Right now is a difficult time for nearly every family I know. Parents are stressed. Teens are depressed. Kids are anxious. Studies on mental health back this up with statistics, but start a conversation with friends, family, neighbors or parishioners and you'll soon hear stories of struggle and suffering.
"When I show up to church late, everyone stares and glares. When I show up to a meeting late, everyone stands and applauds -- because they know I almost didn't make it."
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.
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.
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.
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.
When you are a parent, you clock many hours in the back of churches. Pacing with fussy babies. Corralling rambunctious toddlers. Calming down restless children.
My son stands in the center of his bedroom, wailing to the heavens while his sleepy brothers tuck into bunk beds. Tonight, there has been no time for stories, since the family party ran late. But I hadn't expected bedtime tears, so I scramble for a consolation prize.
The power of a ‘nudge’ to pray