Shine On | by Dominick Albano It’s February, and for some people, this month symbolizes love. It makes them think of Valentine’s Day or maybe, the coming of Lent… or just taking time away to someplace warmer. For me, when the calendar turns to February, I can only think of …

My life’s greatest regret happened during a baseball game my nine-year-old son was playing in. It’s a day I hate to remember, and yet I can’t forget it. Bottom of the last inning, my son’s team was up by one run, with runners on second and third base and two …

Shine On | Dominick Albano A few years ago, I was to lead a parish mission at a church in California, and before the first night began, I slipped into a pew at the front of the sanctuary to pray. The church was empty. Quiet. Still. When I finished praying, …

by Dominick Albano I’d rather have one pair of hands put to work than a million pairs of hands clasped in prayer. Driving to school over twenty years ago, I read that bumper sticker on the car in front of me, and I’ve never forgotten it. The message felt more …

by Dominick Albano I was told once that an old African catechism stated: Q: Why did God create the world? A: Because He thought we would like it. I’ve tried researching this, and frankly, I don’t know if it’s true. But it’s a wonderful idea regardless… the thought that the …

Hope is a funny thing. Most people think of it like a wish… “I hope the traffic isn’t bad.” “I hope the Bengals win.” “I hope it doesn’t rain.” But real Christian hope isn’t a feeling or a wish. It’s a conviction. St. Augustine once said that hope has two …

“The men we want to become priests aren’t coming to us. We have to go out and find them.” I first heard these words three years ago, and the Holy Spirit has never let me forget them. They were shared by a friend, a former vocations director, expressing how hard …

As Alex walked home from St. James Middle School with his grandfather one fall afternoon, Grandpa could tell something was on Alex’s mind. “Everything went okay at school today?” Grandpa asked. “Yeah,” Alex replied. The two walked along in silence for a few moments. The one-word answer wasn’t lost on …

A youth minister heard something at a men’s formation breakfast at his parish that changed his life. He hadn’t expected to get much from the morning. Having had a powerful encounter with Christ as a teenager and now working as a minister for almost a decade, he felt he had …

My friends, Shine On is back … and so am I. After a two- year hiatus, I couldn’t be more excited to be returning as a writer to The Catholic Telegraph to continue the Shine On column. Nothing brings me more joy than helping people remove the lampshades from their …