Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com

---

No Proxy Conversions

"We cannot forget that conversion is a profoundly inward act, in which the individual cannot be replaced by others and cannot make the community a substitute for him." —St. John Paul II

There's no such thing as conversion by proxy.

The trap is thinking that because we send our kids to the right school, or we belong to the right parish, or we're part of the right community, that means we're converted. That we're holier simply by association.

But that's not how it works.

Being part of a good community can help you on your path of conversion. The right parish, the right friends, the right spiritual environment—these matter. They can support you, challenge you, encourage you.

But at the end of the day, conversion is an individual thing between you and God. Everything else can help or hurt, but it still comes down to that one-to-one relationship.

No one can do this work for you. No community can substitute for your own heart turning toward Him.

It's just you and Jesus.---

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we place ourselves before You. In this moment, You are with each of us individually. You see all—You see us, every blemish and wart, every good deed and failing. And You still love us. Take this heart of ours. Don't let us make the mistake of putting our heart anywhere else but with You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us.

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com

---

Begin Again

“All human creations are the result of unwearied new beginnings.” —G. Chevrot

Chevrot is talking about works of art, sculpture, books—the products of our labor. But he’s making a deeper connection to the spiritual life.

Excellence doesn’t come from getting it right once. It comes from trying again and again and again.

Unwearied new beginnings.

Whether we’re riding high or hitting a rough patch, we will need to begin again. That’s not the exception—that’s the rule.

The artist doesn’t nail the masterpiece on the first attempt. The writer doesn’t craft the perfect sentence without revision. The sculptor chips away, adjusts, and sometimes starts over.

And the same is true for us.

Our spiritual life isn’t about perfection on the first try. It’s about showing up again. Confessing again. Praying again. Trying again.

Today is another beginning. Take it.

—

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, as we begin this new year, we ask for the strength to persevere. To begin again each day, each moment, to never grow weary in our pursuit of You. Help us to remember that You are the Master Craftsman, and we are Your work of art. Perfect us in the way You see fit, and in Your time. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Keep fighting the good fight. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us.

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com

---

One of the Five

"How I wish your bearing and conversation were such that on seeing or hearing you, people would say, 'This man reads the life of Jesus Christ.'" —St. Josemaría Escrivá

What a line. Not "This man is perfect" or "This man has it all figured out." But "This man reads the life of Jesus Christ."

There's something tangible here. If we want to reflect Christ to others, we need to know Him. And we know Him by reading about His life—the Gospels, Scripture, the story of who He is and how He lived.

You can't emulate someone you don't know. You can't become like someone you've never spent time with.

You've likely heard the saying that you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

Our transformation into Christ isn't always intentional. It happens through proximity. Through exposure. Through simply being with Him—reading His words, sitting with Him in prayer, letting Him speak into our days.

That's how we start to reflect Him. By letting Him be one of those five people.

So the question is simple: Is Jesus one of the five people you spend the most time with?

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com

---

Little Skirmishes

"Today, as yesterday, heroism is expected of the Christian, a heroism in great struggles if the need arises. Normally, however, the heroism will be in the little skirmishes of each day." —St. Josemaría Escrivá

A number of saints have talked about this idea, and I need to remind myself of it constantly.

In my season of life—husband, father, working professional—most of my opportunities for heroism aren't grand gestures on a big stage. They're in the skirmishes. The moments no one sees.

Getting out of bed when a kid wakes up from a nightmare and you just want to stay asleep.

Answering the same question for the hundredth time with patience.

Picking up a piece of trash you didn't throw, knowing that if you don't, someone else will have to.

These are the little skirmishes. The opportunities to do small things with great love.

And that's where most of us will prove ourselves—not in the grand battles, but in the quiet, unglamorous moments when no one is watching.

That's where heroism lives.

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com

---

Change My Face

I remember back in college when a few friends informed me that I have a bit of an intimidating face. My wife says that my resting face can look a little stern. Apparently, I need to smile more.

But the other day after receiving the Eucharist at Mass, a prayer came to mind. Usually it's "Lord, change my heart." But this time it was "Lord, change my face."

Now I'm not actually talking about my face.

I'm talking about something deeper. Let my face be a reflection of You to everyone I meet. Let people see You in me. 

