Self-care is a term that has grown in popularity of late. Suddenly it's everywhere: thrown around with hashtags all over social media, used in advertising and on lifestyle blogs, and even making appearances on health websites. Clearly, it means different things to...
Holy Week should be the most important week of the year for all Christians. It should be the week in which we give of ourselves to the fullest in order to fully receive Christ during the Easter celebration. That's the ideal. However, we all know that sometimes...
In my life I’ve listened to diverse opinions about what candidates for the priesthood should be like, how they should behave before entering the seminary and how they should lead an impeccable life. Many people believe that those men who feel the call of God to the...
“Follow your dreams!” the world tells us when we are young, but as we grow up, we learn that living our dream is not only hard, it’s also often criticized. Especially dreams involving radical vows in a religious order, low-income paychecks at a non-profit, or...
Of course, there is no question that the spiritual benefits far outweigh any practical benefits that children may receive when they attend Mass and that the reason we attend Mass is to be with and worship Our Lord, but we’ve already written about that in a few other...
The Gospel of Matthew gives emphasis to St. Joseph, for it is through him that the legal, filial line passed from King David to Jesus. The following are virtues we all stand to learn from St. Joseph. St. Joseph's Silence If we look at Sacred Scripture, there is not...
In this Lenten series, Father Ian VanHeusen presents his weekly spiritual exercise based on the Sunday Readings to help us grow in our relationship with the Lord. What is a Spiritual Exercise, you ask? St. Ignatius of Loyola writes, “By the term “Spiritual Exercises”...
This post aims to compile some of the reflections the Lord has given me during a retreat I lived not long ago. They are not the result of my own inspiration whatsoever, but a true gift from God and the good preacher, whom God put in our path. In our lives, we are like...
"You can be the most pro-life person in the world, but until you sit there and you... you hear those words and you look at your future going forward, that's when you have got to face the reality and make your own decision.” - Royce Young Those are the powerful words...
Have you ever heard someone say, “My sin is too big for God to forgive”? Or, maybe you yourself even feel this way at times? This is a lie that the devil would like us to believe, but the truth is no one’s sin is bigger than God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness. He has...
In this Lenten series, Father Ian VanHeusen gives us a weekly spiritual exercise based on the Sunday Readings to help us grow in our relationship with the Lord. What is a Spiritual Exercise, you ask? St. Ignatius of Loyola writes, “By the term “Spiritual Exercises” is...
For many young men, approaching a lady is not an easy task. There’s the fear of rejection, of looking foolish, of not knowing exactly what to say, fear of what others will say, and so on. In addition there are all the fantasies that Hollywood, television, and social...
Today's world can be difficult for Catholic young adults. Many times you look around at Mass and think, "Where are my peers?". There seems to be a missing generation in the pews of our Churches and that can easily lead to feelings of loneliness and even despair. We...
First of all, before we get started, let’s make some things clear. This is NOT a post about priest-bashing. It is our priests, the lovable ones, the grouchy ones, the aloof ones, the bookish ones, the weak ones, the wounded ones (you get the picture), who bring us the...
This is Us, a hit television series, has a unique comedy-drama story line that has captured the hearts of millions of viewers. I'm not typically one who gets drawn into television shows, but something about this one has captivated me. Because of its popularity, it can...
What is the essence of music? As a philosopher, music fascinates me. As a Catholic, music does something much more – it brings me before the face of God. Josef Pieper, one of the great philosophical thinkers of the twentieth century, once gave an address during...
Lent is a great time to grow in one’s faith and there are tons of ways one can make Lent more fruitful. However, since most often, the penances we adopt during Lent don’t stick on after Easter, I wanted to present a set of challenges to those who really want to grow...
How often have you met a young adult and thought “Wow, they are so holy”... or looked to them as an inspiration and example for your own faith? Teens and young adults, especially those in high school or college, are notoriously stereotyped as the opposite of saintly,...
Ten seconds into this video and you think you’ve seen it before: the sound of firearms, of men shouting in an all too familiar language that we’ve heard over and over again in news sound bites. Twenty seconds into this video and you’re “sympathetic” towards the...
It seems that movies these days are no longer merely for entertainment purposes. The majority have an underlying social message that they are trying to get across to viewers. Is The LEGO Batman Movie one of these films? Well, probably not, but you will find several...
I may be a seminarian, but I’m a huge fan of romantic tales. I like movies with happy endings when the boy gets the girl. I enjoy hearing stories about how couples met or what they did on their anniversary. And one of my favorite things is watching friends of mine...
If you've been on the internet at any point in the past few months, you've probably seen a meme or video with the phrase "Cash Me Ousside Howbow Dat" pop up. Most likely you either ignored it and moved on or, if you're like me, needed to enter the phrase into Google...
The teen years are a time when fashion is at the forefront of most girls' minds. Everyone wants to fit in, look beautiful, and attract attention. It can be a difficult time to navigate for Catholic young women. Cailin of Catholic Teen Posts shares her thoughts on the...
“If you want to challenge yourself, you have to rethink what you consider impossible.” So begins the opening of this 2015 experiment that involves the Berlin Wall, a group of school children and a storybook about a cat. The challenge that has been set in this video is...
"Oh, Caleb, just offer it up!" I've probably uttered this phrase in exasperation a few more times than necessary. It's my go-to line when my kids complain too much about anything from being hungry to physical ailments. I must be honest, though, I really have...