The greatest anxiety of our age often hides beneath more obvious fears about money, health, politics, or family. Many people can name what keeps them awake at night—but underneath, there is a quieter, deeper question: Does my life actually matter, and what is all this for? In the modern world, that question often takes three painful forms: “Do I really matter?” “Am I ultimately alone?” and “In the end, is all my suffering a waste?” An authentically Christian response has to meet each of these not just with ideas, but with a Person—with Christ Himself. 1. From “I don’t really matter” to Chosen, not accidental. Modern culture trains us to judge our worth based on productivity, usefulness, appearance, or others’ approval. When those standards fail—as they inevitably do—we may fall into the fear that we are simply replaceable, just another anonymous life in a crowded world. The Gospel offers a completely different message: you are willed, known, and wanted. Scripture does not portray human beings as accidents of biology or history. Instead, it shows each person …

Questions of Healing One of the deceptions in the modern search for healing is the subtle tendency to separate the grace for healing from the mystery of Redemption won for us in Christ.  This happens through an over- emphasis and dependence on programs and formulas that often end up placing the full burden for results outside the hands of the Divine Physician.  We have very small ideas about the true measure of damage sin does in our lives. The damage of sin reaches our spirit our soul, our emotions, our will, our understanding, our intellect, our relationships, our communities. It disrupts the proper object of our appetites, affections and desires. It destroys our confidence in God, in right and goodness and truth.  The effects of sin, even the smallest sin, are so far reaching, we can’t begin to imagine what is really needed to repair the damage, what is really needed for authentic healing.   One thing we discover quickly: it is impossible to heal ourselves or to be completely healed by others, though our mutual help goes …

One of the dangers of living in a culture so tolerant of every kind of self-expression and behavior is that the moral dimension of our own thoughts and actions becomes bleached out. We can eventually stop considering things from the perspective of whether they are good or evil, right or wrong, and instead consider whether we will offend another person if we say so. This is not an age where we want to lose the edge in our discernment. If we do, we can easily end up in dangerous positions, dangerous especially to our souls. One of the things that is more and more prominent is the number of people who become entangled in occult activities (especially witchcraft and New Age) without even recognizing it at first. This is because doors in the spiritual realm get opened. Certain evil spirits read that as an invitation. They respond by quietly suggesting and encouraging directions that lead to even deeper involvement.   Within the last 6 months, I’ve encountered at least four women who became involved online …

When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, the contrast between what they had lost and what they were left with must have been overwhelming.   Whether one looks at the beginning of history biblically or strictly from a scientific point of view, without the spiritual perspective, it’s reasonable to surmise that humankind’s first home outside Paradise would have been a cave.  Archaeologists have verified the authenticity of cave paintings dating back to prehistoric times, suggesting that caves were the first natural shelters for our ancestors. One can easily imagine that this “first” home would’ve been something providentially prepared by the elements. It offered protection, a place for rest, safety, solidarity with others, and, in general, space for regular human activities.  Though there were drawbacks, comfort was not the predominant issue for our early ancestors. Survival was the constant pressing demand. The concept of leisure was probably not entirely compatible with their existential reality. However, they were already engaged in primordial activities that, in our day and age, are often associated only with hobbies or leisure but …

Love for the Lost! Just a few weeks ago, on October 19, 2025, Pope Leo XIV presided over a remarkable canonization. What made the canonization so extraordinary was the fact that the Italian priest, Bartolo Longo, had been heavily involved in Satanism and had even served as a satanic priest. But just as admirable as his conversion was the prayer, faithfulness, and love of his family, who never gave up on him, engaging whoever they thought could help him. One professor took him on and began to meet regularly with him, reminding him that, given the direction he was headed in, he would end up in an insane asylum and finally be damned forever. Bartolo recognized his state and agreed to see a Dominican priest who worked with him and brought him back into the Church.   Bartolo imposed harsh penances on himself to make up for the damage he had done, but nevertheless could not forgive himself. He struggled with despair of being truly forgiven by God. Then he came upon the words of Our …

It is a simple fact that our lives are lived out in the interaction between three realities: God, (including Mary, the angels and saints, the Church Suffering or Purgatory, etc.) ourselves, ourselves (including all of our human relationships) and the evil one (including the many fallen spirits that work with him). Each of these three realities is characterized by a certain spirit. For our purposes, we will consider the word spirit to mean: a particular way of thinking, feeling, or behaving. God, of course, is characterized by the divine spirit; we are characterized by the human spirit, and often that means the fallen human spirit; and of course, the devils are characterized by a demonic spirit. When evaluating an experience or happening, a spiritual diagnosis would examine the kind of spirit or spirits that predominate and whether there’s any evidence of good fruit. We can experience fluctuations or changes in our spirit in response to various inputs.  Sometimes our spirit soars at signs of hope, discovery, or celebration.  Sometimes it is discouraged and doubtful. There …

Hearing the Voice of God People sometimes complain that God doesn’t speak to them, or if he does, they don’t recognize his voice.   We all know stories of people who suddenly hear God speak to them in the midst of extraordinary or dramatic events.   That doesn’t surprise us as much as the idea that God speaks to us all the time.  Yet Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd and says His sheep know His voice.  So, what are we to make of this? It’s an important question to ask because God has fashioned us in such a way that our inner life is truly dependent on hearing His voice.  And He gives us that capacity from the time we are very young, though most of us don’t recognize it.  Generally speaking, the most fundamental way God speaks to us is through our consciences, which is why it is so essential to develop a rightly formed, even sensitive conscience.  We are greatly helped in this by remembering that the law of God is written in our hearts. Both the Old …

God has given us so many gifts, it’s hard not to take many of them for granted.  Yet none of the gifts God gives are superfluous.  They all have a purpose.  It would be an exercise in the likeness of Our Lady, to ponder the Lord’s gifts and to try to align ourselves with their particular purposes.  In some instances, the accountability for the gift is exceptionally high.  Language is one such gift. Jesus tells us that we will be accountable for every word we use.  Right away, that tells us that there is something extraordinary about language and our use of it that must be respected.  With a bit of reflection, it becomes apparent that language in all its forms is meant to serve communion, our communion with God and with others.  Likewise, it serves our own inner healing and integrity so that true communion actually becomes possible for us. Jesus gives such a beautiful example of this in His Resurrection appearances.  The apostles have been separated from the Lord by fear, by violence, …