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“Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” — St. Francis of Assisi

Hopefully, you’re passionate about the Catholic faith and want others to share your holy joy. After all, the Lord calls you to bring people to the knowledge and love of Him.

But be careful. While you may see yourself as enthusiastic, others may see you as cringey. Instead of attracting souls to Christ, you might repel them.

Here are some ways to be authentic without being cringey.

Use quiet witness rather than pressure.
Pray before meals even in restaurants. It’s a powerful witness that shows that you really do practice what you preach.

But don’t ask your non-religious friends to pray with you. It could make them feel awkward, putting up a barrier to their conversion.

Similarly, praying the Rosary silently on a park bench is often more powerful than confronting people walking their dogs and reading Scripture to them.

Many people see religious individuals as salespeople. If you simply live an authentic Catholic life, you’ll attract far more unbelievers than if you pontificate on the streets.

Don’t be cringey to other Catholics.
Ever gone to a Holy Hour and seen someone saying their prayers out loud or being wildly expressive with their gestures? Talk about cringe.

They may be genuine, but their behavior distracts other people trying to pray.

Others treat their personal liturgical or devotional tastes as superior. But just because a certain form of Mass and a particular devotion work well for you doesn’t mean they’re the best for someone else. The Church allows for diversity in worship and spirituality. Respect that.

Ultimately, it comes down to being humble. You are an instrument of God, not the main actor in the story of salvation. Joyfully spread the Good News, but know your small place in the grand scheme of things.

 

 

 

Lectio Divina (“divine readings”) is the reflective, prayerful reading of Scripture that leads to contemplation. The reader treats the Bible as the real living word of God, not merely an academic text or a history of the early Jews and Christians.

Monks in the sixth century were among the first to take up the practice of Lectio Divina. They were followed by nuns, priests and even some laypeople.

We recommend giving Lectio Divina a try. Here are a few tips for getting started.

Know the 4 steps of Lectio Divina.

1. Read the text.
2. Meditate on the text.
3. Pray with the text.
4. Contemplate the text.

Study in preparation for steps one and two.
You can’t love what you don’t know. And you shouldn’t expect to simply open the pages of Scripture and hear the Lord reveal everything to you. He will speak to you, but He wants you to exercise your mind.

Do some study of the passages you’re reading before diving in.

The Church Fathers are a great place to start.
In his “Catena Aurea,” St. Thomas Aquinas compiled the best commentary on the Gospels from the Church Fathers. You can also search through New Advent’s collection of Church Fathers’ writings for commentaries on the other books of Scripture.

Stay close to the sacred pages.
The words of Scripture transcend all other writing because they are inspired by God Himself. Make your study a supplement — not a replacement — for the actual sacred text.

Try this schedule.
To ease yourself into the practice of Lectio Divina, don’t study and read on the same day. On day 1, read a Scripture passage and meditate on it. On day 2, do a bit of reading from the “Catena Aurea” or another commentary. On day 3, go back and reread the Scripture passage with your new knowledge.

Give Lectio Divina a try for a couple of weeks. You may find that it becomes a fruitful lifelong practice!

There are atheists, and then there are atheists. One is your 19th-century intellectual, smoking a cigar and calmly giving arguments for why he thinks there is no God. The other is perhaps best represented by the rebel — someone who doesn’t want to be told what to do and rejects the idea of God out of anger or selfishness.

One of these types of atheists is easier to debate than the other.

Here’s the difference between them.

Objective truth versus relativism.
“The Ball and the Cross” is a book by G.K. Chesterton. The two main characters are Evan Maclan, a Catholic, and an atheist named James Turnbull. They’re two completely different people, yet they have one thing in common: They both believe in the existence of truth and are willing to fight a duel over it.

This shared belief puts them at odds with the many other belief systems of the time, which were variations of relativism—the belief that there is no objective truth. (To be clear, there are religious and atheist relativists.)

Turnbull is what we could call a “noble” atheist. He may not have had the fullness of truth found in God, but he had the disposition to get there. He and Maclan shared a common foundation on which to dispute ideas.

In the past, one could find many atheists like Turnbull who passionately believed in the concept of truth. Though they were mistaken in denying God, they were led to that belief through study and thought.

Such atheists seem in short supply today. One usually finds people who don’t want God to exist, so they abandon Him and then later try to come up with arguments to disprove His existence. These arguments are often fueled more by anger or rebellion than logic.

