Like Mount Zion are they who trust in the LORD, unshakable, forever. — Psalm 125 Do you ever think about how much we trust every single day? For instance, every time you turn on your car and pull out of the driveway, you are trusting the people who assembled that car and the mechanic who […]
Many have noted that sports can teach young people valuable lessons which are transferrable to life: submission to authority, working as a team, practice and hard work to achieve goals, etc. I was never a star athlete, but I did play on some teams in high school and have done my share of coaching. Whether […]
I remember a couple of years ago seeing some TV reports about a heartbreaking situation in Somalia and Kenya that continue today. The commentator said, “We must warn you. Some of the images you are about to see are quite disturbing.” We proceed to see starving infants and children with distended tummies, crying children who […]
During a conversation with my 23-year-old son, he told me that a lot of his friends like our new pope. This isn’t the measure of the greatness of the man, but it is good to see some of Pope Francis’ major themes resonating with the young. Among the most prominent of these themes, something that […]
I have tinnitus. The more common term for it is “ringing in the ears.” It’s not a disease but rather a symptom of many, many things. There’s no easy way for me to trace what it is that is causing the persistent, high-pitched sound inside my head. It could be my depression and anxiety; it […]
I always cringe a little when I hear people of various Protestant denominations say they belong to a “Bible-based” church and that, as a Catholic, I don’t. They aren’t right, of course. Unfortunately, they aren’t completely wrong, either, when they imply that, generally, Catholics don’t “know our Bible” the way many of them do. I […]
Sometimes you see the storm coming from miles away. The sky darkens long in advance, the thunder roars loudly from a distance, the wind whips up and turns cool. You expect those storms and can plan around them a little, or at least plan for them. I don’t mind a good storm. You can enjoy […]
The moment doesn’t last that long. A few minutes, tops. It happens every Saturday morning I’m able to drag my body out of bed at 6 o’clock to join my brothers in Christ at a local Bread Company. Either Larry Boldt or Jim LaVictoire passes out a card to each member of our group — […]
One day last summer, I received an email message from Nick, a man who works for the same company as me. I know him a little. I knew his wife, Michelle, better since she trained me in my job before she had her first baby and chose to be a stay-at-home mom. Nick had great news. […]
I went through an extended period last year during which I had difficulty praying. The stretch lasted many weeks in which I couldn’t find the words to speak to God as I usually did, couldn’t sit silently in His presence as I usually did because I wasn’t certain He was there and struggled simply to say the […]
The “God moment” arrived during the performance of a high school musical one year ago. Not that it should have been confused with just any high school musical. This was the Youth Sing Praise program, an outstanding combination theater camp and religious retreat that has been operating for one week in June for the last […]
It is late, almost midnight. The St. Louis Cardinals ballgame ended just a few moments ago, so I turn off the radio on the nightstand. Now, the house is quiet, the bedroom dark. The only sounds I can detect are the dog’s snoring and my wife’s soft breathing as she lays sleeping next to me. […]
Mark Teixeira is widely known as one of the best all-around players in baseball. After being awarded the 2000 Dick Howser Trophy, college baseball’s equivalent of college football’s Heisman Trophy, he was taken in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft in 2001. His professional career includes a World Series championship, two All-Star Game […]
Not long ago, we were driving down Interstate 70 in the St. Louis area, just past the I-270 interchange, and saw a car pulled over by the police. Not just one policeman, though. There were at least three police cars there with colored lights flashing, Three cops! Wow, that has to be quite a feeling for […]
What to get for the contemporary male who has everything? The Man Bag. The Man Bag is a high-style satchel — a purse, though its creators hate when you call it that. It’s designed to hold the modern man’s wallet, keys, sunglasses, iPod, cell phone, body spray, hair goop, diary and whatever other junk he […]
Some nights, when there are no clouds, I look up at the night sky hoping to see so many twinkling stars. But the lights of the city are bright where I live. They can obscure the lights of the heavens and thus make it difficult to notice anything more than the most brilliant of stars. […]
Being marooned, either on a desert island or in space, has a long literary and film history. There is something about the solitary individual (sometimes the small group) battling against his circumstances, knowing that no cavalry is going to arrive. When the stakes are “perform or die” you normally have captivating drama. The pairing of […]
Some things make you feel just a little more alive. Hearing a moving song. Helping someone in need. Reading words that make you cry. Seeing a sunset with breath-taking colors. And the feeling is multiplied immeasurably if you are sharing those experiences with someone special. Indeed, love completes us as human beings. Do you remember […]
In a recent conversation with a Protestant friend, I mentioned that we all are called to be saints. “That’s just too Catholic for me,” she said. Those words stung. What does “too Catholic” mean? Do people of our faith tradition give the impression to non-Catholics that we strive for something different than them? For that […]
I can hardly tell you how often I’ve had the following thoughts lately: “She’s married with three kids and she is only a year older than I am, what am I doing with my life?“ “She’s traveled to six different countries in the last three years, what on Earth have I been doing?“ “He’s got a great […]
Just as it is helpful for women to talk to women now and again regarding the spiritual life, the same holds true for men! David N. Calvillo’s book, Real Men Pray the Rosary: A Practical Guide to a Powerful Prayer, is a forthright conversation with men (and us women who sneak a peek) about his own […]
We all walk around with secrets. I’m not sure if I should thank God for that aspect of human nature. Some of them are good secrets. They remain unspoken for a variety of reasons. Perhaps we’re afraid people might think we are foolish or unreasonable for harboring thoughts of something we can never achieve or […]
Every day, I look in the mirror and am not sure I know the man looking back at me. He looks familiar. But his hair is grayer than I remember, his beard white instead of brown, the face a bit fleshier and showing some lines. The man I see is older than I expect — […]
I would be remiss not make mention on this website dedicated to fatherhood that habemus papam — we have a papa – and indeed, what a remarkable papa Francis is turning out to be! Even from the outset, our new Holy Father has offered many examples of fatherly love, wisdom, and practical judgment at work. […]
