If there is such a thing as a good kind of pride, I experienced it in a moment with my first son Elijah that I’ll never forget. I cannot perfectly remember what happened in that moment, but it went something like this: Elijah picked up one of his teddy bears (whose name is obviously Teddy), and, fumbling Teddy around as though the stuffed animal...

“Practice makes Perfect.” We have all heard this saying growing up, but have we really taken the time to stop and think about what it means? Perfection is when something is done without error. Another word for perfection is excellence, and this is something we all strive for. We all have a desire to be excellent because we long to return to our...

“First do the ordinary things well, then you can think of extraordinary things” (del Gal, The Spiritual Life of Cardinal Merry del Val, 110, emphasis added). These are the words of Servant of God Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val as recalled by someone under his spiritual direction. As an Olympic-style weightlifting coach this is the same approac...

If there is one thing my dad drilled into his children through both words and deeds, it was the virtue of discipline. In my short time as a father, it is perhaps the thing with which I struggle the most. Growing up, my dad constantly drilled me and my five siblings on the importance of discipline. He led through example by leaving for work most ...

A central fact of the Christian message is this: we Christians serve a foolish God, who calls His followers to a life of folly.  “Whoever wishes to come after me”, He says, “must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt 16:24).  To where must we follow him?  To Golgotha, the Place of the Skull.  Sounds foolish, does it not? �...

I am staring at the Exodus 90 kit (if you don’t know what Exodus 90 is, click here). The 90 days of living the dream haven’t started for me yet but will be here before I know it. Prayer and fasting aren’t a new concept for me, but the rigor and length of Exodus 90 are a more intense take on it. I might be crazy, but I am looking forward to st...

One of the blessings of teaching religion to high schoolers is that I get to witness to how God has transformed my life. This comes up in various ways through a myriad of lessons in all the grades I teach. Over the years, one particular topic, one special piece of advice, has resurfaced in various contexts: discerning one’s vocation. Everyone mus...

One of my favorite quotes from G.K. Chesterton – or from anyone for that matter – accurately distills the distinguishing characteristic of essentially every critique of the Christian paradigm and unapologetically defends that very paradigm in the space of less than twenty words. In fact, my description of the quote is already longer than the qu...

When your wife discovers that you have become addicted to pornography, it can be devastating for her. She may feel deeply hurt and betrayed. One of the first steps to healing your marriage is offering an apology. Your wife deserves an honest and sincere apology, and a simple “I’m sorry” won’t suffice. She needs to formally know you are sorr...

Very often I encounter Catholic men that desire to grow in holiness- whether this is to learn more about their faith, grow in prayer or tackle a serious sin in their life- but very often they are not sure exactly where to start. The challenge can be overwhelming (especially if we have been away from the faith for a while), and what we can see so...