Healing and Peace

02/27/2026

Way, way cool!

Just in time for Lent, we have a brand-new video series for you! We're so excited for you to experience St. Dominic’s Holy Family: An Animated Series.

Season One features the incredible stories of a soldier, a missionary, a murderer, and an artist. Each one heard the call to join the Order of Preachers — and discovered that their adventures had only just begun.

Available now for FREE on YouTube!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0FYT8O3V6PEZhogmsjvP1cDdBhyNs8Ny

Produced in partnership with Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Albert the Great

02/27/2026

Wives who respect freedom capitulate often. This means that they do not nag. They make their needs known, and when a narcissistic husband tries to override her needs in favor of his own, she drops the topic, capitulating to the case he makes so that he gets what he wants.

A husband who is blind to this cannot see the deep despair and loneliness of his wife, thus leaving her even lonelier.

His wife, respecting his freedom, learns to make do with the “breadcrumbs” that her narcissistic husband leaves for her, making “tasty stuffing” out of them, but we all know that breadcrumbs do not make for a completely satisfying meal, regardless of one’s resourcefulness and determination.

Wives who respect freedom by capitulating and not nagging emulate God, who every day shines the same sun on sinners and saints alike. He does not nag, but invites, all the while respecting our freedom to be selfish and grasping.

I’m not sure for whom I have more empathy: God or the wives described here. What I do know is that I feel a proper sense of guilt for the countless times that I have ignored God’s will for me and instead done what I wanted. I imagine you might feel the same right about now.

02/26/2026

There are lifestyle changes that can be made to reduce anxiety naturally. One of the best resources for evidence-based lifestyle changes is the website of Joel Fuhrman, M.D., who has read thousands of studies on nutrition.

Visit his website here: https://www.drfuhrman.com/health-concerns/21/anxiety.

The Nutritarian eating style, high in micronutrients and healthy fats, supports brain function and may reduce anxiety as it avoids harmful foods.

02/25/2026

“The measure of love is to love without measure” (St. Bernard of Clairvaux).

Another way of saying “to love without measure” is “to love unconditionally”. To love unconditionally is to never abandon the beloved.

To never be abandoned by someone is to receive the gifts of safety, security and joy. These things are the stuff of secure attachment.

At least for the sake of giving the much-needed gift of secure attachment, may we all emulate God by loving without measure.

02/24/2026

“Nothing is so cold as a faith without love” (St. John Chrysostom).

At one time or another, we’ve all come across a self-professed “defender of Catholic orthodoxy” claiming perfect obedience to the Magisterium. Despite their “righteous” anger, their contempt makes their faith come across as cold, or at least as indifferent to the suffering of sinners other than themselves.

What looks like indifference or a cold, loveless faith may more aptly be called “emotional withdrawal.” Emotional withdrawal often masks fear.

Some fear the Church being corrupted from within and the faithful being led astray. Others worry about the Mass ceasing to be valid because of changes that have occurred over the centuries. Still others fear that ignorant sinners will never learn that they should change their ways unless they are boldly told that they are sinning.

I believe that these fears have little to do with the state of the Church today and much more to do with the likelihood that those who mistrust an institution over which the gates of hell will never prevail had parents who were not trustworthy and who hurt them deeply. Likewise, I believe that those who are overly concerned with the sins of others were deeply hurt by remorselessly sinful family members.

If I am right, then the coldest and most arrogant among us may have some of the deepest childhood wounds, wounds that have never fully healed. When we run into someone with a cold, loveless faith, we do well to keep in mind the oft-hidden fear that lies beneath the cold veneer and to treat them with the kind of charity that comes so naturally when its object is a child in pain.

02/23/2026

If you see that your child enjoys doing an activity and is good at it, and you then rush to sign them up for competitions, contests, major performances, or showings, then you risk removing the intrinsic reward for them that comes from simply doing the activity.

Next time you feel the impulse to take one of your child's leisure activities and turn it from a thing of simple enjoyment to one that is about being seen by others, pause before acting on the impulse or even before opening your mouth. A quick prayer at such moments, asking the Lord for help to do His will, can help to protect your child's uncomplicated and pure joy.

02/21/2026

This sprouting system is super easy to use. You don't need a green thumb to do it, and a perfect batch of sprouts appear every few days. The health benefits of eating sprouts seem to be broad according to the research.

I encourage you to consider giving sprouting a try.

All about sprouts and sprouting

02/20/2026

The Hidden Cost of AI: What We Lose When We Stop Reading Books

As AI continues to grow in capability and influence, I worry that one unintended consequence may be a decline in sustained reading—especially reading good books from start to finish. If that happens, some people may unintentionally reinforce habits of disorganization, impulsiveness, irresponsibility, and even diminished empathy. I say this because I lived a version of that story myself.

In first grade, by the grace of God, I won a class contest for reading the most books that year. I had proudly mastered lines like “Run, Dick, run. See Dick run.” It felt like quite the achievement at the time.

But the following year, a teacher told my parents that I was reading too much. I was encouraged to slow down, and I did. My reading dropped dramatically. I still read occasionally, but nothing like before.

Looking back, that moment in second grade set the stage for a lifelong struggle: choosing other, often less wholesome, activities over reading, and developing the habit of starting books but not finishing them.

Today, I worry that AI may accelerate this same pattern for children—and even adults—who might otherwise develop strong reading habits. If people lose the ability or desire to read deeply and consistently, they may unintentionally solidify some of the same traits I developed during my own “non‑reading years.”

