My daughter is taking an online Intro to Philosophy class this summer. One of the requirements for this class is a research paper. For several days Sarah tried to think of what to write, landing on wisdom. She found two books at the library, both exploring wisdom as people age. But what was she going to say about it in a research paper?  The professor apparently expected his students to know in advance that a philosophy paper differs from other types of research papers. Since Sarah didn't know this, I found an excellent video on YouTube for her to learn from. After watching it, she realized she needed to change her topic and asked me for help.

Sarah likes to work independently, so asking me for help was a stretch. After reading the assignment, however, I understood her frustration. The professor acknowledges that students always ask about good topics, and his advice that a good start is, What is truth? Knowledge? Reality? doesn't help much. However, I didn't see it as a problem with the professor, but with the limitations of an online course.

Chuck suggested a topic, the purpose of art. Not finding much on an online search of the library, I looked for philosophy and science, with better luck. In the end, Sarah's chosen topic was "Is the World Mechanical?" and she argued that it's not.  A book she used for her research was Rupert Sheldrake's, Science Set Free. Being involved with her assignment piqued my interest in this book, which states that "Contemporary science is based on the claim that all reality is material or physical" and "God exists only as an idea in human minds..."  Wonder what else it says...

Lily's Ghosts reminds me of Halloween, as in little kids dressed up as Disney princesses and comic book heroes carrying treat bags full of goodies collected from friends and neighbors. Pretty harmless fun, no?  But the dark side of witches, mummies, and zombies glorifying evil that show up at our doorstep can draw souls away from what is good and holy to the rebellious and disobedient devil and his minions.

A ghostly character named Lola in Lily's Ghosts pulls a series of harmless pranks on Lily, the main character, not a ghost herself. The ghost wishes she would have starred in a school play as "Lola, the sexy satanic seductress in Damn Yankees"  before she died (p. 25). The author's description of this character can lead to the violation of the Sixth Commandment, Thou shalt not commit adultery. This commandment calls us to chastity and modesty in our thoughts, words, and deeds and forbids books, movies, video games, and other things that tempt us to do otherwise.

In this book, you'll also find Madame Durriken's Good Fortunes Shoppe, "stocked with tarot-card decks, candles, astrology charts, incense, dream interpretation books, spell manuals..."  (p. 37) Madame Durriken is a quack who calls upon the spirits of the dead (p. 39). More than once, she shuffles tarot cards to read them. Despite an entertaining read, this book delves into the demonically inspired occult, potentially raising curiosity among young readers that could drive them into the dark side of the spiritual world. Violation: the First Commandment, I am the Lord thy God: thou shalt not have strange gods before me, which forbids occult practices.

Lily is an only child whose dad abandoned the family, and her mom brings her along as she goes from relationship to relationship in city to city. Eventually, they get kicked out of their home and are forced to choose between homelessness and asking for help from a relative whom they hadn't seen in years. Of her mom's latest boy friend, Lily states that her mom "thought they would move in together and maybe get married someday. But that guy...moved...."  In this excerpt, the author provides an example of actually breaking the Sixth Commandment. Certainly some kids whose parents are divorced can relate to abandonment. In fact, statistics show that around 50% of all marriages in the U.S. end up in divorce. However, we want our kids to have healthy relationships with their future spouse and to teach them that God designed marriage between a man and a woman to last until death.

There's no mention of characters practicing any type of religious faith, yet the author's use of "omigod" and  "(f)or god's sake" break the Second Commandment, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. This commandment also forbids cursing, which the author inserts in an instance of dialogue, "What in the hell is going on here?" (p. 211).

In middle school, kids are starting to navigate the waters of romance, so it's not surprising that Lily has a love interest, Vaz. Up in the attic of her uncle's home in search of her uncle, the door locks mysteriously behind them. As they wait to be rescued, Vaz kisses Lily twice. The author writes that "Lily felt the blood beating in her ears, felt something inside her, achy and new, open up like a bud." (p150) It's a violation of the Sixth Commandment to fall to the temptation of a lustful thought.


We are all sinners living in an imperfect world, and we can expect to write and read all about it.  
The purpose of examining this book under the Ten Commandments is to show how far we've strayed from clean, wholesome fiction. Lola is not the only ghost in Lily's Ghosts, and dishonesty, revenge, violence, and breaking and entering a home are all part of the story. There's even a misconception about heaven: a ghost named Max says there are many heavens. But we are called to love God and one another and to help each other get to the one true heaven. This means writing and reading about this world responsibly.

This book was published in 2003, and you may be able to find it in a library at a Catholic school. I recommend taking a look at the books your kids are reading more closely. If you're like me, you might be surprised at the radical ideas the world thinks you have.

Next year is the fifth anniversary of the publication of my first book, Ebram's Story: The Haunting. The book was written for kids in fourth through sixth grade, and being curious to see something similar in the library, I checked out Lily's Ghosts, by Laura Ruby.

