Parenting

From Barabbas to Seamless Garments: Explaining Palm Sunday to Children

/ chicoinematt

Palm Sunday Liturgy was long but fruitful (and funny due to my kids’ antics) Mass.

I have had to learn how to boil down the truths of our faith in simple and digestible ways for my kids to understand.

They help me grow as a teacher of our Catholic faith (it helps that I have a Master’s Degree in Theology 🙂).

Here’s a glimpse into the theology and (face)palming I experienced today as detailed via a Tweet-thread. Enjoy!

The context for this bit-o-shenanigans: last year my youngest daughter screamed NOOOO at the exact moment the narrator mentioned Malchus’ ear getting chopped off.
Honestly, an excellent question from my daughter. Showed she was paying attention. 🙏🙂
A logical question for Palm Sunday. 🌴
Good question but a face-palm on the timing. 🤦
Another 🤦. But after further reflection it is good she wanted to display reverence. 🙂🙏

Share your Palm Sunday experience with me in the comments section.

Hope you have a blessed Holy Week! 🙏

Thank you for sharing!

A 568 Word Interview with Allie Kintz— The Board Game Mom

/ chicoinematt

Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed Allie Kintz via phone call on August 21st, 2023. Some of the questions have been rearranged and edited to provide the best reader experience without losing any  integrity of the answers given.

Tell me a bit about yourself and your family.

I have two boys (5 and 8) and live in Central Oregon. I love teaching board games to family and friends. Our kids are in a local Catholic school. We live in a unique region of Oregon where there are lots of outdoor activities: snowboarding, hiking, and paddleboarding.

How did you develop a passion for playing board games?

When the rise of Settlers of Catan came about, my husband and I dove headfirst into board gaming as a hobby. We bought all the Catan variants. Then we went into more Euro-games, work-placement games and moved to Pandemic. During Covid we moved, and we spent more quality time playing board games. We expanded our collection to campaign style games. The games were fun, but the experience was different.

Our collection has grown exponentially in the past three years. Learning strategy and teaching games to people we found fun too.

How important is an easy to follow and clear rulebook?

Really, important. I have found video tutorials helpful too.

How many board games do you own?

At least 250 🙂

What are your favorite games of all-time?

Quacks of Quedlinburg; Space Base (similar mechanic to Catan); Arkham Horror Card Game; Three Sisters; Castles of Burgundy (Deluxe Version)

Describe your Catholic faith.

Cradle Catholic. Both my husband and I were raised by devout Catholic parents. After my husband and I got married, we were thinking about our value system: I went through several bible studies with other women. I heard God’s call and sensed his presence in the decision making. This experienced nudged me closer to trusting in God. Another mini-conversion – occurred when my mom passed away five years ago. We were present for her last rites. Witnessing the last rites, I felt God’s presence. The room was so spirit-filled that no one was afraid. It was a beautiful thing to be a part of.

Do you have a favorite saint(s)?

I love Saint Joseph (as a model for my boys and husband); Saint Therese of Liseux (her life is fascinating, to know in suffering there is a purpose).

Do you find parallels between playing board games and Catholicism?

I’ve been listening to the Catechism in a Year and learned there is a reason for things we do, and a structure for why we pray or believe what we believe. In board games, at the end of a game you take what you were given and the strategies you were given, and the result is good and beautiful (whether you won or lost). Our Catholic faith can be overwhelming just like a thick rulebook in board games. We are given so many wonderful tools to help us grow in the Lord and raise our children.

How do you pass on the faith to your children?

  1. Helping them grow in appreciation for the Mass and the symbolism in the liturgy. Teaching them the why. Revisiting the importance of each major part of the Mass.
  2. Making it a point to put our children through Catholic schools. Being surrounded by catechesis each day is important to us.
  3. Encouraging our children to participate actively in what our church community provides. Giving back to our community and being actively involved. Our older son is currently altar serves.

Thanks for taking time today to chat with me about board games and our Catholic faith!

You too!

About Allie:

Allie Kintz | Board Game Mom
Devout Catholic and tabletop gamer, Allie has been married to her husband Jason for 12 years. They live in Central Oregon with their two boys, ages 5 and 8. When she’s not gaming with friends and family, you can find her enjoying outdoor activities, cooking, and traveling!

Thank you for sharing!

From Dream to Reality: My First Published Article in Saint Anthony Messenger

/ chicoinematt

It’s official! Received my three copies of the May 2023 Saint Anthony Messenger yesterday.

I remember distinctly as a 7-year-old I wanted to be a dad and a writer when I grew up. This article is a realization of that dream.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me during this process: my wife, my mom & dad, the editor of Franciscan Media, and to you my readers and supporters of The Simple Catholic blog!! You kept me going during the days and weeks I struggled with depression.

