The Victor's Crown

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Things I want to do more (part 2)Yesterday I talked about a daily Rosary.Today: daily Mass.And again, this comes from my own personal experience of having five kids.I do not get to daily Mass as much as I'd like to.Now, of course, I have reasons. Like I said: there are five of them, and the sixth is my wife.But, like praying a daily Rosary, it comes down to being intentional. Planning for the important things. Not letting them get pushed to the margins and fit in when you can.Now, of course, with going to daily Mass, there are some logistical aspects: the commute, the time it’s offered, etc.But I know for me I can plan that for once a week, twice a week, if not more.And depending on your work and home situation, I'd encourage you to think about it.If you don't go to daily Mass already, what would it look like for you to go once a week? Twice a week?Can you build toward that?Not because you have to. Not out of obligation or guilt.But because the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith.And if we can be there more often—even just one more time per week—that's worth building toward.Let us pray. Lord, help us prioritize the Eucharist. Help us be intentional about getting to Mass. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Things I want to do more (part 1)I've thought about a series of reflections titled something like "Things I Want to Do More."And in this month of May, it might not be any surprise that the thing that I would love to do more is pray a daily Rosary.As far as the prayers and devotions that the Church in general recommends, praying a daily Rosary is near the top.A number of years ago, I actually was in a good habit of praying a daily Rosary.And like anything, I found it to be a habit that you need to go through the early stages of building the muscles —which is very deliberate, very intentional.It can be very challenging in the sense of forcing something into your routine.But the beauty of that is that, just like eating healthy or working out or getting your steps in, once it becomes routine, you don't have to think about it as much.So I'm not going to publicly state that tomorrow I'm going to start my daily Rosary routine.But it's something that I've been thinking about a lot more in this month of May.And I guess I would encourage you to do so as well.Let us pray. Lord, give us the discipline to do the things we ought, the things that You are calling us to. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---A Place to Return ToNot far from us there is a monastery that has Mass which is open to the public.Our family went to Sunday Mass there this past weekend.And for me, it's just one of the places that I know I can find peace and quiet.Of course, there's only so much peace and quiet when you bring five kids along to Mass.But what I mean is that there's something about the architecture, the space, the beauty of that church that makes it a special one for me.I think all of us need more places like that. Or at least one that we know we can go to.A place to find refreshment. A place to find solitude. A place to find that peace, that stillness where we can be with our Lord.It doesn't always have to be in a church.I think having a designated prayer space or a prayer chair in your house can have a similar effect.But when our lives are so full of craziness, I think having those places that we can return to—and knowing that they are there—can be very powerful for our spiritual lives.Let us pray. Lord, help us to find the peace and quiet that we need to be with You. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Do People Change?I think, depending on who you ask, you would get very different answers to this question: Do people change?Even for myself, on the one hand, my first reaction is no.I think, for the most part, people don't change. But it also depends on what you're talking about.There's a lot of personality quirks, a lot of how you are raised, that can influence who you are and how you behave. And sometimes those things are really hard to get over, especially when you don't see them yourself.On the other hand, I would say people change all the time.The friends that you might have had in middle school weren't your friends in high school. A job you once loved has become stale and burdensome. I think sometimes, though, we can look at this question from the negative side.Whether they change or not, it’s often in relation to us. Those bothersome qualities, that’s what people don’t change. Or, if people do change, it's in the context of "they don't fit me anymore."But I think there's another dimension to change that can be a good thing.And it is believing, hoping that people can change. Not for our convenience. Not so our lives are easier. Not so they irk us less.But for the sake of their souls.There's a difference between hoping someone changes because they're annoying us and hoping someone changes because we want them to know God.Let us pray. Lord, help us believe that You can change people. Change their hearts. Draw them close to You. For the sake of their souls. We make this prayer for them, and for ourselves. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---The Face of the FatherMy wife and I are fortunate to have welcomed our fifth child back in October, so she's almost six months now, which is always just a fun age.In Mass, she loves to not only be held and look into your face, but she has to touch your face with both hands.It's not lost on me that in God's wisdom He instilled in babies this longing—this deep desire to see and touch the face of their father.And we as adults should also desire to see the face of the Father. To touch the face of the Father.That's what the Eucharist provides us: a way to actually encounter God through Jesus Christ.A way to touch Him. To be close to Him. To look into His face.It satisfies one of the simplest and maybe deepest longings of our lives on earth.We think we need to understand everything, to have all the answers, to figure it all out before we can come to the Father.But maybe we're supposed to come like my daughter comes to me.Just wanting to see His face. Just wanting to be close. With that simple, deep longing to be held by the Father.Let us pray. Lord, give us the simplicity of a child coming to her father. Help us approach You—and approach the Eucharist—with simple longing. We want to see Your face. We want to be close to You. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Little Actions Add UpI started tracking what I eat every day with a fancy nutrition app.And while this reflection is not about my personal health and fitness journey, I am continually amazed at the parallels between having a healthy body and a healthy soul—and the lessons that we can take from one to the other.In this particular instance, the lesson that I have found is that little actions add up.Specifically, for nutrition. Before I started tracking, I would eat pretty healthy. However, looking back, I notice now how often I’d graze:  a couple of cashews here, a few pretzels there, extra bites after dinner, a little snack before bed. I was underestimating how many times throughout the day I would just have a little nibble of something. And those nibbles add up to be enough to throw you off of your health goals.You're eating too much, and you don't think you are.Now, the parallel for our faith is that we allow little concessions (pun intended).We let little things slide, thinking that they're not a big deal.A little gossip. A little white lie. A little impatience. A little resentment that we don't let go of. A little compromise here. A little corner cut there.None of them feel like a big deal in the moment.But over time, those small bad habits compound.In the same way that small good habits do.The question for us is: Which ones do we want to be building and developing?Let us pray. Lord, help us cut out the little bad habits that are compounding against us and build the little good habits that compound toward You. