In today's parable, Jesus explains the sower, the seed, and the ground...but what is the fruit? The fruit is virtue - those "habitual dispositions towards the good" - those character traits that make us like Christ. Three virtues are related to God - faith, hope, and charity. But more mysterious are the cardinal virtues - prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. What are they all about and how do we live them?

Technology is neutral - but powerful. It must be used wisely and well by those who are well-formed - not only in how to use it, but more deeply, in what sets humanity apart from technology. Fr. Joseph speaks about the Pope's insights into human nature through his recent encyclical on Artificial Intelligence and technology.

Success can be defined in many ways, but at the end of your life, you will be judged on love alone.

We all want to fit in, go with the flow, be part of the "in" crowd. But what happens when peer pressure goes against truth or love? Saints throughout the centuries were unafraid to proclaim the truth of Christ, regardless of social consequences. We'd like to think we would too, but modern society gives us an important litmus test: will we stand up for Christ's countercultural teachings on marriage in the midst of Pride month? We must be bold and courageous as we lovingly say to the world that Christ's teaching on marriage and sexuality is true, life-giving, and authentically loving.

Christ specifically chose ordinary, washed-up, has-been men to become His Apostles, so that the glory goes to God and not to them. Likewise, He has chosen you and me despite our unworthiness or ordinariness, to bring about His Kingdom, to make Him manifest in our holiness, and to bring our souls to Heaven. But how are we to live out this epic mission? We look first to our vocation, which gives us the mission field and teaches us who to love...then we look to our charisms to see the tools through which He wishes to work!

The Evil One has always tried to destroy the Eucharist. In times past, it involved the closing of churches or laws forbidding Mass. But he is wiser now, and uses the distraction of Sunday sports and activities to separate good Catholics from the sacramental graces of the Eucharist. It is time to push back on the sports leagues and stand up for our right to prioritize Jesus Christ in His Eucharistic presence!

We call God "Father" because He fulfills the roles of a Father: to protect, to provide, and to lead. Those who have not had good earthly fathers can look to God to provide the Father they lack; and men are called to make present the love of the Heavenly Father to the spiritual or physical children they beget!

Much of the Christian life is waiting in eager expectation, because many of Christ's promises are not fully revealed yet. The promise to hear our prayers, the promise to make us holy, the promise of His final triumph are ongoing prophesies that unfold in our lives. So we must wait in hope, as the Apostles eagerly expected - and soon saw - the coming of the Holy Spirit in ways they could never have foreseen!

The Apostles doubted the Resurrected Christ because it was so extraordinary they couldn't understand it. But we doubt Christ because our Catholic Faith has become so ordinary, hum-drum, average that it loses its power to transform. Let us consider, not only what we believe, but the consequences of this belief - that it may shock us with its extraordinary, transformative way!

The world offers us the standard American Dream - but Christ offers us a better way to live. This means, however, that we have to reject the lies to find the Truth of Jesus Christ - but in doing so, we find a happier and more joyful life than we could ever imagine!