Hope you had a blessed Sunday! 🙏✝️
Time for another Catholic Meme Monday.
Catholic Meme Monday— Issue 194
Month: August 2025
Ember Days: A Forgotten but Rich Catholic Tradition
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 states, “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to give birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant…” The inspired writer offers many examples, but the planting-and-harvesting image fits especially well. The Catholic Church moves through the year with a rhythm of feasts and fasts. While many Catholics still celebrate days like the Transfiguration of the Lord or St. Nicholas Day, they have quietly let other feasts fade from popular practice.
One such tradition is the observance of Ember Days. Known in Latin as Quatuor Tempora (“four times”), these are sets of three days—Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday—kept at the start of each of the four seasons. They are not holy days of obligation, but they give Catholics a unique way to mark the changing seasons with prayer, fasting, and gratitude.
Continue readingThe Assumption of Mary: Our Mother’s Triumph and Our Future Hope
Every year on August 15, Catholics around the world celebrate one of the Church’s most beautiful feasts: the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Alongside the feasts of the Immaculate Conception (December 8) and Mary, Mother of God (January 1), this is a Holy Day of Obligation, a day when we gather for Mass to honor the Mother of God.
And let’s be clear — we venerate Mary, we do not worship her. All true Marian devotion leads us closer to Jesus. The Church teaches that the mysteries of Mary’s life inseparably connect to the mystery of Christ.
The Assumption celebrates that, at the end of her earthly life, God took Mary up body and soul into heavenly glory. This is not simply a personal privilege for her: it is a sign of what God desires for all of us. The Catechism describes it beautifully: Continue reading
Why Catholics Need to Read the Church Fathers
By: Edalat Hope from Virtue Books
On the 31st of July, there was a massive announcement.
St John Henry Newman is going to be named the 38th Doctor of the Church. And honestly, it couldn’t have come at a better time. In a world full of confusion, Cardinal Newman reminds us of something many Catholics have forgotten.
Newman wasn’t always Catholic. He was an Anglican pastor and a brilliant academic at Oxford. Amongst Protestant circles, he was actually quite a renowned scholar.
Yet, one day, this professor knelt before Fr. Dominic Barberi and asked to be received into the Catholic Church.
At the heart of John Henry Newman’s conversion was his great love for the Early Church Fathers.
Cardinal Newman was an absolute mastermind of the faith who would spend hours pouring through the writings of the Church Fathers. It was particularly after reading saints like Leo the Great and Augustine that Newman began to see it.
The fullness of Christian truth rests in the Catholic Church.
After reading the Fathers, he confessed that he was on the wrong side of history. “I saw my face in that mirror, and I was a Monophysite (in religious error).”
Through much prayer and reading, Professor Newman would grow to become not only a saint but a Doctor of the Church.
Despite this great success story, many people see the Church Fathers as terrifying.
Some people worry about how long and confusing they can be. But it’s OK.
The Church offers a path for the faithful, even accessible to the busiest of Catholic mums. I would encourage everyone to read these great fathers… but probably not because of the reasons you’re thinking of.
Here are 9 reasons why you should read the Church Fathers (even if you’re not an academic)
- Grow in Holiness
Spiritual reading isn’t just about facts but about becoming holier. Reading the Church Fathers is like a spiritual fertilizer that nourishes the soul and helps virtue take root.
Spiritual reading inspires us to think about God more often. This may seem trivial at first, but really, it’s your thoughts that have the biggest effect on the way you behave. St Paul encouraged the Philippians to contemplate whatever is good and noble. And even St Jerome recommended to “Always have in your hand a pious book, that with this shield you may defend yourself against bad thoughts.” Spiritual reading raises our minds towards the divine.
When we read the Fathers, we begin to examine our own lives. Their holiness becomes a mirror. When we read about the virtues of the saints, it’s an opportunity to see how we measure up against that example. We see our advancements but also our faults, so that they can eventually be overcome
.
