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Grotto Network
https://grottonetwork.com/ -- 129 posts
4 Ways to Help Aging Loved Ones Grow Old at Home
As the baby boomer generation gets older, our generation will see the population of senior citizens double. More and more...
Digital Minimalism: How to Live Better with Technology
One of the defining struggles of our generation is to balance the way technology occupies our attention and desire with our...
How Do We Avoid Tech Interfering With Our Humanity?
Throughout history, people have asked the question, what makes us human? Philosophers, scientists, and theologians have all...
Why I'm Catholic: It's a Force for Good
Maura’s Story Around a dozen girls, sporting the reliable Catholic school plaid, sat in a classroom tucked away in a side...
How to Navigate Some of Today's Most Pressing Issues
Research suggests that, on average, we make well more than 200 decisions every day about what we eat and drink. And yet, most...
Finding a Narrative Worth Belonging To
Ten years ago, I was in your shoes. Well, nearly ten years ago. I graduated from college in the spring of 2014, and a few...
Listening to the Gentle Nudge to Leap Into Service
When Meghan finished college, she dove into a well-paying and dynamic position at a tech company. But she couldn’t shake a...
3 Things to Consider Before Entering Grad School
As I write this, the other document open on my computer is my 51-page master’s thesis, the culmination of four years of...
I Got the Degree, but Not the Life That Was Promised With It
For Gabby, following the “traditional” route meant graduating in four years with an immigrant-parent-approved degree. She...
Understanding Family Life as a School for Growth
One morning when I was learning to write computer code, I was given a problem and told to write an algorithm to solve it. I...
The Benefits of Raising Children with a Digital Village
When my mother was born, my grandma did not know how to drive. She did not have a car at her disposal during the day throughout...
What It Means to be a Catholic Feminist
Yes, contrary to popular belief, Catholic feminists do exist.And if to do nothing more than make a little elbow room for the...
I Screwed Up Badly — Now What?
I know that feeling. You know the one. The one where you’ve hurt someone. Or you’ve hurt yourself. Maybe both. Someone was...
Unlock Your Superpower: 5 Ways to Adopt a Growth Mindset
I hit Lemon Drop Hill at mile 22. The ground beneath me sloped steadily upward into a hill — the point in the marathon where...
How to Take Charge of Your Life
Are you the kind of person who is easily affected by the weather or other parts of your physical environment? Does a negative...
How Self-Care Can ‘Sharpen Your Saw’
Imagine trying to cut down a tree with a saw that has rounded teeth, or dicing a dozen tomatoes with a dull blade. You might be...
How I Found the True Meaning of 'Play’
It’s perhaps never been easier to have fun, but how often do we pause to consider what kind of fun we gravitate to and how it...
What Creation Teaches Us About the Creator
My breath catches in my chest as the valley opens up before my eyes. Tall, towering California black oak, ponderosa pine, and...
3 Joyful Things to Feast on During Easter
My adult Easters have taken on a pretty predictable rhythm. My husband and I drive three hours to his parents’ house. We go to...
Worried About Money? Offer Up This Prayer
In the journey of life, we encounter an intricate maze of duties, aspirations, and ambitions. Situated within this array of...
Prayer Hacks for the ADHD Soul
Prayer is difficult to grasp for anyone. It’s a spiritual practice that can and will look different for each person....
How I’ve Come to Like Praying Without My Own Words
Words are hard. I might have a master’s degree in communication, but I can fully embody with this sentiment. We all struggle...
The History of Lent and Why it Matters
“What are you giving up for Lent?” It’s a question we might hear or ask of someone else each springtime before Easter, possibly...
This Lent, Strive for Improvement, Not Perfection
This Lent, many of us are giving something up or establishing a new daily practice, but it’s not at all uncommon that we’ll...
Lenten Bundle: What You Need for the Next 40 Days
Lent is a time to take a good, long look in the mirror and come to terms with what’s working about our lives and what’s not....
