Danielle Bean

Catholic Writer and Speaker

Catholic Dad Blogs

by Filed Under: Links 32 Comments

Carrie writes:

Do you know of any good Catholic men’s blogs, similar to yours, only for men? I know there are men’s blogs about theology and other Catholic topics, but my husband and I can’t seem to find any for the vocation of fatherhood/ husband. This would be a great link to share for Father’s Day!

Great idea! My husband is not much of a blog-reader (I think he reads mine — well, not always) but I know of a few dad-focused sites to get us started:

Catholic Dads: over 50 contributors (though most aren’t active)
Sardonic Catholic Dad: father of 11, avid runner, American Idol live-blogger
Creative Minority Report: brothers blog about Catholicism, politics, and fatherhood
Bettnet: a family-focused, masculine blog by a dad who loves his two sweet little girls

What Catholic dad sites are there?

[tags]catholic dads, dad blogs, catholic fatherhood[/tags]

Comments

  1. Yeah, it’s interesting how much harder it is to find Catholic dad blogs that are mainly about family life. Politics, theology, Church news, social criticism… that’s what you tend to see. And frankly, a lot of the male blogs tend more towards the negative and/or sarcastic in tone. We can opine on why that is, but regardless, I find that most of the blogs I enjoy are written by women. But that’s just me.

    It’s also interesting how mom bloggers seem to have much more of an online community going, as evidenced by the discussions here and elsewhere.

  3. Catholic dads whose blogs I read: Dale Price, Darwin Catholic (Mr and Mrs Darwin are a husband/wife blog team), Rich Leonardi.

    They all write occasionally about family life; but don’t expect as many cute kids stories as you get from a mom blogger. I think the differences Ryan notes reflect the fundamental differences between men and women. Of course many moms also write about politics, theology, Church news, social criticism but their main focus is usually family life and the domestic sphere. Of course men love their children, but their focus when writing will naturally be broader and will usually be mainly on the broader world. Knowing what I do of men and women, I don’t find that surprising at all. Likewise with the negative tone. Women tend to be more empathetic and are interested in building bridges and communicating while men tend to be more competitive.

    I know I’ve helped my husband tone down the negative tone and the sarcasm in the years since we’ve been married, but he’s still more snarky than I am. And marriage and fatherhood have certainly shifted his writing so that he writes much more about family life. But more of the anecdotes about our daughters end up on my blog and more of the political stuff ends up on his, even though at the dinner table we both enter into the discussions of both topics with equal ardor.

  4. Oh and I’d add that the same thing goes for building community. Women tend to do that, build connections, form circles of friends. Men have friends, no doubt and there is a certain camaraderie you can see among dad bloggers, but not the same sort of community because that’s just not how men are. Its the difference between brotherhood and sisterhood. Just watch and listen to the way the men talk in the living room and the women chat in the kitchen the next time you’re at a big party. I guarantee you’ll notice the same differences in topics, the same differences in attitude and style.

  5. I have to agree with Ryan in that I find some of the men’s blogs very sarcastic and negative.

    The big question is, “What are men looking for from a blog?” Maybe some are just looking for the sacrasm and need a place to be on their soap box about issues that are important to them. But some are looking for a deeper connection. A connection that I believe they should be able to find in their home parish or local Catholic community.

    I think the Church is lacking in its men’s ministry. I don’t think the Knights of Columbus has what they need. (At least not around here for what my husband is looking for. Perhaps in other places men find a deeper connection) I think men need a place to come together and pray and have somewhere to discuss the trials and temptations of their lives.

    I know it is harder for men to form these connections but they do exist and men are quite capable of it. They bear fruit in the mens married and personal life to have this sort of community.

    It is hard though because forming community does not come natural to men and during the time they need it the most the demands of family life are on them and it is hard to get away. I’ve made it a point to give my husband that one night a month to connect with other men to pray and share.

    Lately, women on this blog have brought up many trials their husbands are having and I wonder if some of these men where more connected to other faithful men if it would bring them out of darkness.

    I’d be interested to hear what other men are looking for either in an online community or an “in person” community.

  6. Don’t know of too many Catholic men’s blogs that blog about family life. That doesn’t sound like a guy thing. But there are great conversation style blogs out there, like Boar’s Head Tavern, a Christian blog site, ala bar chat.

  7. I double the vote for
    http://www.quaffsandquibbles.blogspot.com/
    it’s Michelle’s (rosetta stone) hubs and he’s a total dude’s dude (but I read him anyway, ’cause he’s smart and funny and he likes to review beers!). Any guy would be interested in what he has to say.
    Also, he refers to his wife as “The Saint”.
    Come ON! That rocks!

