I am the type of person who can hold a grudge. I still remember injustices that happened to me when I was 8 years old. But, I’ve come to see that by holding on to those things, I am still giving that person power over me. A lot of times we think of Christ’s commandment to forgive others “seventy times seven times” as something that ...

I do not have any biological brothers, but I do have 5 sons.  In my fraternal poverty (biological speaking), however, I have learned its value, learning through fraternal bonds with other men how important brotherhood is.  And, conversely, seeing the battles and fights that arise between my sons shows the other side of the blessing – the tensio...

Do you ever wonder when, where, how, and from whom you learned that it wrong to cheat, lie, and steal? That integrity really does mean how you act when no one is looking? That you feel better when you do the right thing, even when it means that accepting the consequences might not be easy? In my case, the who is a combination of Mom, the Presentat...

My father was the best man I ever knew. As a man, he was everything I ever wanted to be.  He was an outdoorsman par excellence, he loved his wife (my mother), and he always made me feel loved and spoke to me as one person to another, imparting his wisdom with kind firmness. Dad was also a very troubled man and struggled with depression for year...

Like a lot of Catholic men I know, I wrestle with my past. When I give it license, it tries to eat me alive. If I let it, my past will silence and then destroy me. What do I do? How do I keep the past where it belongs? I run to the fiercest weapon I know – the Sacrament of Reconciliation. A few years ago, life as I knew it imploded. My success...

This time of year, my office is flooded with phone calls from people whose holidays have been affected by deep unresolved relationship wounds.  Often, they are caused by conflicts that happened years ago.  You know, most arguments and conflicts aren’t about the immediate topic, but about old pains, and family and love and all those things can c...

In our home we repent.  Every night.  We ask God to enlighten our conscience, we pause, and then there’s a moment where someone can say, “I did such and such today to you, will you forgive me?”  The answer is not, “its ok,” but, “I forgive you.” This daily act of humility doesn’t always go well, but by and large it does.  My ...

Forgiveness is absolutely central to our faith.  Most of us know this and simply take it as a given.  But we must remember that forgiveness is not commonplace.  Many who have been wronged bear a heavy burden of bitterness, and those who have wronged them bear a crippling sense of shame.  At root, this is a spiritual problem, and it’s a proble...