This article was originally published in The Catholic News Herald of the diocese of Charlotte The Lord truly invited us to enter fully into the desert this Lent. And perhaps it has been a consoling blessing that this crisis happened when it did, right as we entered into this penitential season. Hopefully it has been an opportunity to deepen our prayer lives, reflecting more fully on the Lenten fasts we had already chosen to adopt. In modern rhetoric, fasting can refer to…
Please note: I have intentionally decided not to include Amazon links (unless something is available exclusively on Amazon). Instead, if you are interested in reading any of the books I mention, I encourage you to check out your local library or independent bookstore. These places (and the communities around them) need your support, and they are generally quite willing to order any book if they don’t currently have it in stock. However, if Amazon is still the more practical choice…
“Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.” When I first joined the Catholic Church almost seven years ago, one of the biggest things that I had to get used to was formalized prayer. After all, I was coming from twenty-five years of not practicing organized religion in my life at all, and many of the forms and rituals of the Church were very foreign concepts…
Please note: I have intentionally decided not to include Amazon links (unless something is available exclusively on Amazon). Instead, if you are interested in reading any of the books I mention, I encourage you to check out your local library or independent bookstore. These places (and the communities around them) need your support, and they are generally quite willing to order any book if they don’t currently have it in stock. However, if Amazon is still the more practical choice…
Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are nice and all, but my favorite day of the year is my annual Lord of the Rings marathon. Traditionally taking place on the day after Thanksgiving, this is the day that I indulge in watching all three Extended Editions of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, which takes about twelve hours in total. It’s glorious. I also like to plan a hobbit-worthy menu for the day, which includes all seven hobbit meals spaced…
Please note: I have intentionally decided not to include Amazon links (unless something is available exclusively on Amazon). Instead, if you are interested in reading any of the books I mention, I encourage you to check out your local library or independent bookstore. These places (and the communities around them) need your support, and they are generally quite willing to order any book if they don’t currently have it in stock. However, if Amazon is still the more practical choice…
This year for Lent, I decided to focus on my relationship with food. At first glance, this might seem a little superficial and unrelated to anything spiritual. But the truth is, in our increasingly secular society, food has become somewhat of a religion unto itself; a little idol that we set up and worship and sacrifice to. It can feed into the sins not only of gluttony, but also pride and vanity and a host of other “little” sins. And…