St Alphonsus Liguori says to grab one small, practical point from your spiritual reading and actually live it out. That’s how you grow in virtue.
In fact, he and St Bernard were so convinced of this that they said spiritual reading and prayer are “the arms by which hell is conquered and paradise won.”
- Listen to God’s Voice
Every devout Catholic wants to know God’s will. But what if the problem isn’t that He isn’t speaking, but that we’re not listening?
St Ambrose said that “We speak to him when we pray. We listen to him when we read.”
God often speaks in silence. And reading the Fathers puts you in that sacred space of silence where you can grow.
In this period of reading, you don’t just learn more but are given more clarity about your own life.
It was in reading ‘The Life of St Anthony’ that St. Augustine advanced his conversion towards God. The same thing with St Ignatius of Loyola. After reading the lives of the saints while bedridden, he redirected his life and started the Jesuits.
When people read the Father well, they listen to God.
3. They’re a buffet
When people hear the word ‘Church Father’, they can get overwhelmed.
And it makes sense.
Some of these authors have written thousands of pages of super sophisticated and complex theology. But you can take a deep breath.
The Church Fathers aren’t a one-size-fits-all experience.
If you ask any scholar, they’ll let you in on something. Very, very few people have actually read all the Church Fathers. It’s impossible. There are just too many. But that can be to your advantage.
Instead of imagining the Fathers as this big steak that you have to eat even if you’re full, think of it rather as a buffet.
In a buffet, you don’t eat everything. You can’t. But people are still excited to go because they can choose what they want and tailor a nutritious meal to their own appetite.
Similarly, if you aren’t very academic, you don’t have to abandon the Church Fathers. Instead, read the Fathers who don’t focus on sophisticated abstract theology and are more practical.
Conversely, if you really want to challenge yourself, there will be stuff for you. If you want to learn more about scripture, the lives of the saints, or Catholic teaching, I promise you there is enough for you there.
In life, many people stunt themselves before they can even start growing. Many people give up on their intellectual life because of fear.
Fr Gregory Pine recommends at least 1 hr of study per week to grow in holiness, even to those who aren’t intellectually gifted.
Although it’s good to be challenged, it’s not about reading something confusing. It’s about making an effort to contemplate God and be transformed into His likeness.
4. It’s Ecumenical
Pope John Paul II and St Thomas Aquinas are absolute spiritual masterminds. However, outside of the Catholic Church, they are rarely read.
The Fathers offer something different and ecumenical.
Their voices predate the major schisms which have divided the Church, so they are ‘Fathers’ to many.
The Calvinists may not read many modern Catholic writers, but have a deep love for St Augustine. Similarly, the Orthodox have a shared appreciation for the Eastern Fathers like St Basil and John Chrysostom.
These early witnesses to the Catholic faith give us an opportunity to discuss Christianity on a common ground. It provides a unique authority for understanding the Bible, without solely resorting to one’s personal interpretation.
Many Christians like Dr. John Bergsma and Dr. Scott Hahn converted from Protestantism after realizing that the early Church Fathers, whom they honoured, were Catholic.
5. Better Understand the Church
Christ commanded every Apostle to preach the Gospel. But only a few actually wrote anything down.
All the Apostles preached what Christ had taught them. They preached what we now call Apostolic Tradition, the oral teaching of Jesus and the Apostles.
These original disciples died in the first century. But the beauty about Apostolic Tradition is that these teachings are passed down to their successors. John believed in the True Presence of the Eucharist and taught St Ignatius of Antioch. From there, St Ignatius would give one of the earliest defenses of the Real Presence.
The Fathers are a window into how the earliest generations of Christians and Apostles understood and lived the Gospel.
When Irenaeus wrote about St Clement of Rome, a student of Peter, he had the “preaching of the apostles still echoing [in his ears].” And St Augustine affirmed that “What they learned, they taught.”
The Fathers speak about dogmas and certain practices, not as private opinion, but as being universally held since the Apostolic age.
