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Stories of Real Transformation.
Incarnating the Gospel in the Workshop of St. Joseph
Building a foundation for strong Catholic lives, integrating faith, work, and practical life.
At St. Therese Institute of Faith and Mission, we spend a good part of the year striving to develop a contemplative heart and an informed mind. Eventually, though, this inner life must somehow find expression in the outer world. Our St. Joseph the Worker course is a new one-week intensive that examines this critical Catholic duty.
For the St. Joseph the Worker course, our “classroom” is along the still-frozen shores of Birch Lake, SK, where we come to stay at a hands-on learning retreat center, operated by Jason Reinhart and his family.
Jason is a one-of-a-kind Catholic husband and father, with a strong business record in construction and industrial property management. He also has significant achievements in the US and Canadian music industry, and he and his wife Janelle also founded a media company together.
For two years now, Jason has collaborated with St. Therese Institute to develop the St. Joseph the Worker course, and it is becoming a crowd favorite among the young adults in our program.
St. Joseph the Worker course participants trade their pens for welding rods, their textbooks for pipe wrenches, and their sneakers for skidsteers, as they apprentice alongside both skilled trade people and the experienced Reinhart family. It is an exercise in incarnating the Gospel through experiencing the trades first-hand, coupled with discussions on “adulting” topics like parenting, job search skills, and money management.
The Silent Figure of the Worker
To understand the benefits of spending a week learning about brake pads and heavy equipment, we begin with a theology of the Holy Family that can prioritize Joseph as well as Mary.
Nick Pierlot, one of the St. Therese Institute program directors, notes how the common Catholic emphasis of “Marian” dimensions of faith can sometimes leave the “Josephite” dimensions behind. For Nick, a spirituality of Joseph isn’t only for learning handy skills. It’s about the “universal priesthood”—the calling of every Christian to lead the material world around them back to the Father through the work of their hands, as Joseph did through his life-long commitment to carpentry.
Breaking the Secular/Sacred Divide
If any participants come to this course believing in an impermiable wall between “holy work” – like ministry, prayer, teaching – and “secular work” – like trades, business, and finance – the St. Joseph the Worker experience takes a sledgehammer to that wall.
“For the majority of the times when I’ve thought ‘trade,’ I’ve thought like just work with very secular people in very secular environments, but this week has really helped me to understand that we can still apply the spiritual knowledge that we’ve gained here at St. Therese to the physical work we do just with our day-to-day labor.” — Daniel Côté
Gap Year participant Noah Huber explained that the week gave him a sense of hope regarding the vocation of marriage and the practicalities of providing for a family. “The week gave us an understanding of the life of a vocation to marriage, and what that calls us to in our career and work, and how to integrate that all together. It gave us an understanding and a confidence that it’s possible… it gives us hope.”
Developing the Mind and Heart through the Hands
St. Joseph the Worker course teaches that physical labor is a mirror of the interior life. In carpentry, if your measurements are off, the board doesn’t fit. If you are lazy with a weld, the joint breaks. This physical reality demands a level of presence and diligence that directly translates to the spiritual life, and in both cases, faking it just doesn’t cut it!
“I was really struck by how you train your mind through your body. Learning diligence in your actions, learning precision and paying attention to detail in the work that you do with your hands, is training you to grow in spiritual diligence and mental precision as well. …It’s all connected – spirituality isn’t separate from the work that you’re going to do or the careers you’re going to pursue.” — Emma Skuban
In a culture where many young people feel alienated from the physical world, the ability to look at a leaky kitchen facet or a noisy car and say “I can fix that” can be transformative, as a person moves from being a passive consumer to an active steward of creation.
For Jason Reinhart, enabling that transformation is one of the reasons he built the retreat centre where he hosts the St. Joseph the Worker course. “It’s amazing to see participants get big-eyed when you show them how a light switch is wired or how to solder a fitting on a copper pipe. It’s really simple, but so many people have no idea how it all works. When you understand how to do things like this, moving forward to try other things in life becomes easier.”
The participants rotate through a variety of stations, learning as they go. Some of the activities are made into games. At the automotive station, course participants race to see who can change brake pads the fastest. Other stations have participants craft items, like charcuterie boards at the carpentry station that are then judged against criteria for workmanship and resale value.