Finally, I’m grateful for God and all the graces He has granted me and opportunities to develop my writing over the years. 🙂

P.S. I’m not crying my eyes are leaking tears of joy.

P.P.S. Here’s a link to the article if you’re interested in reading:

Parenting Kids with Autism 
Thank you for sharing!

Mass-ters of Chaos: Surviving Sunday Church with Kids

/ chicoinematt

Editor’s Note: This is an updated version of an article originally published on December 18, 2019 as: Sweat, Stress, and Shenanigans: Why Take Your Kids to Sunday Mass?

Okay, so picture this: the car’s digital clock reads 9:27 A.M. and you’re thinking to yourself, “Awesome, maybe we’ll actually make it to Mass on time this week… finally!” (Keep in mind that you only live two minutes away from your parish.) So, you and your wife scramble to get your three kids out of the car and into the church before the entrance hymn begins.

Luckily, you made it on time. You think to yourself, “Please, let us get through at least the first part of the Mass without me having to drag one of my children out!”

Let the Shenanigans Begin

Kids messing around at mass

But of course, that’s too much to ask for.

Two minutes into the first reading, your 18-month-old son starts to lose focus and wants to make a run for it. The granola bar and sippy cup of water you gave him weren’t enough to keep him occupied, so you’re stuck holding a squirming, twisting toddler and sweating bullets.

It’s a battle you know you’re not going to win, so you leave your oldest son in the pew by himself for a few minutes until your wife comes back—she had to take your daughter out for a bathroom break five minutes into the liturgy!

As you’re struggling to keep your sanity, you wonder why you even bother bringing your kids to Mass. People stare at you as if you have an extraterrestrial being dancing behind them in the pew. “My kids are insane!” you lament to yourself. However, despite the enormous “inconvenience” and “stress” it brings, there are three reasons why you refuse to stop bringing your kids to Mass.

Where You Experience Truth

First of all, you go to Mass because it’s true. Your wife once gave the shortest apologetic statement in history when someone asked her why she converted to Catholicism: “Because it’s true!” Your faith may not be as strong as hers, but you know that you continue to go to Mass on Sundays because it’s a tradition that started with the Apostles—the first friends and followers of Christ—2,000 years ago. Plus, you can’t deny the fact that you need the gift of the Eucharist. Truth is not always easy, but without it, you’re nothing. And let’s face it, humans crave the truth and the Catholic Church provides the truest explanation for the wonders and strangeness of reality.

Eucharist is the Source and Summit

Eucharist meme

The second reason you refuse to give up on bringing your kids to Mass is because the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church number 1324 states, “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it.” You’re willing to deal with the difficulties of bringing young children to church because the peak of the Catholic faith is found in the Mass.

You Find Peace in the Mass

The third and final reason is that the Mass provides you with peace. You’ve heard a Catholic priest describe the liturgy as a theological GPS that orients us back to the correct path when we fall away. My main role as a father is getting my children to Heaven.

Peace be with you

According to the Catholic Church, “The family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society” (CCC 2207).

How may I expect my children to love God if I did not establish a habit to visit the Divine Presence and rest in His grace? How do I lead my family on the path of true freedom if I do not experience freedom myself?

Where You Can Visit God

The answers are incredibly simple—visit God and visit frequently! My father was [and still is] an amazing example of holiness. He is patient, slow to anger, and consistent in his faith. Looking by at how he accomplished the tremendous feat of raising my siblings and I, I realized that the biggest constant is his life [besides my mom] was the Eucharist. God fed my own biological father through this sacrament.

The Holy Spirit increased my father’s inherent gift of patience to a profound and loving level—I need to follow that example. My youngest child still has not called me “daddy” nor even uttered the word! Somedays I struggle to cope with this developmental delay. I noticed that my 18 month old will immediately fold his hands in prayer when I begin the Prayer Before Meals blessing. Seeing those little fingers crossed together humbled me. This small act has made me prouder than anything else. Life is not about how smart, or beautiful, or successful you are. Life is about love and truth. The Holy Spirit sent me a reminder through the person of my toddler.

Thank you for sharing!

Passing on the Faith: A Micro-Moment of Evangelization in the Domestic Church

/ chicoinematt / 1 Comment

How do you pass on the faith to the next generation?

Here’s a glimpse at a micro-moment of evangelization:

Found this pamphlet on the Eucharist in the girls’ room.

My older daughter is headstrong and can test my patience daily. But her same tenacity is also a strength— she truly cares.

She loves reading booklets or following along the worship book at Mass. One reason is because she always needs something to hold or fidget with (flipping pages of a book is soothing ).

Another reason is I think having her “own” booklet makes her feel like she can participate more and have more of a say.

The Holy Spirit does work in mysterious ways:

I have a Master’s Degree in Theology and have been writing about our faith for almost a decade. But in order to teach my kids about the faith, the Spirit prompts me with simpler avenues.

