I look forward to April 29th now.
This is a special day for my family as my wife and I asked for Saint Catherine to intercede for the safety of our daughter in May 2018. Signs were pointing to another impending miscarriage.
By the grace of God my daughter was safely born and is energetic.
We named her after the Sienese saint.
There hasn’t been a day since then we haven’t asked for the intercession of this amazing Saint and Doctor of the Church.
Saint Catherine of Siena pray for us!
Editor’s Note: Post originally published on April 28, 2017.
This week I was researching for an article I am writing about G.K. Chesterton and I came across this gem of a quote from Chapter 4 of his work Orthodoxy. He states, “The test of happiness is gratitude.” There are few phrases that make me pause when I am reading and this was one of them. I have thought about this quote a lot today and figured it would be a good message to pass along.
Gratitude is defined as the quality of feeling or being thankful. Why a feeling may be arbitrary and susceptible to change “being” thankful has a more lasting feature to it. Because of this, I want to make this slight change to Chesterton’s quote—the test of happiness is [being] thankful!
According to a recent article I read online about the success of the restaurant chain Chick-fil-a, the power of saying “thank you” is quite tangible. The main thrust of the article states that Chick-fil-a’s leadership stresses the importance of manners and expressing gratitude towards customers in their employee training. As an occasional customer of Chik-fil-a, I can attest to the superb customer service and appreciation among workers when I visit their establishment.
“We must not separate our life from the Eucharist. The moment we do so, something shatters.” —Saint Teresa of Calcutta
On a more profound level, the Catholic Church has been proclaiming Chesterton’s message “The Test of Happiness is Gratitude” for over 2,000 years. In fact the most important thing Catholics participate in on a weekly or daily basis— the Mass— is centered on thanksgiving! The sacrament of the Eucharist, housed within the Mass, along with being the source and summit of the Catholic faith, actually is a transliteration of the Greek word eucharistia which means “thanksgiving”. I always come out of Mass being happier than when I came in. It is nice to have a reminder of thankfulness to re-orient myself if I stray away from this mindset during the week.
I believe that the connection between being thankful and the Catholic Mass and the success of Chick-fil-a is not a coincidence. God knows that mankind can only be truly happy when experiencing life as a gift. So to conclude, I want to thank all that have read my posts and for anyone who is reading my writing for the first time. I thank God for my faith, family, and friends. I hope you find at least three things to be thankful of today after reading this. Thank you again!
Editor’s Note: Post originally published on May 22, 2017.
I was sitting in the pew of Saint Lambert’s Catholic Church listening to our priest deliver the Gospel reading for the 4th Sunday of Easter—this is rare since I am usually out in the hallway with my finicky 1 year old! —when I noticed a strange verse in the reading. St. John quotes Jesus as saying, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12 New American Bible). Throughout the rest of that Mass and every day since I have pondered Jesus’ meaning. Today I want to share some of my thoughts on how I interpreted this peculiar passage!
According to the dictionary, the word greater is defined as large in number, notable, highly significant, and distinguished to name a few definitions. I want to highlight the first definition—large in number. It makes senses for the works of Christians done in Jesus’ name to be larger than Christ’s miraculous deeds done on Earth simply because 33 years is significantly shorter than the over 2,000 years in Church history. It is also important to read verse 12 in context with the rest of the passage.
Immediately following Jesus’ odd statement in John 14:12, he talks about the sending of the Holy Spirit after he ascends to the Father. Jesus declared, ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate* to be with you always, 17 the Spirit of truth,* which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you (John 14:15-17 NAB). It is through cooperation with the Third Person of the Holy Trinity that Apostles and saints are graced through the ages to produce miraculous works.
God is ultimately above humanity’s total comprehension. St. Thomas says that man must have a certain type of agnosticism about the full knowledge of God. According to John Courtney Murray in The Problem of God, “In the end, our presence to him, which is real, is a presence to the unknown; ‘to him we are united as to one unknown,’ says Aquinas (p. 71). Because of this ineffable complete understanding of God, it makes sense that some peculiar and seemingly paradoxical passages in the Scriptures exist.
John may have struggled with how to properly describe the relationship of the Trinity. He might even have shared similar questions as myself. However, despite this struggle, as a Catholic I believe John to be a trustworthy firsthand witness to the teaching of Jesus.
John makes it crystal clear in his prologue to his Gospel that though the Persons of the Trinity as Distinct they are equally God. Knowing this religious truth, when I go back to read John 14:12 I know that Jesus cannot possibly mean the works done by the Holy Spirit as greater than His works since the Son and the Holy Spirit are equally God!
Now the feast of the Holy Trinity (my favorite liturgical feast 😊) is arriving soon, and I hope to be sharing more of my thoughts and reflections on the mystery of the Holy Trinity leading up to that Sunday. Until then, I will leave you to ponder Jesus’ mysterious words again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father”.
May we all be grateful for the gifts of knowledge and understanding given to us by the Holy Spirit and pray for a deepening of these gifts especially as we draw nearer to the Feast of the Holy Trinity
Reflections on the Most Holy Trinity
3 Things about the Holy Trinity I Learned from Elementary Students
Toddlers: An Adorable Trace of the Trinity!