The Business of the Kingdom
Throughout the week, mentorship is provided by Jason, his wife Janelle, their family, ages 11-23. Even the 11- and 14-year-olds teach skills like equipment operation and carpentry!
As a successful entrepreneur himself, Jason teaches about the “spirit of entrepreneurship,” leading sessions on negotiations, sales, finance, career discernment, job interview strategy, and more. As the founders of a Catholic media company, Jason and Janelle have had to learn to integrate a faith perspective with their business and family priorities. They shared about marriage and about raising children, and their whole family shared their musical gifts by leading praise sessions around the fire.
The family instruction sessions were a highlight for Mikayla Klover, who admits to having “low expectations” going into the week. Instead, she walked away with a new vision for her future.
“Jason made us take a look at our life and our values. He talked about a variety of things that are so needed to be talked about, especially for people our age. He had some really good talks on finance and jobs. It really expands my knowledge about what I could actually do in the future.” — Mikayla Klover
This practical wisdom is a vital part of the New Evangelization. We need Christians who are “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (cf Mt 10:16) in the heart of society and the marketplace—men and women who can build businesses and manage finances with a heart ordered toward the Gospel.
A New Integration
As we moved into the final weeks of our year, our participants did so with a more “integrated” sense of themselves. They had seen that the “Little Way” can be practiced plumbing in a kitchen sink as well as in a chapel. They had a taste of how one can integrate the “Marian” yes of the heart and express it through the “Josephite” labor of the hands.
Social Media and Promotions intern Olivia Mase, who observed the week from behind her camera lens, saw the fruit of this labor in the very look of her peers. “I think the thing that I noticed as soon as we got there was that everyone was alive, and I think they recognized that it felt good to move and to do things with their hands. My biggest takeaway was just recognizing that living a life of virtue and living as a saint here on Earth also includes learning how to make money and do work well, and those things aren’t necessarily separate.”
Nick Pierlot summed up the success of the week. “I love those moments where your fundamental preconceptions and the emphases get challenged, not so that things get disintegrated, but so that you yourself change in the process and become more integrated as a person.”
Ora et labora; laborare est orare. Pray and work; to work is to pray. The workshop is open. The work is good. And the Gospel is being incarnated, one workday at a time.
James Riley has been at St. Therese Institute longer than any of the rest of the mission staff can remember. He has seen many things and has worn many hats. He currently serves Christ here as the Deputy of Operations.
Life and Death
The “Two Ways” of Early Church teaching
“There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between the two ways.” (Didache Ch.1)
During the final week of our 2026 Spring Course Series at St. Therese Institute, we had the privilege of exploring the ancient text of The Didache with Hieromonk Gregory Hrynkiw—a Ukrainian Catholic priest, monk, teacher, and founder of the Monastery of the Three Holy Hierarchs. His life, marked by vocation, exile, scholarship, and quiet perseverance, offers a living witness to the ancient choice “between the two ways” which the Didache describes.
What Is the Didache?
The Didache—from the Greek word for “teaching”—is one of the earliest Christian writings we possess outside of the New Testament. Though rediscovered in full only in 1873, fragments and references to it appear in the writings of the early Church Fathers, suggesting it was widely known in the first centuries.
Fr. Gregory describes it simply, “It’s the most ancient, non-biblical or scriptural text of the New Testament era.”
Written in the wake of the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), the Didache appears to have served as a guide for new converts—especially Gentiles entering the Christian faith. As Fr. Gregory explains, it likely functioned much like later Church catechisms:
“After a council, like the Council of Trent or the Second Vatican Council, there’s a collection of documents and there’s a catechism. In Acts 15, after the council in Jerusalem, they wrote a letter to the other churches that was to be accompanied by two others to explain the letter to those churches. And I believe that there was also a catechism. And that’s the Didache. It’s probably the first catechism in the church, and it was based on the catechisms that the Jewish believers used in the synagogue when people became proselytes and converted over to Judaism, based on the two ways: the way that leads to life and the way that leads to death.”