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Eat the FrogI’ve been trying to teach my kids the lesson of “eat the frog.”It’s an odd expression that I learned a while ago and had to look up. I didn’t realize it came from a book, but the idea is this:If every day you had to eat a frog, you could either waffle and think about it and groan about it and worry about it all day—and then eat the frog at the last minute.Or you could get up and eat it first thing. And then enjoy the rest of your day.First things first. Take care of what needs to be taken care of, and then go from there.The big question is: What frog are we avoiding in our spiritual life?Is it prayer? Is it confession? Is it a conversation we need to have?We can spend the whole day—or the whole week, or the whole month—worrying about it, avoiding it, letting it hang over us.Or we can just eat the frog.Get it done. First thing.Let us pray.Lord, give us the discipline to do first things first. Help us stop avoiding the things we know we should do—especially prayer. Give us the courage we need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---When Something Has to GiveThere are certain things in our lives that need balance.Like playing golf and having a family. Or, enjoying a beer and staying fit. With the right balance, both can exist in your life. But then there are other things—things that aren't "both/and."They're "either/or."They can't coexist. One has to go.A very stark example: being on a dating app while being married. There's no balance to strike there. One has to give.And I would challenge us that there are things in our lives that are more at odds with our faith than we might care to admit.Not "balance" issues. But "either/or" issues.Things that can't coexist with a life of faith—but we've been treating them like balance problems instead of incompatibility problems.Maybe it's how much time we spend online. How much time on our phone. The things we look at. The content we consume.Maybe it's pornography. Maybe it's resentment we're nursing. Maybe it's a relationship we know isn't right.Maybe it's something else entirely.These aren't things that need balance. These are things that need to be cut out.Because when two things can't coexist, something has to give.And it can't be your faith.Let us pray. Lord, help us to see our lives and our decisions as You see them. Help us to have the courage to make the changes we need to make. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---UnhingedAn expression that seems to have caught on in recent years is the idea of being “unhinged.”If you are described as unhinged, it is not a compliment. It's the equivalent of being off your rocker, off base, out of control.Funny enough, I was reading a book—written at least a few decades ago, a spiritual book—and they use this phrase "unhinged" in matters of faith.Not in matters of someone throwing a major fit in a Starbucks. But in matters of the soul.I like the imagery as it relates to our faith.Because a hinge on a door becomes the point that the door rotates around. Of course, the door doesn't swing all the way around, but you get my point.It is the fulcrum.And the door can function properly when the hinge is properly installed, properly aligned, and strong.When that hinge is even just loose, the door does not work the right way. Let alone if the hinge is completely busted off the wall.The reflection for us is: Are we unhinged in our faith?Do we let our faith be the center that everything else both draws its strength from, functions from, and works around?Or have we become unhinged—detached from the very thing that's supposed to hold us in place?Let us pray. Lord, don't let our faith become loose or detached. Make it the strong center point that everything else in our lives draws from and revolves around. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Breaking the EquationI can't recall exactly where I came across this idea. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Saint Josemaría Escrivá because he just has a way of distilling the faith into little nuggets that are perfect.It goes something like this:2 + 2 = 4But 2 + 2 + God = ?Now, there's obviously not a numerical answer.But I think what we're getting at here is that introducing God into the equation opens up doors and creates possibilities well beyond what you might call our human reasoning, our human logic, or even just the natural happenings of everyday life.With God, all things are possible.The question becomes: Where are we relying on ourselves? And where are we bringing God into it?Where do we invite God's rule-transcending presence into our lives?Five loaves and two fish don't feed five thousand people. But they did.A virgin doesn't conceive. But she did.Dead men don't rise. But He did.2 + 2 + God = something beyond our calculations.Where are you limiting what's possible to what you can see, what you can control, what you can calculate?And where could you invite God in—and watch Him break the equation?Let us pray. Lord, help us invite You into the equation. Show us where we're limiting what's possible to what we can control. We put our trust in you. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---I recently came across this idea: it's worse to commit an injustice than to suffer one.I don't know about you, but speaking for myself, suffering an injustice—whether that’s outright hate, or just uncharitable remarks or a misunderstanding—has come up a few times.It’s important to remember that our goal in life is not to prove ourselves right to everybody. It's not to escape every single injustice that comes our way.It's to be saints. And the saints suffered plenty.Actually, the thing that made them a saint was how they bore that suffering. Not that they avoided it. But how they responded to it.With patience. With charity. With forgiveness.With eyes fixed on Christ, who suffered the greatest injustice of all—and asked the Father to forgive those who inflicted it.So when we're on the receiving end of an injustice, we don't return evil for evil.We don't commit an injustice in response to suffering one.Because that would be worse.Let us pray. Lord, when we suffer, help us respond like the saints. Help us keep our eyes fixed on You, who suffered the greatest injustice and responded with love. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com ---A Cramped Horizon "The proud person's horizon is terribly limited: it stops in himself. He can see no further than himself, his qualities, his virtues, his talent. His is a godless horizon. Even other people have no place on this cramped horizon. There is no room for them." — Salvador CanalsOur qualities, our virtues, and our talents aren't bad things. They are good things.It's when we only see those that our pride, even in our good things, can lead to a godless wasteland.I think in the spiritual life we can so often take on this individualism. It likely comes from our American culture.But we focus on what I am doing. What devotions I do. What sacrifices I offer. What prayers I say. And those, of course, are good things.But how do we see beyond ourselves?How do we look outward from a place of humility—to others, to the people in our lives, to God Himself?The spiritual life isn't meant to turn us inward. It's meant to turn us outward.Toward God. Toward others.Let us pray. Lord, don't let our horizon stop at ourselves. Turn us outward—toward You and toward others. Give us the humility to see beyond ourselves. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Necessary But Not SufficientIn living a full human life, as God’s creation—where we're not content to just skate by, to live in indifference without any sort of intention—I feel like there are some levels.The first might be what you'd call human virtue. Really, just being a decent human being kind of falls into this camp. Pursuing virtue, separate from faith. And maybe some people stop there.The next step is adding the faith element. Accepting the theological virtues. Living a life of piety and devotion.Going to Mass. Saying your prayers. Following the commandments. Doing all the things from a Church perspective.Even that, I think, is not the full picture.Because you can be living excellently from a human perspective—virtuous, kind, moral.And you can be doing all of the things from a Church perspective—attending Mass, saying prayers, practicing devotions.But those do not necessarily equate to being transformed by the Holy Spirit. To a life of real relationship with Christ.Virtue and piety can almost seem a little stale. A little mechanical. Now, they are absolutely necessary. Don't hear me saying otherwise.But maybe they're not sufficient.As we go through our day, go through our week, go through our Easter season, let’s be decent humans. Let us be pious Catholics.But let's also be transformed by the Holy Spirit.Not just virtuous. Not just devout.Let us pray. Lord, we want to be transformed by Your Spirit. We want real relationship with You. Don't let us settle for virtue without life, or piety without love. Make us alive in You. