Part One of a series about reaching out to and understanding those who cope with depression. Recently my book club read “Never Give Up: My Life and God’s Mercy” by John Janaro. Among some amazing insights, we had some very fruitful discussion about depression and its elusive, sneaky nature. We heard from a number of people… [Read More]
Why We Use Icons
Often when we are attempting to enter into a deeper state of prayer, we try to limit our physical senses. This is a very practical approach. We recognize that it is easier to focus on the spiritual by trying to ignore the physical that can deceive or even distract from our prayer. The easiest sense… [Read More]
The Forgotten Virtue of Nobility
We are a handful of dust, kept together by seventy-five per cent of liquid, with souls that were stained at birth and which are weighted all through our lives with a heavy downward lurch towards sin. – Caryll Houselander “Greatness” has a negative connotation in this day and age. Nobility is equated with riches and power. Born… [Read More]
The Audacity of Pope Francis
On Good Friday morning last week, I received this text message from a friend, “Your new Pope is all kinds of awesome.” You can probably derive from the message that my friend is not Catholic. He read in the news about Pope Francis’s Holy Thursday visit to wash the feet of prison inmates and, like… [Read More]
Jesus has Risen: Giver and Sender
Alleluia! “Ridding oneself of what is repugnant to God’s will should be understood not only of one’s acts but of one’s habits as well. Not only must actual voluntary imperfections cease, but habitual imperfections must be annihilated too.” -St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel On Sunday we celebrated the solemnity of the… [Read More]
What Love Really Means (Review: “The Four Loves”)
Love is complicated. After I came back to the Church, I realized that the world’s definition of love wasn’t going to cut it. I knew that it had to be more than just a feeling, but I was still confused. How could I define something so powerful, so sacred, and so broadly applicable to everything… [Read More]
Does Your Heart Break?
There is a strange irony that every day of the year, including Christmas, we celebrate mass in front of an image of Christ crucified on the cross except for the very day it happened. On Good Friday there is no consecration as we continue the Triduum and consume pre-consecrated Eucharist that we adored after the… [Read More]
Agony & Chalice, Freedom & Love
Christ’s words in Gethsemane have been echoing in my heart for months now. And today, this most solemn Holy Thursday, Maundy Thursday, is the day when we are called to be with Christ in His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. We have begun the Triduum; we walk towards the Resurrection. These are the… [Read More]
Catholic Summer Camp Guide: 2013
There is one word that’s keeping me going until June: summer. I can see sweet tea, swimming pools and no alarm clocks on the horizon. If you’re a mom, you probably have summer camp on that list, as well. Perhaps you’ve been wondering just where you can find great Catholic summer camps for your children…. [Read More]
Keep Holy Week Holy! 3 Tips to Focus on Holy Week
Where did Lent go? It feels like we just got started, yet here we are, about to celebrate Holy Week! Yes, Easter will be here before you know it. So as Lent comes to a close with us celebrating Holy Week, the holiest week of all weeks for us in the Catholic Church, it’s time… [Read More]
The Irish Struggle (Review: “Flight of the Earls”)
As a Notre Dame grad, I am always in the company of proud Irishmen (and women). Even though St. Patrick’s Day was suppressed for the Fifth Sunday of Lent this year, I managed to wear a little bit of green, and I randomly heard a track from my twin friends’ St. Patrick’s Day compilation on… [Read More]
Falling Away With You
“[I] promise to hold you close and pray, watching the fantasies decay, nothing will ever stay the same. All of the love we threw away… making the same mistakes again making the same mistakes again I can feel my world crumbling I can feel my life crumbling… and falling away, falling away with you.” –… [Read More]
Meat Always Looks Tasty on Friday
If you’re like me, you find meat tasty. Here in Texas, we love our steaks, burgers, and BBQ. If you haven’t seen the popular HEB commercial, it shows that most Texans would have a cookout every meal if we could. It isn’t far from the truth. Let’s talk a little more about this thing we… [Read More]
The Loose Ends of Marxism
It is uncommon to find an movement of revolt in the present age, which claims to stand for the poor and underprivileged, that is not somehow influenced by the ideology set forth by Karl Marx. The orthodox view and the more common contemporary view of Catholic social justice differ in that, without admitting it,… [Read More]
Second Pew, Choir Side
I can point to the pew I sat in the first time I went to Mass at St. Mary’s in College Station. It was my first week as a freshman at Texas A&M. I had only been to Mass a few times before in my life. A Christmas with my grandmother as a small child,… [Read More]
The Purpose-Driven Catholic Church (Review: “Rebuilt”)
I am a parish employee. Campus ministry works in some significantly different ways than geographical parishes, but for practical purposes (such as when people ask what I do), I work in a parish. I’m betting pretty strongly that most of you reading this either currently belong to a parish, go to Mass, or used to… [Read More]
Be still: Finding God amidst the mayhem.