Because I had such a long gap between my early reading habits and my later return to books, I went almost directly from “Spot is a happy dog” to "Gratia non tollit naturam, sed perficit". To fill that gap, I went back and read children’s literature—Winnie the Pooh, Little Lord Fauntleroy, and others—before progressing to adult novels. Moving through these stages helped me reflect on how reading had shaped and reshaped my personality.

Here are a few things I noticed about myself during the period when I had poor reading habits, compared to when I regained good ones. These are the same areas where I fear AI‑driven shortcuts could have similar effects on others.

1. I did not fully develop empathy
Good fiction allows us to enter the interior world of others in a way that movies or summaries simply cannot. When I wasn’t reading, I didn’t understand people as well. My empathy was limited to those who were similar enough to me that I could intuit their experience.

There were certainly other factors involved, but my lack of reading did nothing to counteract my underdeveloped empathy—while returning to good reading habits significantly improved it.

2. I became disorganized, impulsive, and irresponsible
Again, multiple factors contributed to these traits, but poor reading habits certainly didn’t help. Buying books, starting them, abandoning them, and buying more was both impulsive and irresponsible. It reflected a disorganized approach not only to reading but to life.

In high school, I often chose the excitement of sports or the enjoyment of fishing over assigned reading. I skimmed Cliff’s Notes instead of reading the novels. To be fair to my parents, I was nearly a straight‑A student, so there were no academic “alarm bells” to alert them—and it was a teacher, after all, who had once told them I was reading too much.

A caution for parents, educators, and all of us
I share this story as a warning: abandoning the joy and discipline of reading good books from beginning to end can have real consequences for our personal development. As AI becomes more integrated into our lives, we must be vigilant not to let it erode the habits that help us grow into fully formed human beings.

Let’s commit to ensuring that our use of AI never replaces the deep, transformative experience of reading. Keep reading good books—no matter what some well‑meaning but misguided teachers may say.

02/18/2026

In this video, Pope Leo XIV explains how the book "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence has been an important spiritual guide for him. He recommends that we read the book.

I believe that the book is the kind of book that would be good for Lenten spiritual reading. In case you want to read it this Lent, here's a link to free copies of the eBook: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5657?utm_source=copilot.com

Here's the link for the video of the Pope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg66gtqZSbw

Aboard the papal plane Dec. 2, Pope Leo explained his spirituality.

02/17/2026

These two instructional and helpful passages from “The Way” by St. Josemaria Escriva contain a beautiful blend of emphases on both the use of our will and reliance on God’s aid regarding getting up immediately after the sound of the alarm clock in the morning.

#191 Conquer yourself each day from the very first moment, getting up on the dot, at a set time, without granting a single minute to laziness.
If, with the help of God, you conquer yourself in that moment, you'll have accomplished a great deal for the rest of the day.
It's so discouraging to find yourself beaten in the first skirmish!

#206 The heroic minute. It's time to get up, on the dot! Without hesitation, a supernatural thought, and . . . up! The heroic minute; here you have a mortification that strengthens your will and does not weaken your body.

Note the words “with the help of God” in the first passage and “a supernatural thought” in the second. The idea is not to rely on willpower alone, but to seek the help of the Lord and then to do our best to unite our wills with His.

Given that it is unclear what St. Josemaría means by “a supernatural thought,” we are left to do our best to apply the general principle implied by the phrase.

One excellent option is to borrow “a supernatural thought” from the Divine Office: “O God, come to my aid. O Lord, make haste to help me.” This phrase is not only helpful in seeking the Lord’s help to promptly get out of bed, but according to one of the Desert Fathers, we can benefit by using this invocation at nearly every moment of every day.

I often suggest natural solutions when working with clients who are having trouble getting out of bed in the morning, but I think that St. Josemaría’s supernatural solution, the “heroic minute,” can be a helpful companion to the natural ones.

02/16/2026

"The alarm clock goes off. It's time to get out of bed. This is your first decision of the day. Will you get out of bed or hit the snooze button? You press the snooze button and roll over.
What just happened? No big deal, right? Wrong. You just lost the first battle of the day. Resistance just kicked your butt. Resistance has broken your will before you've even gotten out of bed. You will most likely be its slave for the rest of the day.
[...] What is resistance? [...] It's the desire and tendency to delay something you should be doing right now (Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly, p. 1)."

This passage makes a compelling case that we should get out of bed as soon as the alarm clock sounds, but how we do we pull that off? I plan to share St. Josemaria Escriva's solution in my next post.

Do you stay in bed after the alarm clock sounds? If so, what are you doing between the time when it goes off and you get out of bed?

02/13/2026

How about formalizing your Lenten Bona Opera this Lent? We, Benedictine Oblates at Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, CA, refer to a Lenten Bona Opera as if it is a document in which we write down our prospective Lenten resolutions to be submitted to the Abbot for approval before Lent starts, but even if we allow for that definition of it, it is more than that.

Bona Opera is Latin for "good works" and so, in addition to being a useful name for our document, it refers to the good works that we hope to do as part of our Lenten resolutions. I have attached a copy of one of our blank documents for your use, not to send to our Abbot, but for you to submit to a spiritual director or accountability partner, should you wish to do so.

I think that formalizing your Lenten resolutions in this way can not only help you to follow through with your Lenten resolutions this year, but also give you clear, concrete language defining the parameters of your resolutions.

I hope that formalizing your Lenten resolutions in this way will help make this Lent more fruitful than any Lent has been for you in the past.