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Happy Easter!Lent was about discipline and denial. Easter is about celebration and joy.Then the question is: what do we do with those disciplines that we built and embraced? Do we keep them? Or do we let them go?We don’t continue fasting during Easter in the same way we did during Lent. There is a proper time for fasting and a proper time for feasting.But that doesn’t mean we throw all discipline to the wind.Some of what we took on during Lent was meant just for that season—a temporary discipline for a specific purpose.But some of it was meant to stick. To become part of our lives.The trick is knowing which is which.Not everything from Lent needs to carry over. But something should.In the same way that Lent can take a few days to get going, we don’t have to have these answers the first week of Easter.But I think it’s something we should be asking ourselves as we go through this season.What did we learn? What do we want to continue? What carries over?Let us pray. Lord, help us discern what You want us to carry forward from Lent. Show us what was meant just for that season and what was meant to become part of our lives. Don’t let us throw away what You’ve taught us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Who Was There?Yesterday, we looked at the exchange between Pilate and Jesus and Pilate's misunderstanding—or lack of understanding.But I keep coming back to this: How do we even know that this took place?Jesus is sent into the praetorium. The Jews don't follow Him because they'd be unclean.So who witnessed this conversation? How is it recorded?I haven't researched this at all, but my best guess is Romans. Gentiles. Soldiers.We know the centurion was converted at the foot of the cross. "Truly this was the Son of God."Surely that wasn't the first interaction he observed of our Lord.Maybe he was there in the praetorium when Jesus said, "My kingdom is not from this world."Maybe he watched Jesus refuse to defend Himself.Maybe he heard Pilate ask, "What is truth?" and saw Jesus stand there in silence.If you're reading this, chances are your heart has already been converted.But we can let the words and actions of our Lord convert our heart again.We can turn to Him again. Observing again. Listening again. Watching what Jesus does and why.Not for the first time. But as if for the first time.Letting it convert our hearts again.Let us pray. Lord, like the centurion, let us observe You this week. Let Your words and actions speak to our hearts. Convert us again. Turn us to You again. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Do You Understand?Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." — John 18:33-37Holy Week provides so many rich Scripture passages to sit with, to pray with. They are all so vivid.One that really caught my attention this time around is the exchange between Pilate and Jesus.Now technically, this has not happened yet in Holy Week, but I think it's one we could sit with over the next couple of days.Pilate surely didn't understand what was happening.He didn't understand what Jesus meant when He said that He was a king.He didn't understand what He meant when He said that He was testifying to the truth.He didn't understand why He wasn't even defending Himself.Pilate stands there, confused, trying to make sense of what's happening.And the challenge I have for us is to not fall into the same trap.Do we understand what Jesus means?This Holy Week, as we sit with these passages, the question isn't just: What did Jesus say?The question is: Do we understand what He's doing and why?Let us pray. Lord, as we walk through Holy Week with You, help us understand. Not just hear the words, but understand what You're doing and why. Give us eyes to see and hearts to comprehend. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Don't Be JudasOf course, there are many heartbreaking aspects of Holy Week.One that is painful to watch is Judas.Starting with complaining about wasting the expensive oil, to betraying our Lord, trying to undo it, to committing suicide.It's like watching a train wreck and not being able to peel your eyes away. But it also shows something important.When something goes wrong, there are two paths you can take.You can repent, humble yourself, and turn away from that path. That's what Saint Peter does. That's why he's an example for the Church.Or you can take the other path—compounding sin with more sin. Bad decisions with more bad decisions.Until you get to a point where you ask, "How in the world did I get here?"A place of such despair and darkness that there seems to be no way out.That's Judas.He betrayed Jesus. That was the sin. But then he doubled down. He despaired. He refused to believe forgiveness was possible.Peter also betrayed Jesus. Three times. But Peter wept. Peter repented. Peter turned back.The difference wasn't that one sin was worse than the other.The difference was what they did after.For each of us, wherever we are, we have that opportunity to turn back to our Lord.So I'll say: Don't be Judas in doubling down on sin. Don't be Judas in refusing to believe forgiveness is possible.Don't compound the sin with despair.Turn back. Repent. Believe that mercy is real.Be like Peter.Let us pray. Lord, when we fall, give us the grace to turn back to You. Help us believe that Your mercy is greater than our sin. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Let your soul be stirredHoly Week is a powerful week for a variety of reasons.But one that stands out to me is that the stories we hear from the Gospels are so vivid we can imagine ourselves there.Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Cleansing of the temple. The Last Supper. Our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection.These are stories. Events. Moments you can picture.This week, the final week before Easter, that’s what I would encourage us to do.If you’re going to Mass, if you’re going to the Triduum—enter into each story.If you’re not, read the Gospels this week and do the same.Put yourself into each story.Stand in the crowd as Jesus enters Jerusalem. Watch Him overturn the tables in the temple. Sit at the Last Supper. Stand at the foot of the cross.And let your soul be stirred.Don’t be the bystander who’s looking the other way. Don’t be distracted. Don’t miss what is happening.But let your soul be stirred.This is Holy Week. Enter in.Let us pray. Lord, as we enter Holy Week, open our eyes to see what You did. Open our hearts to feel the weight of it. Don’t let us be bystanders. Stir our souls. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Healing the Wound"It is not enough to remove the arrow from the body. We also have to heal the wound caused by the arrow. It is the same with the soul. After we have received forgiveness for our sins, we have to heal the wound that remains through penance." — Saint John ChrysostomYesterday I talked about the disparity between sin and penance.It's a deep topic for a variety of reasons, and I don't want to mistakenly convey something incorrect about how the sacrament works.So I wanted to share this quote from Saint John Chrysostom.Because maybe it's important to understand where penance falls and what its purpose is.And I don't think I need to say anything more than what Saint John Chrysostom has said.The arrow is removed—that's forgiveness.But the wound still needs to heal—that's penance.Not to pay back what we owe. Christ already did that.But to heal what sin has damaged.Let us pray. Lord, we thank You for the gift of forgiveness. Give us the patience and faithfulness to complete the penance You've given us. