St. Joseph’s Covenant Keepers
www.dads.org 

The folks at St. Joseph’s Covenant Keepers see fatherlessness as the most harmful trend in modern society. I agree. But these folks aren’t just bemoaning the fact; they are doing something about it.

Lots of Christian men are seeing the need to take the lead in building strong families. Evangelical Protestants have organized Promise Keepers which attracts many thousands to their rallies. But Steve Wood saw the need for a distinctively Catholic equivalent, hence the founding of St. Joseph’s Covenant Keepers.

A nice, pithy, easily-remembered Web address opens into a very helpful site. Covenant Keepers airs a daily radio show, hosted by Wood, which you may or may not be able to receive in your area; but either way, you can listen to the show right here off the Internet.

There is a nice selection of official Church documents specifically on fatherhood, marriage, and the family. You might be surprised just how much the Church has to say about the spiritual qualities of marriage and the responsibilities and benefits parents have in raising their families.

Sign up for a free newsletter from the site in order to keep up to date with the latest from Covenant Keepers. By all means, check out their calendar of conference dates so that you (if you are a man) or the men in your life can get to one this year. And if you are truly intrepid, let Covenant Keepers help you organize a men’s study group in your area.

Questions! Questions! Questions!
(Catholics Should Ask Jehovah’s Witnesses)
www.webshowplace.com/question/home.htm 

I remember when I was a kid that even my own solidly Christian family members got a little flustered when the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) would come to the door with a satchel full of tracts and a repertoire of reasons why Jesus is not God. It is not always easy to know how to respond to these folks, especially on the fly. What’s called for is a little prior preparation.

JWs are instructed not to look at literature not published by the Watchtower Society, so counter-apologists need to focus on their own materials. Fortunately, the author of this site provides you with some wonderful material gleaned directly from JW publications. “Ask questions, questions, questions,” he says. And he’s provided you with some serious apologetic ammunition.

A very serious issue handled in detail on this site is the issue of child custody in the case of one spouse becoming involved in the Witnesses. This site provides a lot of sober counsel and direction toward necessary resources.

In my own experience, Jehovah’s Witness missionaries will bug out pretty quickly when they sense that they are faced with a knowledgeable Catholic who forces them to answer the tough questions. So make some printouts of the material on this site, maybe put some notes in your Bible, and get ready to help steer somebody away from this cult and toward the fullness of the Catholic Faith.

Rachel’s Vineyard
www.rachelsvineyard.org

Our post-modern society is only just beginning to realize the terrible emotional and spiritual effects of abortion. And the pain of abortion does not effect only the woman who has had one; husbands, boyfriends, parents, and grandparents are frequently bound up in this tragedy. Thousands of people walk around feeling depressed, angry, scared, guilty, numb, or suicidal after an event that they were led to believe would be the “best thing” or “no big deal.”

Rachel’s Vineyard is an organization founded to help anyone, man or woman, who is suffering emotionally from the after-effects of abortion. Weekend retreats are held throughout the country to help individuals; the time and location of these is at your fingertips on this site. Confidential help is available through e-mail or by a toll free phone number.

The stories on this site are incredible. Get on as soon as possible and read them! It is moving to read the testimonials of people who have kept feelings of deep guilt and shame locked up inside for ten, fifteen, even twenty years before finding relief at a retreat. And it is a reminder that abortion is not just lethal for babies; it’s awful for women. Our society tries to get us to believe that there are no victims here. These stories put the lie to that notion; they will definitely help one remain staunchly committed to being 100% prolife.

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David Palm can be reached at djpalm64@yahoo.com