Steubenville, Ohio, Dec 2, 2018 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- When Mike and Alice Hernon started their podcast on marriage and family in 2015, they didn’t think anyone would listen, outside of their family and maybe a few close friends.
Both from big families – Alice the second of 10 siblings, and Mike one of six – and parents of 10 children themselves, the Hernons would often get asked for parenting advice at extended family gatherings.
At the urging of their siblings who were benefiting from their advice, the Hernons started a marriage and family podcast.
“At the beginning if you listen to our first two or three episodes, we kind of start off by saying something like, there are probably just like five of our brothers and sisters and their friends listening,” Alice told CNA.
But over the past three years, the podcast grew from a small fanbase of friends and family to 10,000 listeners per month.
“We literally did zero marketing! We didn’t do anything” to promote the podcast, Alice said.
“We didn’t have time,” Mike added. They were too busy with work and with their own family life.
Sensing a growing need among parents and families for guidance and support, and with the support and partnership with Our Sunday Visitor Institute, Alice and Mike have decided to expand their podcast into a full-time marriage and family ministry called The Messy Family Project.
In addition to the podcast, the Hernons will now offer their advice, support and encouragement through videos, downloadable resources, and live events such as retreats and workshops.
“One of our taglines is: ‘we’re not experts’ because neither of us have counseling degrees, we’re not professors, we’re not doctors,” Alice said. “We are really just older parents who are ahead of most of the people who are listening to us, so what we want to do is just kind of give that encouragement, that practical advice, but without being dogmatic.”
They’ve gained their wisdom from their own families of origin, from years of experience raising their own children (who are now ages 6-23), and from the teachings of the Catholic Church, and from interacting with families through various ministries over the years.
Their mission: “to empower parents, strengthen marriages and bring families to Christ.”
This mission has been on the hearts of the Hernons for a while, Mike said, because “we believe it’s more challenging to raise children today than maybe it ever has been.”
They offer their wisdom as older siblings who have been there, rather than as parents of a different generation, Mike said.
“There are challenges that our parents didn’t have,” he said, “everything from technology to all of the cultural issues that are bearing on our children and our family life.”
They wanted to offer their support and advice for Catholic families to build their own unique cultures instead, which will look different depending on the individual family, Mike said.
“We don’t try to say – this is the perfect plan. We try to share experiences, also the principles from the Church, because we believe the Church is an expert in humanity, an expert in real living.”
Creating a strong, welcoming and unique family culture, built on a Catholic identity, is one of the best ways to combat the cultural messages that are antithetical to Catholicism and family life today, the Hernons said. “The best defense is a good offense,” Mike said.
“Our ‘offense’ is creating your own family culture,” Alice said.
“Families need to not allow their children to be influenced by the world’s culture more than by their own family culture, because when you create your own family culture…that culture is a very powerful influence on our children because it’s an unspoken set of beliefs and expectations.”
A strong family culture also allows parents to enforce values without being judgmental of other families, Alice said.
“Because when a child says, ‘Oh well Susie is allowed to wear that dress to prom,’ you can say ‘Yeah, but Susie’s not a Hernon, and this is who we are,’” she said.
Family culture is communicated primarily through relationships, the Hernons said – the relationship of the parents with each other, the relationships parents have with individual children, and then the relationships children have with each other.
“The grace for your family flows from the sacrament of marriage,” Mike said.
“More is caught than taught, and kids need to see what that marriage looks like, and you model for them in so many ways what true love is, what it means to lay down your life, what it means to have a vocation, a mission of service.”
The Messy Family Project offers resources that cover a wide variety of topics related to family culture – including discipline, growing spiritually as a family, managing screen time, fostering sibling relationships, strengthening marriages, and building community with other like-minded families.
These resources include downloadable worksheets for parents to work through together, because spouses are each other’s own best parenting resource, the Hernons said.
“One of our themes is that parents need to work together and listen to each other as the experts,” Alice said. “More than they listen to us, more than they listen to anybody else out there, they need to listen to each other. So we have worksheets for parents to go through and have conversations with each other.”
Much of the Hernons’ inspiration comes from Pope St. John Paul II, and his teachings on marriage and family.