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---The DisparityIt's around that time in Lent when many parishes will be having penance services or nights where multiple priests come in to hear confessions.I encourage you to take advantage of it.Because as I've been reflecting on the sacrament, this image came to mind: The incredible disparity within the sacrament of confession.What I mean is this.Our sins, when we think about them, are so great. Severing our relationship with God is so serious, so grave. The separation is terrifying.And what we're offered in return as remedy is infinite mercy. Christ's sacrifice. His redemption.When we go to the sacrament of confession, we're given a penance. Usually a few prayers. Sometimes an act of charity or restitution.And in comparison to our sin—and in comparison to what Christ did for us—our penance is so minuscule.Now, I'm not saying our penances should be truly back-breaking. That's not mine to decide.But I think you couldn't assign a penance that would be equal to both the devastation of sin and the gift that is Christ's forgiveness and mercy.The scales would never balance.On one side: the weight of our sin, the separation from God, the offense against infinite love.On the other side: the infinite mercy of God, the sacrifice of the cross, the blood of Christ poured out for us.And somewhere in the middle: three Hail Marys.At a very transactional level—and I'm not saying this is why we should do it—but for what you get and for what it costs, there's nothing else like it.That's the disparity. That's the gift.Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for the gift of Your mercy. Help us to humbly come to You, and accept that mercy. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---ShadowboxingDo you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. — 1 Corinthians 9:24-26There's a lot we could unpack from this Scripture passage.But when I read it the other day, what stuck out to me was that last line.I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.Now, I'm not a boxer. But shadowboxing serves a purpose. It's not pointless.But it's also not the thing. It's not the same as fighting.There's an element of pretend. Not in a fantastical kind of way, but more like a dress rehearsal.And I think Saint Paul's point is this: we are not in practice or the dress rehearsal. We are in the fight.It is on right now.So don't fight as if the enemy can't punch you back. As if the enemy can't defeat you. The enemy is not just a shadow or a figment of our imagination.The enemy is real. The fight is real. The stakes are real.This is not practice.The fight is happening now. Let us pray. Lord, help us see clearly the realities before us. Help us to wake up, to enter the fight, in whatever way You are calling each of us. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---The FortyOver the weekend, we celebrated a feast day that's not super well-known in the Catholic world, but it's an important one—personally and for this publication.The Feast of the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. This is where the name "The Victor's Crown" comes from.Here's the story.There was a division of the Roman army during the early fourth century when Christianity was outlawed. This division was nicknamed "The Thundering Legion"—some translations say "Armed with Lightning."Some legends actually call them the 40 wrestlers because of some connection they had to competing on behalf of the emperor in Roman amphitheaters.Think of them as the special forces. Known for their bravery and loyalty. Well, they became Christian. And they were found out.And they were given a choice: renounce your faith, or stand on a frozen lake until death.The forty soldiers were marched out to the center of the frozen lake. Meanwhile, guards stood on the shore with fires and tubs of warm water, tempting them to come back and renounce their faith.Throughout the night, the forty soldiers sang and prayed together.One of the songs they sang was this:"Forty soldiers for Thee, O Christ, to win for thee, the victory and from thee, the victor's crown."That's where this name comes from.As the story goes, one of the forty succumbed to the temptation. He ran to the shore and jumped into one of the warm baths. He was immediately killed by the shock.One of the guards on the shore was so inspired that he threw off his uniform, threw off his weapons, and joined them on the lake.He joined the thirty-nine in their death and in their martyrdom."Forty soldiers for Thee, O Christ, to win for thee, the victory and from thee, the victor's crown."Let us pray. Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, pray for us. Give us your courage, your faith, your perseverance. Help us fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith. Help us win the victory and the victor's crown. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---The FortyOver the weekend, we celebrated a feast day that's not super well-known in the Catholic world, but it's an important one—personally and for this publication.The Feast of the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. This is where the name "The Victor's Crown" comes from.Here's the story.There was a division of the Roman army during the early fourth century when Christianity was outlawed. This division was nicknamed "The Thundering Legion"—some translations say "Armed with Lightning."Some legends actually call them the 40 wrestlers because of some connection they had to competing on behalf of the emperor in Roman amphitheaters.Think of them as the special forces. Known for their bravery and loyalty. Well, they became Christian. And they were found out.And they were given a choice: renounce your faith, or stand on a frozen lake until death.The forty soldiers were marched out to the center of the frozen lake. Meanwhile, guards stood on the shore with fires and tubs of warm water, tempting them to come back and renounce their faith.Throughout the night, the forty soldiers sang and prayed together.One of the songs they sang was this:"Forty soldiers for Thee, O Christ, to win for thee, the victory and from thee, the victor's crown."That's where this name comes from.As the story goes, one of the forty succumbed to the temptation. He ran to the shore and jumped into one of the warm baths. He was immediately killed by the shock.One of the guards on the shore was so inspired that he threw off his uniform, threw off his weapons, and joined them on the lake.He joined the thirty-nine in their death and in their martyrdom."Forty soldiers for Thee, O Christ, to win for thee, the victory and from thee, the victor's crown."Let us pray. Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, pray for us. Give us your courage, your faith, your perseverance. Help us fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith. Help us win the victory and the victor's crown. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---The Particulars of the Cross“We need to suffer patiently, not only in the burden of being ill, but of being ill with the particular illness that God wants for us, among the people that He wants us to be with, and with the discomforts that He permits us to experience.” — Saint Francis de SalesI think Saint Francis de Sales’s words are especially helpful for us during this season of Lent and beyond.Sometimes we are faced with crosses. Sometimes that’s being sick. During Lent, there are more crosses—the ones we choose and the ones we don’t.But the cross itself is not limited to one thing.As Saint Francis points out, it’s not just about suffering patiently. It’s about suffering patiently in the way that God wants, with the people that God wants.This is where I think Lent can be tricky for us to plan from the beginning.We can be so subjective. So narrow-minded. We choose what sacrifices we make.We say, “I’ll give up this. I’ll fast on these days. I’ll pray at this time.”But when our Lord asks us to accept a sacrifice of His choosing—that’s different.That’s Saint Francis’s point: it’s not just the sacrifice itself. It’s the conditions of it.The time. The place. Who you’re with. All of those things factor into what we’re offering our Lord.The particularity matters. Suffering this way. With these people. In these circumstances.Because that’s when we start accepting the Lent God is actually giving us.Let us pray. Lord, when our plans get disrupted, help us see Your plan unfolding. Help us to open our hearts to Your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---The Good Guys Always WinWhen our family watches movies or reads stories, sometimes the kids will get a little anxious.It's exciting. You don't know what's going to happen. There's peril. There's danger. Is the hero going to make it?When that anxiety is starting to creep in and it's not being fun anymore, my wife and I remind the kids: "The good guys always win."There's a lesson here in how we see the Easter story.The disciples didn't know. The women at the tomb didn't know. They experienced real fear. Real grief. Real loss.For them, when Christ died, everything was over. All hope was lost. The dream was dead.We get to watch the story knowing the ending. But what if we tried to watch it from their perspective?Yes, the good guys win. We know that.But maybe this Holy Week, we can enter into the story as if we're experiencing it for the first time.And when Easter comes—and it will come—we'll understand more deeply what was won.Let us pray. Lord, help us enter into Your passion and death. And when Easter comes, let us celebrate with deeper understanding and greater joy. