A friend of mine wrote this description of attending Mass on an aircraft carrier:           It was 1962, the height of the Cold War. I was stationed aboard an aircraft carrier in the Western Pacific. Operations ran 24/7. The launch of an aircraft involved catapulting planes that weighed 60,000 pounds from dead-stop to a speed of 130 miles pe...

I read a story about a man with a recurring nightmare. In the dream, he was pursued by a fierce lion which kept chasing him until he dropped from exhaustion and woke screaming. The dream disturbed him greatly and, eventually, he sought counsel from his pastor. As they spoke, the pastor asked if there was something troubling going on in his life:...

This article was previously published in Sword & Spade Magazine. Pablo Gonzalez, Fraternus Captain and prolific father,  experienced the power of a father’s priestly voice.   Have you ever walked away from a serious car accident? You are bumped and bruised, nothing serious, but your car is totaled. You look around confused and ...

This article was previously published in Sword & Spade magazine. Jared Staudt, teacher and father, explains why distinguishing faith  and reason is important when debating and explaining.   In a world that has gone mad, our greatest need in the recovery of our sanity is faith. Without it, the human mind experiences an eclipse, cu...

You can't buy happiness, but you can buy dirt.Find you a few things that you can put a fence around. Do what you love but call it work and throw a little money in the plate at church. You can't buy happiness, but you can buy dirt. --“Buy Dirt,” Luke Bryan Farming used to be a way of life and a school of virtue for society.  P...

When I joined a team of search and rescue volunteers at Caprock Canyons State Park, I thought the job would entail rescuing for hikers who ran out of water or bandaging tourists who cozied up too close to the bison herd (for some reason, buffaloes think they own the place). Little did I suspect that "search and rescue" would include searching for r...

Been workin’ like a dog, slavin’ on the fence line Stretchin’ those wires tight…and sweatin’ in the sunshine. But I get off tonight. I got a date with a girl and we're headin' to the county fair.                                                                                           ...

This article was originally published in Sword & Spade magazine. Fr. Jarrett Bede, O.P. (1881-1934) historian, author, priest — wrote this short meditation in his classic book Meditations for Layfolk. Silence is no less necessary for those out of the cloister than for those within. For religious, monks and nuns, it must of course be mor...

by Fr. Matthias   It is my road trip home after a summer in a Midwest spiritual boot camp for diocesan seminarians. For 10 weeks, I have studied, pondered, and conversed with others about the spiritual life of a diocesan priest. We focused on the spousal elements of celibacy, the joys and demands of spiritual fatherhood, and the need to ...

This article was previously published in Sword and Spade magazine.   R.J. Snell, father and scholar, acknowledges that moms do a lot of the teaching, but dads have a pivotal role, still.   Leon Kass opens his book Leading a Worthy Life by noting the sad truth that our society has produced “a world prosperous beyond all pre...