Moses came down from the mountain with his face glowing from being in God's presence. 

The truth is, the more time we spend with Jesus—especially in the Eucharist—the more we start to look like Him. Not physically, but spiritually. People can see Him in us.

"Lord, change my face." Let it reflect You.

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com

---

The Path Is Lit

Our Lord lights our path. He shows us the way.

But sometimes that's by candlelight—we can barely see a few feet ahead. Sometimes it's a flashlight in the dark—we see our destination but we're not sure how to get there. And sometimes God lights up the path like an airport runway—crystal clear, unmistakable, just go.

The intensity of the light changes, but the truth doesn't: the Lord is lighting our path.

So what do we do? Sometimes we take the next best step, trusting that's enough. Sometimes we fumble around in the dark for a minute, having faith that He's calling us forward even when we can't see clearly. And sometimes the path is so obvious we just need to move.

In all of them, the Lord lights our path. The question is whether we're willing to walk it.

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com

---

Merry Christmas

I'm so grateful you're here. Thank you for spending part of your days with me this year—for reading these reflections, for wrestling with these ideas, for growing in faith alongside me.

Today we celebrate the moment everything changed. God became man so that man can be with God. He entered into our mess, our chaos, our ordinary lives to show us the way home.

That's what this is all about—the daily discipline, the small steps, the choosing Him again and again. It all points back to this: a baby in a manger who came to save us.

As we head into a new year, I'm excited about what's ahead. But today, let's just stay right here.

Emmanuel. God with us.

He came. And that changes everything.

Merry Christmas. Enjoy your family, rest in His presence, and I'll see you back here soon.

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com

---

Don't Miss Jesus

The last thing you want for Christmas is to miss Jesus.

I don't mean that's the last item on your list. I mean that's the very thing you want to avoid—missing Jesus when He comes on Christmas.

In the Bible story, people actually missed Him. King Herod was too threatened to see who Jesus really was. The innkeepers were too busy to make room. The religious leaders were too distracted by their expectations of what the Messiah should be to recognize Him when He came.

They missed Jesus. Right in front of them.

You could pick your cliché: "Jesus is the reason for the season" or "Keep Christ in Christmas." We've heard them all. But underneath those worn-out phrases: we don't want Christmas to come and go and realize we missed Christ.

It's easier to miss Him than we think. We get caught up in the preparations, the shopping, the parties, the travel, the family drama. Some good things, or at least necessary things. But they can fill up every available space until there's no room for Him.

Just like the inn.

So are we making room? Are we carving out space to actually encounter Jesus? Or are we so busy celebrating His birthday that we don't notice He's here?

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com

---

The One True Light

The Christmas story has become so visual for us. We’ve seen nativity scenes, heard the story countless times, watched recreations. It’s familiar.

Mary and Joseph searching for shelter in the cold night. Shepherds tending their flocks at night. Wise men following a star.

The whole scene is wrapped in darkness.

And that’s exactly the point. Christ comes into a world that is in darkness.

“Stay with us because our souls are full of darkness, and You are the one true light.” —Saint Gregory Nazianzen

Into the darkness of our own lives, of the world around us, Christ comes. Not as a distant light we have to reach. But as a light that enters our darkness. That comes to us.

That’s what Saint Gregory is praying: Stay with us. Don’t just shine from afar. Come into our darkness and be the one true light.

 Get the written version in your email inbox every morning by subscribing for free at TheVictorsCrown.com

---

Preparing the Way

It's not hard to see why Saint John the Baptist is a figure we return to in Advent. He came to prepare the way of the Lord, and he is also a model for us.

He didn't do the work of Christ. He didn't heal the sick or cast out demons. He didn't convert hearts—that's the work of the Holy Spirit. What John did was prepare the people. He prepared the soil, if you will. He made straight the paths. He got people ready.

And then he let Christ do His job while John did his.

Here's the question for us: What's our job?

How can we help prepare the way of the Lord—both in our own souls and in the world around us?

Maybe it's not our job to convert our coworker or fix our struggling friend. Maybe our job is simpler: to prepare the soil. To be present. To listen. To pray. To live in a way that makes people curious about the Lord. To create space where Christ can work.

Saint John knew his role. He pointed to Jesus and said, "He must increase, I must decrease."

We prepare the way. Christ does the rest.