We Are All Called to Lives of Holiness
There is a quote by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI that frequently makes the rounds in social media: “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” On the surface it is a summons to rise above the things of this world in order to achieve the greatness …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: The Cross Leads to the Greatness We Are Made For"
Today I look at the next supernatural virtue of hope and how Our Lady shows us how to live in the hope of eternal life regardless of our circumstances. She trusted in God always and united her will fully to His. We are called to do the same during this pandemic and during all of …
This week I will be focusing on Our Lady and the supernatural virtues of faith, hope, and charity. In this video I focus on Mary's great faith and trust in Christ even when she didn't understand everything He was doing. She trusted that it was for some greater good and for our salvation. This is …
Continue reading "The Saints and the Cross Episode 15: Mary’s Faith"
I sincerely hope people start making peace with the fact that we cannot control the outcome of this pandemic. No SARS vaccines have been viable in the last seventeen years. One may be found for this one, but there’s a good chance it won’t. That means herd immunity is our best shot, which means we …
In this episode of The Saints and the Cross, I return once more to Our Lady, this time under her title Undoer of Knots. All of us have knots in our lives and this pandemic and exile are creating even more as we try to discern what we are supposed to do. A lot of …
Continue reading "The Saints and the Cross Episode 14: Mary, Undoer of Knots"
Today's episode is on St. Padre Pio and persevering through this period of exile. He is a saint who achieved high levels of sanctity and was given great blessings and gifts from God, including the stigmata. He suffered tremendously, often at the hands of others because of these extraordinary gifts. During this time as we …
Continue reading "The Saints and the Cross Episode 11: St. Padre Pio"
Today I talk about a very real danger of the temptation to despair that I see growing as this exile continues. The answer to this temptation is greater love of God. St. John is an example to us of how to endure agonies, trials, and afflictions at the foot of the Cross completely centered in …
Continue reading "The Saints and the Cross Episode 6: St. John the Apostle"
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - Pieta (1876) A blessed Holy Week to you all! Today I cover Our Lady of Sorrows in the next episode of The Saints and the Cross. Let us turn to Our Lady of Sorrows to help us unite our will fully to Christ's and to allow ourselves to be pierced with …
Continue reading "The Saints and the Cross Episode 3: Our Lady of Sorrows"
Today I begin my video series on the saints and the Cross with St. Charles Borromeo. I also provide a lens through which we can view the present pandemic and exile by referencing St. John Paul II's Salvifici Doloris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha_omS6vBMw I'm still taking suggestions for saints you'd like to see me cover. Feel free to …
Continue reading "The Saints and the Cross Episode 1: St. Charles Borromeo"
Suffering agony in this life isn't easy. It doesn't matter if that agony is our own or our neighbor's. All of the calls to radical individualism and self-reliance are lies in the face of the ontological reality that we are all bound to one another. God has created us for union with Him and communion …
Swimming the Depths 