Men, I would like to share some thoughts in this newsletter on the heroic virtue of the saint whose memorial is observed by the Church today, St. Justin Martyr, and then add some thoughts about fatherhood, since later this month there is a day that is traditionally set aside to honor fathers. St. Justin Martyr was born a pagan in the late first century or early second century, a citizen of the Roman Empire. He trained himself to be a philosopher, but when he heard from a wis

Men, my remarks this month focus on Eastertide, dabbling, and a famous woman in the history of the Church to whom we men need to pay heed. In reverse order, first, the amazing woman to whom Pope Gregory XI listened to end one of the most unfortunate circumstances in the history of the Catholic Church–St. Catherine of Siena, whose feast day is celebrated today. To set the stage, in AD 1309, due to civil and religious unrest, as many of you are aware, Pope Clement V fled fro

Men, we are embarking soon on the most Holy Week of the Year. What will you do to properly observe it? We start this Sunday with Palm Sunday. We’ll be asked to “do our part” and participate in saying that we want to let Jesus be crucified. What a way to start Holy Week …. But, it is for our sins that Jesus died. When he was on the Cross 2,000 years ago, he knew the sins of each one of us men in Mid-Missouri in April 2026. To be brutally honest, we deserve the sha

Men, not everyone may think this way, but Lent is a great time of the year to be Catholic . We know the purpose is to prepare ourselves for the greatest gift ever given–the salvation of humanity by the Son of God . It’s an amazing gift given to us–what God would send his own Son to redeem his children who had strayed? Our theology teaches us that only God could redeem us from the infinite sin of Adam . Given that the sin of Adam was such a tremendous offense against God,

Men of Signum Crucis , today the Christmas season has officially ended. Don’t be glum about it. Later this month, the Church gives us another great season to observe. Lent. Lent? Though things often seem to move slowly in the Church, we just as often observe that the Church continues to march forward quickly. It’s time for Lent already? Wasn’t Jesus just born 40 days ago? Now we are about to observe a time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving t

Men of Signum Crucis , Merry Christmas. For unto us a child is born–the Son of God is born to us, Jesus Christ, our Lord! It’s happened a time or two before this year that we have observed Christ’s birth, hasn’t it?? Is it possible that the observance of Christ’s birth can become routine, blas é , ordinary over time? Is it possible that this extraordinary event can “lose its luster”? I say it is possible, if we “cave in” to the world around us, and cast aside the true

Men of Signum Crucis , Happy Advent. ‘Tis the season to slow down, and, as you can, enjoy the longer evenings without so many chores and obligations that longer evenings sometimes “impose” on us. Maybe it’s a good time to spend more time with family and friends. But most importantly, Advent is a great time to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus himself . What does this mean? In a way, Advent is a 28-day retreat–a gift given by God himself during a quiet time of t

Men of Signum Crucis , Happy Eve of the Solemnity of All Hallows. In other words, Happy Halloween. Don’t you find it interesting when the culture attempts to wrestle away from the Catholic Church a beautiful tradition and over-secularize it? It’s happened many times over (think over-commercialization of Christmas, the Easter Bunny and egg hunts at Easter, drinking green alcoholic beverages to excess on St. Patrick’s Day, romantic observances on St. Valentine's Day, and ye

Men of Signum Crucis , happy Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels. If you are like me, we owe a lot to our guardian angel . Yes, the...

Men of Signum Crucis , happy Memorial of the great Pope St. Gregory the Great. Not to be repetitive, but he really was a great man. How...

Men of Signum Crucis , once again, the Church has presented to us a great spate of saints to observe this week, concluding with the...

Men of Signum Crucis , today the Church observes the Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle. I think the life of this saint is very important for...

Men of Signum Crucis , today the Church observes the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at which time Mary, immediately...

Men of Signum Crucis , Happy Easter!! Remember that we fast for 40 days, but we feast for 50 . I hope you are celebrating well to...

Men of Signum Crucis , now that Laetare Sunday and the priests wearing rose-colored vestments have come and gone, we are able to say...

Men of Signum Crucis , best wishes to each of you as we make our final preparations for Lent during this Year of Hope. Good results...