Too many people, including Christians, view the value of someone based upon their material wealth, fame, or power; when they do so, the poor, the vulnerable, find their worth not only questioned, but denied. Christians should follow the way of Christ, the way which counters this fallen mode of engagement with the preferential option for the poor:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/the-danger-of-defining-human-value-by-material-wealth/

ICE continues to indiscriminately kill innocent victims, and lie as to why they do so; how can any Christian who claims to support and love the truth, and with it, affirm human dignity, stand by and accept what ICE is doing, let alone promote it?   And how can the United States be “the land of the free” and have its democratic form of government remain in place when the government lies to justify the unjustifiable?

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/when-lies-replace-truth-the-path-to-democratic-collapse/

Ecumenical councils were called to deal with both dogmatic and practical questions; their answers have to be read in the right context, where the dogmatic decrees are meant to glorify God, pointing to the greater truth which we cannot comprehend:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/the-teachings-of-the-ecumenical-councils-as-doxology/

Christ taught us to take care of the poor, the homeless, the foreigner, those who are in need, to care for them and show them love and respect. He warned the rich that their exploitation of the poor will cost them dearly. Why, then, do so many Christians end up promoting a theology of the rich?

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/denouncing-the-theology-of-the-rich/

Toxic masculinity follows from, but also often leads to, heretical notions of God which understand God as being male instead of transcending gender. Those who follow this notion end up denying or undermining the values they associate with femininity, such as compassion, which is why they often end up being cruel in their treatment of others:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/toxic-masculinity-and-the-distortion-of-gods-image/

Christians often talk about morality, but often enough, when real world situations require them to act for the sake of others, and not their own base desires, such as when dealing with climate change, they find excuses to ignore their moral responsibility. This is why so-called Christian politicians can and often get into power who claim climate change is not something we need to work on, that it is a “pet project”:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/climate-change-denial-and-the-cost-of-willful-ignorance/

As Christians, we are called to live out the radical love of God, to be concerned about the good of others, even if, especially if, it gets in the way of our inordinate desires:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/the-importance-of-putting-others-needs-before-our-desires/

Most days my prayer is scattered. I sit down for the Rosary and my mind is distracted by the time I get to the fourth Hail Mary of the third decade. Worries. Memories. Responsibilities.

I've started prayers I didn't finish. I've asked Our Lady for help and then been overly trusting in myself to navigate life the next day.

I used to think that meant I was doing prayer wrong.

The tradition of the Church tells us that no one who flees to Our Lady's protection is ever left unaided.

Her invitation is always the same: bring your anxieties, your family, your distracted mind, and trust her to carry it to her Son. Not the polished version of our prayers. The actual one, where words are not clear, where your emotions get the best of you.

Quodcumque dixerit vobis, facite. Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. (John 2:5)

That's Our Lady's whole method. This is not a call to perfection, just "do what he says," even mid-failure, even distracted, even when unsure if you're doing it properly at all.

The God Man came for the sick. He came for the lost sheep. He came for you and for me.

You do not need perfect focus to ask for Our Lady's intercession and the support of her Son. You only need to begin. As the novena suggests: Surrender it all to him. Take care of everything.

Pax Christi Brothers and Sisters

Hi all,

I'm Rob - a Catholic layman, husband and father from London. The mods kindly gave me permission to share this, and I want to be upfront that I'm the founder, not a neutral poster.

Devotio came out of something personal - I had calendar reminders in my phone to pray the Litany of Humility, and notes of people my family wanted to pray for each evening. I kept forgetting, so I built something to hold it all together.

What Devotio Includes:

• The ability to create a personal Oratory prayer with 1,140 Scripture passages across Douay-Rheims, CPDV, and the Latin Vulgate and 60+ traditional Catholic prayers in Latin, Modern and Traditional English
• The full Rosary with art at every mystery
• The Stations of the Cross with art at every station
• The Surrender Novena
• 165 saints invoked around your intentions and the liturgical season
• An Intentions Diptych - named after the ancient Church prayer tablets - holding the people you carry and weaving them into every session
• A private prayer journal that never leaves your device
• A guide to approaching the Sacrament of Confession - for those returning after time away or simply wanting to prepare well
• Daily Mass Readings that connect to the Universalis website; it delivers the full readings for the local diocese and liturgical calendar directly within the app, so you can follow the Mass readings wherever you are in the world

No account needed. No subscriptions. No tracking. It's free, and it always will be for the core of it.

