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Our Lord Jesus preached peace, harmony, and love for our neighbor and all mankind.  We are to actively work towards a world that embodies those values.  However, our current reality makes this message complicated.  While we are still called to love our neighbor and work toward peace, we cannot ignore the danger posed by pure pacifism on the nationstate level.  How do we balance the seemingly competing needs of defense and brotherly...

Catholicism, while absolutely grounded in being a universal Church, has many beautiful variations throughout the world.  In the United States, few have captured the imagination and heart of the nation like Irish Catholicism.  Steeped in ancient lore and rich in history, the story of Irish Catholicism is as fascinating as it is tragic and triumphant.  On this Sunday before our Church celebrates St. Patrick’s Day, Nicholas sits down ...

There have been many councils in the history of the Church that have shaped our faith.  From doctrine to rites, they have covered a breadth of topics.  However, few councils have matched the importance of the Council of Trent and Vatican II.  Both made sweeping changes that took decades to fully implement and made an impact that is still being considered today.  What happened at these councils?  Why were they so important and what ...

Grief is something that can feel insurmountable.  In the time following a loss, it often seems as though we are barely keeping our heads above water.  It can be hard to see the light.  But the waters will ebb and the light will shine again.  We will never forget those we lose, but we can learn to handle their loss in healthy ways.  This is often more easily done with a group of people who have gone through or are going through the ...

It can be difficult to remain faithful to God in the modern world.  So many things seek to drive a wedge between us and devotion.  Social media traps us in algorithms and politics encourage us to make an idol out of ideology.  We are constantly bombarded by conflicting messages from music, television, and our cellphones.  Remaining true to the Word in this reality is difficult for adults, but more so for the young.  Not only do the...

The suffering of children is difficult to witness, particularly the children in our families.  It can leave us with questions about our relationship with God, or with a feeling of powerlessness, but can reveal opportunities for deep compassion and meaningful care and respect for those who need it most.  This month, Pope Leo has asked us to pray for children with incurable diseases.  Fr. Hightower joins Nicholas to explore ways to n...

Prayer is essential to aligning us to the path of Christ and connecting us to God and each other.  We can use rote prayers to find alignment at any moment, or engage in contemplative prayer for a deeper understanding of scripture and the treasures it holds for us.  The Bible itself holds many prayers within its pages, including the Lord's Prayer and the Psalms.  Regardless of the type of prayer that speaks to us at a particula...

Each night, we have the opportunity to enter into a world unbounded by the rules to which we are by day accustomed.  This world is a tapestry of our deepest hopes and fears and everything we notice and wonder, a mysterious realm of inexplicable phenomena and unexpected memories, completely individual yet transcendent.  The dreams that take place in this world have been the wellspring of spiritual inspiration and guidance in Scriptu...

Few practices have captured the imagination of people seeking greater understanding of themselves and of God than the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.  When our own image of ourselves gets between us and God, and we become preoccupied with our own ideas about who we're supposed to be, rather than who God made us to be, the Spiritual Exercises can help us to develop a better picture of ourselves as God's belo...

In our final episode of this Advent series we tie in the themes of this season under one word.  That word is love.  Ours is a God of love, seeking to reconcile the world under His sheltering wings.  At the core of our faith, and even the most complex theological questions, the most important concepts are to love our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  This abundant out...

Joyful are those who wait on the Lord.  In this time of joyful anticipation  as we look up at the skies of Bethlehem, our God has given us the grace to endure the darkness of winter with His warm light within.  It is not enough, however, to keep this light to ourselves.  Instead, we are given the mission to let it shine even in the darkest places, allowing it to lift others as well.  Deb Johnson joins Nicholas to talk about gratitu...

Peace can be an elusive thing.  The world can fill us with worry and our minds can get stuck in patterns that do not serve us.  So many things can pull us from the feeling of peace.  In these times of turmoil it is good to ask ourselves "What can I lay before God today?".  God wants to lead us to a place of consolation and love.  He wants to change us at the core for the better.  Do we let him move our heart?  How can we ...

We begin our Advent series with a topic that is very much needed in this world.  It can be difficult to find hope in our lives sometimes.  There are so many things that can weigh us down, so many things that can sink us into despair.  But our hope is in Christ and His promise of a better kingdom.  From this hope, we can begin to see the world anew.  Katy is back on the show to share with us what hope means to her and how we can bet...

This next week we gather together for the holiday of Thanksgiving here in America.  It is often a festive time with good food and good company.  However, Thanksgiving doesn't just happen once a year.  It happens every weekend when we gather for the Lord's Supper and give thanks to God for the saving life of His Son.  At our best, it is a daily practice that enriches our life.  Frs. Mark, Hightower, and Conroy join us this...

When Jesus tells us in the Gospel to bring the little ones to him and to not hinder them, it isn't just a passive missive.  We are called to an active mission because the kingdom belongs to them.  The question then becomes, how do we lead our children to the faith in a way that they can access?  The CGS program gives a great opportunity for this access, not just for the children but for the adults who have been throughly train...

When the Lord calls us, it isn't always a thundering voice from the mountains.  Often it is a gentle feeling from the Holy Spirit, quietly leading us if we have the ears to hear.  This is often true when it comes to pursuing a deeper commitment to Holy Mother Church.  Deacons occupy a special position in our communities, having many of the duties as a priest but still having the ability to have a spouse and families.  In this ...

What does it mean to be a part of the body of Christ?  It means that we are charged with bringing the light and message of Christ into the world.  It means serving one another in mind, body, and spirit.  We all have a role to play, and no role is greater than another.  All are necessary, all are welcome, all are called.  Shai joins Nicholas to show us how we can listen to the call to service and have the heart to say "Here I A...

Austin Peppenger is not Catholic.  In fact, when he was young, he was taught to fear and hate Catholics, among others.  As he has gone through life he has challenged many of the misconceptions he was raised with.  One of those was a complete 180* on Holy Mother Church.  After interactions with the faithful, attending Mass, and listening to the wisdom offered by the guests of VOXSFX, his perspective has gone from viewing us as a rev...