“Each family finds within itself a summons that cannot be ignored and that specifies both its dignity and responsibility: family, become what you are!” Pope John Paul II said in his 1981 apostolic exhortation Familiaris consortio.
That quote “sums up the goal” of The Messy Family Project, Mike said in a press release.
The Hernons said they are also inspired by St. Mother Teresa and the Little Flower of Therese, who found joy and holiness even in the little things of life.
They are also inspired by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, who said in a 2017 address: “When young people ask me how to change the world, I tell them to love each other, get married, stay faithful to one another, have lots of children, and raise those children to be men and women of Christian character. Faith is a seed. It doesn’t flower overnight. It takes time and love and effort.”
Alice said she hopes Catholic families can find inspiration and hope, even in troubling times in the Church and in the world, through The Messy Family Project.
“I think a lot of times, Catholics look at the (Church sex abuse) scandals and say – ‘How can we change the Church?’”
“That’s important and we need to do that, but start with your family. That’s the most influence you can have, is over your family, and I think that people forget that.”
[…]
One less katholic mortification to shoulder…how many more to go?
Shocking! Who could have possibly seen this coming? Maybe Kamala will pick Michelle Obama as a VP, get 8, then Michelle can get 8. That would be 30 years for the Obama’s controlling the White House. Not too shabby…
They might do better with Michelle at the top of the ticket! Whatever the outcome this election will probably be a loss for Christians and democracy.
I would love to see how much communication goes from the administration of the 46th President to the 44th President. It’s not like Obama never evaded the restrictions of his authority before (DACA, etc) before, so why should the 22nd Amendment get in the way?
It’s sayonara time for the meat puppet! Joe Robinette Biden has FINALLY bit the dust; and he won’t be back and he WON”T be missed. Ain’t it amazing? That Biden lasted as long as he did with all the baggage he carried was truly astounding. Reputed to be a serial plagiarist by some pundits and the United State’s most mediocre politician extant by other pundits plus his well-earned reputation as a many-times-over incredible liar-in-chief by many others seem to have done him in. And then his cultivated (by him) reputation as a “Devoted Catholic;” woe, that’s one for the books! Especially that meme about how much he did to deliver the goods for women who desired “healthcare” while Biden worked OVERTIME to legalize abortion for all the pregnant women. GOOD RIDDANCE to Joe B. Now bring in Kamala; Can’t wait for the verbal bloodshed about to ensue @ the hands of Donald J. Trump.God bless all.- RITE_TURN ROGER
I say adios to the weak president. He needs much consoling from us Catholics. After nearly 5 decades in the congress and higher office later he had his time. Hopefully he will now have the time to reflect on his abortion stance wth counceling from his Cardinal.
You say “his well-earned reputation as a many-times-over incredible liar-in-chief by many others seem to have done him in”. That is seriously out of reality. Trump has the corner of prolific liars. We Catholic politicals seem to cast HATE on anyone in opposition when in decline. Remember, some day we ALL will face our creator.
“Trump has the corner of prolific liars.”
From what you’ve said in other comments, you are in your 70s (or older?). Were you around in the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s, etc.? Biden’s lying, plagiarizing, bullying, and related actions are possibly unequaled in terms of batty craziness and sheer quantity. Anyone who paid attention to his 1988 presidential campaign, or the Bork hearings, or the Thomas hearings, knows that his relationship with truth is somewhere in the “seventh cousin twice removed” category. You can start here for lists of a few hundred of Biden’s lies.
Ok, can reply now. I am not going to defend Biden. I will give some critical lies of major consequence by each.
Factcheck, Associated Press and Forbes:
Biden: he seems to issue exaggerations and embellishments rather than outright lies. “Maybe”.
TRUMP: President Donald Trump told 30,573 false or misleading statements over 4 years. Based on this number, he is clearly a prolific liar.
Trump said there were a small number of “PROPLE” at the Capitol on 1/6. That’s false. The attack on the U.S. Capitol was the deadliest assault on the seat of American power in over 200 years. As thoroughly documented by video, photographs and people who were there, thousands of people descended on Capitol Hill in what became a brutal scene of hand-to-hand combat with police. (also, Trump said “I am your retribution, I will pardon the convicted hostages”.
