New Articles Every Monday
New Articles Every Monday
Lent Is Not a Resolution
Lent becomes a spiritual reset button, a chance to try again at becoming the person we wish we already were.
But Lent is not a fresh start.
It is a confrontation.
You’re Not That Passionate
“If anyone would come after me, let him take up his cross.” The Passion is not an accident of history, but the measure of love itself—one that exposes how easily we confuse excitement with devotion.
Theologians in Hell; Knowledge, Freedom, and the Reality of Self-Exclusion
When I first heard the statement “there are theologians in hell,” it startled me. The idea seemed harsh, almost accusatory — how could those who dedicate their lives to studying God end up separated from Him? Yet, upon reflection, this claim is neither cynical nor exaggerated. It expresses a deeply rooted truth in Catholic doctrine: that salvation is not achieved through intellect but through conversion. No degree of theological sophistication can substitute for holiness of life.
The Crises of Our Time
If the great pastoral challenge of past centuries was ignorance of the truth, the great crisis of our own is indifference toward it. We do not live in an age that does not know—we live in an age that does not care. Surrounded by endless information, moral claims, and even the Gospel itself, the modern soul has learned not to resist truth, but to mute it. What may be most spiritually dangerous today is not invincible ignorance, but what might be called invincible apathy.
Leave Those Lights Alone!
Every year, someone reaches for the ladder a little too soon. Christmas lights come down, music fades, and the season feels abruptly finished. But the Church gently insists otherwise. Christmas doesn’t end all at once because the mystery it celebrates cannot be rushed. From the Nativity to Epiphany, the Baptism of the Lord, and even Candlemas, the Church lingers—teaching us that when God enters time, the proper response is not haste, but wonder.
The Witness of Things
Faith remembers what God has done. Hope waits for what He has promised. Love acts in the present moment. In the end, all three converge at the Cross—the ultimate witness of God in time. There, the past is fulfilled, the future is secured, and love is poured out without reserve. The Cross does not merely explain faith, hope, and love; it reveals them, anchoring human weakness in divine fidelity and redeeming time itself.
The Promise of Things
Hope is not wishful thinking or naïve optimism. It is the theological virtue that faces the future with confidence, anchored in the promises of God. If faith remembers what God has already done, hope waits for what He has sworn to do. Like a faithful companion waiting at the door, Christian hope is born of trust and sustained by expectation—certain that the Master who departed will return.
EXAMEN CATÓLICO TRADICIONAL
An Examen
The Examen is exactly that, an examination of conscience we do before entering the confessional in order to have a good and thorough confession. Use this article as a tool to help you during this Advent season and prepare for the coming of the Lord!
The Evidence of Things
What is faith, really?
For years, I could quote St. Paul’s definition—“the evidence of things not seen”—without understanding it. Only later did I learn that faith isn’t a leap into the dark but trust rooted in memory. The Christian does not believe because of what might happen in the future, but because of what has already happened in the past: covenants kept, promises fulfilled, a Cross that changed everything.
In the Eucharist, that past becomes present again. Through anamnesis, the Church doesn’t simply remember Christ’s sacrifice—she stands within it. And this is why suffering in our lives has dignity: because Christ has filled it with His presence. Faith is not blind courage; it is remembering the God who has already saved us.
The Growing Light; St. Andrew’s Novena
Discover the beauty and meaning of the St. Andrew Christmas Novena. Learn how this beloved Advent devotion, prayed from November 30–December 24, mirrors the light of the Advent wreath and prepares the heart for Christmas.
“He Shall Be Called” — Sheet Music Now Available
The long-awaited sheet music for He Shall Be Called is finally here. Rooted in Isaiah’s prophecy and the ancient O Antiphons, this hymn was written to carry the quiet longing of Advent and the hope of Christmas. Whether for parish liturgies, choirs, small groups, or personal prayer, the official score is now available for download—bringing the music that began on a small parish stage to communities everywhere.
When Angels Heard The Bells
Growing up in the desert of Southern California, I would look up at the silent bell tower of my childhood parish and feel a strange sadness that it never rang. Years later in Ohio, I finally heard church bells marking the hours — calling not just the faithful, but heaven itself. In a world ruled by deadlines and digital clocks, the Church once dared to sanctify time, to make the hours themselves holy. Every toll of a bell was both a call and a consecration — a reminder that even the passing of time belongs first to God.
Waiting for Daylight
Patience is not resignation—it is an active trust in God’s providence. Drawing from Scripture, the Church Fathers, and modern papal teaching, this reflection explores how waiting on the Lord can shape our hearts, deepen our hope, and transform seasons of suffering into grace.
The New Epidemic
We live in a world allergic to sorrow. From self-help slogans to social media smiles, modern life rewards denial over depth. In The New Epidemic, Stephen A. Codekas explores how “copium” — our obsession with toxic positivity — has replaced genuine hope, and how rediscovering lament, truth, and interior freedom can heal the soul.
His Last Lesson
There are some lessons of faith that cannot be taught — only witnessed. For me, that witness was Father Robert Jack, a priest who showed that holiness is not found in escaping the cross, but in embracing it. Through his devotion to Our Lady, he revealed that suffering, when united with love, becomes a prayer. It was through his quiet endurance, his Marian heart, and his steady joy that many of us learned to stand at the foot of the Cross and still love.
Something Hallowed This Way Comes; A Halloween Reflection
There was a time when Halloween didn’t feel like a contradiction for Catholics—it was simply part of the season’s mystery. The rustle of leaves, the glow of jack-o’-lanterns, the smell of woodsmoke in the crisp air—it all carried a quiet reverence, a reminder that autumn itself is a meditation on death and renewal.
When I was a child, there was an older woman down the street who attended daily Mass. On Halloween night, her porch glowed softly with carved pumpkins and paper lanterns. But what made her house unforgettable were the small slips of paper tucked among the candy she handed out—each one a handwritten Bible verse. Even as a child, I sensed that what she offered wasn’t just sweets, but grace.
When Isa Appears: Dreams of Jesus Among Muslims
There’s something strange happening in the Middle East. Throughout the decades and increasingly more so in recent years, has been the reports of hundreds of Muslims all sharing the same (relatively) same dream; Isa. Or as most of us who know Him…Jesus. God appearing in dreams is nothing new or unusual. Scripture is full of these dream visits to offer prophecy or warning.
Coming Soon…He Shall Be Called, A Parish Nativity Play
He Shall Be Called: A Parish Nativity Play is a moving new work by Stephen A. Codekas that begins with the Prophet Isaiah’s vision and traces the coming of Christ through Scripture, chant, and living prayer — a meditation on every name by which He is called.
A Desperate Surrender: The Crisis of Manliness in Education
Modern education too often tames rather than trains young men, turning them into reciters of manuals instead of men of action. True learning should cultivate desire, not suppress it — teaching a boy to face temptation boldly, to think freely, and to act with strength and virtue. Without this, we risk raising generations who know everything about swinging the bat but never step up to the plate.