Healing and Peace

04/28/2026

“God became man so that man might become god” (St. Athanasius).

To become one with God, as we are all called to do, is impossible without partaking in the divine nature. To become one with God does not mean that He becomes like us, but that we become like Him.

Until modern psychology realizes what is actually possible for us as human beings, it will remain worldly.

Yet a psychology that happily acknowledges the preeminent position of the proper reception of the sacraments in our endeavors to partake in the divine nature can assist in the great task of unifying the world with Christ, in us becoming ‘not of this world.’

Proper reception of Christ in the Eucharist is the primary way “that man might become god.” May we have frequent recourse to it in our attempts to soar to the heights of goodness.

04/27/2026

Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM put out this podcast on fighting depression: https://youtu.be/ucOg0EMNu3Q?si=1Yb8W1JbUZWxvc6y. It is worth a listen.

1.4K likes, 87 comments. "Podcast: Fighting Depression"

04/24/2026

Last line: "...and that's because God is super awesome." This may be my favorite quote from Jimmy Akin.

04/23/2026

“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds” (St. Basil the Great).

Clients who come to therapy to be healed of behavioral addictions and impulsive behaviors understandably feel guilt or shame when considering that they might be known by their deeds.

One aim of therapy is to accompany these clients as they face their healthy feelings of guilt, and another is to reduce their toxic shame. Like all of us, these clients were created in the image and likeness of God, which is the basis of their dignity and worth.

However, most of us will simply feel like frauds as Christians until we cease regularly engaging in gravely evil acts.

When clients with unwanted behaviors undergo deep personal and relational healing through good Catholic therapy, they can grow in virtue and be glad to be known by their deeds.

04/22/2026

“Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it” (St. Thomas Aquinas).

A Catholic therapist heals on the natural level while the grace of the sacraments perfects that healing.

https://healingandpeace.com/

Catholic therapist Serving Oceanside, Camp Pendleton, Carlsbad, Encino, Vista, Fallbrook, Bonsall, Escondido, San Marcos, Poway, Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Rancho Bernardo, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Capistrano Beach, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, Rancho...

04/21/2026

“Charity is said to be the end of other virtues, because it directs all other virtues to its own end” (St. Thomas Aquinas).

Virtue for the sake of virtue is empty. Love must be the beginning and the goal of virtue. Anything else misses the mark.

May all our acts be done for love of God.

04/20/2026

A video on the correlation between food and mood: https://youtu.be/NxXm6RhGEAY?si=8OuTebGq0k2Tr-hQ.

1K likes, 51 comments. "Fighting the Blues With Greens?"

04/18/2026

God is Lord "over all of the powers of darkness and disorder."

Friends, in today’s Gospel (John 6:16–21), Jesus demonstrates his authority over nature by walking on the sea. Water is, throughout the Scriptures, a symbol of danger and chaos. At the very beginning of time, when all was a formless waste, the Spirit of the Lord hovered over the surface of the waters. This signals God’s lordship over all of the powers of darkness and disorder.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites are escaping from Egypt, and they confront the waters of the Red Sea. Through the prayer of Moses, they are able to walk through the midst of the waves.

Now in the New Testament, this same symbolism can be found. In all four of the Gospels, there is a version of this story of Jesus mastering the waves. The boat, with Peter and the other disciples, is evocative of the Church, the followers of Jesus. It moves through the waters as the Church will move through time.

All types of storms—chaos, corruption, stupidity, danger, persecution—will inevitably arise. But Jesus comes walking on the sea. This is meant to affirm his divinity: Just as the Spirit of God hovered over the waters at the beginning, so Jesus hovers over them now.

04/17/2026

In California, when new property is developed, most of the native plants are removed and destroyed, and then non-native plants are planted. This severely harms the California ecosystem, which depends on the widespread presence of native California plants in order to survive.

California residents seem to either mistakenly believe that government forests and wildlife preserves are enough to sustain California’s biodiversity, or that they are powerless against the practices of large property developers.

However, there is something that every California landowner can do to be responsible stewards of God’s creation. This video by Doug Tallamy explains what we can do to help save our ecosystem: https://youtu.be/YcE5CmUZpBw?si=HVWaR9f1gUDApk1f.

Douglas Tallamy, author of “Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens” and the New York Times bestseller “Nature’s Best Hope”, ...

04/16/2026

“In the passions, as movements of the sensitive appetite, there is neither moral good nor evil” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1773).

There is no reason to fearfully or energetically suppress our emotions for moral reasons. Our feelings are in the part of our experience that in The Acting Person, Karol Wojtyla described as “what-happens-in-us”. We do well to let them simply be and to focus our moral efforts on our acts.

This is not to say that we should try to ramp up our emotions either. Again, it is generally best to just let them simply be.

In time, one can find much peace in this approach.

https://healingandpeace.com/

Catholic therapist Serving Oceanside, Camp Pendleton, Carlsbad, Encino, Vista, Fallbrook, Bonsall, Escondido, San Marcos, Poway, Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Rancho Bernardo, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Capistrano Beach, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, Rancho...

04/15/2026

“No one can doubt that virtue makes the soul exceeding good” (St. Augustine).

He who has made our soul good is the Creator, and because everything in creation comes from Him, everything in creation is good. It is good to exist.

Our souls, which are good in and of themselves, can be improved, made even better, through virtue.

Perfection should be understood as completion. A garden is an example in which humans take God’s already-good creation and perfect it by enhancing its beauty. Likewise, virtue takes our already-good souls and enhances their goodness.

Sometimes we have trouble fostering greater virtue in our souls because we become stuck in this or that vice. Some examples are selfishness, drunkenness, or sexual sin.

Sometimes God’s grace pulls us out of such a vice. Other times, despite our best efforts, we remain stuck in it. When the root of our vice is a natural problem, we need a natural solution. This is when good Catholic psychotherapy can help.

Good Catholic therapy can adequately address problems pertaining to vice that exist in the natural realm, thus helping to take an already good soul and make it exceedingly good through greater virtue.

04/13/2026

To learn about the evidence suggesting that there are benefits of eating blueberries for mood and mobility check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qBVUfk4jFA .

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of… blueberries!New subscribers to our e-newsletter always receive a free gift. Get yours here: https://n...