Fasting – a word we normally reserve for Lent. Once Easter comes, we box it up and package it away until the next Lent. Yet this should not be so among Catholic men. A while ago, Sam discussed the great benefits of fasting. Now you may be thinking … Fasting sounds great, but where do […]

Do real men love babies? Everything about these pooping, screaming, totally helpless little people—the babies, that is—challenges a man’s feral instincts and refined sensibilities. Yet, whether we like it or not, babies put to rest the frenzied individualism, the restless search for purpose, and the demand for instant ego gratification so predictable among the male […]

“The Catholic Church is intolerant.” That simple thought, like a yellow-fever sign, is supposed to be the one solid reason which should frighten away any one who might be contemplating knocking at the portals of the Church for entrance, or for a crumb of the Bread of Life. When proof for this statement is asked, […]

If you’re a member of a religious order, getting dressed in the morning is fairly simple: You have the choice of one outfit—your habit. For the rest of us, choosing our clothing can be a bit more complicated. While many men are not fashion inclined, like it or not, what we wear communicates something about […]

This is for the broken hearted, those men and women who have risked sharing the faith only to be psychoanalyzed, slighted, even shamed. God knows sometimes you just need a box of Kleenex and a few hours before the Blessed Sacrament. Or a cup of coffee with your parish priest. Or a big bear hug […]

“It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness…” – St. John Paul II It is the feast of the Passover. Jerusalem is packed with thousands upon thousands of pilgrims from all over Israel, and in fact, all over the world. They come to celebrate God’s deliverance of his people from oppression and […]

J.R.R. Tolkien was a romantic. When he met his future wife, Edith, at the age of 16, he was instantly smitten with her and immediately began an informal courtship, taking her to local tea houses on a regular basis. When the priest who acted as Tolkien’s guardian found out about his romance, however, he forbade […]

“The mountains are calling, and I must go.” This quote from John Muir captured my thoughts as I prepared for a week-long expedition with Wilderness Outreach to the Domeland Wilderness of California. I was seeking to delve deeper into the soul of masculine spirituality through worship and work in the desert; the wilderness would not disappoint me. Our […]