Trump Charlottesville: After the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017: “I think there are fine people on both sides.”
MILITARY DEATHS
BIDEN: “The truth is, I’m the only president this century that doesn’t have any — this decade — any troops dying anywhere in the world like he did.” FALSE. At least 16 service members have been killed in hostile action since Biden took office in January 2021. On Aug. 26, 2021, 13 died during a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.
COVID
Science America:
Trump: More than 400,000 Americans died of COVID-19 under Trump’s watch. I don’t remember hearing that number, but I do remember how he acted and what Trump said. “it will just go away. You could inject a houshold cleaner to clear your lungs”.
The border
Trump and Biden: Trump tried to build a wall taking $3 billion from the military budget which was appropriated for improving the the housing for military families. Biden waited until it was too late and had to issue an executive order.
Social Security
Both candidates erred on Social Security, with Biden incorrectly saying that Trump “wants to get rid” of the program, and Trump falsely alleging that Biden will “wipe out” Social Security due to the influx of people at the border.
Given this scenario who could you vote for? VP Harris now seems to be the “ONLY” probable candidate. She knew of such.
https://www.factcheck.org/2024/06/factchecking-the-biden-trump-debate/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidmarkowitz/2021/04/30/who-lied-more-during-their-first-100-days-biden-trump-or-obama/
Donald Trump debating Kamala Harris.
I repeat:
Donald Trump debating Kamala Harris.
Sacre Bleu!!
Debates are about the dumbest inventions ever. They explicate nothing of substance. A poll taken of the Nixon/Kennedy debate on radio gave the majority approval winning the debate to Nixon; those watching on TV gave the majority approval to Kennedy. Says an awful lot about appearances over substance. And, besides, any debate conducted by the Big Media is totally biased. Lastly, voting in this country has been debased by a. Early voting; b. Voting by mail; c. Allowing illegals to vote; d. Not requiring a photo id to vote e. Allowing the dead to cast a ballot.
I agree, Statesmen should not be reduced to showmen.
But better than a duel?
I submit to you, that for all the reason you cited, and the vast amount of people dependent upon the federal government for significant and conspicuous benefits, some in the projects, some on Main Street, some on K Street and Wall Street-all elections are rigged.
Mencken may have been a cynical nihilist; but that dim view of life made him a rather perspicuous expositor of government. His quip about ever election neing an auction in advance of stolen goods seems to have aged well.
I must disagree – the Biden-Trump debate showed the whole world what has been obvious for a few years now but the democrats were trying to hide it – Joe Biden is in advanced cognitive decline and it will not get better – it will only get worse.
I find the fact that he is the President and that Kamala Harris stands in the doorway waiting for the sign frightening.
Pray for our country
The puppet just happened to drop out on National Ice Cream Day. You can’t make this stuff up.
I remember the “what is the ice cream flavor” questions from the press early on – really digging deep
Now if we can only get Pope Francis to resign!
The tables are turned. Now it’s Trump who is too old to be POTUS.
It’s not a question of numerical age. Biden has senile dementia, Trump does not.
I liked how Trump remembered and brought that union guy up on stage in Grand Rapids. This EV thing will help him in MI, I believe.
Organized abortion in the US is the murder of American children killing the Union. Legalized abortion at any stage in pregnancy, is, lying about it using corrupted law.
Now we are in the present looking at the future. Whether or not he gets elected, Trump has taken his place, his turn, managing the baby killing. And telling lies. Later he might want to be the “hero who moderately came back in pro-life” and brought others along too; when everything else will supposed to have been water under the bridge.
I think that Trump will still win, but Harris will be more competitive. Look for Trump to win, but by a smaller margin. Interestingly, Trump is now the “old one.”
He’ll have to get up at the debate and say” I will not use my opponent’s youth and inexperience…” (who already used that line in another debate?)
The tables are turned. Now it’s Trump who’s too old to be POTUS.