That’s one reason why it’s hard to debate atheists. Unlike Turnbull, many of them have joined forces with the relativist crowd. They don’t think objective truth exists. (By the way, some Catholics also betray a disregard for objective truth, such as those people who believe in God only because they want the comfort of knowing that someone’s watching over them at all times or that their deceased relatives are in a better place.)

There are noble atheists, and their example among other atheists is needed. In a time when relativism reigns supreme, our world needs to re-establish a belief in the existence of objective truth, even if we don’t yet agree on what the truth is. We need noble atheists to convince relativist atheists to pursue truth despite their feelings.

Otherwise, we won’t get anywhere, and we’ll keep talking past each other.

The Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the Brown Scapular and the Miraculous Medal are among many Catholic devotions. Some came from saint, while others were gifts from Our Lord or the Blessed Virgin Mary. There are devotions that were revealed with promises of special graces.

As Catholics, getting to heaven should be our number one priority. That makes it seem like the more devotions we adopt, the better our chances of making it to the pearly gates, right?

Not so fast.

More devotions don’t equal greater holiness. In fact, practicing too many devotions can have a detrimental effect on your spiritual life.

Here’s what you should do.

Regularly practice a few devotions.
It’s better to be faithful to a few devotions than to practice many half-heartedly. We can only do so many things in a day. This is especially true for parents, who must spend the majority of their time serving God by taking care of each other and their children.

If you limit yourself to no more than three devotions, you can focus your energy on carrying them out well. The desire to try to do everything can actually betray a hidden despair—as if what God has provided you is not sufficient, and you feel like you need to add more devotions to feel secure in your relationship with Him.

Remember, devotions are a means to union with God, not goals in and of themselves.

Choose devotions that matter to you.
Just because your friend benefits from wearing the Brown Scapular doesn’t mean that God’s calling you to have one as well. Sometimes, people who are transformed by their particular devotions falsely assume that the benefits will be the same for everyone else.

But God relates to each of us differently. While the Rosary is efficacious for all, it will influence some people to a higher degree than others who may derive more benefit from the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

The bottom line is no one should demand uniformity when the Church allows diversity.

Consider your disposition and life when choosing devotions.
There are multiple things to keep in mind when choosing your devotions. First, consider your disposition and life history. These may reveal certain devotions that are better suited to you and your needs.

For example, if you’re married, it makes sense to pray regularly to SS. Louis and Zelie Martin, the canonized parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. If you’ve long been attracted to Carmelite spirituality, you may want to consider the Brown Scapular.

You should choose a devotion you’re comfortable with, but let’s explain what this means. Take the classic spiritual book “The Imitation of Christ.” Some people struggle with its teachings because it makes them despair of ever becoming holy. Therefore, they should pick a different devotion.

But you also want to challenge yourself, so don’t only choose practices that make you feel warm and fuzzy.

Although you know yourself better than anyone else, it helps to get another opinion. A spiritual director can provide a lot of help in choosing a devotion.

Ultimately, you want something that encourages you on your walk with God. That’s the point of every good devotion.

In 2021, Pope Francis released a decree, Traditionis Custodes, which put restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. Traditional Catholics worldwide were heartbroken. Under Pope Benedict XVI, greater freedom was allowed for the celebration of the beautiful ancient liturgy and new Latin Mass communities sprung up worldwide.

Now that progress has slowed and even reversed in certain cities. While some Traditional Catholics are still blessed to have a Traditional Latin Mass community nearby, many others don’t.

How are we to respond to Pope Francis’ decree?

Hold your anger in check.
Charity must reign supreme. If you let your anger consume you, you’re at risk of crossing dangerous boundaries. We see this with certain individuals and groups whose anger has brought them to the brink of schism.

We’re not saying anger is never warranted. But, so often, it does us more harm than good. As our friend Joseph Pearce said, “The only person I trust to turn over the tables in the temple is Jesus Christ.” If we lose charity, we’re on the wrong side even if we’re saying the right things.

Respond to those who put down the Latin Mass calmly and prayerfully. When you let yourself get too angry, you do more harm to the traditionalist movement and can perpetuate the critical response of liberals in the Church.

Practice the right kind of love.
In Christianity, love is not an emotion. It’s a rational choice to will the good of another person. Being loving doesn’t mean you must agree with everything someone says. But it does call you to sacrifice your animosity and work for the greater good, even if that means rejecting the impulse to speak ill of the pope.

