Few saints enjoy the kind of “rock star” status that St. Francis of Assisi has. Since his death in 1226, many souls have been challenged by his holy example and countless gardens have displayed statues in his honor. It is kind of ironic, if you think about it … there is St. Francis, known for… View More
BLOG
We all have a unique mission on earth. Because this mission is not always easy to discern, we must get to know the heart of Christ and listen to His plan for us. How do we do this? We go straight to His words in the Bible.
Mark and Melanie recently celebrated their 20th anniversary. “Marriage is one of God’s most beautiful gifts and is intended to bless us, fulfill us, and give us a path to sanctity. Understanding what true love entails and how grace works to overcome our wounded human nature is the key to a holy, happy, and passionate… View More
“I picked up Ascension Press’ recent release Biblical Heroes because it looked like a meaningful, yet practical way to start each homeschool day with my kids ages 6–16. Between its bite-sized chapters and the many thoughtful discussion questions sprinkled throughout the text based on thirteen scriptural heroes such as Abel, David and Esther, I could… View More
CatholicVote asked Hart for recommendations on how best to present the Bible to young people, especially middle schoolers who may think Scripture is confusing or only meant for older people. “I begin by calling out the elephant in the room and admitting, ‘Yep, the Bible can be confusing… very confusing,’” Hart responded. “Sure it seems… View More
I had fifty eyes glaring back at me with exhaustion and boredom. It was my first foray into a Catholic middle school classroom as a guest teacher for religion. I was twenty-one years old, relatively “hip” by preadolescent standards, and one week on the job as a new parish youth minister. After a whopping thirty… View More
Each prayer of gratitude to the Lord left me floored. The humility and sincerity in the room was palpable—a welcome reminder of how many blessings we so often take for granted. Just as I thought the moment could not go any deeper, a voice bellowed from the back of the room.
The heavy exhale. The almost lifeless body beneath the covers. You beg, you plead, you offer the ultimatum that threatens a loss of phone or Xbox or car. Slowly their overtired, hormone-driven corpus emerges from the darkness, bloodshot eyes rolling back in their heads as they make their way to the bathroom in hopes of…
There is probably a screen in the middle of your living room. There has been a screen in the middle of American living rooms since the 1950s. Its presence rearranged furniture and changed the focus of the ones sitting in those chairs—no longer looking at one another, but pointed at that screen.
What are your hopes for youth ministry? I want to help change the perspective of teenagers. When teenagers get involved in their faith in a youth group or when they come to an event like this, they think that they’re seeking God. They think they’re going out of their way for God, but very seldom…
The mountain is important. Why not beside the sea, where so many other teachings and miracles took place? Why not in the boat on the sea, like the others? Perhaps because when scaling a mountain, many things occur. Your perspective changes. Your effort changes. Steps aren’t easy; they require effort. Breathing isn’t easy; it requires…
At seventeen years old I was given a great gift from God. It was one day during my Senior year when I was asked to participate in an after school event. About two dozen students were gathered awaiting our instructions when I saw a sight more radiant than any other. There before me, not…
The following is an email that was recently sent out to a certain Parish staff, alerting them of the latest team update: To Whom It May Concern: In agreement with the clearly delineated Diocesan norms for termination of employment, below are just a handful of the reasons we were forced to fire Jesus of Nazareth…