Listen up Democrats! Forget the President like he has forgotten you. It’s over. Put on your masks, take another vaccine and get behind Harris! Stop acting like you voted for someone else! Honestly, enough! The big donors amd media have spoken. Please do what you are told – it’s for your own good.
Athanasius: Your 3:12 a.m. – “You can’t make this stuff up.”
Sorry, but I gotta disagree – and it’s gonna get worse.
BTW – my favorite Ice Cream is vanilla w/specks and just a tad of maple syrup.
Yummm!!
Yes, that’s my fear, but I will try to remain hopeful. Maybe we can all go where we haven’t been unburdened by what has been 🙄.
Even though it sounds benign, vanity for the new is the definition of evil.
Try sprinkling a few salted peanuts on that vanilla ice cream & maple syrup Mr. Terrence. (It’s good with cane syrup, too.)
Will do
Russel. Trump may still convince his MAGA bunch that he is mentally sound. We can’t forget the sinking electric boat and the shark at a campaign stop in Detroit. He could not remember his WH doctor’s name. Randy Johnson in stead of Ronnie Jackson. More importantly, he lied profusly.
Some Factchecks:
Immigration
Immigrants are “coming from prisons, they’re coming from jails, they’re coming from mental institutions and insane asylums.” False!
The jobs that are created under Biden, “107 percent of those jobs are taken by illegal aliens.” Mostly false.
Economy
During my presidency, we had “the best economy in the history of our country, in the history of the world … We had no inflation, soaring incomes.”
False.
Crime
“Our crime rate is going up.” Mostly False. Violent crimes are down markedly.
Taxes, Social Security and Medicare
The Biden administration is “the only administration that said we’re going to raise your taxes by four times what you’re paying now.”
False.
Electric vehicles
Trump: “They spent $9 billion on eight chargers.”
False. “drill baby, drill”.
He is truly unfit for office. Just ask our Catholic clergy!!
With the belated announcement that Kamala Harris will be the new candidate, our options are few.
God save the union.
Sorry for my misspelling, Russell.
Your choice of facts about DT is very selective. Trump reversed Roe V Wade. How many thousands of children are alive because of him. Compare with lying Joe and his partial birth abortion position. Biden is a congenital liar! Jan. 6 Trump did not try to control the military or the communication system both necessary for a coup. From his first day of Presidency he was accused of being a Russia spy. False of course AND WHAT A LIE! They have tried to murder him. Does not count I guess. Stop watching MSNBC and CNN. You will think more clearly
Even though it sounds benign, vanity for the new is the definition of evil.
I don’t think Kamala Harris will beat Donald Trump–unless Christians throw away their votes for an unknown “Christan Candidate” who has no chance of winning. VP Harris has no record of accomplishments, and her main platform seems to be greater abortion availability on the taxpayers’ dime. She is making a big deal out of being black, even though she is also half Indian (her mom is from India). NBC News (secular news) this morning (7/22) included a discussion of her failure to accomplish anything when she was assigned to do something about the massive influx of immigrants flooding the southern border. There’s really nothing that VP Harris can take credit for during her tenure as VP other than really pushing hard for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. She has no notable accomplishments as a Senator and only served a very short term before Pres. Biden selected her for his running mate. She was an Attorney General in California and had some accomplishments that would be acceptable to many Christians. I know a lot of Christians are mad at Pres. Trump for what they called backsliding on the abortion issue (he has stated that abortion should be legal for rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother), and they disapprove of his past affairs with women, but to reject him for this and throw away the vote for some 3rd party candidate who will be lucky to get a few thousand votes–that’s just foolishness, especially when Pres. Trump has shown himself to be a good father by raising several respectable and accomplished children. As for his sexual sins–all we know is what his enemies and the media have told us. I personally think that Pres. Biden’s and VP Harris’ sins of calling for virtually-unrestricted abortion rights are much greater than “fooling around.” Don’t be a dreamer–be wise when you vote this November. And remember to vote for local and state candidates who will be friendly towards the life issues.
Now that Biden is out of the race, Americans can now rightly focus on Trump’s equally problematic age given the state of his mental health (bizarrely talking about sharks, electrocution, or Hannibal Lecter) which many simply did not give attention to earlier. No wonder some of Trump’s sychopants now want Biden to stay on the ballot.
