Every day, we face numerous choices, many of eternal consequences. When our hearts and minds are ordered toward God, these choices are usually between two goods. We could read to our children, or pray the rosary. We could spend Saturday afternoon...
Vocation
Becoming Catholic Men Of Grit And Grace: 7 Ways To Lead With Purpose At Work And Home
In a world that demands grit and guts, men are called upon to lead, not just in their workplaces but also within their homes. It's a journey laden with challenges and triumphs. Qualities like integrity, communication, and adaptability are more than soft skills....
The Advice You Need To Discern Your Vocation
There are really two camps when it comes to discernment. On the one side, some believe that discernment is discovering what is the will of God so they can do it, and on the other side, some believe essentially that a person’s vocation is just a free-willed response to...
5 Excuses That People Often Make When Discerning A Religious Vocation
The moment when we start to ask and pray, "What is God calling me to do?" in regard to a religious vocation can be intimidating. However, discovering the vocation that God has intended for each of us is something marvelous. It's truly wonderful... but that doesn't...
Making The Most Of Mother’s Day: Queen For A Day…Or Not
As Mother’s Day approaches, if you have a house full of kids, like I did ten years ago, you may be trying to keep expectations low. You doubt as to whether your loved ones will show you appreciation in any significant way on this day traditionally devoted to honoring...
Disagree With Your Priest? Here’s How To Respond
One of the best and most challenging aspects of the Church is that it is composed entirely of humans, who are flawed and fallible, with their own perspectives, experiences, strengths, and weaknesses. As a result, disagreements between individuals can arise, and this...
4 Lessons I Learned In Seminary That Help Me In Marriage
Four years ago, my future seemed clear to me. I thought I’d spend my days living in small-town Minnesota and ministering to country parishes as their priest. I love my home state, and I love the people there very much, but God had other plans. After...
Sister Jean’s Wisdom Goes Far Beyond March Madness
In addition to giving her life in service to God and the education of young people, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM is a March Madness icon. In 1994 she became the chaplain for the Loyola University basketball team and has been a constant presence at the team's...
What I Wish I Knew When I Left The Seminary
It was December 24th, 2019, and I was on my way to Rochester, Minnesota to serve at the Christmas Vigil Mass at our co-Cathedral for my Bishop, John Quinn. I showed up early to get things set up, but I was distracted like a teenage boy trying to clean his room. My...
How To Find A Christmas Gift For Your Priest
Question: What do you give to the one who has everything, needs nothing, and always gives more than he gets? Answer: That One can only be God. For everyone else, we should give whatever helps lead a person to God. It may be that Christmas is being corrupted with...
A Reflection On The Queen’s Life And Legacy, By A British Catholic
These last twelve days for me as a British subject have been very strange ones. We have continued our ordinary lives, while all about us in the public sphere, momentous and solemn things have happened. The death of our Queen, the instantaneous transferral of symbolic...
The Spiritual Warfare Of Motherhood
I find that the term “spiritual warfare” often makes me think it’s more dramatic and epic than it actually is. I think of saints doing heroic penances and exorcists fighting off demons, but truly spiritual warfare is often a subtle battle the devil wages against us to...
Are You Really Happy? A Question We Should Ask Ourselves
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...
8 Things A Priest Can Do To Support A Couple Experiencing Miscarriage
No little baby needs a ‘trigger warning’, not even a baby lost to miscarriage. But I do want to give a note here that I cover some very gritty realities of miscarriage in the following article, especially discussing burial...
An Inside Look At How The Knights Of The Holy Eucharist Encourage Individual Spirituality
Since Pope Francis became pope, the way of life and the spirituality of Franciscans have received closer attention. With the pope’s announcement of the Year of St. Joseph, there has been even more focus on the spiritual life of...
Just Don’t Ask Me To Be A Sister Or A Priest! | Encouragement For The Reluctant Discerner
God, I’ll do anything you want, just don’t ask me to be a Sister (or a Priest)! That was the first thing both of us thought when we found ourselves pursuing God’s plan for our lives. We were ready to do something radical and bring Christ’s love to a needy world, but...
The Sweet And Sour Of NFP (Natural Family Planning)
It doesn’t take long when first discovering the world of natural family planning to realize that most couples have a love/hate relationship with NFP. The reasons to love it are obvious and the reasons to hate it are obvious. It is a strange mix of sweet...
8 Practical Ways To Be A Catholic School That Promotes Vocations
Did you know that studies consistently show that 70% of the newly ordained first heard the call to the priesthood between birth and 18 years of age? (1) At the risk of stating the obvious, these are the prime educational years for faith formation. Children should...
Ordinary Work Is An Expression Of Prayer | Kimberly Hahn
Graced and Gifted with Kimberly Hahn || Biblical Wisdom for the Homemaker's Heart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuAFxl-oW0A Catholic homemaking done well creates a domestic church, where your home becomes a sacred space to live out your vocation. Kimberly Hahn is a...
7 Things Not To Say To Someone Discerning A Religious Vocation
Open foot, insert mouth. Wait. I mean the other way around. Fr. Michael Zimmerman here, assistant director at Vocations Boston. I’ve probably said a few items on this list myself, and I’ve been on the receiving end of far more, but how can we actually encourage...
This Order Founded By Mother Angelica Is Calling Young Men To Become Saints
“It’s times like these when God is going to call great saints to come forth, and beyond any doubt, you were called to be one," says Brother Angelo in the new vocations video for the Knights of the Holy Eucharist. The Vocation To The Religious Life...
Better Than Happy: The Joy Of Your True Calling
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...
A Vocation Story: On The Path of Love
“And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38) Growing up I had never been around religious sisters as my entire education was in the public schools, and it was not until I was an undergraduate in college that one...
5 Essential Tips For Young Adult Men To Live A Pure Life
Let’s face it. Purity is not always the easiest virtue to cultivate. And our culture isn’t giving young men any breaks! But the battle against lust is one that every Catholic man must fight. While that fight looks different for...
Cardinals, Bishops, Pope’s Comments On Civil Unions | Civil Unions
Pope Francis recently named new cardinals, but not all of them are bishops...is that even allowed? Well actually, in the history of the Church, it's not that uncommon. Fr. George explains the history of cardinals and what their function is today. We also learn about...