3 Things to Notice at Mass on Ash Wednesday
There’s something special about Mass on Ash Wednesday — Catholics everywhere scramble to find a church and a Mass time so they...
Almsgiving Reveals Something Sacred in All of Us
I had never heard of the phobia of growing old before. Wyatt assured me that it was a real thing, though — he’s a student I...
The Outgoing-Introvert’s Survival Guide
While introverts are often typecast as people who are quiet, shy, and prefer to spend their nights sitting at home, those...
Building Bridges as a Missionary in Cambodia
Karen spent several years serving the Deaf community in Cambodia. Here, she describes the humor and friendships she discovered...
Prayer, Just Like Exercise, Takes Discipline
A few years ago, I moved to a new city to begin a new job. While I welcomed the change of pace, I also found myself a bit...
How I Dealt with Imposter Syndrome in My Faith Life
A few times every year, I go through my social media platforms, removing various accounts and people I follow if I decide they...
What is Reparenting — And How Can it Help You?
Do you have parents? Are they human beings? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, chances are you would benefit...
Boundaries 101: Creating Space
Ever found yourself trapped in the cycle of waiting for that perennially tardy friend, organizing celebratory events for...
Podcasts That Will Inspire Successful Resolutions
The new year comes with excitement of a fresh start! “New year, new you!” — right? Most people make resolutions for the new...
What It's Really Like to Be a Catholic Missionary
In June, my husband, four of our friends, and I arrived at the San Lucas Mission in Guatemala, weary and wide-eyed after a long...
3 Ways to Love Those We’ve Never Met
My morning routine begins when my iPhone alarm rings. (The phone was made in China of individual parts from so many different...
How to Start New Traditions With Your Spouse
One afternoon not long after our wedding, my wife Genevieve and I went to buy our first shared Christmas tree. This felt...
4 Ways to Cultivate Joy in Our Lives
Unlike feelings of happiness or contentment, which can fluctuate depending on our circumstances, joy is something that we can...
Why Shopping Shouldn't Be A Hobby
Retail therapy. Ah, two words that caress like a silk Hermès scarf. If you’ve ever heard the siren call of the Target home...
How I've Learned to Heal From an Imperfect Family
Each year, the holiday season stirs up a myriad of emotions. For some, it is an exciting time of buying presents, seeing...
Setting Healthy Boundaries for the Holidays
I’m ashamed to admit that the most wonderful time of the year can bring out the worst in me. The endless parties and other...
TFW You're Home for the Holidays and Family is Wearing You Down
Does going home for the holidays just … throw you off your game somehow? You’re making efforts toward self-improvement and you...
How to Create (and Stick to) a Christmas Budget
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year… until you take a look at your bank statement a few weeks later. It’s not...
7 Ways to Manage Your Mental Health This Holiday Season
What if we could finish the year strong, instead of stumbling across the finish line? Whether you’re feeling like Buddy the Elf...
Christmas Gift Ideas for Every Love Language
Each year brings with it an earlier roll out date of peppermint lattes, Christmas radio music, towers of toys and artificial...
3 Mary-Inspired Resolutions to Set (& Keep) This Year
Until recently, and I mean very recently, I really struggled to relate to Mary. One of my best friends and her family have a...
How to Cope with Depression During the Holidays
Watch any Christmas episode of your favorite sitcom and you’re guaranteed 30 minutes filled with celebrations, a happy ending,...
5 Ways to Cope with Loneliness Over the Holidays
When everyone from Starbucks to your niece is reveling in holiday spirit, it’s a tough time to be lonely. You might be dreading...
How to Rock Your New Godparenting Gig
There’s nothing quite like the first time one of your close friends announces that they’re having a baby. Adulthood gets real...
How To Improve Self-Discipline
I sat down to write this article four different times before I began to put words to paper. That already tells you a lot about...
TFW You Want to Be a Better Person
You’ve made up your mind: your flaws are causing you harm and you want to become a better person. But where to begin? In his ...
