Writing

A Christmas (Birthday) Letter to the Infant Son of God

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Below is a letter I dedicated to our Lord Jesus Christ in celebration of his birth, December 25, 2020 Anno Domini.

Dear Baby Jesus,

In a stable, 2000 years ago, a seemingly ordinary infant was born. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, shepherds and kings from afar learned about His incredible presence. God uses the most common of circumstances to work the greatest of all miracles–the Incarnation. God so loved the world He sent you–His only Son– to bridge the great gulf, the separation caused by sin.

Wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger, you my king took the form of mankind. I have heard the Nativity story dozens of times. This Advent I feared I would take your origin story for granted. Instead, I am grateful for the opportunity to gaze on the Nativity scene through new eyes–not merely of a follower, but also as a father.

My children are a reminder of your goodness, truth, and beauty. Seeing the twinkle in their eyes when they gaze at the Nativity Scene at home or church is priceless. The smiles on my kids faces as they color “presents” pictures for my wife and I remind me the true reason for the season!

People are born everyday on this earth, but only once a year do we remember the greatest birth of all.

Jesus my servant king, Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, God-hero, I adore you and celebrate with my family and friends the anniversary of your birth. I pray that my heart is enlarged to make room within the inn of my soul for you, my family, friends, and people I meet daily!

Praised be to God in the Highest and Alleluia for our Savior’s arrival.

With great love and gratitude,

Your adopted son,

Matthew

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven,

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,

and became man.

Thank you for sharing!

3 Similarities I Share with my Namesake— Saint Matthew

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Editor’s note: Article originally published on September 23, 2018.

According to Rick Riordan, author of the acclaimed young adult series Percy Jackson, “Names had power!” Among the first questions people ask parents upon the birthday of a child is “which name did you choose? Names also possess a meaning.

Now you may or may not be aware of the meaning or purpose of the name your parents choose for you. If you are not aware, it would be an interesting conversation to discover why they choose a particular name. If there was no particular reason, it would still be interesting to look up the history of your namesake or the literal meaning of it.

The general reason for my name selection is due to my parents being Catholic. It’s customary for Catholics to name their children after one of the saints.

Celebrating the feast day of the St. Matthew is something I regretted that I didn’t consciously do until last year. Along with eating a special dinner with my wife, reading today’s Gospel, and playing a fun board game, I am going to also celebrate by recognizing a few similarities I share with my personal patron!

You Owe Me

Within the past year, I took on a new position in the company as a student loan debt collector. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and modern technology certainly has softened collection practices in recent years. But debt collectors still don’t have a positive connotation in today’s society. Back in the time of 1st century Palestine, the stigma against debt collectors was prevalent. In fact, tax collectors were especially hated by the Jews as they were viewed as sell-outs who worked for the “evil” Roman Empire.

My new association with debt collections brings the challenges of dealing with angry, concerned, confused, and desolate customers. However, my new job comes with a hidden joy of being more closely linked with St. Matthew.

Matthew—Lover of Theology

Along with sharing similar occupations with St. Matthew, I possess a thirst for discovering knowledge about God just like the Gospel writer. Theology refers to faith seeking understanding. Among the saints Matthew possessed a privileged opportunity of being selected as an Apostle of Jesus Christ. What is more, Matthew together with St. John is the only individual able to claim being both an Evangelist and Apostle!

Matthew’s Gospel is laden with parables and the incredible Sermon on the Mount. He shows Jesus as the Good Teacher always willing to shed light on the truth of God’s love. I am always emboldened by the following words of Christ proclaims to conclude Matthew’s gospel, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19-20, emphasis added mine).

Matthew was Called by God

While the saint whose moniker I bear did not always believe in Jesus, he experienced a profound conversion. Matthew’s calling is significant. All three Synoptic Gospels include this episode as important in the public life and ministry of Jesus.

Being a cradle Catholic myself, I lack that momentous public conversion that St. Matthew experienced. However, this does not mean that I never underwent a conversion. Actually, my Catholic faith and reliance has slowly deepened over the course of my college years, and nascent parenting years.

A couple years ago I took an assessment on the various charisms that would most likely be my natural God-given gift. My two highest [according to the questions I answered] included the charism of writing and evangelization. I’m sure St. Matthew helped foster those talents.

The craziness of wrangling three ( now four) overtired kids and bustle of the workday delayed my celebration of Matthew the Evangelist’s Feast Day. Tonight, I plan on celebrating my patron saint! Jesus chose an unworthy man to be among his apostles. If God can choose sinners and tax collectors, certainly we are called by Him to follow in the footsteps of the saints who came before us.

Collect [From the Liturgy of the Feast of St. Matthew]

O God, who with untold mercy were pleased to choose as an Apostle Saint Matthew, the tax collector, grant that, sustained by his example and intercession, we may merit to hold firm in following you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen

Related Links

St. Matthew the Evangelist

Saint Matthew- Franciscan Media

11 Awe-Inspiring Art Pieces That Celebrate Saint Matthew

An Unexpected Journey- How September 21st, 2017 Became the New Start to my Spiritual Life

Thank you for sharing!

