Men treat Lent as optional. However, if this were the case, Christ would NOT have begun His public ministry with the command to repent. Yet most Catholic men approach Lent as if it were extra credit, giving something up, struggling through forty days, and returning to the same patterns unchanged. In this episode, John Heinen and Devin Schadt discuss the real reason Lent exists. Penance is not a spiritual accessory, and conversion is not reserved for dramatic moments of crisis. Lent is ordered toward metanoia, a real turning away from sin and a deliberate turning toward Christ. Together, they clarify what penance actually means in Scripture and tradition, why many men resist it, and why discipline without direction produces little lasting fruit. Most importantly, they lay out a concrete three-step plan to help men structure Lent intentionally, not as a seasonal effort, but as a path toward becoming like Christ.  

Pride among Catholic men rarely looks like arrogance. What men don't realize is that it surfaces as control, self-reliance, withdrawal, or even habits that appear virtuous on the surface. In this episode of The Catholic Gentleman, John Heinen and Devin Schadt are joined by Patrick O’Hearn to examine why pride is so difficult to recognize in ourselves—and why it quietly blocks growth in the spiritual life, marriage, and leadership. They unpack why the Litany of Humility remains one of the Church’s most demanding prayers, and how it exposes attachments that many men don’t realize they’re carrying.

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.

Why does God allow suffering, especially for good and innocent people who are trying to live faithfully? Many men assume suffering means something has gone wrong: a lack of faith, a mistake, or even abandonment by God. In this episode, John Heinen and Devin Schadt confront that assumption directly. Drawing from our own personal suffering they challenge the modern instinct to avoid pain at all costs and instead ask a more honest question: what if suffering is not evidence of God’s absence, but of His love and formation? The conversation moves beyond theory into the real struggles men face in marriage, fatherhood, prayer, and responsibility. John and Devin explore why men resist suffering, how pride and presumption distort our response to it, and what suffering actually produces when it is accepted rather than numbed or escaped. They also discuss why learning to suffer well is essential to becoming a strong, faithful Catholic man.

Why does God allow suffering, especially for good and innocent people who are trying to live faithfully? Many men assume suffering means something has gone wrong: a lack of faith, a mistake, or even abandonment by God. In this episode, John Heinen and Devin Schadt confront that assumption directly. Drawing from our own personal suffering they challenge the modern instinct to avoid pain at all costs and instead ask a more honest question: what if suffering is not evidence of God’s absence, but of His love and formation? The conversation moves beyond theory into the real struggles men face in marriage, fatherhood, prayer, and responsibility. John and Devin explore why men resist suffering, how pride and presumption distort our response to it, and what suffering actually produces when it is accepted rather than numbed or escaped. They also discuss why learning to suffer well is essential to becoming a strong, faithful Catholic man.

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.