The main character in this book is thirteen years old, a couple of years older than Ebram. My book isn't available at the library, unlike this one, because it wasn't reviewed by mainstream book reviewers such as Kirkus and and Publisher's Weekly.  I agree with School Library Journal's assessment that "(r)eaders (of Lily's Ghosts) will be hooked right up to the surprising ending." However, the book contains content that could send teens to the confessional.  

The Catholic Writers Guild approves books for the Seal of Approval if they adhere to Catholic teachings. I think it's a great idea to go a step further by screening books for inappropriate content, especially books for kids and teens.  We can examine them using the Ten Commandments, the same guide we use for examining our conscience before confession.

Marina's dad died seven years ago today. Marina is the girl friend of my youngest son, Matt. She has become part of our family and is staying with us over the summer. We've opened our hearts and home to her because she doesn't feel like she has a family.  She lost her dad eight days after her 12th birthday and hardly remembers her mom, who passed away a few years before that.

We went to the chapel at Our Lady of Guadalupe to light a candle for Marina's dad and pray a rosary for her family. As she mourned, tears rolled down her face and I wished I could lessen the pain, but all I had to offer was my love, support, and prayers.

As the day wore on I could tell that she was feeling better, and I couldn't help but think that maybe it was because she feels at home with us. I feel blessed that God has brought her into our lives and trust that he will guide us in helping fulfill his plan for her.

My youngest child graduated from high school last month. This means I will be adjusting to an empty nest when she heads for college in the fall. Actually, the transition began gradually a few years ago when my oldest child enrolled at a local college. He spent less time at home than before due to school and work demands and an active social life. Another son went off to the seminary where he will be starting his fourth year in August, and my youngest son went away to college a couple of years ago. Sadly, my child rearing days are coming to an end...

As I think back to early parenthood and the time I first entrusted my kids to the care of their school teachers, I appreciate the opportunity they had to learn new things and make new friends. I believe in raising children to help them become self-sufficient and independent and strong in their faith. The downside to letting others care for your children is that they can be exposed to negative influences outside of family over which parents have little or no control.

Negative influences come in many forms.  My children were exposed to them in elementary school and beyond. I home schooled two sons for a short period of time when things got really bad. Here are some at the college level: date violence, drugs and alcohol, peer pressure, discrimination, and intolerance of traditional family values and religious beliefs.  At my daughter's college orientation a few weeks ago, administrators assured us that parental involvement contributes to student success.  That may be true, but how much parental involvement can there be if your child is out of sight?

A major source of frustration and irritation is the fact that if my child gets sick and needs to see the doctor, I have no access to her health records without her permission. Health care officials made this clear with talk of patient privacy, medical release forms, and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy), a Federal law that transfers certain parental rights regarding educational records to students when they reach 18 years of age.  At the health care center, contraception is readily available with and without a prescription.  If your daughter gets pregnant and has an abortion, you may never know it.  With this in mind, I thought I'd have a talk with my daughter at the earliest opportunity, which happened when we went shopping for dorm supplies.  The talk went something like this:

Me:  When you get to college, don't be surprised if some guy says your values are old fashioned and you need to try new things.

Daughter: Mom, you don't need to tell me, I already know, and you don't need to worry.

Me: You can expect these kinds of things to happen in a college environment, especially when you're away from home.

Daughter: Mom, these kinds of things are happening in high school. Actually, I saw them in middle school!

Me: We need to get you some pepper spray...

My book & a Giftigami box for Ruby

Where do I start?  I signed up to teach religious education during the week instead of on Sundays because I didn't like the idea of subjecting my students to a substitute teacher when I couldn't make it to class.  The 2013-14 school year consisted of about 26 classes, and I knew I was going to be out some weekends for parent duties.  My daughter was a senior in high school, so there would be weekend trips to various colleges for music auditions in her major.

My class was held on Tuesday evenings, and I was expecting a small class of sixth graders.  On the first day I had two students, a seventh and eighth grader.  Sister T expected more to show up later, but I never had more than three students, the third being a sixth grader. I was unable to use the sixth grade textbook from previous years because my seventh grader, Emily, had been a student of mine the previous year. Instead of teaching about the Old Testament, I decided to teach the New Testament.

My sixth grader quit coming after two or three classes, and Sister T said it was because her non-Catholic family members objected to Catholic indoctrination. Around December, my eighth grader missed classes until late March the following year due to after school practice for orchestra, so I had one student: Emily. In late March, Emily switched from Tuesday evening classes to Sunday morning classes due to a conflict with after school sports activities, so Ruby was my only student.

Most of the year I made the drive from home to the church for just one student, but it was well worth the 26 hours I spent to teach them about the life and teachings of Jesus. I applaud their parents/guardians for making religious education a priority for the sake of their children's eternal souls.