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“And Paul said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”” (Acts 19:2). As we approach Pentecost this year, I want to look at and discuss the person of the Holy Spirit. We Catholics can agree that … Read moreThe Holy Spirit is God

What does it take to become a man of clarity, courage, and spiritual fire in a world that wants you passive, distracted, and numb? Today, John Heinen welcomes Fr. Boniface Hicks—Benedictine monk, spiritual director, and author. For over 20 years, Fr. Boniface has guided men through spiritual warfare, identity crises, and the hidden wounds that … Read moreFr. Boniface Hicks (Monk): Becoming a Man in a World That Wants You Passive

I have had numerous conversations over the years with other Catholic dads about the challenges of raising kids in today’s world. The discussions usually center on the bad cultural influences affecting our children, our hectic schedules, and our well-intentioned desire to be better fathers. We mean well, but how do we move from conversation to … Read moreA Checklist for Catholic Dads

Every man fights invisible battles—fear, self-doubt, shame, and the lies he tells himself over and over about who he is and what he is good at. In this episode, John Heinen sits down with Devin Schadt to expose the real front line of spiritual warfare and personal growth: your thoughts. Together, they unpack how negative … Read more3 Mental Habits Every Man Must Break in His Life

This year has been a hot year for the transgender theme. It seems to be on the news every week if not more – from Jenner to bathroom laws. We live in a world that is, more and more, questioning genders and the validity of them, or at least the number. I believe there are … Read moreMasculine Confidence

Men grow up with emotions they can’t understand or explain—impatience, anger, frustration, even loneliness or sadness—and because they lack the framework for how to work with these emotions they are ultimately controlled by them. In this episode, John Heinen sits down with T.K. Coleman—top 100 podcaster (The Minimalists) and author of Emotional Clutter—to expose the … Read moreHow to Win the Spiritual Battle No One Prepares You For w/ T.K. Coleman

When I was a young man in college, I went through what most young men go through – the dating scene. As it goes, I found some young women who were attractive, and I sought to gain their attention. I would take them out for ice cream, or go to a movie, or whatever else … Read moreLove ‘Em Before You Date ‘Em

I scrolled through my Facebook feed, one post after another. Photos of friends, pictures of coffee, quotes from famous people. Advertisements.   I stopped. There it was again!   The same ad that I had seen over and over for the past few months. I hardly ever paid attention to the ads on Facebook, except … Read more“What if, for 30 days, you just believed?”

On Ash Wednesday 2004, the eagerly-awaited movie The Passion of the Christ hit movie screens—but hit its viewers much harder. With ashen foreheads, Catholics across America cringed in their theater seats as they watched the portrayal of the intense whipping, beating, and stabbing of their Savior. Many in the audience openly wept as they peered at the … Read moreThe First Stigmata: An Examination of Jesus’ Wounds

It is an almost impossible question: What would you include or exclude if you were creating your own religion? What do you prefer to see in your Church unboxing, as you might prefer in a cosmetics or shoe unboxing? What would you click away from?  The word religion necessarily conjures up the idea of a … Read moreBeing Catholic is Hard

As we approach the unapproachable God, we have to pass through his Ten Commandments. We examine our conscience to unearth ways we have said “no” to God. This is a practice that should be done often, certainly weekly, if not daily! To know our sins is not easy and to name them is even more … Read moreDeepening Your Prayer Life: From an Examination of Conscience to an Examination of Consciousness

What does it take to master fear, stress, and anxiety in a world that constantly challenges men’s confidence? Today, John Heinen welcomes Joe Hart, the transformational CEO of Dale Carnegie and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of ‘Take Command.’ As a converted lawyer leading a 100-year-old global organization while raising six children, Hart shares powerful … Read moreJoe Hart CEO: This is How to Take Command

As one who has struggled intensely with scrupulosity, I can attest to the fact that it is a dreadful experience.  Any seriously scrupulous person, I think, would admit that preoccupation with fear of sin, questioning whether this or that act was a sin, feeling at practically every moment a need for confession, etc., so engrosses him as … Read moreScrupulous? Be Obedient

Christian apologetics arose during a time of persecution in the 200s . . . and not much has changed between then and the 2000s.   What Rome started then, the secular culture continues now, but often in even more vile and vicious ways. Whereas a person living in the second century was utterly convinced that … Read moreA Religion of the Heart

What happens when more boys have smartphones than fathers in their homes? A groundbreaking UK research study called ‘Lost Boys’ has revealed alarming trends about young men today. John Heinen and Devin Schadt welcome back three-time guest Jim O’Day to respond to and unpack this landmark research and its implications. Together, they examine how the … Read moreThe No.1 Reason Boys Don’t Grow Up: We are Making Dangerous, Depressed, and Lonely Men!

This is an excerpt from an article that was previously published in Sword & Spade magazine. Although mothers come with their own forms of disorder, in Scripture it seems to belong to fathers to cause explicit pain and wounds. Sirach tells men to not go around their house “like lions” hurting people (Sir. 4:30). St. … Read moreThe Pains Of The Father

What starts as a small vice for men spirals into continuous sin, addiction, and spiritual destruction. Today, John Heinen and Devin Schadt tackle three devastating habits that plague virtually every man’s journey. They reveal the surprising connection between self-perception and our most dangerous tendencies, showing how both thinking too little and too much of ourselves … Read moreVictory Over Bad Habits: The 3 Battles Every Man Faces

God created us to give Him glory, which we do by sharing in His own happiness. The Catechism describes this reality in its opening line: “God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life.” The Baltimore Catechism captured the question “why did God … Read moreWhy We Really Go to Mass

In the midst of unspeakable chaos, we must remember that God sends men and women—saints—who are most needed at the time. St. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), who would make known to the world the message of Divine Mercy, confirms that principle. In his divine Providence, God sent her into a world on the eve of unspeakable … Read moreThe Invisible Stigmata of St. Faustina Kowalska

To judge by some very recent controversies, you might think that scholars are bitterly divided over this question. But in reality, that Jesus really existed is a mundane and rarely contested fact of history. As Bart Ehrman, an agnostic scholar who is widely regarded as an expert on New Testament documents, writes, “The view that … Read moreIs There Any Evidence That Jesus Really Existed?

