One of the best loved traditions in the Church is the practice of venerating and admiring saints. This ancient tradition dates back to the first century when worshipers experienced and told of miracles that occurred at the graves of martyrs…
Perseverance: A Lesson from Monica and Augustine
Catholic Labels
Traditional Catholics. Modern Catholics. Conservative Catholics. Liberal Catholics. Moderate Catholics. Orthodox Catholics. Charismatic Catholics. Progressive Catholics. We may think that these Catholic labels define us, but instead, they divide us. Now more than ever, we need to unite together in…
Growing Habits
We’re packing up. Moving out. Sorting and sifting through possessions, packaging them in boxes. Making a pile of items to donate. Taking apart furniture. As I pack, I can’t help but think about how I want our next house to…
Marriage Evangelization
Have you ever stopped to consider evangelizing for a specific purpose? Of course we want people to know Jesus but what about people who already know Christ and are Catholic but are not living out their faith in life, specifically…
Let them go, let them grow!
It happens all too soon. That newborn baby, who needed you for everything from taking care of feeding and clothing to kissing boo-boos, suddenly doesn’t need you 24/7. I remember our youngest son at preschool age. I tried to talk…
Shed the Bushel Basket and Let Your Light Shine
It is human nature to be drawn toward the call of the past. Through the filtered lenses of our time telescope, we often get a much-too-perfect perception of the past. The way things were often seem so simple and so…
Hope in the Face of Depravity
“Now, venerable Brethren, you know the times in which we live; they are scarcely less deplorable for the Christian religion than the worst days, which in time past were most full of misery to the Church. We see faith, the…
Live the Love of Marriage
The other day I was working on a project with several other men. During the course of the day one of them got several calls and texts from his wife. When his phone chimed, he would exclaim in a mocking…
Engaging a Worldview
When it comes to sharing the faith, much of our preparation is interiorly focused. And this makes sense. Before we can share God’s love, we must come to believe in it and respond to it ourselves. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI…
A Different Good Samaritan
Back in the late 80’s/early 90’s I took riding lessons and leased a horse at a small stable near Carpinteria. There was a carriage house on the property that was rented out to a series of tenants who came and…