The Silent Man’s Word

Saint Joseph’s silence is famous. It is often said that scripture does not relate a single word that passed from his lips. The Gospels show him to be the faithful and prudent head of the holy family, the chaste husband … Continue reading

Pulling the Fourth

“I told them I was pulling the fourth.” A wise father once shared with me that the fourth commandment—honor thy father and mother—is a trump card he holds up his sleeve. He pulls it out when his children need to … Continue reading

I Didn’t Pick Them

Thanksgiving is over. Hopefully we all had a pleasant time and remembered to keep being thankful for all of the blessings God has placed in our lives. But, if there is any truth at all in the stereotype presented to … Continue reading

Your Guardian Angel

Just as parents rightfully seek the very best care for their children, God has done so in assigning us guardian angels. Since these creatures quite naturally evade direct human sensation, too often this gift goes unrecognized! However, Jesus himself draws … Continue reading

The Tears of St. Monica

Thus you gave another answer through your priest, a certain bishop nurtured in the Church and trained in your books. When that woman implored him to consider speaking with me, to refute my errors, un-teach me evil, and teach me … Continue reading

To the Parents of a Black Sheep

Every family seems to have someone who sticks out above the rest, for better or for worse. It is not uncommon today to have parents who consider one (or more) of their children to be the “black sheep” of the … Continue reading

The Calculus of Love

How much does it cost to love someone? This is a difficult, if not impossible, question to answer. (Spoilers!) Several months ago, Bishop Robert Barron reviewed Lady Bird, a film which, despite its at times questionable treatment of sexuality, captures … Continue reading

Sipping Alleluia

Sipping Alleluia This is a courtesy reminder: it’s still Easter. The last of the Peeps bunnies may have left the clearance shelves, and the Easter lilies might be withering, but the Easter season is far from over. We make Lenten … Continue reading

The Saintly Father of Lima

In the Soul of the Apostolate, Trappist monk Jean-Baptiste Chautard quotes this saying: “A holy priest makes a fervent people; a fervent priest a pious people; a pious priest a fairly good people; a fairly good priest, a godless people.” … Continue reading

Youth, Beauty, and Promise

A few years ago, my father “was a young man, strong, virile, athletic, handsome, chaste, and disciplined; the kind of man one sees sometimes shepherding sheep, or piloting a plane, or working at a carpenter’s bench.” Even today, he is … Continue reading

“Let the past die!”

(Spoilers!) A number of characters from the most recent installment of Star Wars struck me as exemplifying a real source of struggle for many people today: a desire to break from the past. Kylo Ren voices this leitmotif of the … Continue reading

Mi Casa Es Tu Casa

“Son, back in nahn-teen seh-vendy six your dad was…” Often in my household while I was growing up, my father, referring to himself in the third person, would start extravagant stories with this long, drawn-out introduction. My brother and I … Continue reading

The Day Before Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving. Sleep in. Enjoy the warmth of the bed as it keeps away the chill in your room. Stay away from the world for a little longer this morning. No job forces you from your sleepiness today. … Continue reading

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Easter has eggs, Christmas presents, Halloween candy, and the Fourth of July fireworks. These are so tied to their celebration that leaving out the “has” of the preceding clauses might make one think that the names of the holidays were … Continue reading

First Mass

A Short Story Clenching the wheel of his community’s beat-up beige Ford Taurus so tightly the color had fully drained from his hands, Father Eugene Felusiak raced up the Jersey Turnpike. As he successfully steered the vehicle from one lane … Continue reading

Hearts Like His

You’re always hurt most by those closest to you. The sharpest knives are wielded by family, religious brothers, or intimate friends, for they have a particular access to our hearts that is born of the strength of the bond between … Continue reading

Lord, that I may see (more than myself)

After listening to a talk about the dangers of narcissism in the spiritual life, a brother turned to me and said, “I’m pretty sure that whole talk was about me.” I assured him that the talk was definitely about me. … Continue reading

Dusk. Two Men.

Twilight. The outside of a large estate in the country. It’s a warm evening with a pleasant breeze carrying snatches of music, laughter, and delicious-smelling smoke over the walls. A man is sitting by himself on a bench outside the … Continue reading

Buried in the Prairie

Today I will be burying my grandmother. After 96 years of life, she returned to the Lord in the early morning of Easter Sunday. Despite the sadness, everyone in the family, every branch in that great tree, thought to themselves, … Continue reading

5 Ways St. Joseph Can Help Your Lent

Editor’s note: This post was originally published on March 19, 2015. How can St. Joseph help you this Lent?  I propose five ways.  Simplicity In John 6, when Jesus boldly declares, “I am the bread of life,” his hearers murmur … Continue reading

Don’t Look Gloomy, Smile!

Today we are just a week into Lent, with five weeks to go before the holy Triduum and the glories of Easter. In the meantime, we Christians are praying, fasting, and giving alms in reparation to God for our sins … Continue reading

Our Heavenly Knoxville

“Son, no matter where you live or how far you may roam,Tennessee will always be your home.” This has been my dad’s mantra to me ever since I was in the crib. A South Carolinian for nearly 30 years, he … Continue reading

Jesus Hasn’t Moved Out

Editor’s note: This is the second post in a series commenting on the first words of Christ as presented in the Gospels. How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s … Continue reading

Hardly Idyllic

The Holy Family had a rough start, don’t you think? To begin with, it almost ended before it started. Mary was found to be with child, in a pregnancy planned by God but unplanned by men. So “Joseph, being a … Continue reading

Cold Comfort

Ebenezer Scrooge, visited already by several Spirits, “was ready for a good broad field of strange appearances…nothing between a baby and rhinoceros would have astonished him very much.” I’ve had the pleasure of thinking about Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol … Continue reading