It doesn't replace Mass, confession, or spiritual direction - it's just meant to help hold the ordinary, easy-to-forget moments of prayer, whether you're a lifelong practising Catholic or just starting to explore.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/devotio-catholic-prayer/id6782289447
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devotio.an.app

Happy to answer any questions, and thank you to the mods for letting me share.

With gratitude,

Pax Christi
Rob

God is love, and so God’s love is infinite and unconditional; it is through such love, God created all things and gave them a good nature; despite the fallen state of creation, God loves the world and desires the salvation of all:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/gods-unwavering-love-for-a-fallen-yet-good-world/

God is kind, which makes kindness a virtue, and yet it is a virtue which is often under attack by Christians, with Christians accusing those who are kind as being too “nice.” When kindness is rejected, many turn to cruelty instead:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/the-churchs-call-to-kindness/

ICE’s arrest of Sister Leticia reveals to us the cruelty of ICE, where they show they do not care about the harm they cause society; they are not seeking the common good, but control, a control which is destroying the country they want to “protect.”  Religion means nothing to them. They might claim Christianity, but they do so like Christian nationalists, rejecting the spirit of Christ’s teachings:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/the-cruelty-of-ice-highlighted-by-sister-leticias-arrest/

God’s grace is given to us, not just to perfect us in accordance to our nature, but also to help us fulfill who and what we can become as persons:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/grace-and-personal-gifts-in-the-church/

It’s quite common for sophists to find ways to turn vices, like selfishness, into virtues; Christians should know selfishness is a vice, but many have been led to follow Ayn Rand in finding ways to suggest it is a virtue. Once this is accepted, it is no wonder such Christians justify social injustices:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/07/recognizing-vices-disguised-as-moral-goodness/

I’ve found a common ideological mistake repeated throughout Christian history; it is one which only engages morality objectively, without any subjective (or pastoral) concerns; it is legalist, without any sense of mercy:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/06/how-rigid-moralism-undermines-true-christian-justice/

Peter and Paul, though they often got into fights, not about doctrine, but on praxis, were able to put their past aside and work together, coming together as one before their martyrdom, so that through their combined effort, we have the establishment of the See of Rome:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/06/weakness-as-strength-the-legacy-of-peter-and-paul/

Paul, after his conversion to the Christian faith, embraced a death-to-his old self, represented by the way he stopped calling himself Saul and went by the name Paul. The change that came about from this could be seen in many ways, among which, the way he no longer was focused on self-promotion, instead, his life’s work led him to work for the salvation of others, putting their interests above his own:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/06/from-saul-to-paul-selfishness-to-selfless-love/

God’s oneness is one with all the qualities we attribute to God. God transcends those qualities and yet, is characterized by them. To connect with God, we must not only have faith, we need an active faith, so that we can resemble God by becoming virtuous:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/06/faith-as-action-connecting-with-divine-truth/

Wednesday, we remember the birth of St. John the Baptist. It is easy to misunderstand Jesus when he said no man born of a woman is greater than John the Baptist. If we follow through with the logic many use to interpret it,  we would conclude John is greater than Jesus himself. This is not the case. So what did Jesus mean?

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/06/john-the-baptists-birth-growth-and-greatness/

Christians claim they follow moral obligations, but why do so many of them get caught up in culture wars, dealing with secondary concerns, while primary concerns, such as the dignity of every human being, can be neglected or rejected by authorities like Trump?

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/06/where-are-the-voices-of-moral-accountability-in-government/

It might seem strange for Paul to tell us we are to be “slaves to righteousness”; we must understand Paul is not being literal, when we are given grace, we are freed from the bondage of sin, given autonomy, where we find the more we choose the way of righteousness, the more freedom we will have:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/06/from-slaves-of-sin-to-servants-of-righteousness/

Holiness comes from God, and is share with us by grace; it is meant to transform us, to make us more like God, sharing grace with others, and the rest of the world, protecting the world from all kinds of harm. We see that in the lives of many saints:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/06/saints-as-mediators-of-grace-protecting-the-world/

It is important for us to watch ourselves, to see the good and bad we do, so we can reinforce the good, promoting not just one virtue, but every virtue in the process. We will then be able to avoid the twin vices of presumption and despair, both which would destroy us and our relationship with God and each other:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/06/how-watchfulness-connects-and-strengthens-every-virtue/