We grew up without a television. As an adult looking back, I am grateful. There were seasons of television here and there, depending on where we lived, how much money we had, and various other factors. Overall, television was a minuscule part of my childhood. I...
I’ve been asked more times than I can count whether I’m an introvert or an extrovert. I love going to parties, meeting new people, and public speaking. I also crave a long, silent walk in the woods alone, and I am a voracious reader. I adore silent retreats, as if...
There are Catholics who marry Catholics and who live a wonderful life. There are Catholics who marry Catholics who end up in divorce. There are Catholics who marry non-Catholics who lose their faith. And there are Catholics who marry non-Catholics whose spouses...
There is no such thing as Catholic music, just like there is no such thing as Catholic trees. Hear me out before discarding this whole spiel. These poor artists I’m about to share with you got stuck with me writing this intro, so for their sake, stick with...
There are really two camps when it comes to discernment. On the one side, some believe that discernment is discovering what is the will of God so they can do it, and on the other side, some believe essentially that a person’s vocation is just a free-willed response to...
I did a month-long program with Dr. Bob Schuchts, Sr. Miriam James Heidland, and the JPII Healing Center back in 2020, and if I learned anything, it’s that everyone in the modern world is wounded. Humanity’s brokenness is becoming more evident in the cultural...
Four years ago, my future seemed clear to me. I thought I’d spend my days living in small-town Minnesota and ministering to country parishes as their priest. I love my home state, and I love the people there very much, but God had other plans. After...
It was December 24th, 2019, and I was on my way to Rochester, Minnesota to serve at the Christmas Vigil Mass at our co-Cathedral for my Bishop, John Quinn. I showed up early to get things set up, but I was distracted like a teenage boy trying to clean his room. My...