  8. I was going to add my dear husband’s (dprice.blogspot.com), but MelanieB beat me to it. 🙂
    I’ve described it as a “gentleman’s locker room”–all the things men generally talk about (sports, kids, politics, home life) along with the Church. With minimal swearing, of course.

    Her husband’s is pretty good, too.

  11. Thanks for the link, Tina D!

    I write Thoughts of a Regular Guy. I’m a Dad, and that’s very important to me, but I don’t expect my personal trials to be interesting to the broader world, so while I write from the perspective of a father, I don’t write about being a father. Besides, it would mostly just be bragging about how great the Extraordinary Wife and our kids are.

    I can’t speak for other bloggers, but the point of my blog is to be my public voice. Rush Limbaugh has a radio show. Barack Obama has all the media coverage in the world. Michael Pfleger has a parish and almost all the media coverage in the world. Andrew Greeley and Richard McBrien and George Will and host of others can all publish their opinions to a large audience, and get paid for doing so.

    My view is that my opinion not worth less in the market, not expressed less well, and not less worthy of consideration, than any of theirs. I also just have a need to get stuff off my chest.

    Please feel free to come by if that sounds interesting.

  12. At Catholic Dads there is a list with more than 74 Catholic dad’s blogs. That is a wonderful place to start.

    I also am not sure I would agree with comments about men’s blogs being sarcastic and negative. I suspect there is a gender difference here. I find most of the blogs I enjoy are male. This may not mean that men are better or worse, I think it means we are different – which is something to be celebrated.

  14. Danielle thanks for the shout out! You check is in the mail 🙂

    btw – my oldest son goes to ICAS

  15. That would be “your check is in the mail”

    Besides being sarcastic I’m terrible at grammar and spelling

  16. Okay Rob, so now of course you have to email me your last name so I can figure out who your son is and give you the “inside scoop” on his behavior.

  19. Thanks for the link. Lately, I have found it hard to write anything because this year has been very busy. A lot of joy and sadness in the Noisykid family.

    God bless y’all

    dadwithnoisykids

  20. Hi Danielle:

    My wife informed me of this post as I do not (as a general rule) read Catholic “moms’ blogs”. But I do read Catholic “dads’ blogs” and have found a few that might be of interest, especially to Catholic dads who make a point of not reading Catholic “moms’ blogs”. First, I heartily second the recommendation of Dale Price’s Dyspeptic Mutterings and Rich Leonardi’s Observations of Seditious Catechist, tho’ the latter seems to be more often (astute) social commentary than “dad” commentary per se’.

    To those I’d add: Eric Scheske’s Daily Eudemon is quite witty and very “Catholic dad”-friendly. He has a weekly column called “Brews you can use”. ‘Nuff said. Maclin Horton and Daniel Nichols are Catholic dads who blog at Caelum Et Terra. Also Matt Lickona, author of the recent and well-received Swimming with Scapulars, blogs at Godsbody.

  23. I would invite any father to visit www. GEOprincipleBlog.com, where I am hosting an on-going dialogue about the integration of faith and work. In addition, I have a personal blog at http://www.tMichaelB.blogspot.com where I write about family and current events. My experiences and opinions might hit home with some Catholic dads.

  26. It is quite difficult to find Catholic dad blogs as you describe, or practical information. However, over the past several years, as I have been touched by the impact my daughters (ages 2 and 4) have had on my life, so I decided to give the creative aspect of my brain a try, and while providing information to other dads that may be useful on our role in the Domestic Church.

    Each day, I am moved by the wonderful experience I have as a father, and concurrently challenged by some of the frustrations that come with daily living, especially in light of the social challenges that we each face. At the end of the day, I am learning more and more to turn my burdens over to the Lord, and trust in his divine providence, and recognize that he will always love my children and family more than I am capable. That allows me to feel hopeful and at peace.

    In any case, perhaps you may find the sites recommended here useful.

    Many blessing to you, and our mutual effort to lead our children in the way of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

    E.C.L.D.

    http://www.CatholicDads.org

    http://catholicdadsprolifeprayers.blogspot.com/

    http://catholicdadsorg.blogspot.com/

    http://PaaaaPa.blogspot.com

  27. Genesis 1:27, “So God made man in his own image”.
    Genesis 2:7, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.”
    Genesis 2:21-22, “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, …the Lord had taken from man, made he a woman, & brought her unto the man”.
    From the above verses, it is obvious that God formed man/woman from dust instead of transforming apes to human beings.

  32. Danielle,

    I know this is an older posting but I wanted to put my new/rebranded blog on here since it’s exactly what you asked about. “Being Saint Joseph” blog and podcast is a site dedicated to men trying to be better husbands, fathers and just a better man in general.

    You can check it out over at http://www.beingsaintjoseph.com

    Thanks,
    Jason

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