It's the start of a new year and a great time for a reflection on the old one and how to begin a fresh start in the new one. Are you someone who makes a lot of resolutions, or do you prefer to avoid them altogether? It is so important to stop and think about how we...
Have you ever been so overwhelmed that you just took a nap? Memes on Facebook, Pinterest, and other social media sites reflect this common experience. Many people, it appears, default to napping when overwhelmed, but is napping really the answer? Father Mike Schmitz...
"We can try to limit suffering, to fight against it, but we cannot eliminate it. It is when we attempt to avoid suffering by withdrawing from anything that might involve hurt, when we try to spare ourselves the effort and pain of pursuing truth, love, and goodness,...
This is a great short film which is described simply as being about ‘the magic of free parking,’ but you soon realize that this is about much more than free parking. It follows the character of Hugh Newman as he sets about giving compliments to people, one by one,...
Stephen Colbert hilariously captures the world of ‘lifestyle brands’ in this clip from the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. This is the world where your favorite celebrity builds up their own brand, allowing you to see the clothing and household items that they have...
Maybe you’re the class clown, storyteller, or the dry humor sort. We all have our own taste in humor. I admit that lately I have favored “punny” jokes. Guess how many people laugh at my Catholic jokes? ...Nun. Whichever flavor of humor you enjoy the most, when you...
Miss America 2016 - While other contestants sang, danced or played instruments for the talent competition on the second night of preliminaries in Atlantic City, Kelley Johnson, Miss Colorado, delivered a unique monologue about her experience as a nurse. She spoke...
Is it difficult for you to leave a project unfinished if you have to change activities? Are you unable to delegate work because you think that nobody can do it better than you? Do you have to wake up an hour early every morning to try on a thousand shirts before...
As you begin this new chapter of your life, it is important to firmly root yourself in the faith. College is about much more than learning from professors and writing term papers. College is about more than an education. It's about formation. College will be your...
Most of the time secular music will spread the lies of the culture, depicting women as objects and glorifying wealth and materialism. But every once in a while a pop song hits a chord of truth that moves us to see ourselves as we are. Even more than Christian...
Overcoming sin and temptation involves learning to identify, process, and let go of disordered patterns of thinking, feeling, and desiring. These patterns have deep roots, and as we learn to explore our interior life under the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit, we...
There are hundreds of titles for Mary and each one brings her honor in a different way. Why so many different names for one person? Each title reveals to us a different facet of Mary's character, allowing us to connect with her in a more personal way. How do you...
This video by Dr. Amy Cutty lays out some very interesting insights into the importance of body language. It’s a “back to the basics” topic but when it’s looked at in light of the faith, a few valuable reflections emerge. 3 Things To Remember About Your Body Language...
“Just as the reading of spiritual books has led to the conversion of many sinners, so the reading of bad books is daily leading to the ruin of many young people.” St. Alphonsus Liguori We must immerse ourselves in good Catholic books in order to have spiritual...
“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...
Inside Out is the newest release from Pixar Animation Studios and Disney. We know the Pixar brand’s penchant for entertaining both children and adults, alike (Up, Monsters Inc, and Cars just to name a few), and they have certainly lived up to their reputation this...
I’ll admit it - it can be annoying to watch a movie with me. As soon as the movie begins, I try to figure out who the bad guy is or what the twist will be. If I do say so myself, I happen to get it right a lot of the time. It isn’t the most awful habit to have, but...
It’s summer and that means many couples will be entering into the Sacrament of Marriage. If you want to give a great gift to your future spouse, then I would suggest studying a bit of Saint John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. You can find information and guides at...
First of all, let’s start by giving kudos to Pizza Hut on this piece of marketing genius that happens to bear with it an important message for our time: self-exposure. In dealing with any “issue”, it’s better to avoid ranting about how selfies are destroying our...
Beauty is the glory of the body. Yet there are many ways of perceiving it and too often we fail to grasp the types of beauty that, like treasures, are buried deeper within. What's more, many consider Catholic morality as suppression of beauty, rather than a...
When reading Holy Scripture, we can’t help but discover certain traits in the various characters of the bible that we can identify with. Whether it be those who walked side by side with the Lord Jesus, or those who proved their faith in God time and time again in the...
Although eating snacks can be a very healthy part of one’s diet, it can become problematic when we use snacks and food to bury our emotions. Since we are a unity of mind, body and spirit, as St. Paul affirms in (1Tess 5:23), it is natural when we feel something on the...
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) Outrage-fatigue. That’s how I feel about the cacophony of institutionalized Feminist resentment that...
This exceptionally well-done clip from The Skit Guys on Peace in the Advent season may take you by surprise if you are a frequent viewer of videos by Tommy Woodward and Eddie James. The Skit Guys, friends since high school, are known more for their hilarious videos...
Stress kills. Stress makes you ill. Stress, it turns out, only does this if you actually think it’s going to. Stress almost doubles your chances of dying but only if you think that it’s going to. I am a stressy person, and I am not alone: a 2013 survey by the Mental...