If you want the Traditional Latin Mass to flourish, become a saint.
Our sole purpose here on earth is to get to heaven. If you keep that in mind and live your life accordingly, you’ll have more credibility than if you engage in divisive behavior. Christ assured us that if we sought first the Kingdom of Heaven, everything else we need will be given to us.

Speak respectfully of the pope even if you disagree with him.
Like him or not, Pope Francis is the Vicar of Christ. We must obey him when he authoritatively teaches or legislates. But we don’t have to agree with every off-the-cuff remark he utters or action he takes. Nor do we have to listen to anyone who draws meaning from his words beyond what he intended.

The pope needs our prayers, so let us offer our Rosaries for him today, so that he may have clarity of thought and strength to carry out God’s will.

 

The video accompanying this blog is our discussion with Joseph Pearce about this topic. As many of you know, Pearce is also a huge fan of “The Lord of the Rings.” Be sure to check out his excellent book “Frodo’s Journey: Discover the Hidden Meaning of The Lord of the Rings” in our online store.

We all love shopping for something — yes, even you fellas! It may be clothes, books, outdoor gear, whatever.

In fact, our culture has gotten to the point where we’ve turned everything into a shopping experience.

Dating apps present you with hundreds of potential significant others, allowing you to filter the results according to your (mostly trivial) tastes. The rise in virtual work has led to “state shopping”: the ability to choose which state you live and work from home in.

Even our holiest act of worship, the liturgy, hasn’t escaped this trend. Many people join parishes and suffer from buyer’s remorse when the priest’s homily consists of little more than throwing a beach ball to the congregation to symbolize how “connected” we all are. They decide to search around for another parish, often discovering the Traditional Latin Mass or Byzantine Divine Liturgy.

It’s a common story these days. But should we be shopping for a liturgy that suits us or stay where we are?

Here are some thoughts to help you decide.

It’s okay to leave your current parish.
If you want to change parishes to grow spiritually and have better options nearby, you shouldn’t feel obliged to stay where the people are irreverent, the homilies are sloppy, and the music is unbecoming.

Beware of looking for something niche or exotic just for the sake of it.
Is your desire to find a new parish motivated by your true spiritual good or simply the allure of something new and different? If it’s the latter, watch out. Even if you find the “ideal” church, chances are you’ll eventually tire of it and start searching for another new place.

Know the difference between what’s inappropriate for the liturgy versus not your style.
It’s tough telling the difference! But just because you don’t vibe with a particular hymn at Mass doesn’t mean it’s bad (although there are some objectively awful hymns).

If you like the Mass in English, that’s fine, but don’t act like it’s the end of the world if some parishes offer it in Latin. The Church allows this, and Latin is still the official language of the Roman Rite.

Respect other people’s preferences.
You’re entitled to your own beliefs, but so are other people. If the Traditional Latin Mass helps you feel closer to God, great! Keep going, but remember that many future saints attend Novus Ordo parishes.

If you’re confused about where to go to Mass, talk to a spiritual director. They can help you sort through your feelings and discern whether changing parishes will be truly beneficial to your spiritual good.

Charity is the most important virtue. We’re called to be generous in imitation of Christ, who gave everything to save us.

Some saints went to seemingly superhuman lengths to be generous to people, especially the poor. Think of St. Francis, who chose complete poverty to identify more closely with those in need and even touched the lepers. Or St. Maximilian Kolbe, who offered to be put to death by the Nazis in place of a condemned husband and father.

Still, charity doesn’t mean we shouldn’t protect our personal space. Here are tips for balancing generosity and boundaries.

Consider your state in life.
Depending on your vocation, you’re called to exercise generosity in a specific way. A friar may be called to give up his belongings and work in sometimes unsanitary or dangerous conditions.

A parent is called to a different kind of generosity. Your spouse and children come first, so it doesn’t violate charity to accumulate a certain amount of resources to give your family a dignified life.

When it comes to helping strangers, it’s not advisable for a parent to routinely do something that could possibly put them in harm’s way. For example, regularly taking homeless people out to dinner may not be wise because not every stranger is safe. Be generous, but don’t neglect your family and put yourself in danger.

What to do when you can’t give more.
It’s okay to admit that you can’t give more to somebody you’ve already helped. You have a right to establish boundaries, especially if people are taking advantage of your kindness.

Remember, you’re not the savior of the world. God isn’t asking you to solve everyone’s problems. He’s our Father and you’re His humble instrument. What you can do is pray for someone in need and entrust them to the care of God the Father. He sees their needs and the best ways to meet them.

