The following is a companion piece to Part 3 of our Masculinity Series, "Becoming More Manly." The glory of God is man fully alive. - St Iranaeus Jason Momoa’s short film Canvas of my Life is an extraordinarily powerful and beautiful depiction of manhood, despite its...
Beauty
The Beauty Of Life And Death Is So Much More Than “Live. Love. Laugh.”
“Live. Love. Laugh.” It’s a slogan that’s typically found on at least one wall in every home. And why not! I’m not going to deny that it’s a genuinely beautiful message; an ode to the goodness of life and of our existence with others. To the way that we should live...
6 Common Lies We Believe About Our Appearance
We all like to look good. We get up in the morning and think, “Today, I’m going to go out, look handsome or beautiful and make everyone who passes me by fall in love.” But there are times that regardless of what we do some characteristics seem to sabotage...
How Do You React When Someone Says, “You’re Beautiful”?
Dictionaries try to define beauty, but they can only provide vague glances at the truth. Instead of dictionary definitions, beauty is more accurately described with examples: Mother Mary is beautiful, love is beautiful, a perfect sky is beautiful, a symphony is...
Radiant Magazine Review and Giveaway!
I recently had the privilege of reviewing the magazine ‘Radiant’, a publication that describes itself as “covering traditional topics of the Catholic Church and applying them to the modern lives of young, Catholic women who are searching, learning and living out their...
11 Things That Make A Woman Truly Beautiful
In many cases, the concept of beauty has been reduced to the exterior, physical appearance; looking good, dressed well, properly groomed, fashionable, perfectly proportioned… Sadly, in this way we have lost sight of its true meaning: the beauty which comes from the...
“The Butterfly Circus”: Why Our World Needs Wonder!
“What this world needs is a little wonder!” There are so many themes that can be unpacked from the short film, The Butterfly Circus, that it is hard to know where to begin, but maybe beginning with wonder is a start. Set in the era of the Great Depression, this short...
Incredible Experiment: What Will Your Relationship Look Like In 100 Years?
This video can be a great apostolic resource for those who are considering embarking upon a serious relationship. Often the idea of aging, of losing the ever so idolized beauty of youth, scares us. At the bottom lies that idea of insecurity: how could I be loved if I...
A Face Only A Child Knows How To Love – Reflection On The True Beauty Of Mothers
Pandora recently released this very touching commercial that pulls at the heart of every mother. Watching it brings up a swell of emotions as the blindfolded children are able to identify their own mother by touching her, smelling her and embracing her. It resonates...
Why Is Our Culture So Afraid of Getting Older?
One of the many commercials that form part of Dove’s Beauty campaign, this video addresses what is probably one of the biggest fears of our time: age. A study of 2,000 women conducted by Superdrug in 2012 found that women start to worry about the signs of aging at 29....
When Will The World Make Her Believe She’s Not Beautiful?
I recently had a conversation with a friend and we were trying to remember the age we began to feel self-conscious. When did we start thinking differences between peers were something negative rather than something unique? When did we start comparing ourselves to...
Are You Willing To Let God Transform Your Suffering?
Suffering is a difficult topic to discuss in a world that likes to feel good. This video is a beautiful representation of how Christianity views suffering. Stephanie takes an X-ray, showing parts of oneself that are seemingly broken and useless, and uses it as a...
A Message Of Love From A Woman To All Women: You Are Loveable
I love this music video by the musician Colby Caillat. She communicates a poignant message, made all the more powerful by the stark unmasking of the women of various ages and shapes as they remove their make-up and their aesthetic “enhancements.” So many of us notice...
Does The Phrase “Like a Girl” Hurt Women?
This video brings up a topic that hits close to home for many women in today’s society, as can be seen by the fact that it got over 10 million views in just the first 4 days of being posted. The question it begs is this: what does it truly mean to be a girl, to be a...
The Beauty Of A Smile For Another: “My Beautiful Woman”
A young woman, a senior in high school, has become a mother. Rumors take flight; whispers abound. Loving, generous, humble... these precious words fail to appear on the tongues of many when speaking of this woman, as young as she is remarkable. Yes, this is a lesson...
The Digital Retouch: The Difference Between Virtual Beauty And Real
We all know that just about every image of a person we see on TV or in the movies these days has been digitally retouched to some degree. These changes are often kept secret, however, because the directors don’t want the public to know just how different the person we...
What Your Daughter Needs To Be Taught About Beauty
Today's video is a graphically intense warning to all parents: your child, whether you want it or not, will be placed under the influence of a level of graphic intoxication that will change their lives. Complete avoidance of exposure is practically impossible. How,...
The Leering Look: A Harmless Glance?
Made by Whistling Woods International, the 90-second ad shows men leering at the sight of a beautiful woman. The video's description speaks of "Women Empowerment" and about the need to "eradicate gender inequality". Evidently, one must be careful in using such terms...
These Guys Took One Direction’s Song And Made It About Virtue: What makes you beautiful?
A wise man I once knew (no, really!) gave a group of us some seriously good advice: marry a man who loves you for your heart, not for your face. Although this video is a group of guys speaking to girls, predominantly about modesty, I think the main point, that...
Beauty From Garbage? It’s Possible!
The Landfill Harmonic movie is a miraculous love story set in one of the world’s most destitute slums, a slum built atop a landfill. Here in Catuera, Paraguay, a garbage picker and a teacher collaborate to find and build musical instruments for local...
The Windows Of Beauty: Discovering The Truth Requires The Help Of Another
Love brings us this video that presents a project called Real Beauty Sketches. The idea is to help women reassess the way they see themselves. It is a simple yet extremely clever idea. I think the video could be very useful for any female audience....
Why You Should Look At Yourself With The Same Gaze Of Mercy God Does
When you look at yourself what to do you see? Is your gaze one of love and truth, or judgment and despair? Do you understand the significance of God’s mercy? Or, have you rejected it from your heart? The video tries to tap into the drama of every human heart that...
Does Perfectionism Lead To True Happiness?
This short film, Perfection, tells the story of a woman who is taught to play the game ‘Perfection’ while still a baby. She has 60 seconds to place 25 small, differently shaped pieces into their corresponding holes. We see her as a toddler, a little girl, a teenager,...
Gratitude: A project to reach happiness?
We're taking advantage of the start of this new year to share a very fitting video. It is of a TED Talk (TED is a not for profit which is dedicated to “Ideas worth spreading”) which takes place in San Francisco. The theme is a project called “Happiness Revealed”. ...
Why Do We Change Our Look?
For five and a half years (2006-2012), the girl in today’s video took photos with different “looks”. In 50 seconds, you will see more than a thousand photographs of her face and changes in look (and age). Her video quickly went viral and currently has around 8 million...