4 Ways Fasting Benefits Your Spiritual Health
Fasting is having a moment right now. After decades of health experts telling us that grazing on small meals was key to health...
3 Ways Fasting Improved My Life
Usually, when we hear about fasting, we think of the promises we make to ourselves during 40 days of Lent. Friends come...
Living Alongside Death
Born with cardiac abnormalities, Janelle’s been in and out of hospitals since she was born. While she’s been blessed with...
"A Great Guiding Light"
When faced with approaching death, where can we find comfort? In preparing for her mother-in-law’s passing, Nicole finds the...
A Practical Guide to Praying for Others
I once heard stand-up comedian/author Jennifer Fulwiler say, “What if you are the answer to someone’s prayer?” In other words:...
Why We Should All Practice 'Detachment'
What comes to mind when you hear the term “addiction”? For me, I think of substance abuse, alcohol, and opioids, but I was...
Why I'm Trying to Live Authentically On- and Offline
We are taught to impress at such a young age. As a child, did your parents nudge you to share how you got good grades on your...
Benefits of Athiest-Catholic Relationships
Scott and I were hanging at an Oktoberfest tent party at the local German bar, doing what you do at such things. We came across...
How Befriending My Neighbors Changed My Life
My life has most recently started resembling the TV shows of my youth. In this scenario, I’m Steve Urkel from Family...
Finding Fellowship: How I Built Community at a New Church
After moving four years ago, my family and I found it hard to connect with our new parish community. With three girls under age...
Why You Need a Life Advisory Board (Beyond Your BFFs)
As I approached my mid-twenties, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next with my career. I enjoyed my work as a high school...
One Way to Remember to Pray for Others
In the course of the day, you may hear of situations or people that move you, and you come up short on what to say or do....
This Form of Prayer Can Help Center Yourself
For the past few years, I’ve been seeing a wonderful counselor. I sought therapy because I felt like I was being pulled apart...
How I Learned to 'Just Talk' to God
We’ve all heard about how important prayer is to growing in your relationship with God, but there’s something about talking to...
How I Learned to Be Emotionally Open with God in Prayer
When I was a kid, I used to get rosary anxiety. Picture 10-year-old me in a 15-passenger homeschooler van with all my friends...
How to Pray if You're New to It
Do you feel like your spiritual life could use a little more….well…life? Let’s face it, in the midst of our busy lives, it’s...
3 Ways to Maximize Your Mentor's Expertise
I’m fortunate to have been mentored in many settings. I simply wouldn’t be where I am without those experiences. Not every...
What I Learned by Being a Mentor
“Do you want to be my mentor?” I received this text from a high schooler I had interacted with when I helped with a summer...
3 Qualities You Need to Be a Good Mentor
Mentorships can be invaluable to our personal and professional development — if they are selected and structured thoughtfully....
10 Bingeworthy Nonfiction Reads
There are few things I love more than stepping through the heavy front doors of my local bookstore carrying a stack of new...
3 Ways Reading Books Can Save Your Life
We know that reading is good for us — so why aren’t we reading more? According to the Pew Research Center, more people are not...
Start Your Morning With Inspiration
I am a big believer in starting my day with something inwardly uplifting before I join the raucous call of the outer world that...
Staying Joyful in a World that Glorifies Stress
This past November, the American Psychology Association released their annual “Stress in America” report. The results are...
What St. Paul Can Teach Us About Christian Joy
St. Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem by Jews and handed over to Romans. After a long ship ride back to Rome, St. Paul was...
A Space Where Strangers Become Friends
The old black and white film, Harvey, starring Jimmy Stewart, has become a comfort movie to me. I watch it when I’m feeling...
How to Start (and Sustain) a New Prayer Practice
Historically, I have never had much of a prayer practice. I was accustomed to reciting prayers at mealtimes and seeking God’s...
Those Struggling with Religion vs. God
According to the most recent surveys of religion in America, somewhere between a fourth and a third of Americans describe...
