Over the years I’ve noticed an interesting trend, where young Christian men — always men, and always at around 19-21 years old — develop a sudden fascination with apologetics. (I was not immune to this trend; that’s actually how I first noticed it, when a friend two years younger than me developed the same interest … Continue reading St. John of Damascus and the Way of Having a Ready Answer
As we approach the half-way point of Lent, especially in this exhausting and anxious year, I think we’re all in need of some refreshment. And I have no doubt that that’s why the Old Testament reading appointed for today, from Isaiah 55, resonated so strongly with me today. It speaks of the wonderful and refreshing, … Continue reading St. Therese of Lisieux and the Way of Simplicity: A Reflection on Isaiah 55.1-9
When we see or hear something that is popular and powerful, but which is a bit off, containing untruths mixed in with profound truths, how do we respond? It’s an evergreen question, both in society at large and among people of faith. Today I’d like to look at how one great Saint of the Church, … Continue reading St. Maximus the Confessor and the Way of Upholding the Good
It’s a truism to say that the world is complex and so it’s natural for our response to that complexity to be complicated. But one of the things that is so wonderful and challenging about the lives and ways of the Saints is how often they just cut through all that complexity to offer the … Continue reading St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and the Way of Dedication to Change
It’s fair to say that the story of the Churches’ encounters with the Indigenous peoples of the Americas were, on the whole negative, and in many cases catastrophic. But there is one example that stands out as a shining light amidst the imperialistic darkness: the Russian mission in Alaska led by St. Herman of Alaska. … Continue reading St. Herman of Alaska and the Way of Standing with the Oppressed
Matthew Root 