This week, I am full of excitement. Fr. Patrick is back to film episodes of Upon Friar Review, I went down a fascinating rabbit hole, and I finally get to announce some big news I’ve been planning.

Let’s Start With the News

A few months ago I started mentioning that I had written another book, but I didn’t push it too much. I wanted people to know about it, but you can’t keep people excited for 6 months. On Wednesday, we’ll be just one month away from its release. Now is the time! This week I’m going to post a YouTube video with all the details, but because you are subscribers to the Newsletter, you get to know before anyone else that I will be giving away 1000 free copies.

The name of the book is The Way of Beatitude: Living Radical Hope in a World of Division and Despair, and you can enter to win right now by clicking here.

Fr. Pat Back in the House

After three weeks away, Fr. Patrick is back on the set of Upon Friar Review and we’re excited for a good semester. We’ve already filmed four episodes and plan to film two more this week, so we’re coming at you! In this episode, we look at the way late night host Stephen Colbert uses in Catholicism in media. He is honest, vulnerable, and very brave in the way he shares his faith. (There have been a few comments judging and condemning him because of certain political beliefs people assume he holds, and this won’t be tolerated in the comments.)

The Rabbit Hole You Didn’t Know You Needed

Happy Lent everyone! After celebrating the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we transitioned to the Lenten season with Ash Wednesday this week, and won’t be back to Ordinary Time until June, when we’ll celebrate the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time… Wait, what happened to the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Sundays? I had the same question last week, and so I went down a rabbit hole. If you think the liturgical calendar is simple and straightforward, you are going to be surprised by this video!

Since Russia is in the News…

The news out of Ukraine has been absolutely horrifying lately. Putin’s aggression is inhumane and devastating to everyone involved. We must pray for peace in the region and that justice will prevent further actions from dictators. With this in mind, Fr. Tito and I were reminded of a relevant movie from our childhood that deserved a rewatch: An American Tail. Watch the story of a Jewish mouse family flee violence from Russian cats, hoping to find peace in America. For a children’s movie, it has some heavy themes.

An Update on our Tour

The commissioner of baseball has continued the lockout of baseball players and postponed the start of the season. This is obviously not great news for the sport, but it has a personal component as well: the trip Fr. Tito and I are planning hangs in the balance. At this point, we have about 4-6 weeks for them to figure things out before we are affected, but it is still unnerving. In the event that MLB has not fixed its problems by the time we are supposed to leave, we’ve decided that we are going to go anyway, replacing MLB games with Minor League ones. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but the show must go on.

On that note, we still have a few openings for speaking events: New York 6/16, Dallas 7/12, Los Angeles 7/20, Oakland/San Francisco 7/26. If you would like to invite us to speak at your church, please fill out this form.

Wisdom Worth Repeating

I didn’t make a video specifically about Lent or Ash Wednesday this year, but I think last year’s video is something that everyone should watch. Please, don’t give up something (just) for Lent. Do something that your soul actually needs, and give it up for life.

For now, happy Lent everyone!

Peace and good,

Fr. Casey