Isaiah 6 5 Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips,And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which… [Read More]
Why we can’t stop listening.
Back when I was in high school, I became close friends with two girls. They were Baptist. They taught me that God really loved me, that I could talk to Him like I talked to my best friend, and that most music played on the radio was evil. In fact, one friend went so far… [Read More]
Another Dating Blog: When Love Feels Conditional
Hello my dear blog-readers. This week’s blog is going to take a step away from the educational, and towards the personal. That’s right, my following blog posts are going to be dating blogs. Hooray! C’mon – you know you’re excited to read about my dating mishaps. I hope you can learn through my missteps, and… [Read More]
ICYMI: Good Samaritan, Catholic Bands, Respect Life & Wisdom From the Pope
Did you have a good weekend? I hope your Monday (and week) are off to a great start! The following is a collection of cool news, resources and even some wisdom from the Pope you may or may not have heard about – hence the title – In Case You Missed It. Is there anything… [Read More]
You Too Will Be Famous!
“You too will be famous!” How those words cause starry-eyed young hearts to flutter! What great fortune have they who achieve this pinnacle of worldly aspirations. And to what great lengths go so many souls to be able to claim it for themselves. But how many consider that something valuable might be lost in the… [Read More]
A (Chaste) Movie Review of “Don Jon”
After my last post on pornography, I felt it was only fitting that I follow that up with my take on the new movie by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, called “Don Jon”. If you haven’t seen the trailer, it’s about a young man who is into fast cars, hookups and porn. Oh, and he claims to be… [Read More]
Relationships 101: The #1 Way the Internet is Messing Up Your Love Life
Part Four of “Relationships 101”. See part three here. We left off the last post with the number one way the Internet is messing up your love life. Remember what it was? It has become so pervasive that about 30,000 people use it EVERY SECOND (Daily Infographic, 2013). It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that has been around… [Read More]
An Accidental Pilgrimage
This weekend I happened to stumbled upon two pilgrimage sites for the Year of Faith in Denver, CO in less than 48 hours. It was quite the blessed surprise (and not so much an accident!). I was in Denver last week for work and decided to stay the weekend to spend some time sightseeing with… [Read More]
Relationships 101: 3 Ways The Internet is Messing Up Your Love Life
Part three of “Relationship 101” Series. See part two here. According to research done by Kathryn Zickuhr and Aaron Smith of Pew Internet Research, a whopping 70% of Americans have internet, compared to ten years ago, when only 16% of Americans had home internet. Additionally, in 2013 56% of Americans have smart phones with Internet access, and 46%… [Read More]
Some Monday Morning Inspiration To Get You Going
Oh, Monday, here we are again. Maybe your weekend was packed with activities or maybe it was used for a Netflix-surfing-couch-time. Yet, here we are again, on a Monday with a full week ahead of us until the next well deserved weekend. While channel flipping over the weekend, I caught a few minutes of the… [Read More]
GODS: The Good Old Days Syndrome
This week, I’ve decided to take a brief side route away from my posts about the Theology of Sound to raise public awareness of a particular disease. It’s an old disease – very old, in fact – and it has never been cured, nor will it ever be. It is not a bacteria, and hence… [Read More]
Z. Randall Stroope’s The Conversion of Saul
David Casper asked this question a few weeks ago in his post: Why does music hold such power over the human heart? In middle and high school, my sanctuary was the choir room. Forget sports (although I did play soccer in high school) and the library, I’d much rather spend before school, after school and… [Read More]
Relationships 101: Is Male Self-Confidence Attractive?
Part Two of the Relationship 101 Series. See Part One here. I was recently asked about self-confidence in men, and if it is attractive to women. I’m no expert, but below is my attempt to answer specifically the posed questions: In closing, healthy self-confidence is attractive to lots of women (that I know, anyway). But… [Read More]
Prayer and Self Confidence: An Interior Reflection
What does it mean to be humble? What kind of self-denial (Lk 9:23) does that entail? Is the desire for humility contrary to that of self-confidence? Is one good and the other beautiful? I’d like these thoughts to continue in the Comment section. Does prayer nurture my humility? It would seem so – that the… [Read More]
Relationships 101: Using the “D” Word
Due to requests to blog about dating, this will be the first of a series addressing various issues in dating as a Catholic, Christian, or any other person of the world who wants to date for the purpose it was intended: to find a spouse. Yes, I used the “D” word. Before you get carried… [Read More]
The Perfect Time for Parenting
I’ll never forget when my wife, Michelle, told me we were pregnant the first time. I unwrapped a gift to find tiny baby booties inside with a note that said, “Can’t wait to meet you, Daddy.” As I recall, I just started laughing. And then I kept on laughing. And then laughed some more. For… [Read More]
Thanksgiving and Detachment
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad! Did you read what happened in that verse? The author acknowledged God’s work of creation and God’s work in creation. What follows when God is acknowledged? His creation is glad and rejoices! We are glad and we rejoice. The heavens declare… [Read More]
Crisis Pregnancy: My Story
Telling this story is a huge step for me. It’s one that many people in my life don’t know, because it’s one I’m afraid to talk about. But in light of the recent political tug-o-wars, I think it’s time I shared my personal story with crisis pregnancy. It’s a bit long, and a lot vulnerable,… [Read More]
Defend us in Battle
I sometimes wonder if those who are fought for human rights and those who are considered great examples of leaders for social justice knew they would be forever knitted into mankind’s history. I’m going to be bold and presume that for those who dedicated their lives to ensuring our fellow brothers and sisters were treated… [Read More]
Stay With Me: How to Find Comfort in Chaos
Have you ever had one of those moments when life seems to be truckin’ along as usual – then BAM – something comes out of left field, leaving your world completely shaken? You stand there blinking, looking around like nothing looks or feels the same anymore. Suddenly you remember, with 3D technicolor clarity, that life… [Read More]
A Single Gal’s Girl Code
[girl·code] n. the unwritten understanding between girls (If you haven’t already figured out, this one is for the ladies. Sorry gentlemen.) My friend and I’s “Girl Code” from the third grade probably contained the following nuggets of wisdom: Boys have cooties. Stay away from them unless you’ve got your cootie shot. Don’t reveal who-likes-who when sworn… [Read More]
5 Thoughts for Newlyweds
You can always tell when there’s been a wedding. At my parish, that’s when we get to look at pretty flowers. Because, at a university parish, we don’t spend the big bucks on flowers. We’re frugal, yo. So, we love it when wedding season comes around. There’s fragrant proof of white gowns, flower girls and… [Read More]
Don’t Call Me Crazy: A Christian Response to the Stigma of Mental Illness
“That’s so crazy!” “You must be crazy…” ‘Crazy’ is a word we hear thrown around often in our culture. We even have multiple variations now, with ‘craziness’, ‘crazy sauce’ and ‘cray cray’ floating around online and in person. I myself am guilty of using this word flippantly to describe anything from intense stress to something… [Read More]
Brandon Vogt’s Strange Notions Launches Today!
