McGrath Institute Blog

This January, I attended a talk by Fr. Mike Schmitz on “Anti-fragile Faith.” In it, he posed a simple question: When you face difficulties in life, how will you face them? With a faith that is fragile or a faith that is anti-fragile?

Valentine’s Day can be awkward for a lot of people. It’s unlikely the holiday will come up in Church conversations, except perhaps in the young adult group. Catholics may see little connection between their faith and the chocolate overdoses of February 14. But it is a day that takes on new dimensions when viewed through a Christian lens.

According to the most recent statistics on Catholic education from the National Catholic Education Association, fewer than 50% of Catholic grade school graduates go to Catholic high school or college. This means most Catholics end their formal faith education in eighth grade! Fortunately, there are a lot of great ways to study theology as an adult—even after our days in the classroom have ended.

This cold and dreary season is a time of waiting. Snow has grown stale, and we’re waiting for the flowers to bud; the joy of Christmas has passed, and we’re waiting for the vitality of Easter. Yet the Church reminds us that this Ordinary Time between great feasts is precisely the time for the spiritual growth that flows from delving more deeply into the mystery of Christ. Thankfully, even the tedium of waiting itself can contribute to our spiritual life! To see how, we need look no further than the virtue of longanimity.

On February 11, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the title given to Mary when she appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 in Lourdes, France. There are a number of ways to commemorate Our Lady of Lourdes as a family. Here are a few of my favorites.