Chicago Catholic Man

Catholic Men Chicago Southland is launching a new website for all men across Chicagoland. This initiative responds to requests we have received over the years from men outside the Chicago Southland area. We invite you to subscribe to the blog with your email address, as we will begin rolling out content by the start of the fiscal year on July 1, 2026.  This will be the only invitation we plan to send for this subscription.

The mailing list used for this message will remain dedicated to CMCS communications, providing updates and event information as we continue our work of evangelizing the Chicago Southland.  Thank you for your attention, and we hope you are blessed by what we are building here.

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Your task is not to fix toxic people, but to fix yourself—by cultivating qualities that stand in direct opposition to their traits or the toxicity they embody.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do is nothing—no rushing, no proving, no explaining. Just let time put everything in its place.

One of the saddest things you’ll ever run into are people who can’t.

People who can’t do something. Not because they lack the ability. Not because they lack the means. But because they’ve talked themselves out of it.

Whether it’s talking themselves out of a relationship, talking themselves out of a better job, or talking themselves out of doing something good.

They’ve talked themselves out of even trying. Because they’ve told themselves that they can’t. So many times, that all they have left is “can’t.”

What’s even sadder? The defenders of “can’t.” People who have bought into their “can’t.” So deeply that they defend it against ever trying again.

But that’s not how it’s supposed to be. It’s not how God made us.

God made us for the long haul. God made us for persistence.

Sometimes we get what we need the first time we try. When that happens, count your blessings.

Most of the time, it doesn’t work that way. Most of the time, it’s more like what we see in today’s Gospel.

Where what is needed has nothing to do with the artificial, learned weakness of “can’t.”

Where what is needed is exactly what God made you for. Persistence.

Rooted in faith, in the God of “can.”

Grounded in trust, in God’s good timing.

Knowing that God will provide everything you need.

With the strength to be exactly who God made you to be. Persistence.

Why do you do what you do?

For most of us, our lived answer to that question is a muddled mess.

Mostly, we do what we do – not out of a conscious decision, much less a clear strategy. We do what we do out of an unstable mix of habit, inertia, distraction, and crisis response.

Bouncing ourselves from thing to thing, from reaction to reaction. With lots of motion.

But direction? Not so much.

If we could look down on what we’re doing from above, we would be hard-pressed to sort out a general trend. Much less any specific focus for all that motion.

So it shouldn’t surprise us that we’re easily pulled away towards whatever the next big thing is. Whether it’s a trend, or a crisis, or just something that catches our attention.

Which is why I love the scene from Peter’s life that we get in today’s Gospel. Because Peter is just like us.

Even in the face of a call from Jesus to come to Him. While Peter is responding to that call. Right in the middle of doing something that is literally miraculous (walking on water towards Jesus).

Peter still gets distracted.

Jesus is actually, physically right in front of him. And Peter still loses focus.

Let’s be clear about what’s going on here. The waves didn’t stop when Peter got out of the boat. The wind didn’t stop when Peter got out of the boat.

When Peter got out of the boat, Peter was focused on Jesus. And on doing what Jesus was calling him to do. While he was focused on Jesus, everything was fine.

Not because the waves died down. They didn’t.

Not because the wind died down. They didn’t.

But because Peter’s focus is where it needs to be. On Jesus.

Things go sideways only when Peter lets himself get distracted by the very things that Jesus is seeing him through. When Peter loses his focus on Jesus.

When we lose our focus and things go sideways in life, it can be hard to ask for help. There’s a lot of fear that whoever we ask won’t help. Not that they aren’t able to help. But that they won’t.

That they would rather judge us instead. Tell us how we did it to ourselves. Blame us for our own problems.

Not that we don’t already know this. We’re crushingly aware of it. We don’t need to have our noses rubbed in it. What we need is help.

That’s why I love how Jesus responds. When Peter cries out for help.

With actual help. Jesus pulls him into the boat. And says, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Which is Jesus’ way of saying, “Don’t waste your time worrying, I’ve got this.”

The same way that Jesus always responds. Whenever you and I cry out for help.