If you want to see what the Church which Christ made looks like, don’t invent a time machine. Just read the early Church Fathers
6. Interpret Scripture
Scripture is infallible. And individual Church Fathers are not.
Whilst that’s true, that doesn’t mean that single Church Fathers are irrelevant. In the Second Vatican Council, the document that discusses holy scripture (Dei Verbum) also wrote that “she [the Church] also encourages the study of the holy Fathers of both East and West and of sacred liturgies.”
It is because when these early Christians agree on the meaning of scripture and have a consensus, it likely points to it coming from an Apostolic Tradition.
Currently, there are thousands of denominations. As we’ve seen, interpretation of scripture can differ… a lot. Protestants resort to the ‘Bible alone’, yet still differ on the meaning of basic things like Baptism.
So, having some sort of authority to guide what some scriptures mean is a great help.
As you read the Fathers, you’ll notice just how much they quote scripture and how they understood these verses.
This doesn’t mean Catholics can’t interpret the Bible, or that they can understand a verse in only one way. Rather than the Council of Trent’s reform decree, it is unwise and dangerous to interpret scripture against the consent of these Fathers.
7. Become Wiser
The Church Fathers were not just a bunch of academics but were leaders.
In the early Church, the roles of priest, teacher, and saint were interchangeable.
The very first Church Father, St Clement of Rome, was a writer but was also the Bishop of Rome and a saint. And the thing he’s writing about isn’t to clarify dogma but to help a Church crisis.
The Church Fathers aren’t like modern-day professors. They don’t just focus on brain knowledge. Throughout their life, they’ve focused on divine wisdom and intimacy. And because of that, they have a great ability to draw us to God and inspire this loving wisdom in us.
A lot of these fathers wrote the way they preached. That means as you read these Fathers, you begin to understand the way their mind works as if you met them or sat in on their sermons.
We don’t all have the ability to ask the saints for some wise advice. But sometimes, they give it to us in advance.
8. Defend the Faith
St Peter tells Christians to “Always be ready to make your defense… accounting for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). Today, how many Catholics are unable to do that?
People in society are looking for answers, and many Catholics aren’t prepared to give them. And because of this, many people drift away from the Church to atheism or other religions.
If there were more people to give a defense of the faith that we cherish, I can guarantee there would be more Catholics.
Reading the Church Fathers can be very good for apologetics because many of the Fathers themselves were apologists. The early Church had to battle heresies and persecutions, so to defend the Church, they wrote that they believed and rebutted these claims. Sometimes, even the same problems the early Christians were facing, we’re still battling today. The Fathers give you an insight into how to approach certain questions.
But even by writing their beliefs, they clearly show what the earliest Christians believed.
To those who say that the divinity of Christ was invented at Nicea, the writings of St Ignatius of Antioch obliterate this claim when he calls Jesus “God”.
To those who say that the early church never prayed for the dead, St Cyril of Jerusalem and the Fathers would disagree.
And to those who say there were no bishops or apostolic succession in the early Church, Jerome and St Irenaeus would beg to differ.
9. Develop a Love for East and West
In the Catholic Church, there can be a bit of Western-centrism.
I know that the Pope is in Rome and that the majority of the Catholic Church is Roman. However, the word ‘Catholic’ means universal. True Catholicism expands beyond the borders of Roman Catholic traditions and flows over into the beauty of Eastern Catholicism.
When you really get into the Fathers, it’s almost impossible not to develop a love for both the East and the West.
After reading the works of Fathers like St Basil, John Chrysostom, and Athanasius, you can begin to see the truth and beauty that lies in the Eastern Church.
Similarly, many Orthodox people can develop an Eastern-centrism. However, after reading some of the works of Augustine, Ambrose, or Jerome, it’s difficult not to fall in love with the Western Fathers.
The Church Fathers were Catholic. And to be Catholic means universal.
Are the Church Fathers necessary for you to read?
Not at all. There are many people who were made saints even without reading.
