By Emily Malloy As I recently shared in The Catholic Home Economy, the decreasing presence of the phrase "home economy" from the modern lexicon does not reflect the diminished need for the family's focus on the work of the home. In reality, it highlights the increasing need for the discussion of this important work in the public square. Fortunately, there is a simple and practical foundation upon which the important work of the family can be built by establishing a home economy and culture. The home economy flourishes when engaging human virtue. Prudence, the Bedrock Virtue The virtue up ..read more

By Emily Malloy Saturday. The day of the most intense work on our little farm and in the house. It is an all-hands-on-deck work day. Little tasks are completed during the week, but Saturday is the day it culminates with everyone. While we work outside, the sun beams with an indiscriminate ferocity upon the Mississippi soil. My husband hacks through undergrowth to forge a path in the woods to make room for a fence line with a few kids while I tend to the garden and animals.  Not all Saturdays are the same, but the intentionality of our work is. Whether the task at hand is home repairs, far ..read more

By Maria Khell Recently, as I looked at the books in my home, I began to think about the homes inside my books. There are few things I love better than the sight of a shelf of volumes by my favourite authors: preferably colourful and beautifully designed, with gilded titles that glint to catch my eye. Lately I’ve also been charmed by little book-nooks on Pinterest -– miniature models that can be lit up and tucked between volumes in a library, giving the effect that a tiny world has mysteriously been revealed amid the bindings. They usually depict streets, houses, or rooms from classic tales. T ..read more

By Emily Malloy Don't mess with perfection. At least that is the widely accepted norm: once perfection is achieved, or something close to it, to stop. You'll hear very little argument from me, because, why obsess?  Obsess we certainly shall not, but many things, for example the faith life, the more steeped in virtue and or further down the road toward holy perfection we progress, it is easy to recognize just how far from the ideal we actually are. Because of this, we never stop striving to grow and improve. As knowledge grows, the more one understands there is a great deal still ..read more

  “I regard the theater as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”   - Oscar Wilde By Denise Trull   I have always loved these words of Oscar Wilde. I have experienced the truth of them time and again, play after play. I spent thirteen years directing high school students, and I count those the most creative, expanding, and magical years of my life and hopefully theirs. I had a great run, as the saying goes, but directing and producing plays in general is a younger pers ..read more

By Carrie Gress One of my dearest friends, Lizz Lovett, died several years ago this week. Unable to make her funeral on the west coast, I indulged in bringing home a bunch of lilies. The blooming plant felt like a tiny but justified balm as I mourned from afar. We both loved lilies. Over the last eight years something unexpected has happened; my lily plant has blossomed annually ever since. It never occurred to me that I could both keep this plant alive, but also that it would bloom at the same time each year. The thumb I was born with is more black than green, wh ..read more

I was in Steubenville back in February to film an episode of Franciscan University Presents. After filming, Scott Hahn recommended the book Athirst for the Spirit: Biblical Wisdom for Desert Times by Nina Heereman, who is an associate professor and department chair of Sacred Scripture at St. Patrick’s Seminary. I promptly purchased the book and then couldn't put it down. It is book is a series of essays that beautifully unfolds a Biblical account of womanhood. Enjoy this little sample of Heereman's fine work. The St. Paul Center for Biblical Studies is offering 25% off Heer ..read more

By Denise Trull I once attended a graduation party for one of my son’s friends. The house, though very inviting, was simple and sparse in its furnishings. The family was far from well to do, surviving as they did on the father’s teaching salary. However, they were rich in old, used books which lined the walls of one room in particular. I saw the shelves from the doorway off the living room, and bibliophile that I am, I fluttered through that doorway like a proverbial moth to the flame. It was a comfortable room -- a few introverted guests had discovered it and were sitting sipping their wine q ..read more

By Emily Malloy Having a lot of chickens provides me with opportunities to be creative with meals using eggs. Even if you don't live on a farm with a mess of chickens, eggs are still a staple in every home and a fantastic protein source. Maintaining a wheelhouse of recipes using staples is a great way to become more confident in the kitchen.  Dutch babies are one of our favorite breakfasts. They are also known as German pancakes. I read that sometimes they are referred to as hootenannies (and even debated changing the recipe name after this discovery). Whatever you call them, t ..read more

 By Denise Trull Today is the feast of St. Barnabas. Oddly enough, I did not make his formal acquaintance until I was in my mid thirties. I had, of course, heard his name bandied about during Eastertide here and there over the years, but I never stopped to wonder about his call or his role in the drama of our infant, but fast growing Church. I did love his name, however. It was a strong name, heavy with syllables that meant business. Bar-na-bas. It came as no surprise then that it translated into the wonderful meaning: “son of encouragement.” For that alone, it found a place on my growing ..read more