John Hienen, owner of The Catholic Gentleman, said that often men treat Lent as though it is “extra credit,” as though we are being kind to God by offering Him a little extra. How nice. Lent is not an add-on feature, a bonus segment on a liturgical app, an extra rep, or an extra lap around the track.Lent is essential.You will only have so many Lents—perhaps seventy or eighty for those who are granted a longer life. “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:10)Indeed, how many of these Lents have we embraced to the fullest?

John Hienen, owner of The Catholic Gentleman, said that often men treat Lent as though it is “extra credit,” as though we are being kind to God by offering Him a little extra. How nice. Lent is not an add-on feature, a bonus segment on a liturgical app, an extra rep, or an extra lap around the track.Lent is essential.You will only have so many Lents—perhaps seventy or eighty for those who are granted a longer life. “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:10)Indeed, how many of these Lents have we embraced to the fullest?

Unmarried men have the potential to be extremely selfish. There is no one depending on them, no child to take care of in the middle of the night, no wife to force compromise on a TV show. Single guys make their own schedule, and even when they do acts of charity or apostolic work, they make it fit into what they want to do.

Unmarried men have the potential to be extremely selfish. There is no one depending on them, no child to take care of in the middle of the night, no wife to force compromise on a TV show. Single guys make their own schedule, and even when they do acts of charity or apostolic work, they make it fit into what they want to do.

Men who are trying to be disciplined, responsible, and successful still feel internally restless, scattered, or dissatisfied. They work harder, set better goals, and chase improvement, yet something underneath remains unresolved. The problem is not effort. It’s formation. Many men were never given a clear vision of what masculinity is ordered toward, only pressure to perform and compete without understanding who they are or why they strive. In this episode, John Heinen and Devin Schadt name seven hard truths most men are not prepared for, truths about identity, discipline, interior life, spiritual warfare, vocation, marriage, and suffering. These are non-negotiables that reorder a man’s interior world and reshape how he lives, loves, and leads within his vocation.

Protecting your wife and family in 2026 looks very different than it did even a few years ago. The pressures facing marriages today are often subtle rather than dramatic. Constant noise, distraction, comparison, stress, and moral confusion now have unprecedented access to the home. In this episode of The Catholic Gentleman, John Heinen and Devin Schadt examine why many men feel stretched thin yet unsure how to truly guard what has been entrusted to them. Rather than reducing protection to control or physical danger alone, John and Devin break down four concrete ways husbands are called to stand between their wives, children, and the forces that quietly erode peace and unity.

There is much talk about being a ‘real man’: the warrior man, the man without emotions or sympathies, the rival of all things deemed weak. Yet this kind of polemic is a form of extremism—and extremism is the devil’s playground. Satan thrives in extremes. He despises virtue and constantly goads us toward deficiency on one side or excess on the other.

Why do so many men find themselves struggling with the same patterns their fathers struggled with: anger, distraction, work obsession, emotional distance, lust, even despite promising they’d be different? The truth is, fathers pass far more to their children than they realize. Not just beliefs or values, but habits, tone, priorities, and ways of relating that quietly shape the next generation. In this episode of The Catholic Gentleman, John Heinen and Devin Schadt expose five hidden vices that fathers often pass on without ever intending to. They challenge men to see what their children are already learning from them, and how to break destructive cycles before they become generational.