But reading the Church Fathers in a prayerful manner is certainly helpful to holiness. Prayer and spiritual reading are the two arms by which we are drawn closer to Heaven and further from Hell.
There is an abundance of readings of the Fathers.
About Our Guest Blogger
Edalat Hope is a Catholic blog writer for ‘Virtue Books and Gifts’, an apostolate dedicated to deepening the love of God across Australia and beyond. His aim is to help make accessible the classic spiritual works and practices that have formed saints for generations. https://www.virtuebooks.com.au
Controlling the Unexpected
Editor’s Note: Post originally published on August 21, 2018.
According to 18th-century British poet Alexander Pope, “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” As a perfectionist who thrives on routine, my immediate reaction is to bristle at those words. I prefer order, structure, and clear expectations, and I don’t always respond gracefully when my plans unravel.
Yet, I’ve found myself challenged more and more to stretch beyond my preferences, especially when the unexpected barges in. I’m learning that growth often comes precisely when we release our white-knuckle grip on control.
Humanity as a whole tends to lean toward predictability. We crave the comfort of habit and routine. So when life throws a curveball, our instinct is to protest. We ask why. We question the timing. We may even resent the disruption.
A recent example: the changes to the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding the death penalty. I won’t get into that debate here (maybe in a future post), but the intensity of the reaction—especially online—shows how unsettled we become when the Church, or life itself, seems to deviate from the script we’ve written in our heads.
Our Desire for Control vs. God’s Plan for Freedom
C.S. Lewis offers a piercing insight into our attempts to “manage” the messiness of life. In A Grief Observed, he wrote:
“We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, ‘Blessed are they that mourn,’ and I accept it. I’ve got nothing that I hadn’t bargained for. Of course it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not imagination.”
That last line is especially humbling. It’s easy to accept the theology of suffering in the abstract, much harder when it knocks on your door personally. We want life on our terms—timed, tidy, and manageable. But even the names of things, like “Planned Parenthood,” hint at our desperate desire to domesticate what was never meant to be controlled.
Of course, God could have made us automata. But He didn’t. He gave us something far riskier: freedom. And with freedom comes the possibility of evil, but also the possibility of love.
Lewis captures this tension perfectly in The Case for Christianity:
“Why, then, did God give [us] free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having… A world of automata, of creatures that worked like machines, would hardly be worth creating.”
Love Is Worth the Unexpected
After a long week of wrangling my three kids—taking them to the park, refereeing their arguments, picking up toys for the 100th time, and navigating bedtime for the 1,000th—it’s easy to feel drained. Exhausted, I find it hard to be fully present to my wife.
That’s when I notice the tension: am I seeking to control the bedtime routine, or am I trying to love my family well?
When I get too fixated on control, when I parent from anxiety instead of love, I actually lose control. Love involves letting others act freely within good boundaries. God, as the perfect Father, models this. He allows us the freedom to accept or reject His love. And yet, He never stops inviting.
When I allow room for the unexpected—bedtime detours, messy prayers, spontaneous laughter—I often find that love shows up in surprising ways. And that’s the real goal: to choose love over rigid control, every day.
The Creativity of the Creator
Love not only invites freedom; it also sparks creativity. And creativity suffers when we try to control everything.
When I think of the most creative people I know—whether Einstein, Tolkien, Edison, or my own children—there’s always a spark of freedom, wonder, and play. Creation isn’t born from fear or calculation. It’s born from love, vision, and a willingness to embrace risk.
Genesis 1 reminds us that God is not an indifferent architect. He is an attentive, joyful Creator, delighting in both the vastness of the stars and the details of sparrows. That divine creativity continues through us, His creatures. I see it daily in the Lego towers my kids build, the “dance parties” they host with stuffed animals, the wild adventures they imagine.
Of course, some boundaries are needed. Rules and routines help children (and adults) flourish. But when control reigns supreme, we risk choking the life out of joy.
Control Is Not the Goal
J.R.R. Tolkien put it bluntly:
“The most improper job of any man, even saints… is bossing [controlling] other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.”
