Would you describe yourself as perfectly happy? Perhaps you’d say you are somewhat happy or happy enough, but not especially so. We often get the general impression that lasting happiness is far-off, practically impossible, not to be hoped for in this life. When we...
I was a postulant with the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity when I learned that there is a difference between being happy and being joyful. Up until then, I had thought the terms were interchangeable. Someone could be happy being able to see their friends. A...
The Greatest Showman is one of those classic feel good movies that if it’s on TV or it’s blasting through the speakers, it’s hard not to join along. It’s the story of how P.T. Barnum created the circus we all know and love today. But at the heart of it, it’s the story...
“You were within, and I was outside. And there I sought after you.” - Augustine When he was a young man, Augustine invented a fable to describe the obstacles he faced in his search for truth. The fable is about Philocalia (love of beauty) and Philosofia (love of...
Father Ian VanHeusen presents a Catholic Bible Study and spiritual exercise on the Gospel reading from Mark 1:40-45, when Jesus cleanses the leper and His reputation for miracles and wonders begins to spread near and far. We invite you to watch Father's video, then...
What does it mean to testify to Jesus Christ? Have you ever had the opportunity to proclaim your faith? Peter's bold testimony in this coming Sunday's Gospel reading is a compelling lesson on Christian responsibility, but also on human happiness. Father Ian VanHeusen...
We’re a big fan of Emily Wilson’s ministry here at Catholic-Link, and we’re excited to share some of our favourite videos with you. Emily Wilson is a Catholic musician and speaker, and also has a popular Youtube channel where she covers a range of topics in an...
In the timeless Broadway classic "Les Miserables," character Fantine wraps up Victor Hugo's epic saga with one golden line: "To love another person is to see the face of God." Hugo's words greatly echo Saint Pope John Paul II's extremely popular lecture series called...
This recent ad, made by a film student and ignored by the brand it was created to promote, is so profound and moving that it's not hard to see why it's gone viral. It tells the tale of an aged marathon runner waiting out his final years in a care home. We see him...
I dare say every person on earth could be found guilty of comparing themselves to another person out of envy, pride, or mere insecurity. These could be comparisons of physical qualities, family life, level of education, state in life, career path, or even spiritual...
Nowadays everyone talks about happiness. If you have the latest model car, you’ll be happy. If you get that apartment at the beach, you’ll be happy. If you get that promotion at work, you’ll be happy. And just like that, many other situations. Do you really think...
As I write this, we are approaching the 5th Sunday of Easter, meaning that we will now be breaking into the last weeks of Eastertide before Pentecost Sunday. Every Easter I have the same thought, usually at some point in the Easter Octave, once the drama and intensity...
“The cheerful person always sees in any present evil some prospective good; in pain he sees a Cross from which will issue a Resurrection; in trial, he finds correction and discipline and an opportunity to grow in wisdom; in sorrow, he gathers patience and resignation...
Gospel of the Luke 3: 10-18 The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they...
Gospel of Matthew 5: 1-12 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for...
What can a Pope teach us about family life? Pope Francis took the opportunity to share about the hope provided to all families through Christ Jesus while he was visiting Ecuador this past summer. Drawing wisdom from the Wedding at Cana in which Jesus preformed...
I recently saw Into the Wild, a film that came out in 2007 that tells the true story of a young man who, after graduating from college, left his family and his bourgeois world in search of happiness, thinking that he could find it in a state of total isolation from...
Going the fair together In today’s world, it seems as though the only gesture of love between two people is through a sexual act. Aside from the beauty and virtue of love between a man and woman, we tend to forget Chastity as a path to true love, as a way of preparing...
et's start with a simple question: "How many hours do you spend looking at a screen?". Be honest, be clear. Count'em up. Next question, why do you do it? There will be a lot of reasons, but at the bottom it's because you are looking for happiness,...
t is important to clarify that as Catholics we don't publish such things with a some sort of masochist spirit. The various challenging and painful situations that people go through are not in themselves good things, just the opposite. Yet, as...
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...
If you’ve ever hiked an alpine ridge to gaze out over a clear vista, or basked in the sun and breathed in clean air on a blue-sky day, or sat on the beach contemplating the crashing waves and the vastness of the sea, then you know what it’s like to marvel at the...
It is an experience that we live every day. Sometimes we are happy, sometimes we are sad. What to do? What to think? All of us desire happiness. We live for it and without it we would die. It is the reason we wake up every morning, even when we aren't aware of it or...
My happiness is seeing you happy. There is nothing that my heart longs for, more than the sentinel longs for the morning light, than to see you smile. This is the fundamental truth that flows in the veins of everything that is good and Christian. It is a truth that...
"The Science of Happiness- An Experiment in Gratitude" is a video produced by Soul Pancake. It looks to pose one of the most important questions we can ask: What makes you happy? How often, when asking someone what makes them happy, have you heard them list...