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‘‘Train up a child in the way he should go; for even when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). My parents placed this bible verse at my bedside table when I was very young. It remained there my entire childhood, and I saw it every night before I went to […]

I was engaged to be married when I was 22, which I understood to be the achievement of manhood. The better part of my teenage years were spent preparing for that moment. This was it, I told myself, I was finally going to be a man. I was ready. I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready […]

In one way or another, we fathers have to contend with the question of modesty in dress. I hope to formulate the concept of modesty in a positive light, as a virtue by which we show respect to that which deserves respect, a virtue that makes use of hiddenness to show forth the resplendence of […]

The book of Proverbs says that 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue.' As you go about your day, you hear many use their words for good and for bad. Why is it bad? Why are certain words bad? Let's explore this.

Clothes should focus us on our dignity. Clothes direct people to our faces and therefore foster personal relationships. Clothes have a moral, not just a practical purpose. A good question for dress, then, is whether it is “personal” or objectifies us.

And what about “polite”? We think of the word today as meaning, more or less, mannerly. A polite person is somebody with manners; somebody who has the kindness to say please and thank you. But in origin the word is closer to polish, with the sense that the polite person is a sort of gleaming silver teapot. From its Latin roots (politus, the past participle of polire, to smooth or polish) through its emergence in Middle English and well into the 1700s, the word meant a thing buffed up or cleansed or even organized, although other meanings also emerged. So it always is with important words.

We believe that the Church is an “instrument” of “the unity of the whole human race,” but Catholic Twitter would seem to profess otherwise. Catholic social media as a whole can often seem like a hotbed of division, calumny, and rancor. This state of affairs shouldn’t be surprising given the amount of heretical ideas and schismatic solutions floating around ecclesiastical spheres. But what then can be done? Should we censor ourselves then and only speak about non-divisive issues? Not if we are going to be faithful to the Truth of the Gospel.

As we start enjoying vernal and summer evenings, the great Canadian barbecue season has arrived. As Catholic gentlemen, we can partake and share such an important culinary and social tradition to renew and foster bonds, friendships and Catholic values.