As I write this, the wind outside howls and spins, causing the trees to throw up their branches in helplessness, and the walls of my apartment to tremble. It’s disconcerting, this wind. It came out of nowhere this morning, gaining intensity and speed throughout the afternoon, until it began to blow cars off the road,… [Read More]
Do You Count Sundays in Lent?
I’ve been very amazed to see the amount of Catholics that haven’t been to mass in years yet still feel the need to give something up for Lent. I haven’t seen any official polls, but it seems that this group is even larger than the ones that go to mass on Ash Wednesday. It seems… [Read More]
Prayer before Coffee
As I’ve written before, I am not a morning person. I am however a faithful Catholic and sometimes my love for Jesus requires me to do things I don’t want to do. One of these is wake up with enough time to do a morning prayer. It was the First Sunday of Lent and the… [Read More]
Join ACNM for SXSW… Unofficially
Last Friday Cristobal talked about ACNM’s continued growth and expansion. Today I’m thrilled to announce the next phase in our mission. Last year during SXSW we held an expanded Q1 meetup to coincide with the Interactive Festival. This year we are taking it to the next level. Pope Benedict XVI calls the world of social media a… [Read More]
The Sound of Jesus Coming
I’ve often wished that I could peek into the first century world to experience the sights and sounds of following Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, I love the gospels but I wish that one of the writers had composed their narrative with all of the descriptions of a novel. As it stands we get more… [Read More]
20 Reflective Movies for Lent… or anytime, really
I’m always on the hunt for an inspiring film, especially during a reflective time like the season of Lent. There are hundreds of beautiful movies out there, and I have put together a list of 20 of my favorites. Some are more religious in nature and some are more secular. Some are recent releases and… [Read More]
Your New Catholic Toolkit (Review: “The Confirmed Catholic’s Companion”)
“Now, Lindsay,” you might say, “it’s barely Lent! Confirmation season isn’t for months!” Well, you’re right. It’s not Confirmation season, and except in emergencies, no one is going to be confirmed for at least six more weeks. That makes it the perfect time to consider not only what delightful Catholic reference book you’re going to… [Read More]
Lent: Walking in the wilderness
Unfortunately I didn’t take the time with God to work out the post I was planning this week. After Ash Wednesday, God and I became busy working on many other issues I needed to address. Finally last night God smacked me and said “hey dummy… since you are busy with your Lenten discipline why not… [Read More]
Trust issues? I got ’em.
Trust. Now there’s a fun buzz word. We hear this all the time: “What? Don’t you trust me?” “Dude, trust me!” “You have some serious trust issues.” But what is that word, really? According to Webster, trust is the “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something,” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trust). Okay, so… [Read More]
Prayer and Temperament
This week has reminded me of Ecclesiastes 3:8. There has been a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. Many of us are still processing the resignation of our Holy Father Pope Benedict the XVI… and with Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Valentine’s day and the… [Read More]
5 Common Misconceptions About Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday not only marks the beginning of the season of Lent, it is also a time when Catholic new media takes center stage, albeit not in the most obvious ways. This is because Ash Wednesday masses are some of the most attended all year, and most of those mass goers rely upon church websites… [Read More]
Calling all the Single Ladies!
