St. Charbel Makhlouf is a little known Maronite saint and priest-monk of the 19th century. While he lived most of his life in the relative silence and seclusion of monastic life, he quickly gained a widespread reputation for sanctity, and miracles were attributed to his prayers. He remained incorrupt after his death, and thousands flocked […]

St. Maxmilian Kolbe is my favorite saint. He lived a truly eucharistic life of missionary zeal, radiant holiness, and sacrificial love. Yet, his life of holiness was no accident; he did not wake up one morning a saint. Rather, his holiness was the result of constant spiritual effort that cultivated an intimate relationship with our […]

One of my favorite pastimes is grilling meat. While I am very much an amateur, I find the flavor of grilled meat to be far superior to meat cooked in any other way. Grilling is the polar opposite of perverse modern forms of cooking, barely worthy of the name, like heating something in a microwave. […]

by Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB, Vocation Director, Conception Abbey 1. Cultivate Silence St. Benedict wrote, “Speaking and teaching are the master’s task; the disciple is to be silent and listen” (RB 6:8). Silence is the environment that allows you to listen to God’s voice and the voices of those around you properly. Many people are […]

“The difficulty of explaining ‘why I am a Catholic’ is that there are ten thousand reasons all amounting to one reason: that Catholicism is true.” – G.K. Chesterton Many of you know that I am a convert to the Catholic church. Why, you may wonder, would anyone, especially in the 21st century, join such an […]