More Magnificent Than Any Cathedral
Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature.
The Church’s Abandonment on the Cross
Having devoured many spiritual classics from the desert fathers to St. Augustine during my two and half years as a Benedictine monk before discerning out, one idea struck me above the rest. An author, whose name escapes me, prophetically proclaimed that the Catholic Church must undergo everything our Lord has gone through. On a personal…
Religious Life or Marriage? Vocational Wisdom from the Parents of Saints
For years, a friend of mine wrestled with his vocation. Should I be a priest? Should I get married? Which one, Lord, are you calling me to? One roadblock stood in his way. Surprisingly, celibacy was not holding him back; rather, it was the Church’s teaching on the superiority of celibacy over marriage. Like my…
The Fifth Prophecy of Humanae Vitae
In his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI prophesied four serious consequences if contraception became embraced by the culture and the family: infidelity/moral decadence, lost respect for and use of women by their husbands, government’s abuse of power, and man’s absolute dominion. Tragically, all four prophecies have come to fruition, wreaking havoc on the…
St. Benedict’s Lenten Paradigm Shift
Every Ash Wednesday, I feel as though I were attending a funeral Mass. You would think someone had died — and this joyless expression lingers on for many of us until Easter. For years, I held that same expression — that is, until I read The Rule of St. Benedict. Many people have an aversion…
After I Lost My Vocation, These Saints Rescued Me
A week before my high school graduation in 2002, the horrid priest abuse scandal broke. A few days later, the media swarmed our bishop following our Baccalaureate Mass. Thanks be to God, I had had only positive encounters with bishops and priests up to that point. A few months after the priest abuse scandal made…
