Letters to Domestic-Church.Com


Peter Fournier and Catherine Fournier

We receive many letters over the course of the year. Some ask questions (see our Questions section) others comment or criticize our choice of material or portrayal of our faith. These letters are answered, usually with a list of resources to help find the answers they're looking for, or a comment and explanation of why, for example, once a Christmas tree has been called 'a Christmas tree' it is no longer a pagan symbol and the pagan roots of the practice need not, therefore, be examined or acknowledged in any detail.

A great number of readers simply write to say "Thank you!" for the site. To those readers, by publishing some of your letters here, we say "Thank you very much" in return. The encouragement and appreciation we get from your letters can not be adequately expressed.

Gold Line

Thank you so much for such a wonderful site. It was exactly what I have been searching for this morning to help my 2 four-year-old children celebrate Epiphany with play group this week. We will have some great things planned for tomorrow as a result of your ideas and art pages. Thanks for the inspiration. I plan to visit often!

Gold Line

Hello, I just discovered your wonderful web site. I have added it to my favorites so I can come back often. I work in the family life ministry in my parish as well as teach first grade. I was looking for web sites that I could recommend for families and children.

I will let everyone know about your site. I am also looking for sites for kids with a church message or activities. It you could recommend any I would appreciate it. Thank you very much. Debbie

Gold Line

Hello!

I just wanted to let you know how much I was moved by the story of "A Beautiful Woman". I happened upon your site while holding my chronically sick 6mo. old, he's been very fussy, and I'm exhausted from frequent night feedings,2 older brothers ages 4 and 5 yrs.,homeschooling, etc.

I read that story and I really can't express how much it lifted my spirit and ever increasing devotion to Mary... thank you and God Bless you for a wonderful web site. Diana

Gold Line

Thank you so much for your web page. I enjoy it immensely! Last week at our Little Flower club meeting we made the little Popsicle stick holy card shrines. It was a wonderful success. I just had to thank you for your ideas. I have been telling all of my friends about your site. God bless you. +JMJ+ Joan

Gold Line

Subject: We copied your web site for a school project

Thank you and

God bless

Emily grade 6

Gold Line

Thank you for such a wonderful site. I love the fridge art section! It is just what I've been looking for. Teresa

Gold Line

I just wanted to say Thank You for such a wonderful site. I was helping my 81/2 yr. daughter look for info on St. Rita when we stumbled on to your site. I think it is wonderful to find a rare Catholic site that really seems to be of Roman Catholic truths.

I forwarded your web address to my friends and family , I know they will also enjoy this site.

My children are excited to find a site that will give them Catholic information along with fun things to do (fridge art).

Again, many thanks to you . May God Bless and guide you through you endeavor.

Sincerely, Jan

Gold Line

That was a wonderfully inspiring story of St Therese and the adoption, I have just chosen her as my saint for confirmation and enjoy reading all these stories, and am happy that I have picked such a wonderful saint, thank you for sharing your stories (: *Missy *

Gold Line

I just learned of you, from a Rich Freeman note on the CTAC list............. what a wonderful web-site...... I just e-mailed your web-address to all of my friends.

God Bless you....... am so blessed to have found you.

MARIA......Florida

Gold Line

What a nice site you have provided. One can only hope that as many people as possible stumble across it and be inspired by it. We'll keep you in our prayers.

Gold Line

I love your prayers! Just what I was looking for! I'm in the process of trying to put together a personal prayer book for my kids and I'm out looking for prayers or scripture that will reach them. My kids are 4, 2, and 1.

Thank you so much for posting this on the web! Holly

Gold Line

Hi, I'm the mother of three small children and I love this site. It has given me so many great ideas on how to bring Easter alive for my kids!

Keep up the good work!

Gold Line

I wanted to thank you so much for posting the examinations of conscience in preparation for confession on your web site. It's exactly what I was looking for and is very helpful. And as a mother of one daughter and a son on the way, I intend to return to explore the rest of your site as well.

Thanks again Vicki

Gold Line

I'm writing to say THANK YOU for this link! I was looking for traceable symbols to copy and use for my son's Holy First Communion Banner! This was just perfect!

Gold Line

Hi. Just wanted to tell you what a blessing this site has been for me. I find a wonderful balance between practical and theological issues presented here.

I am married with 2 children, 2 years and 7 months and waiting to be blessed again. I appreciate the support I get here for living a truly Catholic life and being open to children.

I came into the Church 2 yrs ago at Easter - I was Pentecostal before and in love with the Lord and now in the fullness of His Church, I have found true nourishment in the Eucharist. I also want to say how much I like the apologetics offered here - theology is my favorite pastime. I have had a hard time with friends and family who don't understand my decision to become Catholic and I pray that they might all come to know Jesus in this most intimate way.

So keep up the good work, you are in my prayers. I am still learning how to live my Catholic faith more overtly, esp. in regard to having icons, etc. in my home and other sacramentals, and trying to make certain things into rituals to bring the spiritual into our everyday lives as a family, so anything you write about that will be much appreciated.