Overcoming Creativity Cave-Ins

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Sometimes, I have felt trapped in terms of my thoughts and what I want to write or say. I go through periods as a writer where I want to write something really profound and amazing. I have these ambitions to write, and I just don’t know exactly how to start. Simliarly to when you’re learning to walk, you have to put one foot forward and then the next after that. You’re going to fall, and you’re not going to have the perfect introduction at times. It’s not going to be super inspiring or as exciting as what you normally write. But the key is to start and to just go from somewhere.

Blank Page, Dark Cave

I don’t like how I’m writing this post right now. I don’t know exactly where it’s leading me, and I’m just kind of rambling at this point. Sometimes, to unclog a brain blockage or a creativity block, that’s what you have to do. You just have to start somewhere and dig. Dig and keep digging, finding any glimpse of sunlight.

Imagine if you’re in a cave and it collapsed on you. There’s a lot of rubble in front of the entrance. The initial thought is panic. You are paralyzed, you can’t act at all, and you’re surprised. You think, “How am I going to get out of this cave? There is no way out. It’s blocked. We don’t have any shovels or pickaxes to dig ourselves out.” Start with the smallest piece of rubble and clear that out. Then work your way up to the middle pieces and eventually look for things in your area to help leverage against those larger boulders.

That could be anything. If there’s someone else in the cave that’s stuck with you, work together to find a way. Sometimes it’s not going to be apparent at all what you need to do or where your tools are going to be. What helps me, I’ve found, with writing when I feel caved in or have a creativity cave-in, is just to start and to continue to write. There’s freedom in allowing your mind to just wander and take it where it will. Then you can have some progress.

Now, sometimes there’s going to be an abrupt ending to your writing. It might just stop.

Stop. No really, stop doubting your ability. When you’re experiencing a “creativity cave-in” the only wrong way to write is to not start.

Thank you for sharing!

Celebrating a Milestone: Freelance Catholic Writing Success

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💲This month marks a significant milestone for me as my freelance work has exceeded my “day job” monthly income.

How did this happen?

It’s much simpler (not necessarily easier) than you think.

In 2015, I started my blogging journey, which served as a way to cope with the grief of losing my unborn child due to miscarriage and to continue my mission of spreading knowledge about the Catholic faith.

Writing has been a lifelong passion for me. 📝

As a kid I developed a deep love for reading I used to visit the library weekly, borrowing 20-30 books.

The stories that I read fed my creativity and led to my desire to write.

At the age of 7 I started writing adventures on my mom’s typewriter.

In college, I fostered the skills of reading and writing when I earned a Bachelor’s degree in history (and minor in philosophy).

I completed my Master’s Degree in theology in 2014.

But my higher education credentials aren’t what got me freelance work.

Sure it helped but it wasn’t the main reason.

Instead of merely talking about my expertise, I demonstrated it through consistent daily writing.

It’s easy to tell others about the degrees, programs, or certifcations you amassed.

But it’s more effective to SHOW that you know the subject matter.

And how do you show others?

In the case of my field (content writing), it meant “showing” up everyday.

Over the past 8 years, I’ve been writing daily, whether on my website, through social media, in my notebooks, or in the margins of the books I was reading. 📚📖

I also proactively reached out to websites in my niche, writing guest posts while managing “The Simple Catholic” blog.

Even those numerous unfinished drafts played a role in my freelance success.

One unique aspect of my work is my ability to connect almost anything back to the Catholic Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here’s a few things I can tie back to Catholicism:

🦔 Hedgehogs

🙂 Tetherball

🪃 Boomerangs

✨ Grand Admiral Thrawn

🖇️ The Office

🌟 Kaleidoscopes

♟️ Board games

🏈 Paper football

⚾ Baseball

📦 Cardboard boxes

I even captured the attention of a client who saw a post I wrote about John the Baptist and eating locusts (with honey of course)!

Success occurs when your passion intersects with your skill and you hone your craft over time.

Repetition is soooooo key.

If you’re a Catholic small business owner seeking engaging, faithful Catholic content for your website, reach out to me yesterday (or today) if you’re behind schedule. 🙂

Email me at chicoine.matt@live.com to learn more.

Thank you for sharing!

A Life Update from The Simple Catholic— Dreams Realized

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The cool thing about pursuing your dream is the amazing doors it opens up.

This year I signed at least six clients (two renewed contracts so far) and met with lots of inspiring small Catholic business owners.

I’ve been featured on a couple podcasts, interviewed for a diocesan newspaper, and even had an article published (as a cover story) for one of my dream publications.

Freelancing has given me and my family more financial and scheduling freedom which has led to less stress.

I’m even trending towards being able to cut back hours at my main job by the end of the year.

Dreams Take Time to Take Root

The seeds were planted back in 2015. Well, maybe even further back in 1996 when I wrote silly stories about my orange stuffed animal named Snap on my mom’s typewriter.

Grateful for all those in my network (Catholic and writing) who have helped encourage, support, or teacher me valuable insights about my industry.

Special shout-out to my wife, parents, and siblings who have encouraged me along the way.

