Hello, I am Brother Michael Joseph. I live at the Monastery here in the Catholic Kingdom. I will be teaching at the school when it opens. There, I will be teaching various topics about the Catholic Church and the Faith. Here, in my cell at the monastery, I will be speaking about Catholic spirituality. I invite you to send me any questions you may have.

My purpose here is to teach you how to save your soul and grow in holiness. I will be using the lives and writings of the Saints, as well as Holy Scriptures, as my primary sources. We have been placed on this earth for one reason only: to save our soul. The Saints are those men, women and even children who have accomplished this great task.

To save our soul is like winning a gold medal at the Olympics. If you wanted to be the best at an Olympic competition would you study the lives or read the advice of people who did not come in first place? Of course not. To save our souls in an infinitely greater thing than winning all the Olympic gold medals that have ever been won. So it is even more important to study the lives and listen to the words of those who we are certain "won the prize" of salvation. The Catholic Saints are these winners. God, to help show us the path, has used His Church, throughout Her history, to confirm for us those who made it to Heaven. There are those, certainly, who, by God's mercy, are in Heaven, but they did not lead worthy lives. It would be a fatal mistake to imitate them. Jesus warns us that; "You must be perfect, even as your Heavenly Father is perfect." (St. Matthew 5:48). He tells us many times that He is "the Way". The Saints are those who found that Way and lived it.

It is never too late, or too early, to begin to study and imitate these true heroes and heroines.

As the season of Advent begins, I deeply encourage each of you to use this time to pray to Our Lord and His Most Holy Mother, Mary, to give you all the help you need to grow in holiness and become the great Saint that God created you to be. In every place and in every age, the Church and the world have had a great need for true Saints. But never has the need been as universal or as desperate as our own times.

Twice in the Gospel of Saint Matthew Jesus warns us: "Many are called but few are chosen". Will you be one of those who answers Our Lord's call?

Our deep-felt hope and fervent prayer is that you will.

Please pray for me and everyone in the Catholic Kingdom that we will also answer: "Here I am Lord, send me!"

May Our Lord and Our Lady fill you, and all those you love, with every true peace, blessing and grace ... now and forever.

Yours in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,