Keeping faith during summer travels

Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining the Morning Air program once again, to discuss how to keep your faith the focus when you’re traveling for summer vacations. You can listen to that here, starting at about 17:53. All the advice applies for any type of travel, any time of year, of course. That advice is: first, plan. Know where the churches are and when the Mass times are before you even go, and make a plan - with your family! - to go. Also, wake up just a couple minutes early to get your prayer time in, or utilize your environment to make it that much more meaningful. Dawn beach prayer, anyone? And, bring holy objects with you: a mini crucifix, an image of your favorite saint, whatever it is, and put it where you can see it, like your hotel bedside table, beside the tv, taped to the bathroom mirror, or on your dashboard. The image will remind you of the truth, of who you are, what you believe, and that even far away from home, God is still #1! Happy summer travels, all!

June discussions: how to travel with God, and saints for dads

This month, I’ll be talking to Morning Air about two topics: one, how to still keep God a central part of your life when you travel, and some saints that are especially helpful for dads. The first conversation takes place tomorrow morning at either 7:40 or 8:20 am eastern, (sorry, I don’t know yet - just tune in at 7:40 and stick around), and the saints ‘n’ dads talk will be 8:20 am eastern on Thursday, June 19.

I have traveled a fair amount and can attest to the fact that being in a new environment really can be disorienting for your spiritual life. You’ve got new surroundings, new people, away from home…you may think, oh, I don’t need to go to Mass! Wrong! Listen to the conversation to hear my practical tips for remembering God, and yourself, when you’re far from home. And I’ll share more about dad-saints in the coming weeks.

Note: Pope Leo’s prayer intention for June is that the world might grow in compassion. Here’s a little vid about it.

Speaking with Morning Air about "How to be Catholic" Google searches

I had the pleasure of joining John Morales and the Morning Air crew last week to discuss the fun fact that searches for “How to become Catholic” spiked after Pope Francis’s death. The interview starts here at minute 18:30. I found this such an intriguing concept because it’s how we find out everything now - we Google it. But it’s basically the same thing as asking the internet, “How do I talk to God?” We pose this mystical question not to a firsthand source, but to our AI helper. That’s the times. And yet, it shows people are still searching. And if there is one thing I will always believe - the Hill I will die on, I guess - it is that human nature never changes, and never will. So we search, and we use whatever tools at hand to find the answers, whatever the century is.

Other interesting points: they started the interview with a clip from Cardinal Dolan who said no one does high drama like the Catholic Church, and that’s right. John asked me my take, and it is this: the world is craving reality. We are so immersed in our devices and our virtual relationships, that a magnificent display like what you saw at the papal conclave and election is striking. I loved the procession of musicians and Swiss guards in their musical tribute, which is how I interpreted it. Imagine the music of the angels in heaven at that moment!

The main point I wanted to make in this conversation, too, was that it is a start to become Catholic, but then there is more to it: there is the being and living as a Catholic in daily life. My prescription for this is always the same: prayer, works, fellowship. Pray (speak to God), serve others in whatever manner is suitable for you, and be with other Catholics. That’s it. If you do those things faithfully, asking for the grace of the Holy Spirit, you’re being Catholic.

Always a great time with the Morning Air crew and getting to discuss these matters impacting all our lives. I do pray for all those Googling their way to the faith currently. And I also think, for those that make it past the inquiry stage and all the way to the end: what an adventure you are embarking on! What a world is about to open up to you! Praise God for the lives of both his servants, Pope Francis and Pope Leo.