St. Joseph does not draw attention to himself. He listens, and he acts, exemplifying what a disciple is: the one who hears “the word of God and acts on it” (Lk 8:21). Whenever we turn our attention to Joseph, we are led, by him and through him, to discover the God whom he heeded and the divine mission he served.
Why I Stopped Watching 'The Chosen'
I stopped watching “The Chosen” because I suddenly realized, in a deep and visceral way, that television was robbing me of what the hard work of imaginatively constructing biblical scenes in prayer affords me. The problem was not the content or the quality of the production, but the very medium itself.
Culture of the Home, Part 1: Space (Letters to Parents II)
Reflection and Practice: Helping You Form Others in Faith
This approach to faith formation is flexible but it definitely requires buy-in. No good faith formation ever takes place without the commitment and personal investment of a team of leaders. The leaders for this approach to faith formation are, primarily, parents and mentors, godparents and sponsors. This is not at all meant to replace the parish – to the contrary, this empowers the parish to do what the parish is meant to do: empower the faithful to take responsibility for the mission of evangelization.
Power and Wisdom: The Genius of the Catholic Whole
A Better Way to Form People for the Sacraments
I think that, for the most part, we in the Church have become too dependent on textbooks and third-party programs to run religious education in Catholic schools and parishes alike. This is not the Christian way of formation because the most important resource for those who are being formed for discipleship is, actually, you.
Why Are There Two Editions of 'Turn to the Lord'?
What I'm Working On at the Turn of the Year
Prioritizing Faith in College
If you try to “keep your faith” in college, you’ll likely fail. “Keeping your faith” is a defensive position in a game of stamina with the odds stacked against you. You don’t prioritize something by waiting to see what happens with everything else first so you can make the important thing “fit.” That’s the biggest mistake when it comes to developing your faith in college. The first and most critical step is to make basic, intentional commitments right from the start.
Interview in Crux regarding new book on St. Joseph: "Model of Faith"
I really enjoyed this interview with the inimitable Charlie Camosy on one of my new books, Model of Faith: Reflecting on the Litany of Saint Joseph. Check out the interview here.
This coincides with a three-night parish mission I am currently leading for Saint Joseph parish in Mishawaka, Indiana. Lots of good St. Joseph stuff going on in my life right now!
If you are interested in ordering Model of Faith, check it out here. If you have already read Model of Faith, would you mind writing a short review of the book on Amazon? Those are really important for helping the book’s visibility.
And if you or your parish/school/diocese purchase 20 or more copies of Model of Faith, I will happily offer a free one-hour Zoom seminar for your group. Just let me know!
Take a Scriptural Pilgrimage this Lent
What I'm Working On to Close Out 2020
My Articles Related to the Coronavirus
10-Part Series on the 10 Commandments
Free Resource: A Scriptural Pilgrimage through Lent
Preparing an Advent Pilgrimage
When the Magi came to Bethlehem they did not find Christ so much as they were found by him. He brought them joy, he led them to worship, and he made them exceedingly generous. Christ seeks us in the same way. Let this be a reminder for us as we wait for the Lord this Advent. …
In my new book––A God Who Questions–-I ask you to join me on a “scriptural pilgrimage” through the questions Jesus asks. He is the person waiting for us at the end of our journey, and the place he seeks to meet us is the space of genuine encounter.
Biographies of saints that get it right, Part 3 of 4
The lives of the saints are never mere biographies, because their real lives are hidden in Christ with God (cf. Col 3:3). To see these men and women as a saint means learning to see Christ’s beauty in their particular life. Perhaps no one is better suited to see a saint for who he or she really is than other saints. Some of these men and women even write about other their fellow members of the Church triumphant as a testament to Christ’s glory made present to and effective in the lives of those who have learned to love them.
In this third installment in a series on biographies of the saints, we examine two works about saints — one written by a saint himself (St. Bonaventure on St. Francis), and another written by one whose cause for canonization has begun (Dorothy Day on St. Thérèse of Lisieux).
Biographies of saints that get it right, Part 2 of 4
It is difficult to write about the saints. Their biographers face the twin dangers of reducing their subjects to a mere biography or of sapping their subjects in pious drivel. When biographers get it right, though, the saints come alive to inspire and challenge those who meet them in and through these biographies.
In this second installment in a series on saint biographies, we look to two modern works about two medieval reformers: “Catherine of Siena” by Sigrid Undset and “St. Philip Neri: I Prefer Heaven” by Giacomo Campiotti (director) and Mario Ruggeri (screenwriter).
Biographies of saints that get it right, Part 1 of 4
Writing about saints is a strangely perilous affair. It is much easier to get a saint wrong than to get a saint right. On the one side, there is the danger of reducing a saint to mere biography drained of theological and spiritual depth, while on the other there is the danger of undisciplined pious paraphrasing. But when the biography of a saint goes right, the personality and distinctive holiness of the saint is made vividly, refreshingly present in the minds and hearts of readers.
As the first installment in a series on such biographies, these two books present beloved saints with clarity, depth and spiritual richness: “A Man for Others: Maximilian Kolbe” by Patricia Treece and “Something Beautiful for God” by Malcolm Muggeridge.