For all Trump’s and Biden’s gaffes, Trump has so far not lost his mental ability to logically sequence. So far, at least, Trump’s talk about sharks has not led to an auntie killing; recall Joe claiming to have killed Medicare. Neither has Trump yet claimed that a cannibal has eaten a relative.
Biden’s “age” was raised by many as a POLITE and civil and decent way of saying Biden had lost his ability to parse an idea out of his addled brain and into his mouth, tongue, and lips in order to communicate a basic sensible thought.
Mrs. Whitlock above – Yes, how is Kamala Harris Black? I’d say she’s half-Black or of mixed race (ditto Obama, BTW). This seems to me to be a throwback to “the bad old days” when a person who had six drops- or was it sixteen? – of Black blood was considered Coloured or Negro or whatever the word was back then. I find it rather tiresome, maybe racist even.
Cleo;
I remember when she dropped out of the presidential race in 2020 – one of the things she said was “America is not ready for a woman of color to be president”. That was the first time I knew that she was a ‘woman of color’ – when she played the race/gender guilt card.
There was a movie about 25-26 years back entitled ‘The American President’. The part was played by Michael Douglas and at the end he gave a speech in which he intoned the phrase “We have serious problems and we need serious people to solve them” – he said it twice.
There is a recent video with Michael Douglas saying that he strongly believes that Joe Biden is fully capable and “all there” as the saying goes.
There are multiple videos of Kamala Harris laughing in her unique way.
I think the old rule was “one drop” and that really applied more in Anglo society.
Mrs. Harris has ancestry from at least 3 continents.
Many of us in the US & former colonies have a similar complex ancestry but can fly under the radar more easily than Kamala Harris can.
Democrats across the country whose right to vote in primary elections has essentially been taken from them should be incensed at this turn of events. This isn’t something that just happened– anyone could have seen it coming, and one can only wonder if the whole process has been orchestrated by party bosses– or who knows who else? The only thing that would have been more obvious would have been if Biden had actually run, been re-elected, and resigned a month or two after his inauguration. I’ve been saying that this was a massive game of chicken, and the Democrats finally blinked.
What’s circulating on X -:
“Adam Parkhomenko on X: Biden calls into campaign HG”
https://x.com/AdamParkhomenko/status/1815506424094462027
Said to be the real thing.
There are other slices of the event, posted on YOUTUBE, with VP Harris, etc.
Trump will likely win in November and occupy the White House in January. That said, he will be facing some serious problems, such Hamas in Gaza, Russia in Ukraine, and of course China. Trump will be Commander-in-Chief and in charge. He will not be able to blame other people for things going wrong. Blaming Biden will not suffice as an excuse.
All the bombastic horse manure he shovels will not solve any real problems. It might impress the rubes in Alabama, but it will not impress the Chinese who are smart and tough. Time to get serious and knock off the bombastic rhetoric and get to work.
Were you unconscious during the Trump administration? He NEVER blamed anyone else for the decisions he needed to make. One of my favorite Trump moments was when he sent our bombers to destroy the Syrian air force after they had gassed to death their own Kurdish citizens. Nor did he ever shy away from controversy, as when he told critics to take a hike and FINALLY moved the US embassy to Jerusalem. As for his bombastic style, I dont mind it. He was forced to deal with dictators and thugs on the world stage and toughness is something they both respect and fear.Do you think they didnt notice he took a shot to the head and rose up to tell his voters to “Fight”??? Let me tell you, they NOTICED. The US is not Switzerland, you know? Better someone bombastic who can take care of business than someone who is senile, or an idiot. For me , I will vote for someone who is strong and unafraid and puts America first. A president who acts like Miss Manners I can live without. Trump in 2024!
The Swiss may practice neutrality but they’re not pacifists.
I agree though that President Trump knows how to deal with unpleasant people and he does that without starting wars.
You seem to think that Trump is some junior varsity messiah, keep drinking the Kool Aid.
More tax cuts for the rich. That’s the real deal. I personally may benefit from him, as my portfolio may increase. But I do not support him.