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1 month ago | 
laurakellyfanucci.substack.com | Laura Kelly Fanucci |Stephanie Duncan Smith
Want to do something good in the midst of everything terrible?Join our Compassion Brigade fundraiser for Catholic Relief Services. We’ve already raised over $34,000 to support the humanitarian work of CRS around the world that has been devastated by cuts to USAID. Special thanks to Meg Hunter-Kilmer, Rakhi McCormick, Julie Walsh, and Chris Damian who made this communal effort possible. We’ll keep the fundraiser going through Lent so folks can continue to support it with their almsgiving.
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Jan 22, 2025 | 
incourage.me | Laura Kelly Fanucci |Anna Rendell |Becky Keife |Dawn Camp
I was standing at the kitchen sink, elbow-deep in suds (and silent complaints) when I heard the message, loud and strong. Slow down. Look up. The words rang clear as a bell in my mind. All day and all week (maybe all year?) I had been grousing and venting, feeling overwhelmed and overworked as a new mother. Back then we had two children, a toddler and a baby, and their constant needs wore down my patience and energy every day.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
thedialog.org | Laura Kelly Fanucci
During my husband’s years in business school, he learned about the power of the “nudge”: how to form a new habit by connecting it to a habit you already have. This practice changed my life, because (apologies to my dentist) the nudge is the only way I started flossing regularly. He explained the nudge as we stood in our bathroom staring at the toothbrush holder.
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Oct 11, 2024 | 
oursundayvisitor.com | Laura Kelly Fanucci
For example, start by noticing what you already do at home to mark the changing seasons in the Church: Advent candles, Christmas or Easter decorations or special food for holidays. You might try adding one or two practices in the coming year to deepen your celebration of the liturgical seasons. One easy idea is to change your prayer habits each month. Start your daily prayer with the Hail Mary in October, in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary.
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Oct 10, 2024 | 
thedialog.org | Laura Kelly Fanucci
Over the past 15 years, I’ve witnessed the rise of “liturgical living” in Catholic circles. Websites, social media, books, home décor and subscription boxes abound to help families celebrate the church year at home — with party supplies and recipes for every feast day under the sun. But liturgical living is for adults, too.
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Sep 13, 2024 | 
thedialog.org | Laura Kelly Fanucci
Every week my sons stand in the pew at Mass. Like stairsteps, all five in a row by age and height. Or like a motley crew, mixed together by shapes and sizes. Five boys in the midst of becoming men. They are the reason why the short line tucked within the Nicene Creed catches me with a lump in the throat: “… and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”We bow at this line, and rightly so. The marvel and mystery of the Incarnation asks every knee to bend.
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Sep 12, 2024 | 
irishcatholic.com | Laura Kelly Fanucci
Every week my sons stand in the pew at Mass. Like stairsteps, all five in a row by age and height. Or like a motley crew, mixed together by shapes and sizes. Five boys in the midst of becoming men. They are the reason why the short line tucked within the Nicene Creed catches me with a lump in the throat, “… and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”We bow at this line, and rightly so. The marvel and mystery of the Incarnation asks every knee to bend.
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Sep 9, 2024 | 
catholicreview.org | Laura Kelly Fanucci
Every week my sons stand in the pew at Mass. Like stairsteps, all five in a row by age and height. Or like a motley crew, mixed together by shapes and sizes. Five boys in the midst of becoming men. They are the reason why the short line tucked within the Nicene Creed catches me with a lump in the throat: “… and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”We bow at this line, and rightly so. The marvel and mystery of the Incarnation asks every knee to bend.
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Jul 15, 2024 | 
incourage.me | Laura Kelly Fanucci |Anna Rendell |Becky Keife |Dawn Camp
I saw the notification for a missed call from my brother. No voice mail, no follow-up text. My heart dropped. Something terrible must have happened. Panicked, I called him back right away. He picked up laughing. “Sorry!” he said. “I didn’t mean to freak you out. I didn’t even mean to call!”“But,” he added, “it happened at the most chaotic moment of my morning, so I figured you would’ve been the perfect person anyway.”We laughed long and hard. I peeled my anxiety off the ceiling.
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Jun 16, 2024 | 
thedialog.org | Laura Kelly Fanucci
Watch what parents do when they pick up a baby. Whether a swaddled newborn, a smiling infant or a squirmy toddler, parents start to sway when they hold their child. Swaying is our primal rhythm, the instinct to move in order to calm and comfort. Slow, steady rocking can soothe a baby, relax their body, soften their cries and even lull them to sleep. Watch what happens when parents add another child to the family. You’ll see both parents swaying, sometimes bumping into each other.