✝️ Answering questions during Mass

✝️ Taking them to the local Catholic store occasionally

✝️ Praying before meals and before bedtime

✝️ Having holy images throughout our home

The Home is a Domestic Church

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph #2685, “The Christian family is the first place of education in prayer. Based on the sacrament of marriage, the family is the ‘domestic church’ where God’s children learn to pray “as the Church” and to persevere in prayer.”

It doesn’t always have to involve a verbalization of the faith. In fact, I don’t remember my parents ever talking at length about Catholicism. They taught us the faith by their actions and having a loving home environment.

Sometimes just the environment and time are all the Holy Spirit needs to grow the seeds planted at their Baptism.

This isn’t the post I planned on writing today. Yet, God always finds a way to make my plans better than I could imagine myself.

Passing on the faith to the next generation in the domestic church doesn’t always require lengthy theological discussions. Sometimes, it’s the small moments of evangelization, like finding a pamphlet on the Eucharist in your child’s room or answering questions during Mass, that can make the biggest impact.

By creating a loving home environment and incorporating simple faith practices like praying before meals and having holy images throughout the house, we can allow the Holy Spirit to work in mysterious ways and grow the seeds of faith planted at our children’s Baptism. Remember, committing our work to the Lord and trusting in His plans can lead to beautiful moments of evangelization in our own domestic churches.

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” —Proverbs 16:3

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Thank you for sharing!

5 Actionable and Simple Tips to Help Parents Write (Right) Now

/ chicoinematt

“But I don’t have anything interesting to say.” “I am tired exhausted from work and household duties.” “I just cannot take time away from my family.” “This is going to add an additional burden on my spouse.” “Honey, there is literally no time. We both have full time and three kids to take of when we get home.”

These were some of the excuses I used in the past whenever I pondered a pursuit in a career in freelance writing. We have a finite amount of time each day. 24 hours. Doctors tell us at least a 1/3 of that should be used for sleeping. That leaves only16 hours a day at our disposal. Add in a full-time job, children and all the various school activities they are in, and meal time. Our time starts disappearing faster than a dozen eggs on sale at the store.

How to write and raise a family?

This article is specifically geared toward parents who want to develop a career in writing. As a father to four children ages 11,9,6, and 4, I completely understand the scheduling struggle. It might be more accurate to call it appointment acrobatics! I am also the husband of an elementary school teacher. Anyone who is married to or has a family member or friend who is an educator knows that profession involves A LOT of time—investing in lesson planning, parent meetings, professional development sessions, and staying up to do on current curriculum. Additionally, two of children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Autism is a social communication disorder. We have weekly adaptive aquatics lessons for our six year old. We have also had to invest an incalculable amount of hours into research, therapy, and home reinforcement over the past several years.

Bottom line is I understand that life presents you many challenges that take up the vast majority of the day. It is not impossible, nor even merely improbable to start writing and creating content.

Martin Luther King Jr. once declared, “If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t walk run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then , but by all means keep moving.” While you may not be able to soar now you can take action. Move towards your goal of being a writer! The tips in this article come from my experience and have proven to have worked for my impossibly busy schedule. Let’s now jump into these five actionable and simple strategies to help you write now!

Be prepared to sacrifice

“Wait! I thought you said these were actionable and simple steps. Right away you are asking me to give up something,” you might be thinking now. As much as this fact hurts to hear, it is necessary to learn. To love something [and someone] it involves a sacrifice. Foregoing the latest Netflix original series, shopping spree, or having to say “no” to one of your kids activities will be painful. I struggled mightily with watching just one episode of the latest series so I could have time to write daily.

Since my decision to leave my full-time job to pursue writing as a career, I have made several sacrifices: our family gave up eating fast food, limited television time, and I will be working a night job to help the bills until I can write full-time from home. This decision was not made lightly. Writing proved to be healing and therapeutic as reached a low point in my life in 2015. If after some deliberation you realize your gift to the world is to write, realize this tremendous joy does come with a price—sacrifice. But it is well worth it.

Narrow and Nest into a Niche

A second tactic to help you write now is to find a niche topic to write about. Ask yourself the following questions: What topic can I talk about for 30 minutes without needing any preparation? What subjects am I already an expert on? Select your writing niche based on either or both of the answers to those questions. My expertise is Catholic theology. I have also developed an interest in writing about anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Finding a niche does not always happen overnight. Yet, you can still start the process of discovering your writing niche now!

Find Five Minutes

Finding time in the day to write can be challenging. I get it! Parenting is incredibly tough. Kids require physical, emotional, intellectual supports to grow and thrive. We all want our kids to grow up into mature and productive citizens. Some days all hell breaks loose. The children turn into frenzied creatures—especially during a full moon! Other times, the children coordinate an executed staggered schedule attack to ensure that you and your spouse never get more than 2 hours consecutive that night.

