Today. After 20 years, I completed an examination of conscience, made a full confession, and re-entered the Catholic faith. Reflecting on 20 years worth of sin and wrongdoing in the eyes of the church was difficult, but also a gift to realize how much I have to be grateful for. I now believe we all have more people who want the best for us rather than the worst. Letting go and being absolved of 20 years of sin with extremely little penance asked in return was extremely humbling.
Hello, I’m Donald Paul. I am husband, father, and former-seminarian who is obsessed with Catholic theology. On my substack In Defense of Theology you will find:
Faithful discussions on Catholic theology
Reflections to become a smarter Catholic
Really cool Catholic books you need to read
If you love Catholic theology and want to learn together, I’d love to connect!
You made it, you own it
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I’m so very sorry for the delay in publishing. It’s horribly difficult to write when you’re dealing with significant burn out. I’ve been barely able to string two thoughts together lately, and it’s been easier to chip away at things sentence by sentence even if it takes a long time. We should be up tomorrow.
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Writers! Today’s card is giving “mission accomplished” energy. Nine cups, nine completed drafts. Nine moments of “I actually wrote that.”
But here’s the real magic: Melo put on my glasses to make sure you don’t miss the moon in this card. See it up there? It’s not just decoration. It’s reminding us that
You always own your intellectual property, mailing list, and subscriber payments. With full editorial control and no gatekeepers, you can do the work you most believe in.
This was my first corporate boss’ advice to me so I wouldn’t say yes to every project request that came in.
At the time, it felt like great advice, and I did think twice before taking everything on.
But today? That advice has kept me playing small.
In my own business, this has led me to price low and make most things free, all out of fear that I could promise a lot, charge too much, and have people think I underdelivered.
What if I told you prayer doesn't require a quiet room and an hour of free time?
God is present in every moment of your day.
When you start seeing daily tasks as opportunities for prayer, your whole day becomes a conversation with Him—from blessing sandwiches as you make them and shirts as you fold them to thanking Him for shining stars, clean sheets, and hot showers.
You made it, you own it
You always own your intellectual property, mailing list, and subscriber payments. With full editorial control and no gatekeepers, you can do the work you most believe in.
I have one Bible passage in my office and it’s the one I felt the Lord show me when I became a Superintendent of Schools. From today’s Mass readings, 1 Peter 5:2:
“Tend to the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not be constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly.”
Another translation puts it this way,
God’s flock is in your midst. Give it a shepherd’s care.
There is a time and a place on the lake where everything stops. It only happens a few times each summer, when the days simmer and linger longer than they have any right to.
The sun sinks low, fleeing in guilt after burning the North Country all day long. The wind dies suddenly, stopped in its tracks by weather, water, or happenstance.