Those individuals who are remembered long after they are gone were typically either incredibly holy or incredibly evil.  Herod: mass murderer.  St. Therese of Lisieux (a poor gal who died in rural France at the age of 24): incredibly holy.   As such, if we want to be remembered, if we want to leave a legacy, we should probably aim to be incredibly holy.

I think I really brought home my initial point about death and dying though.  I concluded the proposal with, something to the effect of, “I don’t want to die for you, I want to live each day for you.”  Feeling, what I can only imagine, was immense joy and elation after such stunning oratory and prose, she said yes. 

In spite of all the ups and downs, November and December proved to be busy months, as Advent and then Christmas fast approached.  Advent candles and wreathes flew off the shelves at an alarming, though encouraging, rate! . . . Coming off the high of the Advent season, we closed for a few days around Christmas, and then re-opened for a few days to wind down the year.  The last item sold in 2024 was an Action Bible for Kids, a favorite of many to evangelize the youths.

In our culture today, children are looked on by many as an inconvenience, a money pit, and a burden.  Many individuals put off having children for years because of financial concerns, educational or career pursuits, or simply because they feel they aren’t ready or aren’t interested … Sure, children can be tiring at times, and your free time has a way of dwindling … What’s the upside, one might ask?  The answer to that is immense satisfaction and joy. 

My question is this: How can a professor at supposedly one of the best political science departments in the country not know or understand why someone would have voted for Trump?  Why was this a question that needed academic research? . . . What was true in 2016 remains true in 2024; it is becoming increasingly common that we simply do not understand each other.  It is not just that we disagree; it is that we cannot fathom how or why someone would believe what they believe.

Nearly three years ago, my wife and I were on our honeymoon and we had stopped for the day in a small town in the south of France.  It was the Feast of the Epiphany.  We were out for a stroll in the late afternoon when all of a sudden we stumbled upon a huge parade…Most people will likely never know about this annual Epiphany parade in the south of France, and even fewer people will ever be fortunate enough to see it.  However, we can learn a lot from the people of this quaint French town, from the people who continue to carry on the traditions of their long forgotten ancestors.

Recently, I got into a back and forth discussion on Facebook with a non-denominational Protestant, specifically over the role and status of Mary. This dialogue on Facebook got me wondering whether it is logical to be Catholic.  If an individual woke up tomorrow with no real background or preconceived notions about religion, could that individual come to the conclusion that the Catholic Church is the True Church?  And if so, what would that process of discernment or reasoning look like?

In the western world today, we, like the people of Delos, have a problem with hubris.  However, we also share Delos’s most pernicious problem that contributed to its downfall: the western world, particularly America, has sought to totally eradicate death and birth.

Have you ever heard of the island of Delos?  It is a small island in the middle of the Aegean sea about a forty-minute boat ride away from Mykonos, Greece.  Today, nobody lives there, except for a handful of archaeologists – and even they only live there for a short period of time.  However, thousands of years ago, it was one of the most populated and wealthy places on planet earth.

In Part One, we set forth the proposition that the church that we as Catholic Christians in the West are called to build in the 21^st century is the domestic church.  Of course, that begs two questions: (1) what is the domestic church, and (2) how do we build it?  

We as Catholic Christians are called to spread the faith; we are called to build the Kingdom of God here on earth to the best of our ability.  Of course, spreading the faith can be accomplished in a variety of ways.

It all begins with an idea. Read why my family and I decided to purchase Catholic Gifts and Books.