That includes bossing around our own lives.
I’m not saying we should throw structure out the window. Discipline matters. Planning has its place. But if we cling to control as the ultimate good, we start to treat people—including ourselves—like problems to solve instead of persons to love.
The Church teaches that the purpose of life is to know, love, and serve God. We do this best when we allow His grace to surprise us. When we stop demanding control and start delighting in the unexpected, we find glimpses of heaven in the ordinary.
Maybe Pope was right after all: “Blessed is he who expects nothing…” Not because we aim low, but because we open ourselves to whatever God has planned.
And in His hands, even the unexpected is worth it.
A 1002 Word Interview with Tomics
Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed Tom Gould via phone call on June 11th, 2025. Some of the questions/answers have been rearranged, edited, and paraphrased to provide the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.
You’ve been faithfully posting a new comic every Friday since 2014, what inspired that commitment?
I graduated from John Paul the Great Catholic University in California. Matt Martinusen was starting a Catholic men’s blog called The Catholic Fellows. He thought it would be fun to start a comic for the Men’s blog. While the other writers moved on, Matt encouraged me to continue. There wasn’t a meaning to Friday at first, it was originally a deadline for the blog. But as I continued Tomics after the blog ceased, I figured I would keep posting on Fridays as that day has significance for us as Catholics.
How has your creative process evolved over the years?
I think I definitely look stuff up more. It used to mostly be Bible puns, but now I like to use the knowledge I have or acquire to teach the faith. So I’ll be more careful when looking up stuff. I use a Wacom Tablet, and I like to handwrite the lettering. I found a free website where I could turn my handwriting into a font, and have turned my handwriting into a font to save time. It helps with spacing and sizing of letters. I have tried to both streamline and keep the process personalized.
Your comics bring Scripture to life with humor and visual storytelling. How do you strike the balance between being reverent and being funny—especially when depicting scenes with Jesus and the apostles?
That’s a tough one. There are certain lines I don’t cross and not everyone is going to agree with where that line is. My approach to humor is to invite people into the stories. It’s trying to encourage people to the Gospel but understanding that people often think in turns of puns and jokes. I try to make the apostles look silly during the Gospels because they were bumbling fools at times in the Gospels. I don’t do that with Jesus and I don’t recharacterize individuals from how they are portrayed in the Bible.
You occasionally dive into the Old Testament and the lives of the saints. What’s been one of your favorite “non-Gospels” comics to create, and why?
For the Old Testament, in the story of Adam and Eve I portrayed Satan as a sock-puppet. Besides that, Moses puns are fun. The Israelites are freed from slavery and can’t help but complain soon after. Like what’s God done for us lately? I dial up the denseness about Exodus and the Israelites to point out the ridiculousness of their complaints.
You contributed artwork to the Council at Daybreak game from The Catholic Card Game. What was that collaboration like, and how did your style fit into the world of Catholic tabletop gaming?
Matt had made the Catholic Card Game already. He was great with reaching out to people to collaborate with. He got Fr. Mike Schmitz and Pints with Aquinas to make suggestions for the cards.
A few years later Matt had this idea to make a Catholic Mafia game (based on One Night Werewolf). This game was more illustration focused. I had fun making this game! Matt had all the names of the cards and concepts. I gave him a few test things and he either approved them or added adjustments. I was pretty free to design the cards/characters how I envisioned them.
If a young Catholic artist approached you wanting to evangelize through comics or visual storytelling, what advice would you give them—spiritually and artistically?
That’s a tough one, but I think definitely being knowledgeable about the faith. I have to relook up stuff about Catholicism to make sure I get it right. Before college, I had my Catechism. During college I had philosophy courses to help build up the faith. Nowadays, I look up things in the Bible, the Catechism, and Catholic Answers. I think I take for granted at times how valuable having this knowledge is.
