St. Teresa of Calcutta faced spiritual darkness for 40 years and did not shy from telling others of her struggle: “I am told God lives in me – and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. I want God with all the power of my …
The Christian does not say: “I wish I had more time, more money, more opportunities.” Rather, the Christian says: “I will be a better steward of my time, more generous with my money, and more thankful to God for the opportunities He’s given me.” Just as St. John Paul II reminded us: It’s not about …
1. Give God the time of day when you’re most alive. Perhaps it’s right after breakfast, during a break at work, or just after you get home. You choose. Just stick with it, every day. 2. Begin by reading from the Bible, or from the life of a saint, or another spiritual reading book. (It …
Conversion is not like winning the lottery. It’s more like investing in a retirement plan. Conversion is a long, disciplined, time-consuming, non-compromising, growing, friendship with God in His Church. Somedays we crawl, others we walk, and still others we sprint. But we never, ever, stop.
If you’re like me, you enjoy getting the newest app on your phone. It’s fun, it’s new, and we convince ourselves that it can add a lot of value to our lives. But after awhile, the same thing always happens. We rarely look at the app again, going back to the same three or four …
(Don’t just “pray more”) Pray for 20 minutes every morning at 6:30 AM. (Don’t just “read more”) Read a spiritual book every month. Start with this one. (Don’t just “go to confession more”) Schedule confession once a month with your pastor (Don’t just “go to daily Mass more”) Go to noon Mass every Wednesday during …
There’s never been a time I’ve regretted getting to Mass early. There’s plenty of times, however, I’ve regretted being late. Whipping the car out of the driveway, driving through yellow-ish lights, parking where we’re not supposed to park, and scurrying in as Father’s making the sign of the cross won’t help us pray. Arriving at …
One of my favorite titles for Mary is “Our Lady, Undoer of Knots.” The root of this devotion dates all the way back to the second century, where Saint Irenaeus wrote: “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did …
If you argue with your spouse in front of your children or grandchildren, do you also make sure to apologize and ask for forgiveness in front of our children or grandchildren? Witnessing the humility and forgiveness of a mother and father (or grandmother and grandfather) might just be the best example of God’s mercy they …
A number of months ago, on the radio, I interviewed a religious sister who walked with Mother Teresa for 27 years. She spoke quietly, sharing stories of her longtime friend who she had known as “Mother.” It was fascinating to hear Sister speak first hand about this woman I’ve read about for so long. And …