Don’t let that deter you from your dream to write. Find just 5 minutes per day to write. Schedule it at the exact same time and place in your house to journal or type out your thoughts. If your life is a bit more hectic, allow for flexibility of that 5 minutes to occur at various times. Always make sure you write for an absolute minimum of 5 minutes. When your routine is set, up your time to 10, 15, 30 minutes, or to 1 hour. Consistency is absolutely necessary for traction towards your goal. Move towards your goal of writing a bit each every.

Consume Content Daily

Another simple strategy to develop your writing skills is to consume content from your writing niche daily. Doctors prescribe patients to eat a and balanced nutrition. That same is true for content creators. Creativity does not occur in isolation. Read books, listen to podcasts, watch videos, connect with experts in your desired field of study on LinkedIn.

Use those short drives dropping the kids off at school, running errands, or returning home to listen to podcast episodes or an audio book about your niche subject. During those rare occasions when the kids actually nap or go to bed on time read a book for a few minutes. I have been starting to take a book to the park—even reading just a page or two daily will help build your knowledge in the long run!

Repeat—Key is Consistency

If you made it to this point of the article without interruption I want to congratulate you! Thank you for taking take out of your busy schedule to further your desire to write. My final strategy to help you write right now is simple—repeat strategies 1-4 daily! If you are running low on energy or motivation please message me on LinkedIn or email me at chicoine.matt@live.com. I would love to help you through any scheduling obstacles and mental roadblocks.

Related Links

The Origin Story of The Simple Catholic

3 Ways to Stay Relevant as a Catholic Blogger

Thank you for sharing!

An Incarnational—and Infectious—Start to Advent

/ chicoinematt

sheldon sickness gif.gif

 

 

 

 

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on December 4, 2018.

The season of Advent usually begins with a perception of being a magical, jovial, and anticipatory time of the birth of Jesus. My Advent began with an anticipation. Yet it lacked marvel and apparent joy.  God encountered me in an incarnational way this Advent season. I juggled the infectious side effects of projectile vomit and diaper explosions. Both of my sons came down with the stomach flu over the weekend.

throw-up gif.gif

Parenting Sucks (Sometimes)

Nothing tests a parent’s patience, will-power or love of their children quite like a continual cleaning of bodily fluids. On top of the symptoms of the stomach flu, my youngest son is also recovering from an adenoidectomy (see below diagram if you never heard of that organ before–as I never did prior to this surgery!) Because the flesh is healing behind his nasal cavity, my two year old’s breath smelled like death since the surgery. The doctors estimate three weeks before his rotting-breath odor stops!  What a start to the New Liturgical year!

Adenoid

Prepare for Christ not the Perfect Season

Too often society places pressure for the perfect “holiday” season: all the gifts must be precisely wrapped and laden under the Christmas tree in a tidy order, the Christmas meal has to be cooked to the exact temperature and paired with the appropriate side dishes depending on the main dish, and family members need to behave–especially your “estranged/weird” uncle [or aunt or other unique relative you may have]. Honestly, I fall into this fallacy almost every year myself.

This year was no different.

I hoped to be able to take my entire family to Mass to celebrate the First Sunday of Advent. Sadly, this didn’t happen. Because of my priority as a parent, I had to miss this Mass to care for my ailing family.

missing mass gif.gif

 

 

 

 

 

Advent— A Time to Prepare for Jesus

After taking some time to reflect on the apparent failures of the weekends, I realized maybe God was preparing me for something greater—Advent really is all about preparation for the coming of Christ. Revisiting the birth narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, showed me the arrival of Jesus did not occur in the ideal standards, at least according to the world’s standards.

Luke 2:7 details how Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem “too late” and the innkeeper denied them a room at the inn. Mary had to give birth to Jesus in a humble way—in a simple stable. American novelist Flannery O’Connor wrote the following about the Incarnation,

Man’s maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.

god humbled himself.jpg

 

 

 

 

Advent is Incarnational

By becoming a human Jesus was able to encounter the entirely of the human condition save for sin. In my children’s pain, suffering, tiredness, and thirstiness this past weekend, Christ was with them in a unique way as he already suffering all those things during his 33 years on Earth.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 463, “Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.” The season of Advent is not about preparing for the “perfect” Christmas where Mary and Joseph get a room at the inn.  Advent prepares us for the birth of Jesus Christ. His birth took place in the messiness of the stable. And his Passion and Death took place on the messiness of the Cross.

Advent

Not everything in my life will be neatly fit in my control.  But after this incarnational and infectious start to Advent,  God grace me  with the gift of perspective and opportunity in serving my children as Christ served the world.

Related Links

An Advent Reflection on Finding Gratitude in the Stressful Season

Advent: Catholic Answers

Advent Reminds Us What We Are Waiting For

Do You Know The History Of The Advent Wreath?

Thank you for sharing!