Breaking In The Habit

Greetings from Ireland!

It’s been quite a ten-day trip so far! Back in January I was invited to Italy to speak at a conference of Franciscans about evangelizing through social media (more on that next week). Given that Ireland is (sort of) on the way home, and there are friars that allow me to stay for free, I’ve decided to make a quick pilgrimage to my ancestral land (and film a video for next week.) For now, here’s a wrap-up of the past week or so.

It was a LONG Journey

A direct flight from Atlanta to Rome existed… for a few months salary. Instead, I took a flights from Macon to Baltimore to Reykjavik to Rome, totally about 19 hours. A bit grueling, but it left me time to answer some questions.

Let’s “Fix” the Church

Let’s be clear: the Catholic Church isn’t “broken” because Christ will always be its head. But that doesn’t mean that the humans that make it up are perfect or that we are always effective at preaching the Gospel. If we’re honest with ourselves, we could be doing better. In this video, I provide 5 ways to do so.

Angry With God? Tell Him

It amazes me how many people I meet who have anger in their life, at life in general or God specifically, and don’t bring that to prayer. I say, don’t make a bad situation worse by lying to God… he already knows how you’re feeling. All you can ever do in prayer is say exactly where you are.

This went REALLY Viral

If I make a video that gets more than 200,000 views, that’s extraordinary. This video got more than 200,000 likes. The response has blown me away—that so many people have loved it, and that so many people didn’t understand it. To be clear, this is parody, not of the mass but of reality shows. They praise human accomplishments all the time, but what they should be praising is Jesus Christ.

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A PSA You Won’t Want to Miss

If you’re ever in Rome, keep this in mind…

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Traveling Tomorrow

After two days in Dublin, I’m off to Killarney early tomorrow to visit the novices and take a day exploring Killarney National Park. This time in Ireland is a mix of vacation and retreat, so I’m looking forward to seeing the beautiful countryside, having a little more time for prayer, and getting some writing done. If you would, say a prayer for my time here!

Peace and good,

Fr. Casey, OFM

Back Online!

Sorry for the delay this week. Some of you might have noticed that this website disappeared for a few days. Turns out there was a glitch with my email confirmation and they suspended my domain and denied me access. No worries, we’re back, and with some great videos!

Bleacher Brothers, Reunited

Two summers ago, you may remember, Fr. Tito and I traveled the country evangelizing at ballparks. If you forgot the last part, I understand. While we spent most of our time talking with people in the parks, what we showed you was two guys have funning on vocation. To give you a little glimpse into what the summer was really like, we recreated a bit of it here.

Is AI Taking Over the World?

I don’t know, but for now, it has some uses. In this video, I test the limits of Open AI’s ChatGPT to answer questions about our faith.

He Gave Up His Life, They Didn’t Understand

There is something objectively strange about our life as friars. It is very otherworldly, standing against the values of modern society. And so it should come at no surprise when people just don’t understand us, as in the story of Fr. Michael Reyes when he left his successful life in IT.

Pope Francis or Kim Kardashian?

What can I say? I love this series. I think it’s a funny way to get people to hear what Pope Francis actually says, and sometimes to show how ridiculous the celebrities we worship really are.

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That’s it for now…

but man do I have some exciting things coming up. Friday I leave for Italy where I’ll be giving a talk on social media to the simply professed of Europe. I’m planning a few videos in Rome and Assisi you’re not going to want to miss! After than, I’ll be in Ireland for a week where I’ll be exploring the beautiful countryside, having a few Guinnesses, and working on a project I hope will bear much fruit.

Peace and good,

Fr. Casey

After 12 hours of travel…

I’m finally home. If you followed my Instagram/TikTok posts this week, you know that I was at VidCon in California with Fr. Tito. What an experience. We went to some helpful presentations about social media and content creation, but much more importantly, we were able to network with other creators and evangelize along the way.

Pope Francis or…

One fun thing we did was compare Pope Francis to a pop celebrity to “see if people could tell the difference.” The first one was super obvious, which was the joke, and the second one was not so obvious, which was the point (to show a secular audience how alike the pope was to a secular wisdom figure). The point was to make people laugh, but also to sneak in some profound teachings of the pope just in case people are listening. At least one more coming out tomorrow.

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Sometimes, Less is More

Our world is all about getting more. We want to possess and we want to indulge. But does that bring happiness? The happiest people I know are the ones who deny themselves and live with discipline. Even if you’re not interested in religious life, per se, I would encourage you to adopt some penitential practices.

Answering Questions About the Mass

I love answering submitted questions because people will ask things I would never think to address. This week I did my best to answer everything I could about the Mass.

A Friar that Worked on Broadway!

Jay Woods, OFM is a priest studying for his MSW. But he wasn’t always the man he is today. Listen to his inspiring story of achieving your dreams, losing your faith, and finding hope in recovery.

Okay, I’m Tired

More to come next week, but I’m exhausted!

Peace and good,

Fr. Casey

Faith of our Fathers

Happy Father’s Day to all! We owe so much of who we are to the men who passed down their wisdom and faith over the years.

Catholic Refresher Course

When you have as rich of a history as the Catholic Church does, there is just a lot to know. Sometimes we need a refresher.

Before You See Inside Out 2

I’m a huge fan of Pixar and Toy Story is a major reason why. You probably know that it was the first full length computer generated movie, but do you know that its story structure and character development were specifically designed to be unlike other children’s movies?

Careful What You Say…

The Bible has a lot of challenging words… and lectors don’t always get them right. Here’s to those who make us cringe in the liturgy!

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Technical Difficulties

Unfortunately, there was no Minor Characters last week due to technical difficulties, but we’ll be back Wednesday for a new episode!

Have a wonderful week!

Fr. Casey

Blame No One But Yourself!

How often do you get defensive and look for someone or something to blame for why things didn’t go the way you wanted them to. If you’re like me, it’s all the time. This… is not going to get us anywhere with God. Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent, and the scribes made up a ridiculous story about Jesus to cover their own insecurities. All the while, Jesus offers us forgiveness and wholeness whenever we ask. Don’t hide from your mistakes, admit them and be made whole again!

You Can’t Just Show Up To Mass!

How many of us have gone to Mass and complained that we didn’t get much out of it? This is a common refrain for Catholics. So what do we do about it? Follow these 5 steps.

Ecumenical Dialogue

I’m convinced that most of the conflicts of our world are the result of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Sometimes, you have to sit down, listen to people’s questions, and give a respectful answer. That’s what I hope I accomplished in this video, answering questions from Protestants.

The Most Interesting Man in the World?

So far, we’ve had some interesting men on our podcast, Minor Characters. None comes close to our guest this week, a man who lived as an underground priest in China, and this won’t even be the first line of his obituary.

Familiarity Breeds Contempt… and Sometimes Serenity

Have you ever wondered what a priest is thinking during mass? It’s not always the prettiest.

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Have you followed me on Instagram or TikTok yet? I’m posting shorter version of my long-form videos multiple times a week, with additional content about my daily life. Check it out!

More to come soon! Have a great week!

Fr. Casey