God bless you all immensely Kathy

Gold Line

As a graduate of the John Paul II Institute in Washington D.C. and the director of the Marriage and Family Life Office for the Archdiocese of Portland, I was happy to find your website on the Internet. I have placed your site in my favorites, and i will check out your site for ideas.

I would like to begin a series of parish trainings in this area of ministry, but I have found few sources that are in harmony with the magisterial teaching of the Church. I appreciate your web site. I would hope to be in touch with you.

Thank you. Jay Wonacott, Director Marriage and Family Life Office

Gold Line

I just wanted to say I love your site.I'm converting to the church along with my boyfriend who has 2 little girls from his previous marriage.I've never been married and I never thought I would ever be catholic or a stepmother candidate.

Your site is a blessing to those who are just starting to make a catholic home...and I want so bad to be the best example to those to girls of what a good mother is...the essays and stories and crafts have helped me do that.I'm planning on making an advent wreath with them to start.Thank YOU. Rebecca

Gold Line

Just found your web site. Really looks wonderful. Thanks. It won't help me now, but my son needs pictures of the symbols for the 4 evangelists: man, ox, eagle, lion. His paper is due Tuesday. But perhaps others would like such symbols at another time. I've shared your web site with a friend. Thanks again. Brigid

Gold Line

I have visited your site almost every day for the past few weeks, and have found your stories to be a comfort and inspiration. The past several months have been rather difficult for me as a young stay at home mother. With the fear of sounding too melodramatic, I must say that a good deal of my struggles are due to the stresses that might usually accompany the birth of a second child (via c-section), the removal of my husband's kidney, and moving to a new home with a 3 year old in tow. (Who refuses to have anything to do with a potty when it doesn't suit her!) My patience is often wearing thin, and though I pray for the strength to carry on without losing my temper, sometimes it seems a little much!

Reading the stories and letters in your magazine help me feel as though I'm not alone in trying to "keep it Catholic" and keep my sanity at the same time. Every day as I struggle with trusting in God and practicing NFP, I now feel that I am not as alone as I thought I was. And when my mother for the hundredth time tells me to get some kind of birth control, I can now bite my tongue and know that I am not the only one hearing these words!

I wish you, and yours many blessings. Thank you for this magazine, and all of the wonderful insights, resources, and love that it contains!

Kristina

Gold Line

I've marked this site in my favorites and while I cannot read it all at one sitting, I enjoy the supportive tenor the articles provide for Catholic homes.

After reading "From Where I stand" I wanted to share a thought. Although the Roe V. Wade case predates my interest in public policy, it's my understanding that their battle cry was "Every child, a wanted child." The slogan obviously took hold and effectively recruited otherwise intelligent Americans to accept murder and abdication of personal responsibility. We need a slogan to reverse the negative impact of parent-less home environments. My suggestion is EVERY CHILD A WANTED CHILD...BE HOME FOR YOUR KIDS. If this were on bumper stickers and tossed out in various ways people might start to have their parental light bulbs turn back on, like Dr. Laura did for me two years ago. Recently Paul Harvey put it aptly "We treat our children like pets and our pets like children." It's a shame.

I don't want to be as pessimistic as the author of the essay. We have a wonderful country and beautiful freedoms we too often take for granted. There are more good people than bad. But moral peoples (not necessarily sinless but lawful, faithful) must stand up and be role models. We are keeping our faith to ourselves and not sharing, leading, directing in His name. Our silence allows evil to thrive.

God Bless your staff. Thanks for listening. Janice

Editor's Note: We always enjoy receiving letters that refer to or thank our staff. It lets us know that despite the fact that there are only two of us (and the tech guy has another full time job) we're producing a consistent, competent, professional looking product.

Gold Line

Subject: You have a delightful web site!

I have let my friends know about it! This is great!

Sharon

Gold Line

I linked to your sight from Holy Families web page, and I was browsing through all the resources and activities and ideas you have. It struck me that all this must have taken hundreds and hundreds of manhours, and even more to keep it current. A tear slid down my cheek. Thank you.

Peace of Christ to you, Jim

Gold Line

Subject: PRIORITIES!

THANK YOU for your site. Today is my first visit, and I have two comments:

1) It was WONDERFUL to read on the home page that your response to letters is sometimes slow because your PRIORITIES are in the right order … family needs first, over apostolate issues. TERRIFIC.

2) When you have the opportunity, please add me to your family prayers. I, too, seek to have my priorities straight, and sometimes I fail.

Gratefully in our Savior Jesus, Joseph

Gold Line

Thanks for getting this idea out. Newly married need to hear of this. Peace Ed

Gold Line

FYI - In the graphic on the Essays page for "The Only Gospel Some May See" the word "truth" is mis-spelled...

Editor's Note: As we explained to this reader, the graphic came from a great Spanish site called 'Hermanoleon Religious Clip Art' the owners of which were kind enough to write and let us know about their site. The graphics complement a number of our articles perfectly, and we use them often. We noticed the spelling mistake as soon as we saw it, but decided to use the graphic despite (or because) of it, as a small celebration of the worldwide multi-cultural nature of the Universal Church.

