You probably already know by now that I have a weekly podcast called Being Human. 

In recent episodes, I've been venturing into what some might consider dangerous territory these days. (The fact that this subject has become such a controversial issue is baffling.)

Cover image art: "St. Joseph and Baby Jesus" by Jason Jenicke. 

What's the first image that comes to your mind when you think about "masculinity"?

The image will most likely differ drastically from person to person, and could range anywhere from images of suits, slick CEO's, and Don-Draper-types to beards, big trucks and Chuck Norris. 

In today's modern culture though, there seems to be a lot of conversation centered around what's been termed "toxic masculinity." This focus on...

The month of March is designated in the U.S. as "Women's History Month" - a month-long celebration of the contributions and accomplishments of women.

Throughout her history, the Church has also celebrated the contributions  of many incredible, beautiful, passionate and holy women to our world. Coincidentally, it is during this month that we celebrate one of the greatest "accomplishments" by any woman ever. 

On March 25th, we celebrate a major feast day, the Solemnity of the...

Let’s begin with an “opening crawl” of caveats:

FULL SPOILER ALERT. I’m going to be delving into some of the characters and plot points of Episode 7 from a psychological perspective, so if you haven’t seen it, get to the theater and come back and read!

• I’m presuming that you are at least somewhat familiar with the franchise and can recall some of the major details of the earlier episodes.
• I loved the film. It is refreshing to have Star Wars back on...

Before I transferred to Franciscan University, I was a freshman at Boston College. My good friend Colin was in seminary next door at St. John’s, and we used to exercise together at BC’s workout facility called the Plex. That was the Jubilee year and a time of deep conversion for me. Colin and I encouraged each other in becoming better men of God in many ways that year. Along with our workouts, one of our most important exercises in virtue also took place at the gym.

The weight...

I was going to post this week on how to be a man.  There’s a lot that our Church teaches about manhood and virtue, the Theology of the Body is brimming over with lessons to learn, and I certainly have endless examples from therapy of the suffering caused by a lack of manhood.  I realized though that every week there is a new “5 ways to…” post on everything from dating tips to how to strap in a baby in a car seat.  I think they’re great, and...

Every day I take the subway to my office and I spend a few minutes staring at the ads in the train.  On the NYC trains, one company sometimes buys all of the ad space in one car.  One of my favorites to get into has a full car-length of Jameson whiskey ads.  You’ve probably seen them on TV as well (“This is a tale of the most formidable beast on earth, and the giant octopus that tried to take his whiskey.”) I recently found myself wondering who would win in a...

I am now 17 days away from getting married. Everyone has a unique and perfectly planned path to get to this point, and God led me through some really amazing experiences to prepare me for this.

I think one of the most important lessons He’s taught me is that my beautiful fiancée will not satisfy the deepest longings of my heart.  That’s right, I know what I said, and no she won’t be mad that I said it.  In fact, she feels the same way about me!...

First of all, I would like to thank the girls at Verily for doing an outstanding job of providing an alternative to trashy pop-culture periodicals.  While many other people point fingers and put down the culture, Verily is doing something about it.

I would like to share a response to a recent article called “Holding Back Tears,” found here.  The question concerning the appropriateness of displaying emotion at work is raised.

Some of the greatest mysteries that every...