Allow Me to Introduce Myself

I am Lori Callaway. Fulltime Mom, chauffer, cook, RCIC teacher, counselor & sage advisor to my 15 year old daughter & her friends that cannot talk to their parents, referee for real life Family Feud-sometimes including an odd assortment of weaponry from hair brushes to nerf guns, soul mate to my very understanding husband and I am Brazenly Catholic.

Brazenly Catholic will be the title of my column. While writing humor is my forte and writing fiction helps pay some of the bills, writing about Catholicism and being Catholic has been on my mind for sometime as I watch the world we live in slide headlong into hedonism and just about every blasphemous style of living we were warned not to do. Maybe where you live you haven’t noticed or seen what goes on in a larger metropolitan area, be thankful if you have been this fortunate. However where I live, I have seen things and actions that even the residents of Babylon, Sodom and Gomorra might have learned something new.

My husband has been egging me on to speak up and write about what I’ve been commenting-complaining-ranting about for a very long time. Using my own words of encouragement to our children against me, he said “If it’s wrong, fix it. Isn’t that what you tell our children?” I hate it when he’s right. I hate it even more when he’s right when by using my own words against me.

My children are the reason for me writing this column and calling it Brazenly Catholic.
I have had to shield my children’s eyes on more than one occasion, both inside the house from the news photos and outside in the streets of the downtown areas. My 15 year old comes home daily with new tales of debauchery and exploits of teens that have never heard of morals. My 9 year old son rushes home from elementary school to ask the definition of words he’s learned on the playground-all of which would make a sailor blush. The least affected is my 7 year old daughter in 1st grade who complains she wants to go back to Catholic school because the children in public school are mean, rude and have dirty mouths. My hope is that by writing what is going on in outside world around us, someone other than myself and my family will speak up, speak out and help change the world around you. I am urging you to pay attention, not turning your head and just praying for these lost souls. Do something. Say something. Help stop the ruination of what used to be a pretty decent country with values and morals.

I will be writing some columns that are humorous, but I will also be writing about the wrongs in society and the world in which we live. As Catholics, we know better. We have been taught morals, values, kindness, compassion and love. It is up to us to reach out to others that have not had the same education from Christ and that Church that we have. I will also be writing about what it means to be a Catholic in America today. I will also let you know when I read news stories about our Catholicism being endangered.

In short, I will be writing to make you laugh, sometimes touching your heart to make you cry and other times, I will be writing to make you think and other articles to make you mad. My hopes in writing columns to make you think or make you mad will make you act and do something about what’s wrong and needs to be fixed. I can’t do it alone. You can’t do it alone, but together, we can try to change what is wrong and with the guidance of God and the Holy Spirit, maybe we can fix it….or at least make enough noise to draw attention to the issues so that others notice.

As mothers and parents, our children are not ours, they are simply on loan to us from God for a short time to raise and guide them as they grow. I think it’s a test of sorts, to see what we’ve learned and put into use. I am just one person, along with my husband, we are two , but with our 3 children we are now five…and five can do a heck of a lot more than 1 or 2 alone. By teaching your children morals, values and the true teachings of the Catholic Church, you are increasing the numbers of those that know right from wrong. Be Brazenly Catholic. Live Brazenly Catholic. Teach your children to be Brazenly Catholic, and our world around us will hopefully become a better place.

Pax,
Lori

 

Lori Callaway is married to her best friend Scott and mother of 3 children, all of whom are her inspiration and fodder for her freelance writing. Her hobbies are knitting (as a lefty), rosary making, sewing, cross stitching, crafts and ¾ to full time genealogist and history nut. She currently lives in one of the giant metro areas the Pacific Northwest of the US after having grown up in American’s idea of a perfect mid-western small town. Lori is also an RCIC teacher.