We live in a culture obsessed with beauty, yet often confused about its true nature. Magazines flaunt airbrushed images, social media feeds overflow with filtered selfies, and the pursuit of physical perfection can become all-consuming. But what is true beauty?...
For many of us, the thought of Hell is like a bad dream—so disturbing that we avoid thinking about it. But the saints didn’t shy away. They frequently meditated on the Four Last Things: death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell. Some were even given the extraordinary grace of...
You are having coffee in the morning with a friend, and she asks a question about how to be happy in the everyday events of one’s life. The conversation evolves to looking at the life of a very inspiring woman. Venerable Catherine McAuley founded the Religious Sisters...
Watching my son arrange dinosaurs during Mass—his way of staying regulated—reminds me how far our Catholic family has come on our autism journey. What once felt impossible has become a chance to witness the Church embracing all her members, including those on the...
Jesus teaches, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt 5:27-28) Pope St. John Paul the Great commented in one of his...
Jesus said:“My sheep hear my voice;I know them, and they follow me.I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.No one can take them out of my hand.My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.The...
I’ve always wondered why in the world God wants us to worship Him. It never quite made sense to me that a loving God would possess an ego so big that He’d ask His kids to fall down at his feet. But then, one day, I heard an analogy that made at least a bit of sense....
When our son Nathan was in the second year at his Lutheran preschool, my wife and I decided that the large classes and busy hallways of public schools weren’t right for him. Nathan was the quiet kid. He’d sit in the corner and play by himself, anxious to learn...
The Five Holy Wounds of Christ The Five Holy Wounds of Christ refer to the wounds Jesus suffered during His Crucifixion—one in each hand, one in each foot, and one in His side. These wounds are a profound reminder of His immense love and sacrifice for humanity....
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...
When you think of influential Catholics, you probably immediately think canonized saints. Not only are there more saints in heaven than we would be able to canonized—or even know by name—but there are many influential Catholics from around the world that we might not...
Marriage is a sacred journey that doesn't end at the altar—it's just beginning. As my wife and I approach our wedding anniversary, I've realized that maintaining the "dating mindset" is crucial for nurturing a healthy Catholic marriage. Just as a garden requires...
What Is Spiritual Reading? Spiritual reading consists of reading something that explains some aspect of Catholic truth in an attractive, enriching way. Its function is to help reinforce and deepen our Christian view of ourselves and the world around us. In previous...
I might as well admit something about prayer from the very start: sometimes when I read a formal prayer, from memory or with a prayer book, I find my mind wandering. Somehow, I can’t always keep my mind focused. For times like these, I sometimes...
Racism is an ugly stain on society that many courageous people have tried to heal. Like me, you can probably rattle off names like Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, or even John Lewis and his statement about getting into “good trouble.” But can you think of any...
So many men today walk around as if they have it all figured out and they don’t have a problem in the world. The “strong” silent type, if you will. I know this for a fact. I used to do the same thing. So much of my life was spent walking like a one man army,...
The pursuit of the best solution requires first identifying the right problem. The concept sounds quite obvious at first, but I’ve found that many of life’s thorniest dilemmas require some serious investigation into its true origin. In my work as a counselor,...
“How could God let this happen?” This cry of a grieving heart expresses one of the greatest challenges to belief in a loving and all-powerful God. Suffering. It feels like a betrayal as if God has stopped being what He is supposed to be. And as much as we can observe...
We live in a beautifully convenient technological era, a time of unprecedented comfort and devices that generations before us could never have conceived. With the advance of remote work, ever-present screens, instant streaming, and drone delivery, why bother leaving...
“Will you pray for…?” This question is amongst my favorites. I always see it as such a beautiful gift when people trust me to pray for them or their intentions. While it might be tempting to say a simple “yes” when asked this question, there are also a variety of...
I kept my faith to myself for the first ten years of my marriage. My husband was an atheist, and although he came to Mass with me, he didn’t really get it, nor did he really want it. His questions felt like challenges to my faith, and it saddened me that I couldn’t...
There are times when it may feel like God is against you, by taking away people or things that you love and hold dear. The loss of a family member, a crumbling marriage, or even the loss of a job; these things may make us feel burned by God and make us cry out, “Why?”...
Isn’t it exciting when you discover that not only do you enjoy someone’s work, but they are Catholic, too? That’s how it felt when I read Timothy Larsen's chapter on E. E. Evans-Pritchard in The Slain God: Anthropologists and the Christian Faith. It was like finding a...
As a Catholic Family Trust Attorney in California, I have dedicated my career to helping families prepare for and navigate major life events with peace of mind. Creating a will is an essential step in this process, and here are five crucial things Catholics should...
As a lifelong Catholic, I've always had a running list of spiritual experiences and goals I hope to achieve before my time on this earth is through. Call it my "Catholic Bucket List" if you will. These are the dreams and aspirations that stir my heart, drawing me...