Strange Notions, a site designed to be a central place of dialogue online between Catholics and atheists, will go live TODAY at 8 a.m. CST. The site include intelligent articles, compelling video and rich discussion through its comment box. Brandon Vogt, a Catholic speaker, blogger and writer, is behind project and has a group of… [Read More]
I didn’t have time to write my post this week…
I couldn’t finish my blog this week. Can I have an extension? Looking at my current schedule I think I could have a blog ready for you by next, ….um, do you have any plans for Mardi Gras? I’m sorry but I’ve been really busy. Lately, It feels like whenever I finish my project I’m… [Read More]
Ora et labora, aka Work and/as/in Prayer
Driving home from class last night, as I offered a decade of the rosary to help calm my mind, what was the first thing the Spirit brought to my calm mind but a friendly reminder – don’t forget your blog post tomorrow! Oops! I had forgotten! This week has been crazy, and though I’ve been… [Read More]
Run, Walk, Glow-fun, and Soundwave at the Saints and Sinners AfterDark 5K – May 4 at Hutto High School
Come one, come all to the Inaugural Saints and Sinners After Dark 5K! Calling all Runners, walkers, Soundwave fans, and supporters of the St. Patrick Catholic Church community! Head over to Hutto High School on May 4th for the Inaugural Saints and Sinners After Dark 5K and MusicFEST! View the web site online here… [Read More]
Finding Solace in Silence
I’ve never been able to appreciate silence as much as I wished I could. Last week, I spent way too much of my time reading news, refreshing my twitter feed, listening to NPR and the talking heads on the news networks. I blame the overwhelming curiosity on journalism classes and my career choice. With those… [Read More]
No really, I’VE GOT THIS: The Perfectionist’s Struggle of Letting Others Help
Before you begin this blog, please answer the following questions (to yourself, or out loud if you like that kind of attention): 1. Would you consider yourself a ‘perfectionist’? 2. Have you ever been accused of being an over-achiever? 3. Are you one of those people that says “I’m fine!” in response to everything? If… [Read More]
What I learned This Lent
Hi everyone! We have a Guest Blogger pinch hitting for me today, please welcome Laurelin Ontai. Laurelin is a cradle Catholic and is currently a junior at UT majoring in advertising with a minor in business. She is social media obsessed and a lover of corgis. She doesn’t know what she wants to do with… [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]
Joe’s Musical
We could already tell from his new web project, Joe’s People, that Joe Geisler has some bold ideas about the New Evangelization, but on April 1st Joe revealed his most ambitious project to date to ACNM. Because I was not scheduled to post April 1st, here are completely “factual” details. Geisler is planning to produce a… [Read More]
The Silence of the Lamb
Ladies and gents, I think I might be clinically insane. There are many reasons I think this might be true, not the least of which is my propensity for cackling maniacally while formulating plans to take over the world, but if you’re not entirely convinced, I think I could prove my point if you just… [Read More]
South Cross South West: Catching Up With Gina Chavez and Paul Finley
In addition to catching some official SXSW events this past month, I was able to go participate in some un-official SXSW events. The first was ACNM’s un-official SXSW interactive event. If you missed the event but want to check out the audio, it’s all here. The other un-official event I caught was South Cross South… [Read More]
Fraternity: A Place of Charity and Indulgence
What does it take to be a man of God? The place of fraternity cultivates what we as men aspire to, masculinity. It sounds easy enough, but we don’t always cultivate the word of God in our heart (Col 3:16). We don’t always act in charity toward our brothers, sometimes we indulge in sin. Sometimes… [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]
A South Cross Southwest Event!
For those who live in Austin (and even those who don’t) SXSW means one thing: celebrities, film screenings, music concerts and the latest nerdy gadgets. But this Saturday at an event downtown, SXSW means something much different. David Morton, co-founder of Six17 Creative, created an event to bring Catholic musicians to the University Student Center… [Read More]
Conclave? There’s an app for that! (and Twitter, Email, etc)
The eight general congregation of the College of Cardinals announced last week that the conclave to select the next Pope will begin on tomorrow on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. The cardinals will celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in the morning and then enter into the conclave that afternoon. If you’re not planning on waiting… [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]
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]
