I am sure lust is a difficult subject matter for religion teachers to discuss with their teenage students. Once our young people reach puberty, and the secular world encroaches on their sense of morals, it is harder to convince them that lust is no friend to the soul. A teenager may not bother to make a distinction between lust and libido; or secularism may convince them that money, sex, power, and social media fame are what will fulfill their emotional void. But any adult who has learned from their years of errors knows very well that vices bring us to the road of ruin. All the promises of h ..read more

As Catholics, it’s crucial to acknowledge the incredible danger that comes with engaging in occult activities like the Ouija board. In recent times, the Ouija board has surged in popularity, especially among younger demographics. Even virtual versions are now readily accessible. These platforms primarily target teenagers and young adults, observable in the marketing on online marketplaces like Amazon, which display options ranging from cat-themed to Stranger-Things-themed boards, along with various colors and glow-in-the-dark versions. Moreover, their affordability, with many priced at under ..read more

On the eve of His death, knowing that He was about to depart from His friends, Jesus said to them:  “Remain in Me, as I remain in you.”  How would that be possible? Gospel (Read Jn 15:1-8) Our reading today comes from a section of St. John’s Gospel that is often called “the Last Supper discourse.”   After He washed the disciples’ feet, Jesus spoke at length with them in a most serious manner.  This was straight talk; no more parables.  We should be keenly interested in every word He had to say. He begins with a dramatic statement:  “I am the true vine, and M ..read more

I can remember in April 2014 having a seemingly random thought as I looked at my cousin’s Facebook profile. The thought was that I should encourage him to consider the priesthood. It felt very strange considering I had not seen him in 9 years. The last time I saw him was in my final month serving in the U.S. Navy, when I pinned on one of his gold bars as he became a newly commissioned second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. As I looked at the photos he posted on Facebook, the thought came to me: What kind of man goes to the canonization Mass of St. John Paul II right after getting out of ..read more

If the name St. Mark the Evangelist sounds familiar, it’s likely because you recognize it from the gospel he wrote, or perhaps you know him as being an early follower of Christ. Do we know more about him beyond this though, especially today on his feast day? I set out to get to know this early Christian saint by studying his table, or more specifically, the food that he ate and may have shared with Jesus.   St. Mark lived during the time of Christ. He studied under St. Peter and traveled with St. Paul. He was born in modern-day Libya and moved with his mother to Jerusalem. They lived in ..read more

According to a recent longitudinal Gallup poll (from 2006 to 2021), unhappiness has increased significantly and continuously on a global level—well before and after the Covid crisis. In Gallup’s words, “People feel more anger, sadness, pain, worry and stress than ever before” (Gallup 2022). Perhaps more disturbing is the doubling in the rates of major depressive disorder in young people over a ten year period—from 8.1% (2009) to 15.8% (2019), according to the Journal of Adolescent Health (March 2022). How can we interpret this data?  I would submit that the answer to this quest ..read more

Chariots of Fire is a film made by an unknown director with unknown lead actors, yet out of this team of unremarkables came one of Britain’s greatest and most inspirational films. In 1947, British author Evelyn Waugh visited with a few film magnates in the United States to sell the film adaption of his novel Brideshead Revisited, his smash hit about Charles Ryder and his romance with the Flyte family. After Waugh dined his way from 5th Avenue to Sunset Boulevard with some of Hollywood’s biggest wigs, he decided to sail home without selling Brideshead’s rights to anyone. Wh ..read more

It is a serious mistake to assume that men and women think the same way. Henry Higgins’ lament in My Fair Lady, “Why can’t a woman be more like a man,” is not without foundation. His mistake, however, is his failure to recognize that when it comes to communicating, men and women are complementary and not identical. There is a biological basis for this lack of symmetry called the corpus callosum, a nerve bundle consisting of several hundred million fibers. It is the largest collection of white matter in the brain and serves as a bridge or pathway that connects the right and left hemispheres of ..read more

“Now I know, brothers, that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did.” In these words, St. Peter speaks about the greatest act of ignorance in human history and its disastrous consequences, i.e. the people’s ignorance of Jesus Christ and the brutal murder of the God-man by His creatures. Despite Jesus’ powerful deeds, His life-giving words, and Pilate’s desire to release Him, His people did not recognize Him. Not only that, but they killed Him. St. Peter strongly connected this ignorance of Christ with grave sin: “You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be ..read more

A new Mass setting has ranked #1 in Billboard’s Traditional Classical Albums chart this month. After its release on March 15th, Frank La Rocca’s “Requiem for the Forgotten” immediately earned #2 in the chart during its first week of sales (the week of March 30). It re-entered the charts as #1 on the week of April 13, ranking above Bach renditions and even the “Beethoven for Three: Symphony” album featuring Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma! What is it about this Mass setting that has earned it such acclaim, and what does this say about the role of sacred music in the modern world? We ..read more