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Matthew Kelly: On Faith and Fatherhood

I had the pleasure of interviewing internationally known author, motivational speaker and lifelong Catholic Matthew Kelly for the August issue of St. Anthony Messenger. 

Many know the Australian-born Matthew as a dynamic and impassioned voice in the Catholic world, but I was disarmed by how grounded he was. Though he spoke at length about his worldwide travels and best-selling books, Matthew seemed more enlivened talking about his wife, Meggie, and his son, Walter. (They are expecting a baby girl this month.) 

Below is a snippet of our interview. 

A. I give the same advice to people of all ages: Explore the faith, read great Catholic books, listen to great Catholic speakers. If you have a question or a doubt, explore it rather than letting it fester. Dive in deep to an issue that you have questions about or disagree with. It is there that you will discover the genius of Catholicism.

A. Disengagement is a huge problem in the Church across all age groups. When 70 percent of Catholics don’t go to church on Sunday, isn’t it time we did something? I think it is. The most successful program we have for reengaging disengaged Catholics is our parish book program. In 2008 we started making copies of Rediscover Catholicism available in bulk to parishes for just $2 a copy so they could pass them out at Christmas Masses. It is our opportunity to re-engage them, and we didn’t want them going home empty-handed. Books change our lives. It’s amazing how a good book can bring someone back to the Church. Only one percent of American Catholics read a Catholic book last year. That has to change if we are going to energize Catholics and increase the level of engagement in the Church. 

A. What I love most is the privilege of watching my son, Walter, grow and develop. The development of a child is a wonderful testament to the loving genius of God that exists in every aspect of nature, but especially in the human person. 

Matthew Kelly and son, Walter

A. That his mother, Meggie, and I love him, that we live for him, that in small ways each day we are willing to lay down our lives for him. Through this I hope he develops an appreciation of our faith and God’s dream for him to become the best version of himself.  

A. The same words of encouragement I speak to myself from time to time in my work, in my marriage and in my parenting: Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do. 

On 7.22.2011, the rest of the article will be found here. 

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Featured image: Arvind Balaraman
Inset image: Ronald S. Riegler

Christopher Heffron is the assistant editor of St. Anthony Messenger, a position he has held since 2001. A seeker at heart, he loves music, film, good writing, pop culture and quality time spent with family and friends. blog comments powered by

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Homegrown Faith and Family

A couple of weeks ago I was blessed with the birth of my third grandchild. As I stood there watching my daughter labor for 13 hours, I was once again awed with the miracle of birth and overwhelmed with emotion. A second generation of children for me to love. How lucky am I!

It will be interesting to watch my children raise their children. What kind of parents will they be? I am hoping that they will give their children a strong foundation to stand on–a foundation based on God’s love, the security of a loving home and the freedom to be independent.

It is the same foundation I tried to give to my children. Sure there were days when I stumbled–I would even say failed–at giving my children all that they needed. But always, God’s love was the foundation in our house and through His grace we raised a family. In my role as a grandmother, I intend to share with my growing family our established values and traditions.

For example, birthdays; if you are in our family, we celebrate! It’s not about the presents as much as gathering as a family to eat together and share a few laughs and celebrate the birthday of a loved one. Christmas is celebrated with much tradition and family unity. Christmastime is when I am most grateful for God’s blessings and my family.

I hope I will have more grandchildren. Once we were a family of five–two girls and one boy. Now we are a family of 12. Who knows how many more little miracles we will add to our family in five years!

But enough about me. If you want to read a good book about faith and family you might want to try this new book coming out in August–Homegrown Faith, Nurturing Your Catholic Family.  Author Heidi Bratton invites you into her home, where she’ll show you where to find God–right inside the busyness of modern family life. A series of insightful and often humorous weekly reflections on raising faithful Catholic families, Homegrown Faith draws on familiar situations.

Tammy Monjaras serves the St. Anthony Messenger Press as the Division Director of Customer Satisfaction. As an avid reader herself she loves speaking to customers about the latest books St. Anthony Messenger Press offers. Tammy is a native Texan but has called Cincinnati home for the past 15 years with her husband Richard, three children and 2 grandchildren. blog comments powered by

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