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---The Weight of the StoneI was doing research recently for a project and came across Saint John Paul II's homily from the Easter Vigil in 1979.He draws attention to the stone rolled in front of Christ's tomb.This is what was on the women’s minds as they came to the tomb but it also symbolized the weight that had “crushed their hearts.”The weight of death. The weight of grief. The weight of seeing their Lord crucified.While we still experience the weight of that stone—the weight of death and our Lord's death—we never had to experience these forty days, or Holy Week, or our Lord's death without the Resurrection.There is a blessing in that.But there's also a reason to pause. Not to skip ahead to Easter Sunday. Not to rush past Good Friday because we know how the story ends.But to actually enter into it. To feel the weight of that stone.Let us pray. Lord, as we approach Holy Week, help us to follow Your will in this season. Help us to enter in, to experience this Lent and Holy Week as You see fit. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---UnhurriedWe live in a world that prizes speed. Efficiency. Optimization. Getting the most done in the least amount of time.But that pace is exhausting. It’s relentless. And I don’t think it’s how we were meant to live.There are some things that move at a natural pace. A natural rhythm.I’ve been reflecting on this more and more: How can we move at an unhurried pace?Maybe it’s in prayer. Not trying to get through it to get to the next thing. But actually sitting down. Not setting a timer. Not worrying about what’s next. Just sitting in prayer.Maybe it’s in getting ready in the morning. Less focused on the clock. Not rushing. Just moving through the routine without the constant sense of hurry.Maybe it’s in playing with your kids. Not watching the clock. Not thinking about the next task. Just being there, unhurried, present.Obviously, this means you need to put yourself in a position where if you pray a little longer, if you play with your kids a little later, you’re not egregiously late for something very important.But there is something to be said for moving at an unhurried pace.When we’re constantly rushing, constantly optimizing, constantly trying to squeeze one more thing in—we lose something.We lose the ability to be present. To be still. To simply be.Let us pray. Lord, help us move at an unhurried pace. Give us the grace to not always be rushing to the next thing, but to be fully present in this thing. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---As PlannedThis Lent has been harder than I expected. And certainly not for the reasons I would have expected.But I feel like that’s usually how Lent goes.You come up with a plan. And then, as Mike Tyson famously said, that plan gets thrown out the window as soon as you get hit in the mouth.I think, in some sense, that’s the point of Lent.It forces us into the mindset of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We think about what we can sacrifice, what extra we can be doing.And we start with our plan. But really, the Lord always has His own plan.And we need to be attuned to His will. And live our life with our eyes open.Lent isn’t about executing your perfect plan. It’s about being open to God’s plan—which often looks different than what you imagined.Let us pray.Lord, open our eyes to what You’re doing, not just what we planned to do. Help us to respond to Your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Self ImprovementThere are things that we do as Catholics that the wider world might also do—but not for spiritual reasons.You can cut out social media to be more productive. You can fast to lose weight. You can give money to feel good about yourself.There’s a bit of a trap here for us during Lent. These are all good things, and they work to our betterment. But they are not inherently sanctifying either.Saint Alphonsus Liguori gets at this: “It is charity that gives unity to all the virtues that make a man perfect.”Love and charity—for God and for neighbor—are the things that take Lent from pure self-improvement to truly virtuous actions that help us on the path to sanctity.Without love, all the discipline in the world is just...discipline.Without charity, all the habits and practices are just habits and practices.They might make you a better person. But they won’t make you a saint.And sainthood is the goal.Let us pray.Lord, help us to grow in love for You and for our neighbor. Let this Lent be a time when we grow in virtue, and especially the virtue we need most. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---See“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” Isaiah 5:20-21Depending on how much you get sucked into the news, or politics, or the wider world at large, I think this is what we see.The world telling us that something evil and dark is actually good.We see disagreement over the simplest truths. About what even is truth, what is life, what is faith.And while that’s happening out there. There’s also an opportunity to reflect interiorly—in our own soul, in our own mind.How often do we fall into these traps?Not seeing things for what they are. Or refusing to see them for what they are.Calling bitter things sweet. Calling dark things light.Justifying what we know is wrong. Minimizing what we know is grave.We tell ourselves that this sin isn’t really that bad. That this compromise doesn’t really matter. That this darkness isn’t really darkness.We can pray today for the grace to truly see what is good. To see what is light. To see what is sweet.Let us pray.Lord, give us the grace to see clearly. Show us the truth. Give us the courage to face it honestly. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Thirst Now“If God ever causes you to suffer from thirst as He guides you through this life, it is because He will give you drink and plenty in the next life without any fear of it ever failing you.” — Saint Teresa of ÁvilaLent can be a time of hunger and thirst in quite a literal way. But also in a metaphorical way. A spiritual way. An emotional way.If at the end of Lent somebody asks you how it went and you said, “Ya know, it wasn’t too bad. It was pretty easy”— I think either you didn’t prepare well for Lent, or you went through a light Lent with your eyes closed.As soon as you open yourself up to the cross, in ways big or small, the cross is what you’ll find.Lent should be hard. It should cost you something. You should feel it.Not because we enjoy pain. Nor because suffering is good in itself. But because following Christ to the cross is real. And real things cost something.If you’re coasting through Lent, something’s wrong.If you’re hungry and thirsty—spiritually, emotionally, even physically—you’re on the right track.Because God doesn’t cause us to thirst for nothing.He causes us to thirst now so He can give us drink and plenty in the next life, without any fear of it ever failing us.That’s what we’re thirsting for. That’s what makes the cost worth it.Let us pray. Lord, help us embrace the thirst of Lent. When it’s hard, when we’re hungry, when we feel the weight of the cross—remind us that You’re not causing us to suffer for nothing. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Sanctify Your Work"Sanctity, for the vast majority of men, implies sanctifying their work, sanctifying themselves in it, and sanctifying others through it. Thus, they can encounter God in the course of their daily lives." — Saint Josemaría EscriváFor the vast majority of us, our faith, our spiritual life, the life of Christian virtue—it's lived out in our work.Not in adding another prayer to the list. Not in squeezing in one more devotion.But in sanctifying our work. Sanctifying ourselves in it. And sanctifying others through it.This is where we encounter God in the course of our daily lives.At the desk. On the job site. In the classroom. Serving customers. Caring for patients. Building things. Managing people. Taking care of the home. And especially raising kids.  