Discernment is not an exact science. There is no mathematical formula to finding out what God has in store for your life. However, by speaking with God, listening to Him, living the life you have now, removing distractions so that you can hear Him clearly, and getting help from others, you can better understand what God is saying to you.

The central question in discernment is: How shall I die with Christ, to rise with him? How will I lose my life to find it? What will bring me to the point where I can say, with St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”?

John Heinen meets with Dan Burke to dive into how we can clearly know God's will in our lives. Looking at the great Doctor of the Church, St. Alphonsus, we discuss the truths that everyone needs to hear and commit to memory. We often view our relationship with God as some sort of game to be won, rather than a loving union to be experienced and strengthened. Our decisions can be flooded with stress and anxiety, and our suffering can feel isolating. However, we can find peace in the storms of our struggles; even in the uncertainty of our decisions, God's will can be known, and aligning our lives with it is the ultimate victory.

I don’t have much use for success gurus, but one idea from Tony Robbins that I heard years ago stuck with me. When asked the secret of change, he talks about taking “massive action.” We often don’t achieve our dreams, he claims, because we’re too half-hearted and timid about pursuing them. We think about what […]

Note: This is the opening of the forthcoming issue of Sword & Spade.  It is being published here exclusively because of its ties to an upcoming Sunday that is potentially without Mass. As this issue nears printing the coronavirus is forcing many into “social isolation” to slow the pandemic.  Whatever your opinion of such measures, […]

Today, I begin a series geared especially toward young men that have experienced a renewed commitment to Christ or a recent conversion.  The series is titled Ite, is Latin for “go”.   I once taught my three-year-old son to climb up on the lower branches of a cedar tree.  I left for a while and when […]

I’m a dreamer. I have more plans and ideas than I can possibly execute. Ideas for apostolates, books, essays, blog posts, hobbies I want to pursue, and so much more. And I dream big. I read the writings of the saints who did heroic things, who wanted to conquer the world for Jesus Christ, and […]

The 45 minute wait time. The stubbed toe. The traffic jam. The report due by 3 p.m. The gossiping relative. The mortgage payment. The gross diaper change. The unexpected car repair. The lost wallet. The rude person at the grocery store. The head cold. This is the stuff of ordinary life. In each of these […]