You can’t love others if you don’t properly love yourself. And, in turn, make sure you are careful not to demand too much from others.

Remember, even Christ had boundaries. Sometimes he refused to answer His Apostles’ burning questions because His time “had not yet come.” He also periodically left the crowds that sought Him out to spend time praying in solitude.

Therefore, Our Lord gives you permission to spend some time focusing on yourself and your relationship with God.

Most Protestants take issue with the Rosary. Although Catholics pray the rosary to honor Mary and ask for her intercession, protestants see it as amounting to worshipping her.

But what if we were to tell our Protestant friends that they should pray the Rosary and can do it in a way that doesn’t violate their beliefs?

Here’s how to explain this!

Only pray the first half of the Hail Mary.
That’s the part that goes, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” Protestants shouldn’t have any issue with this because the words come from Scripture: the angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary in Luke 1:28 and St. Elizabeth’s words to Mary in Luke 1:42.

If Sts. Gabriel and Elizabeth could address these words to Mary, and so can Protestants. We’re literally praying the Scriptures!

Protestants can leave off the second part of the Hail Mary if they’re not yet comfortable calling Mary the Mother of God or asking for her intercession.

Some Protestants worry that the number of Hail Marys in the Rosary amounts to the “vain repetition” of prayers condemned by Jesus. But saying 53 Hail Marys is only a problem if you pray them without love or think that repeated prayers will automatically win you favors. Repeating prayers out of love is perfectly acceptable. After all, Revelation 4:8 records that there are four living creatures in heaven and that “day and night they never cease to sing, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’”

Most of the other prayers of the Rosary should pose no issue.
Many Protestants already pray the Our Father, which, of course, comes directly from Jesus. Most Protestants believe in the Holy Trinity, so the Glory Be should be fine.

The Salve Regina (“Hail, Holy Queen”) can be skipped.

So we say to our Protestant friends, “What’s keeping you from praying this modified Rosary in which you’re mostly reciting passages from the Bible? We encourage you to give it a try.”

Don’t have a Rosary? Be sure to check out the beautiful and strong Copper Paracord Rosary in our online store!

“The Lord of the Rings” is a landmark in the history of fiction — widely imitated by many writers but (arguably) never equaled. It’s full of beauty, sorrow, destruction, hope, and heroism.

J.R.R. Tolkien, the author, called the books “a fundamentally religious and Catholic work,” which surprised many readers.

This is partly because Tolkien wasn’t as overt with religious symbolism as C.S. Lewis. In Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia,” it’s hard to miss that the lion Aslan represents Jesus. “Narnia” is a great work in many respects, but too preachy.

People turn to sermons for preaching, but they read fiction to be immersed in a world where the religious element is more subtle.

Nevertheless, Catholic themes abound in “The Lord of the Rings.” Here are a few.

Goodness is objectively real.
Within the wider Middle Earth saga (beyond “The Lord of the Rings”), Tolkien explicitly identifies a creator who made the world good and who — despite the entry of evil into his creation — promised that he would bring an even greater good from the brokenness that plagued Middle Earth.

This stands in sharp contrast to some modern ideologies, which treat goodness as a purely subjective value or see good and evil as equal forces.

We need God’s grace to overcome our fallen nature.
The One Ring of Sauron exercises power over those who wear it in a similar way as original sin binds us. And as the characters in “The Lord of the Rings” couldn’t be completely free of the ring’s power without aid, we rely on Christ to be free from sin.

Growth requires sacrifice.
The hobbits and other inhabitants of Middle Earth know that saving their world from the forces of evil requires heroic sacrifice, even to the point of losing one’s life. This recalls Christ’s words in Matthew 10:39: “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Even seemingly insignificant people have an important place in God’s plan.
There are many heroes in “The Lord of the Rings,” but the hobbits are the stars. These small creatures, who normally shirk adventures and prefer a peaceful life in the Shire, show that God doesn’t always choose the mighty to carry out His plans. In our world, for example, he chose a humble, relatively unknown virgin to be the mother of His Son.

There are many other Catholic themes to explore, including the Lembas bread and the Eucharist, Gandalf as Christ the priest, and Aragorn as Christ the king. If you’ve never experienced “The Lord of the Rings” or want to reread it, grab a boxed set from our online store and discover its rich symbolism for yourself!