Catholic Doctrine on the Holy Trinity
The Glory of the Most Holy Trinity: ROMAN CATHOLIC SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
It’s official! Received my three copies of the May 2023 Saint Anthony Messenger yesterday.
I remember distinctly as a 7-year-old I wanted to be a dad and a writer when I grew up. This article is a realization of that dream.
Thanks to everyone who has supported me during this process: my wife, my mom & dad, the editor of Franciscan Media, and to you my readers and supporters of The Simple Catholic blog!! You kept me going during the days and weeks I struggled with depression.
Finally, I’m grateful for God and all the graces He has granted me and opportunities to develop my writing over the years. 
P.S. I’m not crying my eyes are leaking tears of joy.
P.P.S. Here’s a link to the article if you’re interested in reading:
Editor’s Note: Post originally published May 9th, 2017.
Whenever someone utters the words “breakfast” and “Sunday mornings” together, I immediately picture sizzling bacon, fresh orange juice, crisp toast covered in butter or jelly, and chocolate covered, glazed, or cake donuts. Besides the old adage that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, the reason I bring this topic up is because I was reading through John’s Gospel and I came across a peculiar event that I never truly paid attention to—Jesus grilling!
According to John 21:1-14, Jesus appeared to the apostles at the Sea of Tiberias and he is watching them fish. Whether the fourth gospel writer intended to or not I think it is interesting that the miracle of the great catch of fish mirrors a similar miraculous haul in Luke 5:1-11. In John’s version, Peter and the other disciples do not initially recognize Jesus, while in Luke’s account, Jesus had already chosen the apostles.
I believe Jesus’ post-Resurrection miracle in John is a perfected version of the Lucan fish phenomenon because according to Luke 5:6 the apostles nets started to tear in contrast to John 21:11 which states, “So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.”
Upon the apostles arrival at the shore, Jesus says, “Come, have breakfast (John 21:12). With these words the apostles recognized the identity of Jesus. Along with the fish, Jesus took the bread and gave it to them as well. Together with the Emmaus episode in Luke 24:13-35 the taking of bread is a sign of the celebration of the Eucharist!
Upon rereading the previous verses about the 153 fish caught, I discovered that this number represents the apostles’ universal mission, according to commentary. St. Jerome claimed that Greek zoologists catalogued 153 species of fish, and John uses fish to symbolize men. This realization highlights our calling to bring lapsed Catholics and non-Catholics to Christ. The apostles’ catch of 153 fish represents bringing all types of men to Jesus. We can only partake of the Eucharistic food after we reconcile with the rest of humanity. Like the apostles we’re invited to a morning meal (in the form of the Mass) with Jesus after their symbolic haul of humanity.
God appears to us in peculiar ways so the next time I am eating breakfast on Sunday morning, maybe I will suggest grilled fish to my wife [we recently bought an outdoor grill]! Be always open to God’s plan no matter how fishy it sounds…or smells.
Introducing a parody song inspired by Deep Blue Something’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, based on a blog post I wrote about the symbolism of Jesus grilling fish.
With the assistance of ChatGPT, I’ve created a unique and playful adaptation of the classic hit, infused with references to Catholicism and Jesus.
Join us as we explore the deeper meaning behind the story of Jesus grilling fish and the universal mission of the apostles. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this holy rendition of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.
Whenever Sunday mornings come around I think of bacon, toast, and donuts I’ve found But as I read through John’s Gospel page A story caught my eye, an event so strange
Jesus grilling fish, oh what a sight A miracle that fills me with delight The symbolism deep, a message bright Let’s take a deeper look, it’s quite a sight
The apostles were fishing at the Tiberian sea Jesus appeared but they didn’t see A great catch of fish they did obtain 153, a number that contains
Jesus grilling fish, oh what a sight A miracle that fills me with delight The symbolism deep, a message bright Let’s take a deeper look, it’s quite a sight
Peter recognized him when breakfast was served Fish and bread, the disciples were served The Eucharist celebrated in this meal A message for us all, let’s make it real
Jesus grilling fish, oh what a sight A miracle that fills me with delight The symbolism deep, a message bright Let’s take a deeper look, it’s quite a sight
153 fish caught, a symbol so clear Universal mission for all to hear Bringing lapsed and non-Catholics to Christ That’s our calling, that’s why we’re enticed
Jesus grilling fish, oh what a sight A miracle that fills me with delight The symbolism deep, a message bright Let’s take a deeper look, it’s quite a sight
God appears in ways that may seem odd Let’s be open to His plan, like the apostles did nod So next Sunday morning when you’re eating breakfast too Think of Jesus grilling fish, and what that means to you
Jesus grilling fish, oh what a sight A miracle that fills me with delight The symbolism deep, a message bright Let’s take a deeper look, it’s quite a sight
Hope you had a blessed Third Sunday of Easter!
Time for another Catholic Meme Monday. ✝️🙏
That’s all I have this week. Stay tuned for next week’s Catholic Meme Monday. Receive updates straight to your email inbox by subscribing to The Simple Catholic blog.
P.S. If you prefer receiving quality Catholic humor in daily doses follow me on Instagram @thesimplecatholic.