How can I be happy, humble, and trusting? What John, the priesthood, and our vocation have in common.

I stood nervously at the bottom of the steps, going over all the possibilities in my mind. Maybe I would get one of those great men that brought Christ to thousands like St. Patrick or St. Francis Xavier. Or it could be one of the saints that had a really specific virtue like St. John of the Cross and his prayer or Blessed John Paul II and his devotion to Mary.

What am I talking about?

When life gets tough: Travis Mills starts walking again.

I've been meaning to post about this story for a while. When I watched this video, I couldn't wait any longer.

Life's a Battle: the strength and joy we need to win (not just to get by).

Sometimes an idea just seems to hit us from all sides - like when we used to play bumper cars at kids. Well, these past few days have been that. 

So often, we're tired, down, and life's tough! It seems like we just keep giving, and every time we're emptier. We start calculating, measuring, compromising. If we cut a little here, stop doing that, and maybe just take it easy. No, it's lost before we even set foot on the battlefield. So where does real strength and joy come from? It's possible - we've seen it!

Christmas LIVE - Joe Rolph you won't be forgotten.

Christmas ideas for the blog flooded my mind this morning. It's only hours away. I could write about traditions, carols, my favorite experiences. How best to capture the emotions of the season?!

I logged on to Facebook. The news-feed was going a mile a minute. But then something caught my eye, stopped me in my keystroke. It wasn't someone I knew personally, though there are many connections.

Joe Rolph was a friend on Facebook, went to the same high school, knew some of my family, and was friends with various fellow seminarians.

I wasn't at all prepared for it. Maybe what kind of summed it all up was what one person posted on his wall, "Is this for real?"