That's where holiness happens.It's not only personally sanctifying. What you do—the work you offer to God—can help other people along the way.The question isn't just "How many devotions can I fit into my day?"The question is: "Am I sanctifying my work? Am I encountering God in what I'm already doing?"Because for the vast majority of us, that's where the spiritual life is lived.Not in escaping our work to find God. But in bringing God into our work.Let us pray. Lord, help us see our work as the place where we encounter You. Help us find holiness not in escaping what we do, but in sanctifying it. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---The High Price“For highly valued things are not obtained except at a high price.” — Saint John ChrysostomSaint John Chrysostom was reflecting on a passage from the Gospel of Matthew. James and John’s mother comes to Jesus and asks that her sons be seated at His right and left in the kingdom.Jesus responds: “Can you drink the chalice of which I will drink?”He’s asking: Are you willing to pay the price?Not just His followers then. His followers now, us.Are we willing to pay the price for the kingdom of heaven?Lent is a good reminder of this. The kingdom of heaven doesn’t come cheap.We’re given opportunities throughout the liturgical year—in Lent and other seasons, but also in our daily lives—to pay that price.To take up our cross, big and small.Because that’s the price.And it’s worth it. Not because the price is easy, but because what you’re buying is priceless.Let us pray.Lord, give us the courage to drink the chalice You drank, to pay the price You paid, to follow You all the way to the end. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Want to Be GreatOver the weekend, we had a bit of warm weather that, at least for the Northeast, made it feel like spring was just around the corner.I was able to get outside with my kids and play catch. My son is particularly excited about this season, asking questions like:"Dad, do you think I'll be great? Do you think I'll be the fastest? Do you think I'll have the best arm?"He's eight years old. He really just wants to have fun with his buddies.But there's something in those questions that points to a deeper truth.In sports, the all-time greats didn't want to just be good. They wanted to be the best. They wanted to be at the top.And here's the lesson for us as followers of Christ: It's not enough to want to just be a good person.We have to want to be a saint.We have to want to be at the top—not in a prideful way, but recognizing that's what it takes: that desire, that fire.Most people aim to be decent. To be fine. To be basically good.But that's not the call. The call is holiness. The call is sainthood.The saints had the fire. The desire. The relentless pursuit of holiness.Do you want to be good? Or do you want to be great?Do you want to coast? Or do you want to be a saint?The all-time greats in any field didn't settle for good enough. Neither should you.Let us pray. Lord, give us the fire to want to be saints. Make us relentless in pursuing You, like the saints who came before us. Grant us that desire. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Fight BravelyLent is not a warm, fuzzy time. It’s challenging—physically, emotionally, spiritually. Self-reflective in a way that can be uncomfortable. Especially when we reflect on our sinfulness.But the opportunity in Lent is this: from that sinfulness, we can return to the Lord. Follow Him. Fight for Him with renewed energy.Because we see both our wretchedness and His mercy. Our failure and His perfection.Saint Gregory the Great put it this way:“An army chief on the battlefield has more respect for the soldier who, having once given way to flight, returns and attacks the enemy bravely than for the soldier who never turned tail but neither ever performed any act of valor.”Read that again.Even though we might have been lost. Even though we have fled from the fight. We can return and fight bravely.That’s what Lent is for.We’ve fled before. We’ve turned away from the fight. We’ve run from what we knew we should do.But that’s not the end of the story.The end of the story is: we return. And we fight bravely.Let us pray.Lord, give us the courage to come back, to face the next challenge, to attack the enemy with renewed strength. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Active and PassiveI recently came across a helpful distinction when we talk about mortifications.We think of mortifications as the disciplines or the things we give up—the way we embrace sacrifices during Lent.But there are actually two kinds: active and passive.Active mortifications are the things we plan for. The things we choose.What are we giving up during Lent? What are we going to do extra?Passive mortifications are different. These are the things that happen to us. The ones we don't choose.The flat tire. The sleepless night. The headache that won't go away.We don't plan for these. But they're still mortifications—still opportunities to die to ourselves, to offer something to God.Accepting both is an important part of Lent.Outside of Lent, it's the same. But they go hand-in-hand. They're two sides of the same coin.The same spirit that helps you embrace your chosen fast should help you embrace the unexpected trial.The same willingness to offer God your deliberate sacrifice should help you offer Him the inconvenient one.Whether you chose it or it chose you, it's an opportunity to follow Christ to the cross.Let us pray. Lord, help us embrace both the mortifications we choose and the ones we don't. Give us the grace to offer You our deliberate sacrifices with generous hearts, and the patience to offer You our unexpected trials with the same spirit. Teach us that whether we chose it or it chose us, it's an opportunity to follow You. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Keep the Cross in Lent“If anyone wants to possess Christ, never let him seek him without the cross.” — Saint John of the CrossThis quote is such a good reminder for us in Lent.Think back a couple months ago to Christmas. Christmas is a joyful season. It’s so idealized in a sense—even the harsh reality of being born in a stable, we sometimes forget, because Christmas decorations make it look so nice and cozy.Lent? There’s no question about it. Lent is pursuing Christ with the cross. It’s a reminder of where this is going. And where we are asked to follow.Jesus didn’t come just to be born in a manger. He came to die on a cross.And if we want to follow Him—really follow Him—we can’t skip over that part.We can’t have Easter without Good Friday. We can’t have resurrection without death. We can’t have Christ without the cross.Just like we say “Keep Christ in Christmas,” we need to keep the cross in Lent.Don’t let your Lenten practices be just self-improvement. Don’t let your fasting be just a diet. Don’t let your prayers be just habit.Let them be what they’re meant to be: following Christ to the cross.That’s where He’s going. And if we want to possess Christ, that’s where we have to follow.Let us pray.Lord, help us follow You to the cross. Not because we love suffering, but because we love You. Teach us that the cross isn’t something to avoid but something to embrace—because that’s where You went, and that’s where we must follow. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Look at the AltarDuring the season of Lent, we offer up prayers, fasting, and almsgiving to God.If we want to know how to make that offering, we can look at the Mass. We can look at the altar.And it’s pretty simple: we offer God our best.Look at the tabernacle. The candles. The chalice and paten. The priest’s vestments. The marble. The stained glass. The sacred vessels.Everything in a church is—or at least should be—pointing to the best we can offer.Because that’s what God deserves.This is true in our daily prayer. And it’s true in how we approach Lent.How can we offer God our best?The fast that costs you something. The almsgiving that requires sacrifice. The discipline that makes you grow.Look at the altar. Look at what the Church offers to God.Then ask: What am I offering?Let us pray.Lord, teach us to offer You our best. In our prayers, our fasting, our almsgiving this Lent, help us give You what You deserve: our whole hearts, our full attention, our very best. