Forgiveness is so hard, but why? Often, the desire for an eye for an eye overwhelms us, we want the person who hurt us to receive justice and be held accountable. But does holding on to the hurt and anger in fact accomplish our desire for justice? Again and again, I...
If you’ve had the terrible, heart-wrenching misfortune of losing a child by miscarriage, I understand. And so does St. Zelie Martin, who experienced child loss multiple times. People try to help, and it is not always a healing experience. This is a list for those who...
When we suffer in any way, it is normal to ask why. Why does this have to happen? Why would God allow this? In some of our worst moments of suffering, it can feel not only like God is not present, but that he is very far away. We feel abandoned and betrayed. We get...
When we go through moments of pain and difficulty, it is easy to blame God or feel abandoned by Him, so in this post, I want to talk about those moments in which pain makes us feel confused. When I was about seven years old, I was playing at home, running, until I...
Though I'm blessed with five amazing children here with me on earth, I also have four beautiful children in heaven. The sting of our miscarriages is still present in my heart. So, I was hesitant to watch this video when I saw the title, but I'm so glad that I...
"One of life's greatest scandals is pain." - Archbishop Fulton Sheen In the midst of pain and suffering, it can be tempting to fall into despair and feel as though God does not see what we are going through. In this powerful video produced by Thing In A Pot...
One of the things we say when referring to Jesus, is that we call Him our Redeemer. We do this because Jesus died on the cross to pay the debt that came to be on account of our sin. By His death and resurrection, He won us freedom from the bondage that comes about...
Anyone who has seen the movie Good Will Hunting will know the famous “It’s not your fault” scene. Even if you haven’t seen it, the moment stands powerfully alone, uncomfortable at first, until you cannot fail to be pulled into the breakdown of emotion that Will (Matt...
Let's talk about the world again. If your summer has been anything like mine, it's probably been a summer of intense political debate, on both sides of the pond. And let's not forget the horrendous plight of the parts of the world that are so regularly suffering...
The Lord’s Prayer, is a prayer many of us have prayed countless times to the point that the words have just become a rhythm. There is that one tiny, seemingly innocuous line that calls us to “forgive those who trespass against us”. It is often too uncomfortable to...
God has gifted us with many ways to express the emotion that wells within our hearts. Our culture will often tell us to suppress those feelings especially when it comes to crying. The world wants us to believe that to cry is to show weakness and defeat. However, the...
Most Catholics are very familiar with the beloved Mother Angelica, but few know the story behind her vocation. Best known as the founder of Eternal Word Television Network, Mother Angelica impacted millions of lives with her quick-witted humor and profound love of...
“We are all addicts.” I was told this four years ago and have never forgotten it. It was a comment addressed to a group of young Catholic adults by a priest who worked with people who had drug and alcohol addictions. When he said it, I couldn’t believe what he was...
'There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the turmoil of the ocean and its waves; men fainting away with terror and fear at what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the...
This video couldn't possibly make my heart ache more as I watched the loving tenderness of Chris Picco singing Blackbird to his baby, Lennon James Picco, in the NICU. Lennon was delivered by emergency C-section at 24 weeks gestation after Chris' wife unexpectedly and...
There are many things people do which hurt us and there are things we do which wound other people. Some are perhaps more obvious than others, some are clearly worse than others. There are two things that I think it is important to remember: 1. There are no good sins....
Bullying can be defined as the following: the unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. It can imply verbal (teasing,...
Many of us undergo moments in our lives that sting. They leave us furious, hurt, shocked by the absurdity and injustice of the situation. And, often, when that occurs it makes it incredibly difficult to forgive. Such a reaction is many times legitimate in itself, yet...
Today I would like to share one of my favorite videos from the OBS page. It is a beautiful video with an important and timely message for our time: suffering is the path to knowledge of God. It's hard to imagine a more irritating phrase for today's culture. Can...