How Resting on Sundays Can Transform Your Perspective
There is nothing more satisfying than putting a checkmark next to an item on my to-do list. As nerdy as it sounds, it’s a...
Catholicism Can Be Weird — Maybe That’s the Best Part?
In fifth or sixth grade, my school took us to see a dead saint. The body of St. John Neumann lies beneath a church that rises,...
What Backpacking Ministry Taught Me About Hospitality
I still remember my first experience with backpacking ministry. I had volunteered for organizations who help the homeless...
Why Is Forgiveness Important?
Forgiveness is good for you. According to the Mayo Clinic, it can lead to improved self-esteem, a stronger immune system, lower...
‘How Do I Serve the Church as a Lay Person?’
For two and a half years I was a Jesuit, living religious life and experiencing what it was like to be part of the Church in...
We Need to Slow Down to Save the World
Our world is hurting in more ways than one, anyone can see that. In order to do our part in helping to heal our relationships...
3 Ways to Fight Consumerism by Living Simply
Whenever I get into a particularly busy season of life — like exam week, interview season, or when I’m tackling a huge project...
How Meta-Emotions Can Escalate Conflict in Your Marriage
We were both standing in our kitchen. I made a gesture as if I was about to speak. My husband waited, but the words felt stuck...
A Practical Guide to Praying for Others
I once heard stand-up comedian/author Jennifer Fulwiler say, “What if you are the answer to someone’s prayer?” In other words:...
Why Is Forgiveness Important?
Forgiveness is good for you. According to the Mayo Clinic, it can lead to improved self-esteem, a stronger immune system,...
How to Make Conflict Constructive for Your Marriage
“Have you ever read The Brothers Karamazov?” I asked my husband. “No, I don’t think so.” “Let’s go buy a couple of paperback...
Why Date Nights are Important After You're Married
Dating someone can be so exciting — your weekends are full of plans, adventures, and outings as you hit up movies, wine...
What We Might Be Missing When We Think About Chastity
Where do we turn for wisdom about our sexuality? On the one hand, applying any sort of guardrails to our sex drive calls to...
The Antidote to Shallow Consumerism: Intentional Habits
Our habits shape a lot of our behavior, and it is hard to break bad habits and establish good ones. In You Are What You Love ,...
The Privilege of Fatherhood
Terry recently became a new father. He also works as a teacher and tries to make an impact in his community through his social...
Why It's Important to Find Balance in Fatherhood
When expectant fathers or parents who just had their first child ask me for my advice as a father of three, my first...
A Newlywed's #1 Tip for a Strong Marriage
One year into marriage, one piece of marital advice from my bridal shower has stuck with me above all others: always try to...
You Have 4,000 Weeks to Live — How Are You Spending Them?
It’s the year 1250 — and you’re a French peasant who survived the most recent plague. Your landlord (literally the guy that...
Meet the Couple Opening Their Home in a Radical Way
Joe and Natalie LaHood are a married couple in Maryland who have opened a daycare for young kids with disabilities in their...
Why a Spiritual Director Just Might Be What You Need
I never thought I’d have a spiritual director. Now that I’ve benefited from conversations with one, here’s why I think everyone...
How to Use “Cues” to Form Intentional Habits
I was recently sharing with a group of friends how frustrated I am that I cannot sustain new habits. It seems that no matter...
Discovering True Love After the Wedding
In the first weeks after her wedding, Sofía realized that her marriage prep process hadn’t covered some of the more mundane...
Hate Your Job? Questions To Help You Move Forward
It’s hard when work is hard. As a career coach for people looking to be happier and more fulfilled at work, I see how career...
Saints for the Ordinary Times of a Marriage
We pay a lot of attention to the big points in our married life such as our wedding day and anniversaries — but what about the...
5 Ways We Can Find Proof of God’s Existence
Have you ever found yourself wondering if God exists? More precisely, wondering if there’s a way to know God exists without...