“She was the victim of a vicious, shrewdly sustained process of character assassination from the moment she set foot in France, a sinister, carefully orchestrated campaign of calumny, which tried in particular to destroy her moral reputation. An intellectual climate fanatically hostile to traditional monarchy, and sheer human jealously, exploited the xenophobic hatred of her … Read moreMarie Antoinette and the Affair of the Diamond Necklace

From the beginning of the Church, people have wondered what it is. A big part of St. Paul’s work, as reflected in his letters to the early churches, is clarifying what the Church is and is not. To the Galatians, Paul had to explain that belonging to the Church does not require first becoming Jewish. … Read moreCommon Misconceptions: Setting the Record Straight

As fathers of seven daughters between them, John Heinen and Devin Schadt understand the vital importance of authentic fatherhood. Statistics show girls without proper paternal presence are 4x more likely to face teen pregnancy, 2x more likely to battle depression, and a staggering 6x more likely to attempt suicide. Many end up trapped in cycles … Read more3 Things Daughters Are Longing to Hear From Their Father

In a past blog, The Humility of Jesus, I identified great men as being separated from mediocre men by two virtues: Purity and Humility. What is purity? Purity is a word, like the word love, that is vast in its usage but carries immense power. In the Catholic world, purity is too frequently tied to … Read moreBlessed Are The Pure of Heart

Among all the dozens of stigmatists who have been declared saint or blessed, the stigmata of scourging appears to be the rarest of the stigmatic injuries.   St. Colette of Corbie (1381-1447) is principally remembered as one of the most important influences of the Poor Clares, as she established many new convents and reformed existing … Read moreThe Stigmata of Scourging

Many years ago, as a graduate student, I spent a summer with a Christian Palestinian family in Bethlehem. It was my first visit to the Holy Land, and, as it does for many new pilgrims, it rocked my world. One thing struck me immediately. Throughout the Holy Land, you can see the word hic inscribed … Read moreIt Happened Right Here

In the Italian region of Tuscany stands a mountain called La Verna (or Alverna). It was once owned by an Italian Count named Orlando Cattani, but in 1213, the Count donated the mountain to Francis and his monks as a place to go for silent prayer and contemplation. The Count’s note to Francis read, “I … Read moreSaint Francis Receives the Stigmata

Timothy Reckart, nominated multiple times for Academy Awards, has 4 children and has gained exclusive insights into the political agenda in the film industry targeted at children. These insights have led him and other top-tier filmmakers to launch Sycamore Studios to combat this agenda. In this interview, John Heinen and Tim discuss his journey as … Read moreAcademy Nominated Director: The Hidden Agenda and Protecting Our Children

“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil… The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God…’” (Lk. 4:1-3) “If you are the Son of God…” Those words must have had some real … Read moreDefend Your Garden

“Constantine has been a whipping boy for a long time, and still is today. In popular culture (Dan Brown, Da Vinci Code), among bestselling historians (James Carroll, Constantine’s Sword), and among theologians (Stanley Hauerwas, John Howard Yoder, and their followers), his name is identified with tyranny, antisemitism, hypocrisy, apostasy, and heresy. He was a hardened … Read moreOne of the Most Enigmatic Figures in History

Marvel’s Captain America, Anthony Mackie, recently spoke out about the “death of the American male”. Which he states we have been living through for the last two decades. He then goes on to answer what makes a man and how to raise sons. However, does he get it right? Today, John Heinen and Devin Schadt … Read moreCaptain America Sparks Debate: The Death of the American Male

“The Rosary is the weapon for these times.”—St. Padre Pio. I’m a 29-year old Catholic with a wife, an eleven month-old daughter, and a son on the way. If you are like me, you look at the world we live in and are genuinely concerned for the family you are responsible for raising. While we … Read moreThe Rosary Is The Weapon For These Times

“A historical myth is a widely held interpretation of historical events that is believed, not for its veracity, but because it explains the past in a way that somehow satisfies the worldview of those who believe it. Myth is not simply the result of ignorance or misunderstanding; it is believed because people wish, in spite … Read moreConsumed with the Immediate and Rejecting the Past

Who was St. Joseph in real life? Not some distant figure on a pedestal. No, he was a flesh-and-blood man. He had to pray, listen to God, and live chastely. Picture a man wrestling with his longing for greatness and his desire to serve God. There were times when St. Joseph didn’t know what to … Read moreTerror of Demons: The 4 Pillars Everyone Should Know to Improve Your Life

Pornography is a big problem in our society, particularly among young people. What many people don’t realize is how addictive pornography is. We now have the neuroscience evidence to show us that pornography is an addictive substance. Many experts call Internet pornography the new crack cocaine. So how is pornography addictive? Well, whenever we discuss … Read moreFreedom from Pornography Addiction Is Possible!

In 1986, Peter Gabriel had a hit with the song “Big Time,” in which a man with an inflated self-worth declares his liberation from the provincial values of his community of origin. He aspires to be what the American writer Tom Wolfe called a “master of the universe” in his 1987 novel Bonfire of the … Read moreA Big Church