https://youtu.be/G_YjxgjjC6c

Watch over me
Inspect my mistakes
Like a beacon, necessitate my regret
In an orbit unrelenting
It will all just be
I said let it be
I wish you didn't have to see me like this

On Thursday my father came back from rehab and he's back to being his good old self. We've spent a lot of time together since then and we're back to normal.

First - I wanted to thank you all for the support I received back at the beginning, when my father was still fighting his addiction. Especially for all the prayers.

Second - A bit of a testimony of mine. This ability of God to bring good out of the darkest hours of our lives is simply astonishing. My father struggled with his addiction for a few months to the point where we stopped talking because it would always end with aggression, verbal for the most part, though it almost got out of hand on more than one occasion. I used to pray back then but I wasn't exceptionally good at it, it usually took about 5 to 10 minutes a day. Sometimes, having exhausted all the other options there is nothing you can do but pray. And so I did. When we stopped talking, I took to praying. I prayed both to God and to the Holy Mother. And my father saw what was wrong. And so I asked you to pray for him and he finally made his decision. He now prays every day as well and reflects on what he has learned so far.

As for me - It helped me build a strong prayer routine, from 40 minutes to an hour a day even. I've noticed the effects as well, I am much more motivated, feel like working harder, lost the extra weight through fasting here and there and simply being more active. I am much healthier mentally and physically than I was at the beginning of the year. And to think I would have probably given up if not for our Lord just scares me.

Don't ever give up and stop trusting in the Lord. Pray and meditate and you will make it. In times of great difficulty remember that our Lord is greater. And remember your brothers and sisters in faith who will be there for you if you simply reach out.

Make your heart the Holy Land and let the Lord walk the streets.

[Bonus points if you can tell where the original image comes from]

Lord
Give us please
The will to forgive the persecutors
The strength to help those in need
The courage to never deny you

I am the best example of a Catholic there is. No better than those around me. Far from the Christian ideal. A child who loses the way and seeks father's forgiveness. Both a perfect and horrible representation of faith, a sinner - too often do I make mistakes I later come to regret very deeply. Do not let that regret kill your spirit. Do not use that sinful nature as an excuse. Work hard to repent and strive for holiness.

https://youtu.be/sT1W5nmiDuA

I'm a liar, deceiver; it dwells inside
I'm a cynic, I'm desperate to find out why
All the whispers of every last demon inside;
if I listen to them, they will take my life
Silence.

Follow-up to the previous post. We are all in our own way a Judas, a Kichijiro of this story. Christ died for you and for me alike. For the liar, the traitor, the coward. HE will always welcome you with open arms if only you repent. How glorious HE is to see our dirt and still make us clean.

You don't know the day nor the hour. Seek forgiveness and make peace with the Lord. Do not grow in your sin. Our time on this Earth will eventually run out. Eternity awaits you, but what kind?

You want good advice? One thing I've learned is that spiritual exercise goes together exceptionally well with physical exercise. Pray your Rosary and then push it to the limit, sprint through the town, lift weights, even do manual labour I don't know. Be active lads, if your body is a temple for the Lord - might as well be a fortress monastery.

Do not wait.

Loving someone just the way they are is not Christianity. Respecting sin is not Christianity. Christianity is recognizing human sinfulness and, through love, leading the sinner back on the right path. The path of the Lord.

Daily reminder that the loving unity of man and woman through the Lord is 🅱️ased.

On Wednesday a close friend of mine told me he will be joining a religious order. This is something that I am still struggling to discern myself. I find great courage and inspiration in him following his vocation. Please pray for my friend Kyle and all of our clergy.

𝙵𝚃𝙻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 "𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎"

I don't know about you, but I'm very good at making things unnecessarily difficult for myself and for those around me. It's unbelievable how much patience the Lord has got for us.

Get up. Go for a walk. Embrace the silence. Pray. Fix what you broke.

Imagine missing an opportunity to evangelize because you wanted so bad to flex on some internet pagans that you forgot the mercy part in the process. Fiery love for Christ is one thing, I've been in situations where I got very agitated in the matters of faith. Some of us need to chill though. Not every situation requires you to unleash the wrath of heaven and you're acting as if you were never lost yourself. Be a fisher of souls first and a fearless warrior second. Sometimes all it takes is love and patience.

If I was to describe what being a Catholic man means to me, I would say this: It means enduring the biggest physical or mental pain without shedding a tear only to cry into the pillow for the transgressions made against the Lord that day.

Remember that even our saviour cried. Sometimes it's ok to just get your eyes wet kings, life is hard and the suffering of our Lord is a great example of strength and perseverance.

Pray and follow the Lord, it will all make sense in the end. Submit yourself to the will of the father.

There are just too many subcultures and movements that us Christians identify with, when in fact we do not identify enough with Christianity itself. Too many "role models" that we try to follow, when in fact we forget to imitate the most worthy one - Christ.

Stop trying to fit in. Chances are you never will. Follow the Lord instead and defy this world.