I Used a Daily Reflection for a Month — Here’s How it Changed Me
I’ve never had a very consistent prayer practice, but I challenged myself last year to use a daily journal. As it turns out, it...
Why It’s Okay if You’re in a Spiritual Slump Right Now
When was the last time you really felt close to God? If you’d asked me that question a year or so ago, I would have struggled...
How Fitness Can Help Your Prayer Life
I’ve come a long way in building a regular fitness routine that is keeping my body healthy and strong. Seeing the benefits of...
How to Start Praying Daily
Practices that increase our awareness, mindfulness, and resilience are incredibly useful tools when it comes to managing stress...
The Secret to Praying With Icons
In my high school history classroom, one wall was adorned with striking yet peculiar wooden plaques. During Mr. Medeiros’s...
A Practical Guide to Praying for Others
I once heard stand-up comedian/author Jennifer Fulwiler say, “What if you are the answer to someone’s prayer?” In other words:...
What Good are “Thoughts and Prayers” Anyway?
I received a text a while back with some terrible news: an acquaintance of mine had died in his sleep at the age of 26. It’s...
How to Nurture Your Marriage Through a Pandemic
Back in 2016, memes started flying about how this was the worst year in recent memory. (I’ll wait for you to stop laughing.)...
8 Saints You’ll Want Interceding for Your Love Life
Maybe you’re in a bit of a dry dating spell. Maybe your heart is breaking. Or, maybe you just want to see eye-to-eye with your...
Meet the First ‘Working-Mom’ Saint
“I would not be here if I was not loved so much,” said Dr. Gianna Emanuela Molla at a 2017 luncheon. It’s true of all of us,...
Why 2021 is the Perfect Year to Look to St. Joseph
This pandemic has been an experience of love and resilience amid turmoil and uncertainty, which has prompted me to think often...
5 Lessons Learned in 5 Years of Marriage
Research shows that nearly 20 percent of couples get a divorce within the first five years of marriage — and that was before we...
How To Utilize the Superpower of Habits
Routines and habits ought to be a part of everyone’s lifestyle. How often have you thought ‘if only I could stop time’ or ‘if...
How I Am Taking Ownership of My Faith Life
There comes a point when the course of our lives falls into our own hands. For the large majority, this shift begins taking...
Why Silence Is Key To Health & Happiness
If silence makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone. It’s a strange, unnerving eeriness when we’re habituated to all the...
What An Imaginative Prayer Experience Taught Me
I was on a retreat as an undergraduate when I first prayed with Scripture using my imagination. The experience opened up a...
Things To Do To Help Find Your Calling
Whether you’re a college junior or well into your career, most of us will get to the point in our lives where we ask ourselves,...
How To Make The Most of Advent
We inhabit a world that prizes getting what we want as quickly as possible. Who isn’t in awe of Amazon Prime’s magical powers...
This Saint Found Peace During Quarantine — So Can We
Our family vacation fell through this year. Our hotel booking had to be rescheduled due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the...
Some Questions Have to Be Lived, Not Answered
Christian often feels a restless longing to find deeper meaning in life, but wrestles with feeling distant from God and the...
How Prayer Affects Your Mental Health
J. D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey opens with protagonist Franny Glass in the midst of an existential crisis. Looking for some...
What It Means to Live Without Fear
When he was elected pope in the fall of 1978, Pope St. John Paul II came out on the balcony over St. Peter’s square and the...
How Resting On Sunday Can Transform Your Perspective
There is nothing more satisfying than putting a checkmark next to an item on my to-do list. As nerdy as it sounds, it’s a...
How I Learned To Just Talk To God
We’ve all heard about how important prayer is to growing in your relationship with God, but there’s something about talking to...
How This Ancient Meditation Practice Changes My Day
In her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek , Annie Dillard tells a few stories of men, women, and children who had been blind from...
Saints in Your Corner If You Have Anxiety
Racing thoughts. Muscle tension. Fatigue. Restlessness. Worry. These are all common signs of anxiety and to some degree,...