Hey there, We’ve covered several virtues before and the intention was to cover the Capital Virtue of Diligence. But what I found was that there are a lot more resources on the vices and sins that Diligence combats than about diligence itself. The sin takes several forms from acedia (a new term for me) and sloth, to procrastination, laziness, and idleness. The subtleties between these …
Continue Reading about Diligence: The Key to Overcoming Acedia, Sloth, And Procrastination
Hey there, Have you noticed how elaborate birthday parties have become? There’s the theme on the invitations, the cake, the food, the games, the decor. It’s often held at some type of event venue. Even some adults get in on the birthday hubbub. I see people posting on Facebook about their “birthday week.” We’ve not always put so much emphasis on birthday celebrations. But there are …
Continue Reading about The Three Nativities we Celebrate And Why
Hey there, Meekness is one of our Catholic Virtues that gets a bad rap. Probably because the meaning of the word has evolved. Merriam-Webster defines meek as: 1: enduring injury with patience and without resentment : MILD 2: deficient in spirit and courage : SUBMISSIVE 3: not violent or strong : MODERATE In today’s push-back, loud culture, being mild and submissive is considered a …
Continue Reading about How Jesus Teaches us to be Meek (Hint: It’s Not Weak)
Hey there, Catholicism is filled with miracles, going back to the early days of the Old Testament. There are miracles throughout the New Testament and even today, Saints are being Canonized with the evidence of miracles they’ve worked. Miracles are all around us. But do we really know what the Catholic Church considers a miracle? And do we recognize them in our own lives? I had a friend …
Hey there, On Monday, May 31st, we will celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of The Blessed Virgin Mary. You know how this story goes. Upon hearing of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Mary travels to visit her cousin. When hearing Mary’s greeting, John leaps with joy in Elizabeth’s womb. It’s a seemingly simple event … one might even say it’s fairly routine. But a closer examination reveals there are …
Continue Reading about The Many Lessons of The Visitation of The Blessed Virgin Mary
Hey there, We’re fascinated with rising up. Maybe it’s because it’s so easy to get knocked down. Coach Vince Lombardi famously said,“It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.” We love a good Cinderella story and root for the underdog. We all know the ancient story of the phoenix that rises from the ashes. It reminds us that it’s possible to come back even stronger …
Hey there, What do you think of when you hear the word mercy? Mercy me! Have mercy! Beg for mercy. I watch a lot of sports so I think of the ole mercy rule … where a game is stopped when one team scores a lot of runs on the other team. Merriam-Webster defines mercy as: “Compassion or forbearance … shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power.” Whatever comes …
Hey there, Of the three pillars of Lent -- prayer, fasting, and almsgiving -- it’s the latter that gets the least amount of attention. Truly understanding what it’s all about is something I’ve taken for granted over the years. So before this Lent ended, I wanted to focus our attention on this important Lenten activity. Monetary donations are typically associated with almsgiving, but it …
Hey there, No doubt we are living in uncharted times. The worldwide pandemic has touched each of us, altering some aspects … if not all aspects of our lives. Then throw in the November election and ... if we wrote this as a Hollywood script, they would say it’s too far fetched. Everywhere you turn, we are pitted against each other. BLM vs. Back the blue. Mask vs. …
Continue Reading about Uncharted Times Call For Brotherly Love
Hey there, One way we like to record history is to recognize places where historical events or otherwise memorable events happened. It’s not uncommon to see historical markers on the side of the road when travelling around the highways and roads of the United States. We mark birthplaces or homesteads that belonged to historical figures, and places where memorable events happened. Even …
Continue Reading about Getting to Know (And Celebrate) Our Lady of Loreto
Hey there, I suspect we can all agree on one thing … 2020 can’t end quickly enough. We’ve spent most of this year in the grips of the Coronavirus pandemic. Sickness … and even death. Lockdowns and quarantines. No public Masses. And who can forget the toilet paper shortages. Fortunately, we Catholics get an early jump on the new year. This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent … …
Continue Reading about Finding Joy in Advent (Especially During Coronavirus)
Hey there, As Catholics we share a common goal to go to heaven. And we understand that when our time on Earth is finished, we likely will spend time in an interim transition called purgatory before we enter heaven. This is a good time to look at purgatory because November is four days away. It’s the month the Catholic Church dedicates to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. We will celebrate All …
Continue Reading about Understanding Purgatory And Our Relationship With The Holy Souls
