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  Having a proper understanding of joy is imperative to becoming a saint.   Joy is the arousal of some sense of good. When we malign and obscure good, we malign and obscure joy. St. Gregory the Great tells us, for example, that (a false) joy may result from another’s misfortune (CCC 2539). The unrighteous presence of envy, in this case, corrupts true joy. There’s a better means of obtaining the joy that comes from the Spirit, and a study of the life of St. Philip Neri rev …

Whatever Happened To Penance And Mortification? Could we imagine what it would be like if athletes stopped training their bodies? It would be unthinkable. Without training they would never have the strength and stamina required to perform. They also would lose their fans, since we respect athletes because of the great feats their training allows them to perform. The same can be said of the saints, the champion athletes of the Faith. They are exemplars not of physical training but of the asceti …

  Here at Catholic Answers one of the questions we get again and again is one that could have eternal consequences: "How can I grow in holiness?" Most Catholics want to grow in holiness, but they don't know where to start. They don’t know where to look for spiritual direction, for examples of how others have answered this question for themselves. The answer to the question is surprisingly simple. Look to the Saints – the holy men and women of God who came before us, and li …