I sat in the pew waiting for my turn. My classmates sat spread out across the sanctuary in the quiet, dark church. Our teacher instructed us to reflect solemnly on our sins as we prepared to enter the confessional. I was 13 years old, a middle school student at a Catholic parochial school. I had… Read More My Catholic Comeback: Reflections of a Catholic Revert

Whenever I come across images of a crucifix, I’m enamored by the ones placed in such a way that the viewer’s perspective looks upward towards Jesus. If one were to close their eyes, recalling the accounts in the gospels, one can enter through Mary’s perspective as she sat at the foot of the cross watching… Read More At the Foot of the Cross

On September 7, 2021, we launched a new project inspired by the Catechism of the Catholic Church called Real + True. The word “catechesis” comes from a Greek word that means to “echo down” — to pass down and pass along the gift of the faith from generation to generation. But in the modern world, what… Read More Why We Created ‘Real + True’

For being a political party rather than a church, the Democratic Party is still quite capable of channeling the adage that a group can be looking for heretics or converts, but never both at once. Following the down-ballot disappointments of 2020, many Democrats lapsed into heretic hunting mode, even as they sought to broaden their… Read More ‘Universal’ Appeal: Catholicism Offers Democrats, Biden the Moral Framework They Need

Ariana Grande’s Nickelodeon days are long over. Her sixth studio album positions proves that she is a grown woman who has come into her own, in case any Victorious fans were still nostalgic for the old red-haired, baby-voiced Cat Valentine days. Both thematically and sonically more mature, positions is a soundtrack for millennials who are… Read More Ariana Grande Explores the Existential Highs and Lows of Being a Millennial in positions

The 2020 presidential election reached far beyond political boundaries to challenge fundamental moral values, and the resolution of the electoral contest will not mitigate the moral discord that has destabilized the political sphere and disrupted our personal relationships. The emotional toll is heavy for those on both sides of the aisle. At the risk of… Read More Where Do We Go From Here? My Post-Election Confessions.

Human desire never seems to cease. We are confronted with this inconvenient truth whenever we realize that something we want is totally out of reach. Some of us try (in vain) to “stuff away” our desires in an attempt to bypass that sense of dissatisfaction. But repression often turns into all kinds of tricky complexes… Read More John of the Cross, Romeo Santos, and Awakening the Heart’s Desire