Gold Line

I came across your site last week, added it to my favorites, and have visited it each and every day! I've printed out many articles to a friend that does not have internet access, the kids and I have done a few of the projects in the fridge art section, and we are creating our first banner for the Feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin. I just love this web site!!!!

I would be interested in sending some stories to share. We are a young Catholic family, struggling in this mixed up society! I am a recent convert, drawn to the Church by her teaching on birth control and the sanctity of life. We are constantly trying to make our home open to Christ and His Mother. (Not always an easy task!)

Domestic Church.com has by far been the best internet resource. Please let me know I can contribute. In Christ, Lisa

Gold Line

Hi, I am the homeroom mom for my son's fourth grade class. He attends a Catholic school and I was looking for ideas for an "all saints" party instead of Halloween. I didn't know where to start looking, so I checked my bookmarks, and went to your web site. Sure enough, I found what I was looking for in under 5 minutes! Thanks! Kathi

Gold Line

This is such a great resource for the work I do in my parish! in an effort to encourage families to develop rituals centered on their faith your ideas come in handy. Keep up the good work and may the blessings and peace of Jesus fill your home.

Your suggestion for Lent ...the collage cross is great...is there more information to come? Linda

Gold Line

Thank-you for putting the meanings behind Christmas traditions. I'm doing a report about them for school and this really helped me out.

J. Remember Jesus loves you.

Gold Line

I just looked up Domestic-Church.Com for the first time and I'm so happy to see that my first reasons for wanting internet service, which were to learn more about Catholic family life as well as to not feel so alone in our choice as a family for me to be home full-time is shared by others.

My husband and I were both raised Catholic, yet despite being sent to Catholic schools, including college, we had both fallen away until the birth (and almost loss!) of our first child. We rushed back to Mother Church at full speed, and speaking for myself I haven't felt so at peace since childhood. And with so much distance between our society at large and God these days, we are always looking for encouragement and ideas to bring the realities of the spiritual world home to our children on a daily basis.

So THANK YOU! This was only my first visit and surely not my last. Sincerely, Katie

Gold Line

This site is great! I've spent at least an hour so far looking at it. And the fridge art ideas are wonderful. (I've printed out the St Michael cross-stitch pattern, and hopefully I'll be able to try that soon, as I love cross-stitching.) I'm 19 and a college student, so marriage and a family isn't high up on the agenda yet, but I'll be sure to keep these domesticchurch ideas in mind for when the time is right. Thank you so much for taking the time to make a site like this! God bless, Kathryn

Gold Line

Hello, and thank you! Your web site is just wonderful, full of information I'd been trying to find. What a great job you've done, and what a blessing and ministry it is for those of us who desire to reflect the Holy Trinity and the Blessed Mother in everything we do. Sometimes it's a real challenge, in many ways! You just made it a little easier!

We can only imagine the hours and effort it must take in creating and maintaining your apostolate. Thank you so much. What a blessing your efforts have been and what a difference they will make in our Advent and Christmas seasons this year!!! You will be in our prayers. God bless you abundantly. Yours in Christ Jesus, Ron and Tamara

Gold Line

Hello, I just found your site and it is wonderful. Especially for a convert who doesn't know much about the Advent Season. Thank you for putting all this on the web and may God bless you. Peace, Marie

Gold Line

Greetings! I'm a first grade religious education. teacher and I'm so glad I've stumbled upon your web site (looking for advent activities for the children). I thank you so much for all the ideas and activities. I have mostly boys in my class and I need to use a lot of hands on activities to keep them attentive.

Your suggestions and samples are great! Bless you all! Pam

Gold Line

In the new year I intend to start putting web sites in the parish bulletin. Yours will certainly be one of them. Keep up the good work and God Bless. Sincerely, Father Bob Bulbrook, St. Joseph's Parish, Acton, Ontario, Canada

Gold Line

I love your site!! Thank you for blessing our family and helping us to keep the focus of Christmas where it should be. Vicki

Gold Line

Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your site. I teach kindergarten at a catholic school. Your stories about the traditions of the church are wonderful! Keep it coming!

Gold Line

I ran into your site accidently and found it very exciting. I found it through polishworld.com/Christmas/links.htm. Now I have been sending your page to my nieces and nephews and friends who have young families so they can take advantage of family activities this holy season and then unto the Lenten Season too.

May the Lord bless you for spreading His Gospel in this way! Keep the "GOOD STUFF" coming! DRM - Warren

Gold Line

Hello!!! I'm not Catholic - rather Methodist - I've never seen anything like fridge art. I love it!!! There are so many great ideas for my children's bible study and also my Sunday school. keep up the good work!!!

Gold Line

Hello! I just stumbled upon your site when I was attempting to look up Margaret Sanger quotes - the quotes that show the REAL Sanger, not the PC Sanger that is usually touted - and I am so glad I found you! What a terrific site you've got ...I was especially impressed by the answers given in the questions and answers section.

Keep the good work and rest assured that I'll be telling all of my friends about your wonderful site--there are more of us die-hard catholics out there than most people realize and it's great to have a place to congregate! Peace, Jen

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