A word on dirty jokes Dear Beginner, If you have passed the age of 12 and haven't spent your whole life on a deserted island, I can say with almost complete certainty that you have been…
Response to Blasphemy on RTÉ Dear Beginner, Have you ever witnessed a teen go off to college and, “free from his parents’ rules,” makes a mess of his life? Just over two years ago, as part…
Still discerning? Do something! Dear Beginner, A couple years ago at a catholic conference I met a not-so-young man who told me that he was discerning religious life. And if I remember well, he had…
What are you doing this Halloween? Dear Beginner, I’ve had it on my mind for a while to write about Halloween, but I just can’t bring myself to it. Here in Ireland they are trying to make…
"Mary, give Jesus a tour of my soul." Dear Beginner, The other day after receiving Communion, I had a wonderful inspiration and thought I'd suggest you to do: ask Mary to give Jesus a tour of your soul. In…
“You Want to Count to Five Hundred with Me?” Dear Beginner, Two different scenarios: “You want to count to five hundred with me?” your friend asks you. Agreeing, you grab your string of beads and begin: “One... Two... Three...” And…
How many steps to correctly wash your soul? Dear Beginner, Have you ever seen those signs in public restrooms that teach you how to wash your hands? Recently I saw one that had TWELVE steps to correctly sanitize your…
New Normal is NOT Normal Dear Beginner, Do you remember when you first heard the phrase "social distancing"? At first you were confused about what it could mean, and the next day you were using it…
Invoke the Holy Spirit with this prayer Dear Beginner, As the month of May comes to an end and we prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit, I thought you might like this short yet powerful prayer…
Fr. Henry: Always attentive to God's action in his life Dear Beginner, "What do you think the Lord is trying to say with this?" A typical phrase coming from the mouth of Fr. Henry Kowalczyk, the first Servant Priest of the…
Holy Week... at Home Dear Beginner, How's lock down coming along? Have you managed to find the good in all this time at home yet? Try to see it as a break that the Lord…
Holy Week approaches: Look at the Cross Dear Beginner, Have you ever written a letter of condolence to someone? You write something, then cross it out and start over... thinking and re-thinking what to say... I feel like…
3rd week of Lent: "Jesus, I trust in You" Dear Beginner, "Jesus, I trust in You" is my prayer at this time. A constant reassurance that, despite all that is happening, the Lord doesn't let anything escape from His hands.…
2nd Week of Lent: Coronavirus and Communion Dear Beginner, As we begin the second week of Lent, and the coronavirus is more and more present, I've been thinking about the effect it is having in the world and…
1st Week of Lent: Ten Commandments Dear Beginner, Happy Lent! (Do people say that?) Looking at the Mass readings for the first week in this penitential time, I didn’t even have to look past Monday’s first reading.…
The Valentine's Day that Changed my Life Dear Beginner, It was on the eve of Valentine's Day, many years ago, when I did a very cheesy thing that marked my life forever. The following day, my best friend…
Hmm... what are they saying about curiosity? Dear Beginner, Have you ever heard the phrase "curiosity killed the cat" applied to you? Do you get annoyed if people don't tell you things right away? Are you capable of…
A Meditation before the Nativity Scene Dear Beginner, Merry Christmas! Among all the things you are doing this Christmas season, make sure you spend time in prayer to remember the reason for the season. Light a…
The Virginity of Mary Dear Beginner, Have you ever stopped to consider what we believe when we say that Jesus was "born of the Virgin Mary"? We know that Mary remained a virgin before, during…
3rd week of Advent: the Messenger Dear Beginner, Has the Lord sent a messenger to you? Has He put someone in your life who has been an example to you? Did He give you someone who, despite…
2nd Week of Advent: "Brood of Vipers" in Matthew 3 Dear Beginner, Looking at the readings for the second week of Advent, I must say how I love to see the vehemence of St. John the Baptist's reproach to the pharisees.…
1st Sunday of Advent: Wake up! Dear Beginner, Wake up! That phrase is the name of a program we have on HM Television about the Persecuted Christians, and it is also a theme for this week's Sunday…
Unplanned: What a Great—TRUE—Story! Dear Beginner, What a movie! I had heard about the testimony of Abby Johnson, but as you can imagine, it's a lot different seeing it played out in a film. If…
Catholic youth listening to mainstream music? Dear Beginner, Being the youngest of my siblings, I began listening to mainstream music by the time I was 9 or 10. By "mainstream," I mean hip-hop/R&B/rock/techno/pop/rap... I think you get…
Via Lucis: Way of Light Dear Beginner, Happy Easter! Once again life has triumphed and the Lord of Hope shows us that He has conquered death and sin. Thanks be to God, He calls us to…
Console Our Lady in the Passion Dear Beginner, Now that we are in the midst of Holy Week, just wanted to write a quick note to encourage you to live it close to the Lord and His…
Now that we're halfway through Lent... So… how’s your Lent going? Are you still waking up early to exercise and go to Mass? Are you still making an effort to be kind to that annoying person?…
Mary's Smile at Lourdes While Our Blessed Mother doesn’t appear very much in the Bible, we have received the great gift of her presence here on earth many times. Through these apparitions we can…
Young Men Martyred for Purity Dear Beginner, We have girl saints for chastity, but male saints? I recently heard the story of several young men who died for the faith, protecting their chastity against homosexual…
"Mary, Greet me this Advent" Dear Beginner, How’s your Advent going? Can you tell that you’re in Advent? Recently I have been praying with the story of the Visitation, and I thought I’d share a…
4 Tips for a "Not Just Another Advent" Dear Beginner, First off, Happy New Year! That is, liturgical new year. We are now entering into the first part of the liturgical year: where the Church has us meditate…
Help to Empty Purgatory Dear Beginner, When I was about nine years old, I came across a prayer that "frees 1,000 souls from purgatory each time it is prayed." What a deal! I began to…
