Saint Valentine has been softened, sentimentalized, and misunderstood.

He was not a mascot for romance — he was a bishop and a martyr who lived and died for Christ.

Before the flowers and chocolates, there was sacrifice. Before the celebration, there was witness.

This Valentine’s Day, let’s remember the saint behind the season — and allow his courage to teach us what real love looks like.

A mantra isn’t a slogan or a productivity hack. It’s a short phrase—often a prayer—that becomes a posture of the heart. Something you return to when the days feel ordinary, overwhelming, or uncertain.

For 2025, the words that anchored me were Dei Voluntas—Latin for God’s delight or God’s will. At the beginning of the year, I sensed an invitation not to strive, not to force outcomes, but to notice. To see the world, my life, and the people around me as places where God’s delight could be revealed.

As the year comes to a close, there’s a natural invitation to pause—to look back with honesty and gratitude, and to look ahead with intention. Not in a rushed, goal-driven way, but with a reflective heart that asks: Where did God meet me this year? And how do I want to walk with Him in the year to come?

The New Year often arrives carrying a lot of weight.

Resolutions. Goals. Quiet expectations that somehow, this year, we’ll finally get it right.

But what if the New Year didn’t begin with pressure? What if it began with companionship?

Today I want to share a simple Catholic tradition—one that has slowly become part of my own life and spiritual rhythm: choosing a saint to walk with you through the year.

In this episode, I share a simple story from an ordinary Thursday — nothing dramatic, nothing planned, just a regular day that turned into a quiet reminder of how God speaks through our lives. Sometimes His presence shows up in the smallest interruptions, the unexpected conversations, or the moments that shift our hearts without us realizing it at first.

Come walk with me through this little glimpse of my week and how, in the middle of work and normal routines, the Lord found a way to whisper right to my heart. It’s a reminder that God doesn’t always move through grand miracles… sometimes He speaks through the everyday, if we’re paying attention.

In this short reflection, I share how the words of St. Thérèse of Lisieux — “The world is your ship and not your home” — have been stirring in my heart. Through prayer, contemplation, and the friendship of the saints, lets reflect on what it means to live for God in the ordinary moments of life. From joyful celebrations to quiet sufferings, every experience on this earthly voyage draws us closer to heaven — our true home.

Join me as we explores how our possessions, plans, and pleasures are temporary gifts, but faith, hope, and love are the treasures that last forever.

And that grief—that ache—is real. Sometimes as Christians we think we’re not supposed to feel it. That we should just be content. But the truth is, the longing is real because the dream is real in your heart. And if it stirs emotion in you, then the ache you feel is real too.

What makes the Catholic worldview different from the secular one? In this reflective episode, I explore how we as Catholics understand purpose, suffering, success, morality, love, and death — and how each of these points us back to Christ. From small daily sacrifices to the hope of eternal life, the Catholic outlook invites us to see the world through the lens of Jesus’ love. Join me as I share personal stories, saints’ examples, and reflections on how faith transforms everything.

How is death suppoesd to be "happy" I wondered, while traviling on the road. My friend was reflecting over the mysteries of the Rosery while I was pondering how some Saints died smiling and how I might pass.

Fast forward to my Great Aunts funeral, and Father said in his homily, “Death is not the end of her story. It’s the middle. Baptism was the beginning. Death is the middle. And the Resurrection is the end.” This was marinating in my mind, for the remaining day. Then I started reflecting back on what the meaning of a "happy death" was.