By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Director, Yeshua Institute Now that the quadrennial presidential election is over, we find ourselves on the threshold of a busy annual period jam packed with holidays and other observances. Nov. 24 is Thanksgiving Day. Nov. 27 is the first Sunday in Advent, a seas...

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There’s still time to register for either of two Catholic Vision for Leading Like Jesus Encounters in the Dubuque Archdiocese before the end of the year. They are scheduled at American Martyrs Retreat House in Cedar Falls, IA, and they offer participants the choice to attend on a weekd...

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By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. As a child my first exposures to pastors were as different as I think it is possible to be: At St. Joseph Parish In Fond du Lac, WI, we had Msgr. Riordan. He spoke forcefully from a high pulpit that jutted out, ominously, above the Communion rail. His favorite verse, deli...

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There’s still time to register for any of three Catholic Vision for Leading Like Jesus Encounters in the Dubuque Archdiocese before the end of the year. They are scheduled at American Martyrs Retreat House in Cedar Falls, IA, and they offer participants the choice to attend on weeknights, a...

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By Owen Phelps, Ph. D. Several years ago our oldest child, Kristin, was in the first grade. She was an exceptional student, reading several grade levels ahead of her class, but she didn’t like the school she was enrolled in. When we met her teacher at the fall conference, we began to unders...

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  Msgr. Mike Tierney takes only three minutes to outline how a parish can – and should – use collaboration to make sure its planning process is effective. Msgr. Mike concedes that it may seem easier for just the pastor alone or in company with staff to develop a plan and annou...

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By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Okay, All Saints Day was yesterday. Isn’t it time to move on? Not yet, I’ll argue. The point of the feast is worth recalling for at least 48 hours – and ideally for much longer than that. A couple of weeks ago I was presenting the Catholic Vision for Lea...

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By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Have you ever heard of emotional agility? Probably not. I know I didn’t run across the term until very recently when I ran into the work of Psychologist Susan David, a lecturer at Harvard Medical School, who discusses the concept in her new book, Emotional Agil...

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By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Recently I read an interesting article about burnout. It made the point that while people usually think that it’s caused by unreasonable work demands, that’s not the case. According to Christina Maslach, the culprit is usually poor relationships in the workplace....

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The Dubuque Archdiocese has scheduled three Catholic Vision for Leading Like Jesus Encounters before the end of the year, and six more in early 2017. The three scheduled before the end of the year are all at American Martyrs Retreat House in Cedar Falls, IA. They offer participants the opportunit...

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