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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. ThefFy are exemplars not of physical training but of the ascetic life. This ancient staple of our Faith is vie …

People living in deep sin are not always the ones who are most in need of our help, but rather the people who think they’re doing well, when in actuality the opposite is true. Before my conversion to Catholicism, I was that person—outwardly functioning but spiritually sick. I considered myself to be a “good person.” I opened doors for strangers, volunteered, gave blood, recycled bottles and cans, and limited my consumption of plastic goods. I once drove all over town in …

Earlier in my priesthood, I pastorally ministered to a man who had cared for his adult son during his son’s battle with cancer. As I came to know the man, he shared with me the account of his son’s life and holy death. When the son was first diagnosed with cancer, no one realized how serious it was. As the medical team did more tests, it became clear that the cancer was terminal, and that the young man’s physical life was nearing its end. In response to this news, the father t …

Immaculate Conception and God’s Election The Immaculate Conception. For non-Catholics, this dogma of the Church may be one of the most misunderstood doctrines there is. Here are some common questions Catholics get, and how to respond to them: Temptation, Suffering, and Mary’s Humanity Question:Why does Mary have to be holy at the moment of her conception instead of being purified shortly before God chooses her to be his mother? Response:God chooses and elects those w …

Among those throughout the history of the Church who have written and spoken about purgatory, many have emphasized the sorrows or pains. They have done so rightly, since the sufferings of purgatory are real.However, I think it’s safe to say some have over-emphasized the pains of purgatory, such that many have lost sight of its joys. It’s important that we find a happy medium. St. Francis de Sales taught, “If purgatory is a species of hell as regards suffering, it is a species of paradise …