Why Offering It Up Is Countercultural
I’ve often struggled with the concept of offering it up. If you’re a cradle Catholic, you’ve probably heard it from your parents when the going gets tough.
St. Ignatius on Overcoming Desolation
St. Ignatius of Loyola offers a series of “rules,” or principles, which can help us work against this depressing and downward movement of desolation.
What Does it Mean to ‘Exist?’ Aquinas Weighs-In
Among his widely influential teachings, St. Thomas Aquinas addressed the very core and starting point of reality, i.e., what does it mean to exist?
Sadness in a Time of Comfort and Joy
Christmas can be a desperately sad time of year. We need comfort because suffering is a part of life, and we can receive joy, because God is in it with us.
Walker Percy, M.D. and the Diagnosis of a Secular Age
Through a Catholic lens, does the diagnosis of Walker Percy, a 20th century southern fiction writer, still apply to the secular age of today’s world?
Suffering, Stephen Colbert, and the California Wildfires
Can we suffer and be happy? We can learn how to suffer well through the example of others and deference to the transcendent.
Two Steps to Escaping Your Personal Hell: Self-Definition and Seeking the Good News
The desire to be admired, to be a “winner”, is a natural desire in the search for happiness, but as a solitary purpose it drives us to absurd limits. Fr. Spitzer describes this problem as “getting cau
When Prayer Doesn't Help
What should we do if we have a healthy prayer life, but feel like something's missing? A viewer asks Fr. Spitzer if she is being tested when she finds herself growing impatient and angry with others a
The Blessing of Suffering VIDEO
Fr. Spitzer discusses the connection between suffering, love, and the pro-life movement in this excerpt from Fr. Spitzer's Universe.
Suffering, Gratitude, and God
The prevalence of suffering in the world is one of the biggest challenges for believing in an all-good, all-powerful God.
Desolation Checklist: Love One Another as I Have Loved You
This article will shed light on the deepest manifestations of love and why love is our reason for being, our highest dignity, and our eternal destiny.
Why Would a Loving God Allow Suffering?
Considering the arguments for God's redemption of suffering, one might ask the question, why would God have allowed suffering to occur in the first place?