Joyful Anticipation

During the throes of my divorce, I was in so much pain, all I could do was drag myself into daily Mass and sit there in an almost catatonic state. It hurt even to try and form the words to pray. I was completely overwhelmed. My feeble prayer was simply “Lord, please make all this stop. […]

Overcomer

I am a huge fan of Christian music. It never fails to inspire me and make me feel closer to Christ. It doesn’t matter how stressed I am, when I play my favorite Christian songs, I am transformed. My attitude becomes more positive, my worries dissipate, and I even feel more alive. The first year […]

Got Your Back

With St. John Paul II’s canonization on Divine Mercy Sunday 2014, it is good to be reminded of what this amazing pope and saint said about divorced Catholics. He has our back! I earnestly call upon pastors and the whole community of the faithful to help the divorced and with solicitous care to make sure that they […]

Sure Bet

One time, as I was walking through a casino in Las Vegas, I heard a lot of cheering and commotion coming from a roulette table. Curiosity got the best of me, and I wandered over to see what was going on. I got there just in time to see the roulette operator slide three large […]

House of Love

“Why are you taking pictures of a church that doesn’t care about its people?!” were the words that rudely broke the silence as I was trying to inconspicuously take a few pictures of a magnificent old church near where I was visiting. I turned around to see a disheveled older man who clearly hadn’t had […]

Silver Lining

As the fog of emotional pain was starting to lift from my divorce, I made an unexpected discovery: quiet time. Every other weekend the kids went off to their other parent. Initially, the house seemed eerily quiet after the kids left. But over time I came to really appreciate, even look forward to, having this time […]

The Force

Yes, it pains me to admit, I am old enough to remember when the first Star Wars movie came out–plenty old enough. (I was a junior in high school.) One of the most memorable scenes in the movie was when young Luke Skywalker was being trained to use a powerful weapon, the lightsaber. He kept […]

Oprah

Going through my divorce turned my world upside-down. I suddenly started to question everything in my life. What was true? Who could be trusted? It was like my life was thrust into darkness and I was stumbling around trying to gain my bearings. I would talk to anyone who I thought could help me: friends, family, […]

New Math

The best way I can describe the suffering from my divorce is it was like a heavy weight strapped to my back, combined with a gnawing ache in the pit of my stomach. It was always there. The only relief I would get was when I slept. Unfortunately, the second my eyes opened, the pain […]

The Battle

Going through divorce often feels like a battle. Each day can be a fight just to keep your head above water, often doing the work of two people. All of this while dealing with the extremely difficult emotional issues that a divorce invariably brings. It can be overwhelming and so discouraging. Recognize that the source […]