by Joyce Coronel | Oct 24, 2024 | Tidbits
The phrase jumped out at me and set off alarm bells:
“The growing burden on this sandwich generation weakens careers and quality of life…”
The Soulful Catholic’s quiet perusal of the Sunday-morning edition of the Wall Street Journal is generally not fraught with consternation. And yet this seemingly innocuous turn of phrase had her taking screenshots for further reflection.
The article in question was examining the challenges faced by the sandwich generation, referring to those adults charged with the care of both young children and elderly parents or grandparents.
As someone who navigated that season of life not so long ago, I sympathize with the struggle. But a burden? A drag on my career? A lower quality of life?
Uh, no. Definitely no.
by Joyce Coronel | Jul 29, 2024 | Tidbits
“Next week, don’t be the same person you were last week. Let’s start to live a more radical response to the gift of the best news ever … I beg you to respond by sharing the Gospel with confidence, by rejoicing in his love even when life is really hard.”— Chris Stefanick, National Eucharistic Congress, July 21
Of all the powerful statements that were uttered at the National Eucharistic Congress, this is the one that stays with me.
Many of us seem to have lost the sense that the Gospel is, in fact, good news. When faith becomes caught up in debate and politics and keeping score, the heart of the Gospel is lost. When we become cynics who are quick to complain, criticize and condemn, we forget to share the joy we should have from being a disciple of the Lord Jesus. We forget what Jesus told us: “I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world (John 12:47).”
by Joyce Coronel | Apr 25, 2024 | Tidbits
“Consequently, an evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral!” Evangelii Gaudium #10
That has to be one of my favorite quotes from The Joy of the Gospel, the 2013 Apostolic Exhortation penned by Pope Francis. And it reminds me of Marlin, a radiology tech I’ve come to know over the last 20 years.
I’m not making this up.
by Joyce Coronel | Jan 5, 2024 | Tidbits
The Christmas lights have barely been packed away but the countdown to Lent has begun (Ash Wednesday is an unusually early Feb. 14 this year.) Which can only mean one thing: You’ll need to come up with your Lenten plan stat AND March Madness is right around the corner.
Now, why would The Soulful Catholic give a lick about the National Collegiate Athletic Association annual basketball tournament? And what, pray tell, does this have to do with Lent anyway?
by Joyce Coronel | Sep 11, 2023 | Tidbits
You might not be surprised to learn that church attendance is down here and around the U.S.
Outside of Christmas and Easter, it’s not very often that you have a standing-room only crowd at church on Sunday. There’s a startling graph published by Pew Research that shows a steep decline in church attendance starting in 2007 when 54 percent of Americans said they attended religious services monthly or more.
By 2019, that number dropped to 45 percent. Pew also reported that during most of the Covid 19 pandemic, about 6 in 10 Americans did not take part in religious services in any way, including roughly 7 in 10 adults under age 30. Seventy percent of our young people are not going to church!
by Joyce Coronel | Aug 10, 2023 | Tidbits
As they wheeled me into the ICU, I noticed the crucifix on the wall among all the other life-saving equipment. I was in a Catholic hospital, after all, and its catholicity was something that struck me again and again during my four-night stay.
What can only be described as one of the most terrible and yet somehow wonderful experiences of my life unfolded just a few weeks ago when I was sitting in the chapel at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in downtown Phoenix. Staff at the DPC are blessed to be able to attend Mass in the chapel most workdays.
Shortly after the Gospel was proclaimed and we settled into our pews, I felt as though someone punched me in the forehead.
