“Follow your dreams!” the world tells us when we are young, but as we grow up, we learn that living our dream is not only hard, it’s also often criticized. Especially dreams involving radical vows in a religious order, low-income paychecks at a non-profit, or...
I was once walking around the outside of an incredibly beautiful cathedral; I walked around it twice just gazing in marvel upon the architecture, and trying to work out, or glimpse an understanding of what must have gone through the architect’s mind as he designed and...
Our culture sends us so many messages about who we should date, how we should date, and why we should date that it can be difficult to find the truth for ourselves. Once we enter the dating scene, we quickly find out that dating and relationships aren't always as...
There is no feeling quite like being in love. It's a time in life when you are truly overwhelmed with joy, happiness, and exuberance. Life feels fresh and exciting. You spend time daydreaming and planning about the future life you and the one you love will share...
First of all, before we get started, let’s make some things clear. This is NOT a post about priest-bashing. It is our priests, the lovable ones, the grouchy ones, the aloof ones, the bookish ones, the weak ones, the wounded ones (you get the picture), who bring us the...
I may be a seminarian, but I’m a huge fan of romantic tales. I like movies with happy endings when the boy gets the girl. I enjoy hearing stories about how couples met or what they did on their anniversary. And one of my favorite things is watching friends of mine...
It's not what you would typically expect, but this unique group of nuns found a way to use their gifts to evangelize through music. When they realized that so many of them were musically talented, they decided to form their own band. And not just any band... a rock...
Pope Francis began a letter to address young people by stating, “I want you to be the center of attention because you are in my heart." This letter serves as an invitation to all young people to place their trust in Jesus who will guide them to fulfillment through...
Knowing that we are called to follow the Will of God and being able to discern His Will are two very different things. Do you ever feel like asking God for a neon sign to guide you in your next step in life? Usually, God does not send neon “go here, do that” signs. So...
Have you ever been on Facebook and suddenly found yourself looking at wedding pictures of someone you've never even met? I'll admit, it's happened to me more than once. There's something about the joy in the life of another that draws us in. We want to see it,...
The new year is only a few hours away and with it comes the setting of goals and resolution lists. Whether it’s switching jobs, choosing what colleges you want to apply to, deciding if you’re ready to have another baby, or going back to school (among other...
When I talk about vocation, many get scared at just the though of it. The first things that come to their mind are religious habits, endless prayers, people living in the same house, having to live far from their families, etc. However, the truth is that vocation...
Events like World Youth Day or a young saint's canonization (recently, Saint José Sanchez del Río), tend to spawn a boom in vocations to the consecrated life like fungi after a storm. It’s only logical. These celebratory events in the Church can be very moving and...
When I read that Pope Francis said “most marriages today are invalid” I almost fell over backward. I’ve had the same hypothesis for so long! Working in family counseling, when we interview marriages in crisis and we evaluate how and why they got married, we discover...
In the United States, on Sunday, October 28th, we celebrate Priesthood Sunday. Hopefully, your parish has something planned that will raise awareness of vocations to the priesthood. It is important for young people to begin to open their minds and hearts to the...
The video shows Reverend David Rider, 29, of New York and Reverend John Gibson, 28, from Milwaukee, engaging in a bit of healthy competition and sharing their tapping talents during a fundraiser at the North American College (NAC), an American seminary in Rome, near...
“When I began this project, I thought of nuns as always dour and serious.” So says Marcela Taboada in her beautiful photo-story “the Secret Lives of Mexican Nuns”. She quickly proves this wrong with her photos of cake-slice waving sisters, a habited exercise biker and...
While almost anyone knows who Mark Wahlberg is and has seen at least one of his movies, few know about his Catholic faith. While my goal here isn't to present Mr. Wahlber as model (seeing how I don't know him), I think he shares an inspiring message about the...
In the history of Catholic-Link, we've never recommended that you read an article from Cosmopolitan, but that changes today! On September 12th, Cosmopolitan.com published an article titled, "I Am Happily Married to God — as a Consecrated Virgin" and we highly...
A common answer to the question, "How are you?", is often "Busy." Yet, many times we don't have to be quite as busy as we schedule ourselves to be. Though there is great importance and dignity in the work we do, we often forget that there is also value in...
Have you ever heard it said that the Catholic Church oppresses women? Many are quick to pass judgment on what they think is the truth of the Catholic faith. In reality, the Catholic Church esteems women and calls us to live out the beauty of our femininity in a way...
The life of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was extraordinary: her generosity, her tireless struggle for justice, her love and care for the poorest of the poor, and the simplicity of her words and deeds. But what is most moving about her life was not only her capacity...
Many of us anticipated the day in which we could call our beloved Mother Teresa, Saint Teresa of Calcutta. She lived her life as a witness to this generation of Catholics and was canonized by Pope Francis on September 4th, 2016. Because of modern technology, we are...
Throughout the Olympics, I have grown attached to some of the athletes competing for Gold. Many of them quickly went from names I had never heard of to people I desperately wanted to see win. I'll admit that after the Olympics conclude I probably won't continue to...
What to do when this question, "So, what are you doing after you graduate?”, makes you a little nervous. When someone finds out that you are a senior in college, there seems to be a typical conversation that goes something like this… “Oh wow! You’re a senior! So… what...