I'm afraid of God. I’ve probably always been afraid of Him but just realized it – put it into those words – at the Vigil Mass for the Solemnity of Mary. May she pray for me now and at the hour of my death. This may be Proverbs 9:10: “The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” I hedge (“may be”), because the “feeling” I refer to is claustrophobia: I am overwhelmed by His presence and power and feel the need to escape.

I could have the power. If I had faith, true faith, I could work miracles. But I don’t, so I can’t. Thank heavens for that, because there’s no telling what I’d do. But then that’s false, isn’t it, since if I had that kind of faith I wouldn’t pull any shenanigans: no petitioning God to […]

Tucked away in a seemingly boring part of the Bible, the Forgotten Prayer of 1 Chronicles 4:10 is an unexpected invitation for men to come home—to the family we have all desired, the Church and the Holy Trinity, and our true vocation as fathers. The so-called “Prayer of Jabez” is not the materialistic and shallow […]

  In this episode, I speak with Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP, promoter general of the Holy Rosary for the Dominican Order. Fr. Lew is a convert to the Catholic faith, and one time he was skeptical of all things Marian. Now, he travels the world preaching and teaching others to love the Blessed Mother and […]

One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world. St. Dominic On a pleasant afternoon in the spring of 2008, I was praying in my room in New York. It had been less than a full year since I was baptized as a Christian. It would be another four years […]

by Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB, Vocation Director, Conception Abbey 1. Cultivate Silence St. Benedict wrote, “Speaking and teaching are the master’s task; the disciple is to be silent and listen” (RB 6:8). Silence is the environment that allows you to listen to God’s voice and the voices of those around you properly. Many people are […]

With the rise of Headspace, Calm, and all of the other mindfulness meditation apps, those of us coming from a Christian background can have a lot of very good questions: are these methods okay to use? Are they bad or evil? Are they Buddhist? Are they in line with Church teaching? I, myself, was an […]

Almost everything about life in the modern world encourages a certain shallowness—shallowness in relationships, in thought, and in interior reflection of any sort. From morning until night, we are assaulted by a stream of images and impressions, many of which are seeking to manipulate us for certain ends.  Quantity is valued over quality, and if we […]