Was Jesus Tolerant? Dear Beginner, It seems to me that in society now, one of the most important “virtues” is tolerance. If someone isn’t tolerant, or doesn’t agree with the way the world is…
Why get a Spiritual Director? Dear Beginner, I think that I have mentioned it already a few times, but here I want to talk more about what is a spiritual director. Imagine that you are going on…
5th Week of Lent Dear Beginner, Here are some thoughts for the fifth week of Lent. PRAYER“The contemplation of My painful wounds is of great profit to you, and it brings Me great joy.” Jesus said…
Final Stretch of Lent Dear Beginner, We're nearing the end-- this is where it counts, everything you did up to now was training you for this moment. As we enter into Holy Week, prepare yourself…
4th Week of Lent Dear Beginner, Lent is more than half over! How are you living it? PRAYERThis week I encourage you to continue meditating on part of the Stations of the Cross. I read recently…
3rd Week of Lent Dear Beginner, Here you are for the third week of Lent! PRAYERA couple years ago, our founder, Fr. Rafael gave some advice for prayer during Lent, and it was the following… Pick…
2nd Week of Lent: Some Ideas Dear Beginner, Something to think about this week: PRAYERThis week the Gospel is about the Transfiguration of the Lord, and the second reading prepares us for it with the second letter from…
Tips for the 1st Week of Lent Dear Beginner, For Lent, here’s something that may help you out to live more intensely each week. Short readings for each of the 3 pillars: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Examples of…
Kick him away Dear Beginner, Last week we had a big weekend encounter with families, and I, along with a few other sisters, helped out in the nursery, taking care of the…
The Passion Dear Beginner, I don’t know if you’ve discovered it yet, but something extremely beneficial to the soul is the meditation of the Passion of the Lord. It’s really too…
14 Rules for Discerning Spirits Dear Beginner, I’ll leave you here with the first 14 Rules for Discerning Spirits, very profitable to anyone who is serious about becoming a saint. If you’re going into war, you…
14th Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner, There are two sets of rules in the discernment of spirits. In the first set, there are 14 rules for beginners in the spiritual life. In the second,…
13th Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner, Since we spoke about evil women the last time, I think it’s only just that we speak about evil men this time. St. Ignatius, it seems, thought the…
12th Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner, Fellow women, take no offense at the next rule, but I think that you will understand because you’ve seen it happen in yourself or in others… St. Ignatius…
10th and 11th Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner, The tenth and eleventh rules are pretty straight forward so I’m going to combine them here. The tenth says: “Let him who is in consolation think…
9th Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner,In the ninth rule, St. Ignatius gives us the 1-2-3 about being in desolation. Since lists are always helpful, I’m going to go ahead and follow along. Drum roll…
8th Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner, Since we need guidance in how to act during desolation more than in consolation, St. Ignatius has provided for us a few more rules with this topic. …
7th Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner, This rule helps to prepare you how to live in moments of desolation, explaining what’s going on. Assuming that you are going through it right now, you are…
6th Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner, I left the last letter thinking about bullies, and it reminded me about something that helps, but is very difficult. I’m the youngest in my family, and…
5th Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner, Don’t think that the Rules end with the fourth, talking about spiritual desolations. Here, in the fifth, St. Ignatius tells what you have to do when the desolation…
4th Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner, The fourth rule is quite the opposite from the third. This one talks about spiritual desolation, which is everything contrary to consolation. St. Ignatius says: “Spiritual Desolation. I…
3rd Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner, The third rule explains more about consolations, which I wouldn’t be surprised if you have probably already experienced some. St. Ignatius says: “I call it consolation when some…
2nd Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner,I already talked a little bit about the second rule when I spoke about the first, as you will see. It says: “In the people who are intensely purging…
1st Rule of Discernment Dear Beginner, I shall begin here with the first Rule for Discerning Spirits, according to St. Ignatius of Loyola. It goes something like: “For the person who goes from mortal…
Rules for Discernment of Spirits Dear Beginner, I’m going to try and share with you something that seems to me to be completely unknown by many people trying to grow in the spiritual life. In all…
Holy Mass Dear Beginner,Everything has rules. Sometimes, instead of being called rules, they are known as norms, principles, etc. It’s part of nature that everything has an order, a way of acting. …
Merry Christmas Dear Beginner,Merry Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your family, celebrating the birth of Our Lord Jesus.I noticed that the stores have already taken down their Christmas…
Are you thinking about yourself, or Jesus? Dear Beginner, A few letters back I mentioned that after receiving the Eucharist, you shouldn’t be thinking about yourself so much. Reading that, your reaction may have been, well…
Mortification of the eyes Dear Beginner, Have you ever heard about mortification of the eyes? It is a fantastic little way to help your soul rise into prayer. I am not talking about not…
Fighting Mediocrity: One manifestation of False Piety Dear Beginner, I met someone once who had been advised to receive the Eucharist less frequently—in order to appreciate It more. That´s a good idea to have—if you´re talking about…
Living my faith for real Dear Beginner, I never paid much attention to the words perseverance and fidelity until I began concentrating on the spiritual life—living my faith for real. Obviously, you don't need to…
