This past Sunday ended the Year of the Family that began on the Feast of St. Joseph, March 19, 2021. As a parish, St. Mary of the Angels started the year of the Family earlier, in July 2020. So, it has been two years of special focus on the family. Strong Catholic Parents—Strong Catholic Marriages […]Read more

Jesus Christ became man to reveal to us God the Father, so we will love God as a father, as our true Father, who loves us just as we are, with our smallness and weakness. Even on Corpus Christi Jesus reveals the paternal love of the Father, as he taught us in his famous Eucharistic […]Read more

Small children usually need punishments and rewards to help them acquire virtue and self-control. Adults take ownership of their lives, shaping themselves by the repetition of good acts and avoiding the near occasions of unhealthy and sinful behavior. To acquire digital virtue, start with setting goals for yourself (and your children), such as: • how […]Read more

The addictive nature of screens, computer games, and social media means that sometimes “the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38), that is, sometimes we know and desire virtuous behavior but our flesh gets the better of us and we compulsively fall into old patterns of vicious behaviors. So, it can […]Read more

Computer games and other apps on the phone, tablet, or computer tend to trigger the release of chemicals (dopamine, adrenaline, norepinephrine) in the brain. This drives addiction, finding ways to reduce and control the release of those chemicals can be key to acquiring true virtue in the use of technology. One way to do this […]Read more

Virtues are habits we develop through repeated action, mastering our impulses in ways that make it easier to develop good relationships and to seek and maintain the common good. Vice is disorder, a lack of self–mastery that damages and destroys social life and personal well–being. For example, a lack of mastery over alcohol leads to […]Read more

As war and civil conflict plague us daily, instead of escaping into alcohol, social media, or entertainment, let’s learn to pray, reflecting on these tips from St. Josemaría. 1. Foster in your heart and soul—in your mind and will—a trusting spirit of abandonment to your heavenly Father’s loving Will. From this will arise the interior […]Read more

Parents are naturally concerned for their children, not just that they eat and sleep enough, but that they are safe from anything harmful. So when it involves technology, a parent needs to be available to supervise and guide their children, as well as exemplify responsible behavior. Yet all of us need the help of others […]Read more

We are journeying through Lent on this path leading to the Cross and the Resurrection, that leads us to that union with God we call holiness. Speaking about Ash Wednesday and Lent, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles wrote: “We are living in times when many people have lost their ‘why.’ They no longer know the […]Read more

Parents can more effectively guide their children in the virtuous use of the Internet by collaborating with other parents and families that have similar values and aims for their home. These goals should include the virtuous use of electronic devices. It is always good to have friends with children a bit older than your own. […]Read more

Connected with the Open-Door approach to the Internet and electronics is transparency, which really is the virtue of sincerity. Transparency is key in marriage and in other family relationships. It shows that we are not afraid that our spouse, parent, or sibling sees us as we really are because we trust that they love us […]Read more

Considering certain places as sacred and private, where we shouldn’t use electronic devices, how do we balance using our bedrooms for study and work and using them for prayer and sleep? Perhaps the key here is the door: keep the door open when we are not praying, changing clothes, or sleeping. This can make a […]Read more