Keaton Douglas, Lindsay Schlegel and The Road to Hope book cover.

A Pastoral Approach to the Crisis of Addiction

And the feelings of isolation, despair, guilt, and shame that a person feels in the midst of their addiction are really part of their spiritual condition and require spiritual healing. My hope is that we can look at those suffering and see our own suffering in them, and the face of Christ in them as well. Perhaps by seeing our own suffering, we will begin to change hearts and dispel the myth of the other.

Simply Holy, Podcast, Marge Fenelon, Holiness

The Upside of Suffering (Yes, there IS an upside!)

Suffering can be a real downer topic, but not this time. In this show, Marge brings joy to suffering by talking about the upside. Yes, there IS an upside! By our Baptism, we are members of a royal priesthood and as such, our suffering has great value and redeeming power when offered with Jesus’ Passion on the Altar.

Friendship, Suffering, Depression, Isolation

Lessons Part III: Isolation and the Value of Friendship

It didn’t help that nothing was normal for me. My routines were shattered, and I couldn’t do things the way I was used to doing them. I needed to sleep downstairs in the recliner while the others slept upstairs and I hated it. I often would stay awake most of the night praying rosary after rosary after chaplet after chaplet for anybody who came to mind – anyone but me because it made me too sad to pray for myself.

Can You Praise God for Your Capacity to Suffer?

It’s one thing to be thankful for suffering because you can offer it up for the sake of others – people you love, souls in purgatory, or persecuted Christians, for example.

It’s another to see your suffering, and in particular, the parts of you that are suffering, as instruments in praising God and to be truly grateful for their capacity to suffer.