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Listen to Paul's interview on the CATHOLIC CONNECTION with Teresa Tomeo on November 8th - 990 AM - Catholic Radio.Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Click HERE to read a review of The Donkey in the November, 2013 edition of Novi Life.
Solid in Law
Published in the Michigan CatholicNovember, 2013
Paul Stuligross
Solid in law; generous in compassion. No fingernail painting in the house unless you ask mom and dad first. A good rule to have in our house; especially when our daughters were younger. I pondered that rule as I lay siege to our kitchen’s mess one day after dinner and started to hear the sink running upstairs. I listened carefully as the water turned on, and off, and on again. Then I thought I heard sniffles. Soon it was evident that my eight-year-old (at the time) was crying. I ascended the stairs to see what was afoot. As I approached her room, I saw her kneeling on her bedroom floor, crying. There was nail polish all over her arms, hands and clothes.
Hope and Perspective
Published in the Michigan CatholicAugust, 2013
Paul Stuligross
Hope and Perspective. It’s something we can all use a little of. I thought about that as I read a bumper sticker that said: “I lift Detroit up in prayer.” I grew up in Detroit. My brother and I attended grade school at Christ the King, played baseball with West Seven and spent our summers running between houses, swimming, and enjoying life. Then I “grew up” and became a police officer in Novi. Nothing like a job like that to change your perspective. I’m thankful for a time when God helped me get it back.
Lessons in Pride, Peace, Pitching and Practial Philosophy
Published in the Michigan CatholicJuly, 2013
Paul Stuligross
After twenty-four years at the police department, working holidays and weekends, I’ve learned to cherish "normal" time off with family and friends. I’ve also learned some valuable lessons being "off" all summer as a teacher. I’d like to share five of them with you.
Lesson One: the pros of being off all summer are great. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t cons. Pro: I’m off all summer with my kids. Con: I’m off … all summer … with my kids.
Parenting
Published in the Michigan CatholicMay, 2013
Paul Stuligross
As we draw near the end of another school year, I’m reminded of the first graduation I attended as a teacher at St. Mary’s. As I sat amidst my cohorts watching the students process in, I felt a sudden tinge of emotion. As students gave speeches and parents beamed with pride, here I was, sitting with the faculty, welling up. I barely knew these kids; so, what was my problem? Perhaps I recognized – as a parent – how these families felt as they watched their children walk through this ceremonious doorway, into the next phase of their lives.
Being both a teacher and parent, I tend to make connections between my own kids and the ones I teach. And I wonder if my kids come across to their teachers as well as my students do to me. The other day I got a glimpse of an answer.
Making Excuses for Evil only Hurts our Kids
Published in the Michigan CatholicJanuary, 2013
Paul Stuligross
As a high school Theology teacher, I am often challenged with different questions from my students. One of the questions often asked is about the existence of Hell. Does it exist? I always feel compelled to answer the question as delicately - albeit truthfully - as possible.
I am reminded of a movie I saw reportedly “inspired” by true events, entitled the Rite, starring Anthony Hopkins. The film is poignant in it’s depiction of evil – in fact, the devil. So taken was I by some of the theological themes in the film, I showed it to some of my students. The film opens with a quote from Pope John Paul II that I find quite telling of our times: “The battle against the Devil, which is the principal task of Saint Michael the Archangel, is still being fought today, because the Devil is still alive and active in the world.”
The Only Rivalry that Matters
Published in the Michigan CatholicPaul Stuligross
Fall, 2012
As fall sports move into high gear it prompts me to recall my own high school days at my alma mater, Detroit Catholic Central. Now, as a Catholic school Theology teacher I am again immersed in those same fall rivalries. My first year as a teacher – at Orchard Lake Saint Mary’s – reminded me how fun those rivalries could be. As a newer teacher, though, I often wondered how deep these contentions ran. I wondered if the rivalries ever melted into enmity or bitterness. After all, sports have taken a much more prominent role in society today. As much as I love sports, I often questioned whether they had been elevated to too high a level of importance.
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