too busy, mind you, to cook us dinner every night. Not too busy to help us with homework or dry our tears. Not too busy to help when I tried to climb a barbed wire fence and didn’t quite make it over or when I crashed my bike (twice) or literally […]

Failed Cookies and Mom’s Love

  On a Saturday when I was a kid, my mom had all of us children cleaning in our unfinished basement. The basement collected all sorts of things so this was a monumental task destined to last for the whole day! After a while, I snuck away and decided that, as a surprise, I would […]

In Memory of my Mother Who Passed Away.

A small, unremarkable baby girl was born 100 years ago. No one living knows the exact day. Nor could anyone then alive have predicted the influence of her life from that inauspicious beginning. Her quiet entrance into this world must have been something of an embarrassment to her grandparents, to see her—if ever they saw […]

My Angel Mother – Julia McCullin Stong

                          Hi, I’m responding to tell you a little about my Angel Mother. If you ever wanted to see an Angel I’ve included a picture of my Dear Mother. Her name is Julia McCullin and when she married my wonderful Dad she was […]

Forgoing Success in Business for Family

                                          When I was a little boy, my mother would wake me early to get ready for work and school. Perhaps it wasn’t all that early, but I would be so tired! I remember her […]

My Beloved Mother, Gloria Dumas

My beloved mother, Gloria Dumas Mother is gone yet I thank her daily for molding me into the woman I am today. Growing up in a large Catholic family there were many lessons to learn. My mother was stern and quite the disciplinarian; however, she was also loving and supportive. She was generous to a […]

Becoming My Mother

Recently my sister sent out a photo labeled: Who’s who? It was a picture she had taken of my mother and me sitting side by side, but she had used an app that switched our faces. Even I had to stare at it for a second. Staring at that picture brought back another memory. I […]

Does Mom Really Need to be at My Baby’s Birth?

“I need my mom!” Was not a thought I had planned to have while I was delivering my first child, so I hadn’t invited her to attend the birth. I was physically capable of birthing my child without my own birthing mother next to me. But in that moment I felt the strongest connection to […]

Mom’s Legacy of Faith

  Mother’s give us many things in this life. Perhaps you may recall some of the many gifts you have received in yours. But as for me, the greatest gift I have was given to me by my own mother.   She is the one who taught me to value this precious object, which is […]

Hidden Dangers of The Mind: A Detransitioner’s Tale

I was a lesbian for 22 years. Then I lived as a female to male transsexual for 17 years before detransitioning. My name is Maritza. I was born in Havana, Cuba. My mother was given a form of estrogen to prevent miscarriages. She was able to carry me to term, but not without ramifications. I […]

Blair Logsdon: 167 Transgender Surgeries

Survivor Stories: Transgenderism Blair’s Story Blair’s story isn’t readily available in many places online. He has shared it with Walt Heyer, and it was published on the Daily Signal in 2018, and we will quote from that here. 167 surgeries, all gender transition related, earned Blair Logsdon an entry in the Guiness Book of World […]

Cosmopolitan’s Rules for Propaganda

    Here we are today at a time when all of America seems to be falling apart. With COVID, race riots, church burnings, and desecration of statues of the Virgin Mary, how can we care about the Sexual Revolution at a time like this? Why would anybody even bother to care about something that […]

​Greg and Liz’s COVID wedding story

Greg: In February 2020, we were a thousand miles apart. I was at my new job in Richmond, Virginia, and Liz was working as a chef on a cruise ship sailing the Mighty Mississip’. I had bought an engagement ring and planned to pop the question come Eastertide… This was the last month of normal […]

Josh & Heidi’s story

My wife and I had only been engaged a couple months when the Wuhan Virus hysterics really took off. When different parts of the country began to shut down travel, businesses, and the like, we didn’t expect it would last long. With an August wedding, we were certain the country would be open by then. […]

Marriage Fact Sheet

Marriage Fact Sheet – February 3, 2021 Get the facts on how your marriage impacts civilization and why children need married parents more than ever! “I still feel that it (marriage) is the cornerstone of civilization, and an essential institution that stabilizes society, provides a sanctuary for children and saves us from anarchy.” Actress and 1970s sex symbol Raquel Welch. It’s sex o’clock in America – CNN.com In 2017, at least three-quarters of high school seniors said they planned to marry at some point in the future Young people aspire to marriage, so let’s offer them more than a Valentine » MercatorNet Married couples are much better off financially. Individuals who are married on average have a net worth 77% higher than those who are single. Marriage and divorce’s impact on wealth – Jay L. Zagorsky, 2005 (sagepub.com) Married couples have roughly double the wealth of those who never marry. Couples are healthier, wealthier… and less trim | Marriage | The Guardian Marrieds have a lower risk of disease — from diabetes and cardiovascular disease to respiratory problems. Couples are healthier, wealthier… and less trim | Marriage | The Guardian Remaining single has been called one of the greatest health risks people can voluntarily subject themselves to.Why Marriage Is Good For You | The Value of Marriage | Marriage Facts (city-journal.org) Husbands and wives are 10% to 15% less likely to die prematurely. Couples are healthier, wealthier… and less trim | Marriage | The Guardian People who are married have sex roughly twice as often as those who are single. Couples are healthier, wealthier… and less trim | Marriage | The Guardian Marriage lowers the risk that individuals will become victims of violent crime. In 2012, the Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey showed married people had a violent crime victimization rate of 13.5 per 1,000 people. The rate for those who are divorced was 37.0 per 1,000. For those who’ve never been married, it was 40.7 per 1,000. Single People More Likely To Be Viole

Marriage in the Time of COVID

It felt like the universe was conspiring against my marriage. Usually I take hardship in stride; however, this began to feel personal. When I first heard of Coronavirus, I ignored it. It was far away and irrelevant. The virus seemed to want to prove me wrong. It was early March. I was six weeks away from getting married. The planning was going great: our venue looked amazing, our food was planned, my fiancee’s family had their travel plans, my groomsmen were all notified, a family member was going to perform the ceremony. It was what we had dreamed of. Then my university announced it was cancelling classes. Then our church suspended in-person meetings. We started to hear stories of travel being cancelled. Suddenly I was worried about my wedding. Changing plans wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was having no idea what was going on, or what to do. Do we send the invitations we have? Could we still have a reception? Where would we get enough hand sanitizer for the 200 people on our guest list? It was already beginning to be sold for $50 a bottle on Amazon. There were just dozens of questions with no answers. Move the ceremony forward? Move it back? Were we threatening our grandparents lives? Do we do the reception in waves? Do we cancel the big venue because we can’t have a large gathering? Will we ruin existing travel plans? Will we have a place to live if we move it forward? Or was everyone over-reacting, meaning we would be fine in 6 weeks? Having no answers was the difficult part. We had to sit down and work out which of the bad options were best. We decided to move our wedding forward. We contacted our closest family, figured out a good new time, cancelled honeymoon plans, and rushed to get as much together as we could. Things were looking good, in spite of the (minor) disappointment of losing our ideal wedding. We planned to try in 3 weeks, and set a new date for March 28th. The next weeks weren’t encouraging. The family member who was going to perform the ceremony had congenital heart failure and became d