And finally, most importantly, thankful for God for giving me the opportunities and strength to carry on and craft my writing skills.

What’s your dream?

Start traveling towards it today. 🙏 🙂

Thank you for sharing!

3 Tips to Write with Ease

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Editor’s Note: Post originally publiched on February 20, 2019.

British author J.K. Rowling declared, “The wonderful thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting. The terrifying thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting.” Writers since the beginning of time faced the double-edged sword the joy of creation from words and the fear of writer’s block. Some days it seems that words cannot be typed quick enough as phrases, sentences, and paragraphs already exist in your mind. Other times crafting a mere word or phrase is as painful as getting a tooth pulled at the dentist!

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Whether you currently are in a state of inspiration or at a standstill in your writing here are three tips to enhance the ability to write more naturally and effortlessly.

Read, Read, Read— Feed Your Mind

The great American author William Faulkner advocated for the importance of reading, “Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you’ll find out.”

I’ve found that reading a lot leads to effortless writing, without any strain. The mind needs a steady stream of information, like the body needs a balanced meal. Writing different genres is crucial for growth. I read comics for creativity and Catherine of Siena’s dialogues for spirituality and intellect.

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Reflection 

Another tip to develop more natural and effortless writing is to make time to reflection on the stuff you read. The Greek philosopher Aristotle purported, ““Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Without proper time to examine yourself and the ideas that you read about it gets difficult to organize them into coherent thoughts. Among the best times for reflecting on a post that I want to write about occurs in the car. Using the minutes between drives to work, the grocery store, or other errands I ponder how I want to organize the essential points of an article that I am working on. Even a few minutes of reflection helps me write at a quicker rate and with less resistance!

Passion and Purpose

After feeding your mind with plenty of information and reflecting on the material that you want to write about the third tip I use to make my writing more effortless includes a passion and clear objective. Why are you writing? Is it for an increased amount of exposure and social media fame or is your reason deeper?

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I created The Simple Catholic blog to find joy in life on my journey to Heaven. Flannery O’Connor said, “I write to discover what I know.” Through faith, I know that freedom from sin and death comes from following the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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My secondary goal is to help people find joy in this life and the next. Jesus said loving God and neighbors are the greatest commandments (Matthew 22:34-40). Prioritizing God, others, and myself brings joy to all aspects of life. This joy is meant to be shared with readers and passed on to friends and family.

Summing Up

Filling my mind with a variety of ideas, taking time to analyze that information, and remembering my original mission for becoming a writing has all contributed to helping me write more naturally, more honestly, and more effortlessly. I hope that these tips help you in your writing endeavors as well. Please feel free to share these tips to your family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors.

“All for one and one for all” —Alexander Dumas

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” —Anne Frank

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Thank you for sharing!

Unleash Your Unique Writing Voice: Engage and Stand Out!

/ chicoinematt

💡 When you find your voice in writing you will grab the attention of those you want to work with…

and repel those you don’t want to.

Bonus benefit for finding your voice in copywriting and crafting your message for your niche audience??

You sound like less of a generic-humorless robot.

Making is that much tougher for you to lose work due to #aicontent.

Here’s three simple things I did to form my unique voice for The Simple Catholic blog and my brand:

1️⃣ Write the way you talk

I love Catholic theology, comics, and The Office so it became natural for me to combine those ideas together in my writing and social media posts.

This combination inspired me to create several memes that conveyed information about the Catholic faith but with a humor-angle.

2️⃣ Pivot to your expertise

While I have a Masters Degree in Catholic theology, I have learned an immeasurable amount from my decade-plus years of experience as a Catholic dad.

My four kids (and even my unborn children who died via miscarriage) taught me so much— and they are awesome content-generators!

(on numerous occasions I have posted about my kids’ shenanigans at Mass including an incident on Palm Sunday about my three-year-old being concerned Peter chopping off Malchus’ ear).

I rebranded my blog sometime in 2017 from “Prayer, Recreation, and Organization” to “The Simple Catholic”.

I did this because I wanted to communicate the truths of our faith in a simple manner that allowed people to be more open to wanting to learn more.

Albert Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

3️⃣ You become what you consume

The people you spend time with, the books you read and the activities you do on a frequent basis shape your habits.

This isn’t any earth-shattering news.

I have formed my unique voice for my brand through the time I spend learning from saints like Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, Philip Neri, and Louis de Montfort.

Some of the most unique and inspired content have come during Mass.

After the liturgy ends, I wrote notes to myself on my phone to remind myself to develop the thought-seeds further.

Plus, I have spent more time reading (and replying) to comments from my followers and I have discovered they enjoy my funny posts that teach the faith the most…so I have doubled down on Catholic-informative-funny posts.

Let’s Recap

When I have started away from this strategy my voice falters and it is easier to fall prey to writing generic content (i.e. the stuff that gets easy likes on LinkedIn).

✍️ Write how you talk

💪 Lean into your strengths

🧠 Be cognizant of what you consume

Follow this basic three-step path to find your voice and create unboring and vibrant content that resonates with your audience.

How do you shape your unique voice that captures your audience’s attention?

Share in the comments section ⤵️

Thank you for sharing!