Since I was an early adolescent, my mind automatically compared spewed harsh internal talk and left me feeling hopeless, consumed and totally hating the way I looked.

At first, I didn’t believe it when I said “Jesus, I trust in You,” but I desired to trust in Him. All I had left within me was a desire to grow closer to Him. Watching Sunday Mass online made me miss going, something which I had only tolerated in the previous months.

Now don’t run away. I know sharing your greatest struggle is scary but hear me out for a second. Before you say no and run, let’s think about why you share your story. You don’t share it for you, you share to help someone suffering.

Let me be clear: Divorce was never, ever an option for my husband and me, nor was it even in our lexicon. But there was a time in our marriage when tensions were high, feelings of affection were low, and things had generally broken down. Communication was terrible, and we had ceased assuming the good intent of the other. For my part, I had lost respect for my husband, whom I felt was not "a real man" (gosh, it's hard to type those words!).

was a corpse when I first came to Hard as Nails. He then added that I had gained JOY since being here. The staff and my fellow teammates could see a change in me that had taken place in the past six to seven months. They saw that I had joy.

Not long after that I woke up with severe cramping. My husband had already left for work and I was completely alone. The cramping would come and go, and it would feel like the pain experienced during childbirth. There is nothing in the world that will ever compare to that physical torture, but the mental pain of knowing what was happening and the spiritual pain of feeling like God had abandoned me was crushing.

My math teacher was a gorgeous, smart, tall woman. She was everything I wanted to be. Looking back, I realized I didn’t desire to be like her because of her looks or skills; it was her hope and how she knew she was loved; it was a hope I didn’t have and a love I thought I didn’t deserve.

Suddenly my brain felt different – I was convinced I had run someone over. I remember looking in my mirror and seeing nothing but darkness behind me. I arrived home and felt like I had left my body and entered into a new, worse, version of it. That was the first time I can remember experiencing OCD...

I had borrowed a necklace from one of the girls in my class and being the responsible child I was, I promptly lost it. I was worried for days. I finally decided to pray to Saint Anthony to help me find it and, on that day, I got off the bus and found it on the pavement in the gas station!

I slipped into this dangerous cycle of maintaining control and creating future plans for myself. I allowed myself to continuously daydream and visualize about my future timeline which was nonexistent in that moment… I was pretty confident in the plans I had made, but something just felt a little off. Deep in my heart, I knew something just wasn’t right.

Once there was a lucky man. Partially lucky because he had great faith, and partially because he was Irish. However, his story starts out with not-so-lucky beginnings…

With that being said, in order to understand why we suffer, we must understand why God suffered on the cross. We’re created in God’s image. So, we must look at his image of suffering to understand our own.

Habits use a different part of the brain than making decisions. Therefore, when you begin, it is not a choice, but once it is recognized, you can choose to quit it at that moment. Sometimes what will help is simply asking a friend if you do it all the time.

Anxiety and panic course through our veins as we struggle to make sense of a world that eludes our grasp at every turn. This occurs in situations like:“How could God let this happen?” “Why won’t these pills make me happier?” “I’m earning more money, but I feel empty”

Even though not everyone truly respects the core message of it being about Christ’s birth, most still hold themselves to a higher standard of being generous and more virtuous than usual. But what about Easter?

COVID is a disease that has led our present-day world into a pandemic. It has changed all of our lives in so many ways that have not really left a positive outlook on what is to come, and now people are losing sight of hope.

Many people bash on the inconvenience of the Covid-19 pandemic, and while I can agree with most of it, I would have to say that there are some good things that this virus caused.

Does this mean men have an excuse not to attend, get involved, or raise their families in the Faith? Absolutely not, in fact, the opposite is required. Sometimes we must look at the positives that shine through the difficulties.

Being Christ’s hands and feet is the reality that I am nothing and can do nothing without the grace of God, even that which I choose to do is Jesus’ grace. In fact, even the choosing itself is Jesus’ grace. Therefore, I must not do good in expectation of reward.

But what about when we put the phone away, we get home from the late night party, or get off that high? Loneliness, despair, isolation... the list goes on.