Is your faith everything to you or just kind of “there”?
On this Tuesday of Holy Week, Father Tim reflects on a quiet but powerful moment from the Gospel, when John leans back against Jesus’ chest. It’s a simple image, but it reveals something deep: real faith isn’t distant or casual, it’s close, personal, and all-in. Drawing from C.S. Lewis, this episode explores a bold truth: if the Resurrection isn’t real, Christianity means nothing. But if it is real, it changes everything. There’s no middle ground. Faith isn’t “kind of important”. It’s either everything or it’s not.
This Holy Week, where do you stand?
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Will I Be Weird, If I Get Close To Jesus?
Ever wonder if getting close to Jesus will make you weird? Pop culture often paints Christians as out of touch, but the truth is the exact opposite. In this episode of Ask A Priest, Father Tim explains that friendship with Jesus doesn’t make us strange… it makes us more alive. From saints like Mother Teresa to modern disciples like Blessed Carlo Acutis, discover how holiness doesn’t erase your personality. It magnifies it. Jesus doesn’t take away what you love. He blesses it, sanctifies it, and makes it even better.
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Can You Receive Communion with Mortal Sin?
Should you receive Communion if you’re not sure you’re in mortal sin?
This question has confused a lot of people, and for good reason. In this episode, Father Tim clears up the tension between two things we often hear: “never let sin keep you from Communion” and “never receive in mortal sin.”
The Church teaches that the Eucharist is medicine for the sick—but not for the spiritually dead. Mortal sin is serious: it involves grave matter, full knowledge, and full consent, and it breaks our relationship with God. That’s why we’re invited to go to Confession before receiving Communion again.
But there’s also real encouragement here. If you’re unsure, if you’re trying to follow God, if your heart is seeking Him, Jesus meets you there. And if you’re in a place where you choose not to receive yet, that act of reverence and honesty matters more than you think.
The Eucharist is powerful. So we approach it with both hunger and honesty.
Wherever you are right now, God’s mercy is ready for you.
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Why Do Catholics Use Incense?
Why does the Catholic Church use incense and is it more than just smoke?
In this episode of Ask A Priest, Father Tim explains the meaning behind incense at Mass and why it has been part of worship from the Old Testament to Revelation. Incense is not just a smell or a visual effect, it is a sign of prayer, reverence, and the living worship of God.
From the thurible and charcoal to the resin of trees, incense reminds us that Catholic worship is earthy, physical, and alive. At Mass, it prepares us to hear the Gospel, honors the altar, and points us toward the King who is coming.
Father Tim also reflects on the beauty of incense itself: hard, closed-off resin becomes alive when placed on burning coals. In the same way, our hearts become alive when they are united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and set on fire by the Holy Spirit.
Next time you see incense at Mass, remember: that smoke rising toward heaven is an image of what your heart is called to become.
