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Continuing with my reflections on some of the things that I believe can help us grow in holiness, I want to focus on one...
09/10/2026

Continuing with my reflections on some of the things that I believe can help us grow in holiness, I want to focus on one that has quite literally been life-changing for me: frequent the Sacrament of Confession.

I don’t know how else to describe Confession other than this: it changes my life every single time I go.

There is something incredibly powerful about walking into the confessional, naming your sins, acknowledging where you have fallen short, and hearing the words of absolution. No matter how many times I receive this sacrament, I walk out different than when I walked in.

One of my favorite examples of God’s mercy in Scripture comes from St. Peter. On the night Jesus was arrested, Peter denied Him three times. This was the man who had promised Jesus that he would never abandon Him, and yet when the moment came, he failed.

But that’s not the end of Peter’s story.

After the Resurrection, Peter finds himself with Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus asks him three times, “Do you love me?” And three times Peter professes his love for Him.

Three denials. Three professions of love.

I love this passage because I think it gives us such a beautiful image of what happens when we return to Jesus after we sin. Jesus knew exactly what Peter had done. Peter knew exactly what he had done. And yet Jesus didn’t cast him aside. He gave Peter the opportunity to return, to profess his love, and then entrusted him with a mission: “Feed my sheep.”

That’s what God’s mercy does. It doesn’t simply remind us of who we were when we fell. It restores us and calls us forward.

That’s why Confession is such an incredible gift. We don’t have to carry our sins around with us. We don’t have to wonder whether God will forgive us. We can actually go to Him, confess our sins, hear the words of absolution, and begin again.

If it has been a while since you’ve been to Confession, go this week.

Don’t overthink it. Don’t be embarrassed. Don’t convince yourself that you need to get your life together before you go.

Just go.

I want to invite you to draw nearer to the Blessed Virgin.Her ten principal virtues are deep humility, lively faith, bli...
09/09/2026

I want to invite you to draw nearer to the Blessed Virgin.

Her ten principal virtues are deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness, and heavenly wisdom.

Choose one each day to focus on. Let her help you on your journey toward holiness.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who dedicated his life to serving enslaved Africans ar...
09/09/2026

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who dedicated his life to serving enslaved Africans arriving in Colombia.

For nearly 40 years, he met the ships at the harbor, entering their crowded holds with food, medicine, and words of hope. He cared for the sick, defended their dignity, and reminded each person that they were deeply loved by God. He called himself “the slave of the slaves forever.”

St. Peter Claver reminds us that holiness means drawing close to those whom the world ignores. May we never become indifferent to suffering, and may we always recognize the face of Christ in the forgotten and mistreated.

St. Peter Claver, pray for us!

Happy Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary! Mary, I am thine, and all I have is thine.
09/08/2026

Happy Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

Mary, I am thine, and all I have is thine.

Parroquia Votiva, located along Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City, traces its beginnings to the turmoil of the Mexican ...
09/07/2026

Parroquia Votiva, located along Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City, traces its beginnings to the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution. After witnessing the destruction of a Catholic church, Fr. Luis G. Romo made a vow to build a new church in honor of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

That vow is where the name “La Votiva” comes from. It is, quite literally, a church built in fulfillment of a promise.

Construction unfolded during an incredibly difficult period for Catholics in Mexico, as tensions between the government and the Church eventually led to the Cristero War. Yet the church endured and was solemnly blessed in 1934.

Today, La Votiva stands right along one of Mexico City’s busiest and most famous avenues. Surrounded by skyscrapers, traffic, and millions of people, it remains a beautiful reminder of the perseverance of the Catholic faith in Mexico.

Continuing with my reflections on some of the things that I believe can help us grow in holiness, I want to focus on som...
09/06/2026

Continuing with my reflections on some of the things that I believe can help us grow in holiness, I want to focus on something that sounds simple but can be incredibly difficult to put into practice: forgive and ask for forgiveness.

I hate hurting people’s feelings. The thought that something I said or did caused someone else pain really bothers me. At the same time, I know myself well enough to know that I can be rash. Sometimes I speak too quickly or say something out of frustration that I don’t really mean.

Marriage has certainly given me opportunities to see this in myself. There have been times when I have said something to my wife that hurt her feelings, even when that wasn’t my intention. In those moments, I’ve learned that one of the best things I can do is also one of the simplest: ask for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?”

It never hurts to say you’re sorry. Pride might tell us otherwise, but admitting that we were wrong has a way of bringing peace. You feel better. The person you hurt feels better. And, more importantly, it gives the relationship an opportunity to heal.

Of course, the other side of this is being willing to forgive when someone asks the same of us. We can’t constantly ask God for mercy while refusing to extend mercy to the people around us.

Jesus could not be clearer about the importance of forgiveness. He teaches us to pray, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” He doesn’t simply ask us to believe in forgiveness. He asks us to practice it.

That means saying “I’m sorry” when we mess up. It means asking for forgiveness even when it is uncomfortable. And it means choosing to forgive others, even when they have genuinely hurt us.

We are all going to hurt people. We are all going to need forgiveness. And we are all going to have opportunities to forgive.

If we want to grow in holiness, we have to get good at doing both.

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta.Mother Teresa spent her life serving Christ in the poore...
09/05/2026

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta.

Mother Teresa spent her life serving Christ in the poorest of the poor, reminding the world that holiness is often found not in extraordinary accomplishments, but in doing ordinary things with extraordinary love.

Her life was a witness to something our world desperately needs to remember: every person has infinite dignity. The sick, the dying, the abandoned, the unwanted, and the forgotten are not burdens. They are our brothers and sisters. And in loving them, we love Christ Himself.

Most of us will never be called to serve in the streets of Calcutta. But all of us are called to notice the person in front of us, to love when it is inconvenient, and to be faithful in the small things.

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us.

Lord, not my will, but Yours.
09/04/2026

Lord, not my will, but Yours.

Today the Church celebrates St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church.Gregory never sought greatness. In fact...
09/03/2026

Today the Church celebrates St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church.

Gregory never sought greatness. In fact, after becoming pope, he referred to himself as “the servant of the servants of God.”

And yet, through his humility, God used him to become one of the most influential popes in the history of the Church.

He cared for the poor, reformed the Church, strengthened her liturgy, sent missionaries to evangelize new lands, and tirelessly reminded Christians that holiness requires more than words. It requires a life transformed by Christ.

St. Gregory understood that true greatness is found not in being served, but in serving.

On his feast day, may we ask for the grace to lead with humility, serve with generosity, and use whatever influence God has given us to bring others closer to Him.

St. Gregory the Great, pray for us!

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