Girls, if you’re not married and between the ages of 16 and 45, let’s have a chat. Have you considered spending the rest of your life with Jesus as your spouse? The King of Heaven on Earth who knows your heart’s every desire and loves you more than you can possibly imagine? (Or did I… [Read More]
The Challenge of LGBT Friendships
“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’” -Matthew 16:14 Jennifer Fulwiler wrote an article several months ago documenting a conversation she had with an old friend who had chosen an “alternate” lifestyle. She handled it remarkably well and admirably defended her Catholic faith throughout the awkward affair. However, the… [Read More]
Catholic Time Travel 101
The call came in at 1:20p.m. on a Tuesday. My professional association had run a nice “member spotlight” on me in its magazine. It wasn’t much, just a few pictures of me and my family and a nice questionnaire about my career and personal interests. So, when a colleague called and mentioned it, I figured… [Read More]
5 Tips For An Intentional Lent
It is a week or so before the beginning of Lent, and I find myself cringing a bit. We just finished Christmas, for goodness sake! I still have a plastic box of Christmas snow globes on the top of the piano that I haven’t yet put away. And now, we’re edging up on to Lent… [Read More]
When Your Very Own Ideas Are the Truth (Review: “Orthodoxy”)
I like reading. I’d be crazy to have written a book review column for a year and a half if I didn’t like reading. But, in addition to reading, I like getting to know people. I’m an interesting person to make friends with because I have a knack for focusing very intentionally on developing the… [Read More]
Getting Over Myself: Battling the Ego in Relationships
You know that moment when you realize that you’re wrong? You’re looking at someone, or maybe you’re by yourself in the car or at work, and it hits you: you messed up. You made a mistake. You did or didn’t do something, and as a consequence, you’ve hurt someone else. As the reality hits you,… [Read More]
Vatican II & Social Communication
So I’ve been studying Vatican II lately (the Second Vatican Council) – not formally or anything, just reading up on it for fun (yes, for fun!). It IS the 50th anniversary of the opening Vat II after all – which is, of course, a fundamental part of the spirit/reason behind the Year of Faith. And… [Read More]
Texas Catholic Pro-Life Day – Saturday January 26th
With the 40th anniversary of Roe vs Wade this week and all the things happening this weekend to celebrate life. I thought I would use my time this week to highlight a few of them. Saturday January 26th is Texas Catholic Pro-life Day. A day full of events to celebrate life capped off with the Texas Rally… [Read More]
The Pro’s and Con of Dating A Catholic Man
Dating in the secular world is interesting, to put it mildly. It also happens to be confusing, messy, disordered and sometimes scary. I say this because I’ve done it. Because I’ve done it, I have had all too much practice having awkward conversations about why I go to mass as much as possible, why I… [Read More]
Four Words I’ll Never Forget
Four years ago, my son Jonathan found me sitting in front of my laptop, tears running down my cheeks. I had read an email and had been stunned to tears and silence. I was in shock with joy. The email was about Abby Johnson, the director of our local Planned Parenthood (the number one abortion… [Read More]
Lance Armstrong and the Art of Confession
When is a confession not “good enough?” The question itself challenges my Catholic sensibilities. I like to think that all confession is valid for the expiation of sin. However, after watching Lance Armstrong in the public confessional of Oprah Winfrey’s couch last week, I suddenly have my doubts. Please understand, I don’t believe that… [Read More]
Youth Ministry Lasts a Lifetime
I’m pretty sure the youth ministry small groups I lead are sick of hearing it, but if it weren’t for kids like them, I wouldn’t be Catholic today. I didn’t grow up in a practicing Catholic family, although I was baptised as an infant. Growing up, material things were all that mattered to me. Especially in high school… [Read More]
Economics and Envy
“The federal government’s most useful role is not to rush into a program of excessive increases in public expenditures, but to expand the incentives and opportunities of private expenditures.” – John F. Kennedy, 1962 A significant paradigm shift has occurred in our nation over the last fifty years. General attitudes toward war and national… [Read More]
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