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 lives, letting their lights shine!

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. (Matthew 5:14-15)

When you’re a kid, you act like you’re the center of the universe. Trust me, I know. My four sons are now 16, 11, 10, and 8, and they are good boys. Holy boys. Rambunctious boys. Boys who act like I’m subjecting them to torture when I ask them to clean the kitchen after dinner.

It’s the nature of being a kid.

As we grow, most people learn an important lesson. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but the most important lessons are usually hard learned:

You are not the center of the universe.

Nope, the world doesn’t revolve around you. It doesn’t revolve around me either (thank goodness, because otherwise there’d be a lot more pizza, baseball, and bad decisions).

Yes, most people learn this lesson, but the truly wise learn an even more important lesson: There is someone at the center of the universe, and it’s Jesus.

He always has been, and always will be. The more we try to put ourselves, our problems, our ambitions, our desires at the center of the world, the more chaotic life will be.

Here’s the problem: Even if you know Christ is at the center of the universe—even if you know your whole world should revolve around Christ—it’s hard to actually live like that.

Let me be honest with you: I don’t know how many people would tell you my life revolves around Jesus. I hope they would, but the reality is that, from the outside, it really looks like my life revolves around my kids and baseball.

The kids thing probably doesn’t need much of an explanation, but the baseball thing might. See, three of my boys play travel baseball, and I coach two of the teams. We start practices in December, and the season doesn’t end until late July. On any given weekend from April through June, we’re probably running to three different cities with three different kids between nine different games, and trying to keep six different uniforms washed at the same time.

I can’t escape the reality that my life looks like it revolves around my kids and baseball. But the world doesn’t need another family whose life revolves around baseball.

The world needs people who look a little different. The world needs holiness. The world needs holy weirdos.

See, if you live your life like Christ is at the center, you’re probably going to look a little weird.

But it will be good weird. Holy weird.

We’re talking about a family that prays before meals, a coworker who refuses to engage in gossip, a neighbor who actually acts like a neighbor, a Catholic school that teaches virtue before vocabulary and grace before grammar.

That’s what it means to put Christ at the center. That’s what it looks like to let your light shine.

No matter where our baseball tournament is or when we play, we never miss Mass. I lead every team I coach in prayer before every game. I remind the players how grateful we should be to have the health, talent, and family support to play, and I remind them that no matter how they perform in a game, it can’t change how valuable they are in the eyes of God.

Maybe all that looks a little weird, but it’s the best way I can try to make sure we keep Christ at the center of our chaotic, busy, baseball-filled life.

So, my friends, don’t be afraid to be a holy weirdo in a world that desperately needs it. Don’t be afraid to shine on!

Dominick Albano is a passionately Catholic husband and father of four boys. He has been writing, speaking, and leading Catholic retreats for more than 20 years. He is the Co-Founder of the National Society for Priestly Vocations.

This article appeared in the August 2025 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.