| Marriage & Family Life
"New Website Full of Resources"
The Marriage & Family Life Office is pleased to announce that we have launched our new website where you can find direct information and important links to marriage preparation, family resources, marriage issues and respect life issues.
There is something for everyone on the site including: the options for marriage preparation including retreat dates,timely information from the USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat, and information and resources relate to marriage and family life. Take some time to look at it today!
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Greetings!
Happy Easter! As we continue to rejoice in our risen Lord, we are pleased to share with you some new developments in our ministries. This month, a new Marriage & Family life website has been launched. We have also added a section to our newsletter devoted to supporting and building Strong Catholic Families. We hope that the articles in this newsletter are helpful to you!
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Worship
"Prayer & Worship"
Coming before our Lord during times of gratitude and in times of sorrow is a way of life. Prayer and worship is very personal and how it is done varies greatly. One thing is for sure, it is a conversation in which we recognize that we are transparent before our God and can hide nothing. Some embrace beautiful prayers of old and others enjoy the discipline of the rosary. Whatever your style, it starts
with the understanding of what prayer and worship strive to be. For more information about prayer and to see a list of prayers, visit the USCCB website.
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Respect Life
"Comfort and Resources for Couples Struggling with Infertility"
Struggling with infertility is a painful and difficult journey for many couples. It's hard to know where to turn to for assistance and support. It is also difficult when physicians recommend IVF and other painful and invasive procedures that also go against what the Catholic Church teaches. There are other medical techniques out there that provide answers and alternatives to these procedures but they are not widely known. To find some resources and support for Catholic couples struggling with infertility, visit the new Marriage & Family Life website here.
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Evangelization & Catechesis 
"Statement on Religious Freedom and HHS Mandate"
Want to know why the bishops are fighting the HHS insurance mandate?
The following article is an excerpt from the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops statement from March 14, 2012 that helps explain the bishops' position.
The Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, gathered for its March 2012 meeting, is strongly unified and intensely focused in its opposition to the various threats to religious freedom in our day. In our role as Bishops, we approach this question prayerfully and as pastors-concerned not only with the protection of the Church's own institutions, but with the care of the souls of the individual faithful, and with the common good.
To address the broader range of religious liberty issues, we look forward to the upcoming publication of "A Statement on Religious Liberty," a document of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty. This document reflects on the history of religious liberty in our great Nation; surveys the current range of threats to this foundational principle; and states clearly the resolve of the Bishops to act strongly, in concert with our fellow citizens, in its defense.
You can read the rest of this article here.
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Youth & Young Adult Ministry
"Confirmation Means a Transformation of the Spirit" 
Last week's National Catholic Reporter featured an article from Bishop Gumbleton about Confirmation. The following is an excerpt from that article or you can read the entire article.
I'm sure sometimes people wonder, why do I do that? Because, after all, they have prepared over a period of time and they're dressed up in their confirmation robes and everybody's here to celebrate with them, and so why would I ask the question, "Do you want to be confirmed?" Well, the reason I do -- and this is important for the candidates especially, but for all of us because we can remember our own confirmation and what it means.
When you say, "Yes, I want to be confirmed," think about it: What are you saying yes to? You might think, Well, it's a ceremony, and we'll go through a ritual -- the ceremony -- and it'll be all over in 45 minutes or so. Then we leave and that's it. But that's not it, is it? When you say, "I want to be confirmed," you're really saying yes, not to a ceremony, but to Jesus. You're saying, "I want to follow Jesus Christ. I want to be his disciple just like those first disciples who dropped everything and followed Jesus."
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Strong Catholic Families
"Sticky Faith"
Research shows that parents are the most influential factors in the faith lives of their children. While we know this to be true, how do we support parents in their role? There was an article in Group Magazine last fall that focused on "Sticky Faith Conversations" - how parents can talk to their children about faith in a way that makes it "stick". In the article, Kara Powell and Brad Griffin share some practical tips for parents on how to talk with their children about faith.
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