Two recent radio appearances: JOMO and St. Joseph

I hope that everyone’s Lent has been fruitful, as we now enter Holy Week.

A few weeks ago I joined Morning Air to talk about the joy - not the fear! - of missing out. Listen to that here.

And then the day before his feast day, I spoke with John Morales about St. Joseph, patron of - well, many important things, especially those having to do with family. You can listen here.

A personal note: I will be taking a break from writing and speaking starting next month through, probably, the whole summer. I may occasionally come back here to post on other spiritual goings-ons - we shall see!

Wishing you a festive Easter and beyond!

You’ve Heard of FOMO — But Have You Heard of JOMO?

Friends, I’ve got a new article up at The Grotto Network: You’ve Heard of FOMO — But Have You Heard of JOMO? That’s right - it’s the JOY of missing out!

I will be joining John and the Morning Air team this coming Tuesday, March 5, at 7:20 am eastern to discuss embracing the joy of missing out, and why it’s the perfect attitude to adopt during Lent, as we “give up” pleasures and activities.

As I state in the article, I embraced JOMO during the pandemic after all my usual go-to activities were shut down. What I found was that a simplified life was in many ways wonderful, and cleared my mind and thoughts for quiet that allowed deeper introspection and meaningful prayer, as well as self-knowledge. FOMO is a terrible motivator, but if we’re not careful, that fear of missing out - usually of missing someone else’s expectation for us or not living up to their expectations materially - can really take one down a path filled with regrets. Instead, learn to listen to yourself and do what you want to do, because it is fulfilling. Not what society tells you to do.

More to come on Tuesday. May you have a JOMO Lent!

Lent for Pregnant Moms!

Dear readers, as promised, you can read my latest piece at Catholic Stand here: Lent for Pregnant Moms.

I had a great time talking with John and Sarah on the Morning Air Show yesterday, which you can hear here. The segment starts at 14:04.

One thing we talked about that I didn’t include in the article is that you can still fast if you’re pregnant, elderly, sick, etc. - it’s just from different things. So don’t starve yourself, but you can certainly give up, say, donuts. Or, even less tangible things: fast from gossip, self-criticism, TV, scrolling through your phone before bed, etc. One other tip: it helps to replace these things with something else. So if you have a habit of doom-scrolling before bed, replace it with a rosary, spiritual reading, or even something old-school like a crossword puzzle. Whatever will keep you from the thing that is distracting you and instead has a net positive benefit for your interior well-being.