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---HollowAt Mass yesterday, a thought hit me: our prayers can be empty. Hollow.What I mean is this: you can be kneeling, head down, eyes closed, mouth moving, saying the prayers—but if your heart is not in the prayer, it’s empty.I won’t say it’s meaningless. I don’t think that’s my place to judge that.But I will say we’re not approaching the Lord completely.We can think of the commandment to love God with your whole heart, with your whole strength, with your whole mind.There’s a way to pray that does not live up to that.As we begin and continue our Lenten journey, I think it’s important to not let Lent itself be empty and hollow.We can go through the motions. We can say our prayers. We can do this discipline and that discipline. Those are good things—obviously necessary.But the trap is letting Lent pass by without our heart being in it. Without offering our heart to the Lord in those prayers. In those fastings. In those almsgivings.The form is there. The action is there. But if the heart isn’t there, it’s hollow.The Lord doesn’t just want our actions. He wants our hearts.So as we walk through Lent, the question isn’t just “What am I giving up?” or “What am I taking on?”The question is: “Am I giving the Lord my whole heart in this?”That’s what makes Lent fruitful. Not the list of practices. But the heart behind them.Let us pray.Lord, help us pray with our whole heart, fast with our whole heart, give with our whole heart. Make us present to You in every prayer, every sacrifice, every act of love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Same Lent, Different YouIt's a blessing that Lent happens every year.It makes me think of hearing a song you loved when you were younger. Or picking up a book you read years ago.The song can take you back. It breathes some youthful life into you, remembering bygone days. There's nostalgia in it. Familiarity.Rereading a book is similar yet different. There's still familiarity—you know the story, you remember the characters. But you notice things you didn't the first time. Not because the book is different. But because you are.I think there's a lesson here as we start Lent.There's both familiarity with the season and the opportunity to see it anew. To discern how this Lent will build on past Lents—but also how it will be new for you.Maybe that's taking up a different spiritual discipline this year. Maybe it's a different form of prayer you've never tried.Or maybe it's bringing something back that you've done before and found to be fruitful. Try that again. See what the Lord does with it this time.The Church gives us the same Lent every year. The same forty days. The same call to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.But we're not the same.We're different than we were last Lent. Different struggles. Different graces. Different places in our journey.So this Lent will be different too.The same season. A different you.Let us pray. Heavenly Father, be with us as we start this new season of Lent. Help us to prepare now and throughout this forty days so that we may enter into your passion, death, and resurrection. In your name we pray. Amen. Keep fighting the good fight our Lady of victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---What the Fall BrokeLast week, I talked about the three big areas where we face the greatest stress: work, family, and health.On further reflection, it hit me that this isn’t random. This makes perfect sense.Because these are exactly what was affected by the Fall.Work: Yes, we were made to work. But before the Fall, it wasn’t burdensome toil. It was work in the same way God works—as creator. Tending the garden. Naming the animals. Creative, purposeful, joyful work.Family: Before the Fall, Adam and Eve were in perfect union. One flesh. Harmony.After the Fall? Discord. Conflict. The very first family sees Cain murder Abel. Family has been complicated ever since.Health: Before the Fall, there was no death. No sickness. No suffering.And after? Sin introduced death into the world. Our bodies break down. We get sick. We age. We die.So in some sense, we shouldn’t be surprised that these areas are imperfect in our lives.They’ve been broken since the beginning.But these are also the areas we can invite the Lord into. The areas we pray will one day be restored in heaven.The Fall broke these things. But Christ came to restore them.Let us pray.Lord, we continue to place our hope in You. We look forward to You, to being with You, to being restored in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Season With SaltIn Leviticus, God commands that all offerings be seasoned with salt."You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt."The whole idea of sacrifice feels a little foreign to us. That kind of language is baked into the Catholic Church—we use it all the time—but none of us have actually slaughtered a calf and burned it on an altar as an offering to God.So there's a bit of a disconnect.But this detail about the salt caught my attention. It's such a small thing to call out specifically. Why salt?Because salt was precious. Expensive. Valuable.Adding salt to the offering made it better. It seasoned it. It showed that you were giving God something good, not just the leftovers or the things you didn't need anyway.The offerings were always the best. The firstfruits. The unblemished animal. The finest grain. And yes—seasoned with salt.That's what worship is supposed to be.Not the scraps. Not the leftover time. Not the halfhearted effort.The best we can offer.Let us pray. Lord, help us give You our best. Not the leftovers of our time, our energy, our attention—but the firstfruits. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Just Come BackLast weekend, my son went to confession for the first time.Anytime your kids receive the sacraments, it's a unique opportunity to re-approach them yourself. You think about your own journey—the mistakes you made, the ways you drifted, the times you wandered off.And you pray your kids will do better.The reality is, after his confession, even though he's now officially in a state of grace without sin, I know he won't always stay there.I can't pray that he never sins again.My prayer for him is simpler than that: that he always comes back to the sacrament of confession.That when he falls—and he will fall—he doesn't stay down. He gets back up. He goes back to confession.The same is true for each of us.What the Lord desires isn't that we never fall. It's that we always come back.That's the heart of the sacrament. Not perfection. Return.Not "I'll never sin again." But "When I do, I'll come back."The door is always open.The only question is: will you come back?If it's been a while since your last confession, just go back. That's all. Just go back.The Lord isn't waiting for you to be perfect before you return. He's just waiting for you to return.Let us pray. Lord, thank You that the door to confession is always open. Help us come back when we fall. Give us the humility to return and the faith to believe You're waiting for us. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---The Little ThingsThere are probably three big areas that challenge us the most, test us the most, where the greatest stress lives:Work. Family. Health.Those are the big ones.Speaking for myself—sole provider, five kids under 10, always something going on health-wise, sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller—I get it. These areas carry real weight.We want to be faithful in the big decisions. The career moves. The parenting choices. The health challenges.But what we can actually control, where we should probably put our effort, is in the little things.How we say grace before dinner.How we help each other with small tasks.How we respond when somebody asks something of us.How we react with empathy instead of irritation.How we simply listen instead of fixing.These might not feel as big as “How am I going to put food on the table?” or “How are we going to get through this health scare?”But these little things are the things we can do faithfully.You can’t control whether you get the promotion. But you can control whether you’re kind to your coworker today.You can’t control whether your kid gets sick. But you can control whether you’re patient when they spill their milk for the third time.You can’t control all the big outcomes. But you can be faithful in the small moments that lead up to them.That’s where holiness lives. In the daily details.Let us pray.Lord, help us be faithful in the little things. Make us more faithful in what we can control and more trusting in what we can’t. