Keeping with the theme of wakefulness, Pat reflects on the famous story of “doubting Thomas” after the resurrection. Retelling the events of the Gospel passage and plunging into those eight days that Thomas waited for Christ to show him the wounds of the passion, Pat reflects on how it’s really the story of believing Thomas, of persevering Thomas, and how Thomas should be a model for us too.

Every New Year’s Eve, we try to stay awake until midnight, to be there to herald a new year and time in life. But this tradition hints at an even deeper spiritual reality—the call to spiritual wakefulness. What does it mean to stay awake? How do we do so? Pat reflects on what the Gospel teaches us about these questions!

Our lives and our world need forgiveness. Pat discusses why this is, and breaks open the depths of this important Christian teaching.

Pat’s second son was born just a few weeks ago. Here, he reflects on how this life change has impacted him, and shaped the way he sees his vocation and the Christian call to love!

Do you struggle to believe Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist? Does adoration feel more like you “fake it until you make it”? Pat discusses how we can approach this great mystery and hard teaching in a new way, so that we can allow Christ to help us access the beauty of what the real presence actually means for us!

Have you ever asked or been asked: Is the Eucharist necessary for salvation? Or, why do Catholics have an “obligation” to go to church on Sunday? The Eucharist, the church teaches, is the source and summit of the Christian life—but what does that mean? Pat and John discuss!

How do we define happiness? Even subconsciously, what do we believe is the way to happiness? These may be some of the most important and consequential questions a person asks in his/her life! Pat discusses the ways we are sometimes inclined to answer, how he has been inclined to answer in his own life, and what the Gospel has to say about it!

Two words we don’t usually put together: emptiness and hope. But how might Holy Saturday, with the church’s empty tabernacle, teach us the truth about hope? Pat reflects!

It’s Holy Thursday. The passion of Christ begins. The greatest event of love in history. But what does it actually mean to be loved? Pat and John discuss!

In lent, we talk a lot about suffering. But what are we supposed to suffer? To suffer is to “carry from underneath”—what does Jesus want us to carry, to bear, in this world? What did He really bear and carry—what did He suffer—when He carried the cross? And what does it mean for us? What does it mean for lent? Pat reflects and shares his thoughts on it!