Another thing is not to wait until the art is perfect to start. I think having a deadline where you have to post something helps you get over perfectionism. And the main thing is you are serving God in your art. As long as you are trying to represent the faith well and God well that’s the main thing.
Be open to criticism if you get the theology wrong.
Who do you consider your patron saint?
For my work and my confirmation saint is Lawrence. I connected with the gallow’s humor and his story is short and almost fairy tale like.
The Holy Family is another one I pray to a lot especially as I draw comics about them. Mary and Joseph are the two saints physically closest to Jesus.
Another saint that’s connected to me a lot is Joan of Arc. Her story is a strange place where theology sticks itself with history. Joan brings God into the reality of the war between France and England. Saints that have a very clear space in history help me.
Anytime I do a comic about a particular saint I ask them for intercession.
Where’s the best place for my audience to read your comics?
Instagram is where I am most active and I like the formatting. I think the slides are nice.
Patreon, Tumblr, X, Facebook.
Patreon patreon.com/Tomics
Facebook facebook.com/TomicsComics
Twitter/X X.com/TomicsComics
Tumblr tumblr.com/TomicsComics
Instagram Instagram.com/Tomics.Comics
About Tom:
I’m a lifelong cartoonist from a big Catholic family. My art was inspired by animated superhero shows and the ever-popular “Peanuts” and “Calvin & Hobbes” comic strips; my faith was formed by my parents, several church communities, and my small Catholic college. I’ve been posting weekly “Tomics” for just over ten years now, and I hope to continue using my gifts to bring people closer to God in a way that’s accessible, faithful, and fun.
Transfiguring Humanity—Reflections on the Transfiguration of Christ
Editor’s Note: Post originally published on August 9, 2018.
Among the most bizarre, mysterious, and interesting accounts in the New Testament is the event of the Transfiguration of Jesus. The dictionary defines the word transfiguration as “a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state. Common synonyms for transfiguration include: metamorphosis, changeover, transformation, development, adjustment, and even mutation!! Growing up Catholic I have listened to the Gospel telling of this mysterious events many times.
The Transfiguration of Jesus. After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
Foretaste of Heavenly Reality
The primary purpose of the glory of Jesus shown [shone] to Peter, James, and John was meant as a means to prepare them for the glorification of God after the Resurrection and to hint at the beauty of transfigured humanity. According to Saint Pope Saint John Paul II in his 1999 homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration, “In the event of the Transfiguration we contemplate the mysterious encounter between history, which is being built every day, and the blessed inheritance that awaits us in heaven in full union with Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”
Humanity’s Home in Heaven
Similar to the previous point is that fact that man is on a pilgrim journey, a sojourner on Earth—whose ultimate destination is union with God in Heaven. John Paul II echoed this truth as well,
“We, pilgrims on earth, are granted to rejoice in the company of the transfigured Lord when we immerse ourselves in the things of above through prayer and the celebration of the divine mysteries. But, like the disciples, we too must descend from Tabor into daily life where human events challenge our faith. On the mountain we saw; on the paths of life we are asked tirelessly to proclaim the Gospel which illuminates the steps of believers.”
I imagine the incredible letdown the Apostles must have felt in the moments after the dazzling and inexplicable event of the Transfiguration. Going back to following Jesus in an ordinary way, traveling from town to town, learning from him, and assisting the poor certainly did not compare to the splendor they witnessed on Mount Tabor. It definitely would have been challenging to transition back into that routine! Heck, Peter even desired to stay in the holy place when he declared, “If you wish, I will make three tents* here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Let the Holy Spirit Transfigure Your Life
Coming out of Sunday liturgy, I leave with a similar wonder and awe as the inner circle of Jesus received on that original Transfiguration event. Housing the Real Presence of Lord after reception of the Eucharist provides me incredible peace and patient strength. In a way, we all undergo a momentary transfiguration—a foretaste of Heavenly reality in the Mass. Going back to our worldly affairs, we quickly lose sight and memory of our close encounter with God. May we continue to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us with clarity and strength on our pilgrimage toward Heaven!