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Nourishment, Not RewardThe Eucharist isn’t a reward. It’s nourishment for our weakness and for the road ahead.I think sometimes we treat the Eucharist like something we have to earn. “When I’m good enough, then I’ll let myself receive.”But that’s backward.We don’t receive the Eucharist because we’re holy. We receive the Eucharist because we need it to become holy.It’s not the destination. It’s the journey. It’s the path. It’s the way.This is true for the Eucharist, but it’s also true for God’s grace in general.We think we have to clean ourselves up before we approach God. Get our act together. Prove we’re worthy.But God doesn’t wait for us to be worthy. He meets us in our weakness.The Eucharist is food for the journey, not a trophy at the finish line.If you’re waiting to be “good enough” to receive the Eucharist, you’ve missed the point. You receive the Eucharist precisely because you’re not good enough on your own.Let us pray.Lord, thank You for meeting us in our weakness. Help us receive Your grace with humility, knowing we don’t earn it—we need it. Give us the strength to walk the road ahead, sustained by Your presence. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Is This Worthy?Is this behavior worthy of a good Christian?It’s a good question to ask when you’re in a grey area. Or at least when you tell yourself it’s a grey area.Something might not be sinful. Not directly harmful. Not obviously hurtful.But that doesn’t mean it’s worthy.Instead of asking “Is this wrong?” try asking “Is this worthy of a good Christian?”That shifts the question from negative to positive. From minimum requirements to maximum potential.Being a good Christian isn’t just about what we don’t do. It’s about what we do.It’s not just avoiding sin. It’s pursuing holiness.Not just “I didn’t do anything wrong today.” But “Did I do something good today? Did I become more like Christ?”The bar isn’t “Is this technically permissible?” The bar is “Is this worthy of who I’m called to be?”Those are two very different questions.And they lead to two very different lives.Let us pray.Lord, give us the courage to pursue holiness, not just avoid sin. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---For Your GoodThis week I’ve been writing about trials—how not to be surprised when they come, how to be ready for them.Today, another angle on the same truth.Imagine you’re working with a personal trainer, walking through a weight room. You’re just walking through, chatting, getting the lay of the land.But you shouldn’t be surprised when that trainer stops and asks you to do something.“Grab those dumbbells. Let’s do three sets.”It might be challenging. It might be hard. Your muscles might burn. You might wonder if you can finish.But you know it’s for your good.That’s why you hired the trainer in the first place. You trust that what seems hard in the moment is actually building something—strength, endurance, health. The trainer sees what you’re capable of becoming, even when you can’t see it yet.The same is true in our spiritual lives.The Lord walks with us. And there will be times where He asks us to do something hard.Forgive someone who hurt you. Let go of something you’re clinging to. Step into something that scares you. Carry a burden you didn’t choose.It’s challenging. It might burn. You might wonder if you can do it.But it’s for your good.So when the hard thing comes—and it will come—remember: you’re not being punished. You’re being trained.Let us pray.Lord, help us trust You in the hard moments. When You ask us to do something difficult, remind us that it’s for our good. Give us the strength to trust Your plan, even when we can’t see where You’re leading. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Be ReadyYesterday we talked about not being surprised when trials come. Today, I want to talk about being ready for them.There’s a difference.Back in college, I played baseball. During the winter, we’d work out in the old basketball gym—a converted airport hangar. Dusty, stuffy, hard to breathe.Sometimes, at the end of practice, we’d have to run suicides.It was the worst.And it was the worst for two reasons. First, it didn’t happen every time, so you were caught off guard. That connects to yesterday’s reflection—don’t be surprised when hard things happen.But the second reason? Even when I knew it might be coming, I still felt unprepared.There’s a difference between “I’m not surprised this is happening” and “I’m ready for this.”One is about expectations. The other is about preparation.I think there’s a lesson here for our spiritual life. It’s one thing to not be surprised when trials come. It’s another thing to be ready for them.The question isn’t just “Will I face trials?” The question is: “How can I be ready? How will I respond when they come?”Let us pray.Lord, give us the discipline to build spiritual strength before we need it—to pray when things are good, to seek You when we’re not desperate, to train when the race is still ahead. Make us ready for whatever comes. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---Don't Be SurprisedHere's some advice we could all take to heart: Don't be surprised.When you first hear it, it might not mean what you think it means.My wife was telling me about a mother whose cause for canonization is open. One of her characteristics? She was never surprised when her kids acted like kids—when they were imperfect, when they fought, when they bickered.She wasn't shocked by it. She didn't lose her peace over it. She just wasn't surprised.Now, this isn't pessimism. It's not "expect the worst so you're prepared for disappointment."It's something deeper: How can we bear all things well and accept all things from the hand of God?Don't be surprised when good things happen. Don't be surprised when bad things happen.Don't be surprised when your kids act like kids. Don't be surprised when you struggle with the same sin again. Don't be surprised when the project falls through. Don't be surprised when the blessing comes.Not because we're cynical. But because we know God is at work in all of it.All things work for good for those who love God. That's the promise.So we don't have to be shocked by imperfection. We don't have to be thrown off by setbacks. We don't have to be caught off guard by joy.We can bear it all well. We can receive it all from God's hand.That's what "don't be surprised" really means.—Let us pray. Heavenly Father, help us bear all things well, knowing that You are at work in everything. We receive it all from Your hand. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com---The Right Tool"Men are only instruments which God makes use of for the salvation of souls. We have to make sure those instruments are in a good state of repair so that God can use them." —St. Pius XWe are tools in God's hands.A hammer is different from a screwdriver. A shovel is different from a plow. A scalpel is different from both.Each has its purpose. Each is made for something specific.The Lord wants to use each of us. And I find that being willing to be used is the easy part.The trouble comes when we don't know what kind of tool we are.We don't know how the Lord wants to use us. We don't know our purpose yet.And here's the harder part: unlike a hammer or a shovel or a scalpel, we have our own plans. We have our own ideas about what we should be doing and how we should be used.Sometimes those plans match God's. Sometimes they don't.So what do we do?We keep ourselves in good repair. We stay willing. We wait for the Lord to act and to use us how He wills.And over time, we learn what kind of instrument we are.—Let us pray.Lord, teach us to be ready, willing, and able, so that you can use us in the way You see fit. So we can carry out your will. In Jesus' name. Amen.Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Get full access to The Victor's Crown at www.thevictorscrown.com/subscribe