Spirituality

Describing hell is no fun task. Often, images of fire and pits, provided by Christ and portrayed in art throughout the Church’s history, come to mind. Yet, these images are allegories or metaphors (good ones of course!) which try to represent how terrible hell is. We know these images are metaphors...

A few years ago, while teaching a class on bioethics and Christian anthropology, I explained the Catholic Church’s teaching on In Vitro Fertilization, “IVF” (literally “Fertilization in glass”). I discussed the dignity of human procreation, the meaning of the marital act, and the moral concerns surr...

One of the most misunderstood virtues we are called to foster is meekness. In Matthew’s Gospel, the Lord invites us to a life of meekness when He teaches: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of h...

“Beauty will save the world,” Fyodor Dostoevsky maintained. His faithful disciple, Nikolai Berdyaev, echoed the sentiment. In his book, The Meaning of the Creative Act, Berdyaev discusses the special role of beauty that is associated with fine art. “Art,” he declares, “is always a victory over the h...

I am consistently engaged in a never-ending series of home upkeep projects, because I want to be a good steward of the gifts God has granted to my family. Even though I have to turn immediately to the next item on the list, completed projects are always satisfying. Still, along the path toward satis...

A good number of modern Catholics often speak about their faith as if they were hostages reading from a prepared statement. Simply repeating Church teaching has never been enough of a witness to Christ to soften hearts or change the trajectories of lives. In fact, it can be argued that presenting a...

Every journey to Christ eventually leads us to His Mother. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and many of the saints often said that Mary is the quickest, surest, and most tender path to Christ. For Sheen, the Blessed Virgin Mary was not merely a devotional option, but the very path by which Christ enters t...

If you’re reading this article, odds are you’re not totally new to the Faith. You’ve probably read other Catholic blogs, books from the saints, and watched a Fr. Mike Schmitz video or two. This won’t be the first time you’ve read about the importance of starting your day with mental prayer, but, if...

There’s a story passed down through sacred tradition about St. Peter fleeing Rome during the Church’s persecution. In his flight, he encounters the risen Christ, weary and forlorn, going in the opposite direction. Back towards certain death. Surprised by this, Peter asks, Quo vadis? (“Where are you...

Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed. (Is. 56:1) Christ’s salvation was about to come to a foreign country. After once again offending the Pharisees (just a few verses before Sunday’s Gospel passage, Christ’s disciples told Him,...

Many young men have spent thousands of hours inhabiting gaming worlds where purpose is immediate, enemies are obvious, and victory is visible. The online battles they fight cost them nothing but time. The real-life battles men fight are far less cinematic most of the time. They consist of changing d...

The priest who prepared my wife and me for marriage told us that the score on our compatibility test was the lowest he had ever seen. He advised (strongly) that we not get married. It was five years into our marriage that I began to believe him. My wife, Kim, after having a miscarriage, gave birth t...