Fr. Gregory’s own life’s path, from seminary in Manitoba, to continuing studies with the Basilian order in Rome, to Ukraine and the assumption of authority over dozens of monasteries before being forced to flee for his life due to death threats, to Saskatchewan and the foundation of a new monastery east of Saskatoon, embodies the Didache’s vision of a life chosen deliberately and always oriented toward something beyond comfort or convenience.
The Two Ways: A Choice That Runs Through Every Generation
The opening lines of the Didache are striking in their clarity: “There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between the two ways.” It echoes the teaching of Moses in Deuteronomy: “I have set before you life and death… therefore choose life.” It reflects Christ’s own words about the narrow gate and the wide road (cf Mt 7:13-14).
It is remarkable how central this idea is to the earliest Christian formation. Before doctrine is explained, before liturgy is described, before community structures are established—the choice is presented: Life or death.
The way of life, according to the Didache, is marked by love of God and neighbor, humility, generosity, purity, and truth. It is deeply relational, deeply ethical, and deeply embodied. The way of death, by contrast, is not merely the absence of goodness—it is a distortion of it. It includes violence, deceit, exploitation, and self-centeredness. It is the unraveling of community and the erosion of the human person. Fr. Gregory notes how striking it is that even in this earliest document, moral clarity is not ambiguous. “The moral requirements… are very explicit… about abortion, infanticide… those things are very clearly said to lead to death.”
As Fr. Gregory connects it to our present moment through St. John Paul II: “We’re living in a time now where we have to decide—are we going to create a culture of life or a culture of death?” This is not abstract spirituality. It is a way of life that must be chosen and lived.
A Window into the Early Church
Beyond its moral teaching, the Didache opens a window into the daily life of the early Church. It describes liturgical structure, including one of the earliest Eucharistic prayers. It references the Agape meal and reflects a community still forming its identity. It speaks to a Church that is both spiritual and practical. And perhaps most strikingly, it reveals a community navigating diversity—particularly the integration of Gentiles into what had been a predominantly Jewish movement. This was not a smooth process.
The Council of Jerusalem wrestled with these emerging questions of identity, practice, and unity. What traditions should be retained? What could be adapted? How could different cultures live together without compromising the Gospel? The Didache emerges from that context as a kind of guidebook—for belief, but also for living together.
Why It Matters Now
It would be easy to treat the Didache as a historical artifact. But its relevance is immediate.
“It’s an incredible window into… one of the earliest layers of the Church…and yet we see all those structures already in place that we see now.”
We are not as far removed from the early Church as we might think. We live in a time that, in many ways, mirrors the tension of the early Church. Questions of identity, morality, and community are once again at the forefront. The pressures of culture—what St. John Paul II would later call the “culture of death”—are pervasive. And we, too, are faced with the choice between two ways, which Fr. Gregory insists “cross through the human heart in every generation… we have to make those choices.”
The Narrow Path vs. The Little Way
The Didache and St. Thérèse of Lisieux seem worlds apart, but they both give witness to the daily choice to love. St. Thérèse writes: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice… do all for love.” This is still the Two Ways, almost 1900 years later, lived out quietly in daily choices.
Indeed, Fr. Gregory sees something distinctive about the community at St. Therese. They are already, in many ways, trying to walk that narrow path towards life. Fr. Gregory believes the Gap Year experience here, “is forming the whole person, not just academically, but a discipline of prayer, of study, of responsibility.” He sees this tied to our communal way of life—the shared meals, the rhythm of prayer, the responsibilities and relationships that shape life at St. Therese. The early Church, too, was a community living together; navigating challenges; supporting one another and holding each other accountable. Fr. Gregory says, “The St. Therese Gap Year program fills a gap within the Church,” echoing the Didache’s vision of the Church as a lived reality.
Choosing the Way of Life
The Didache leaves no room for neutrality. There are two ways. The difference between them is great. Both the Didache and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus remind us that the choice for life is not made just once. It is made daily, quietly, often unnoticed. For the early Christians, for a Carmelite nun in Lisieux, for a monk in rural Saskatchewan, for participants at St. Therese Institute, and for all of us—the call is the same:
Choose life. Keep choosing it.
James Riley has been at St. Therese Institute longer than any of the rest of the mission staff can remember. He has seen many things and has worn many hats. He currently serves Christ here as the Deputy of Operations.
The Winding Way
Reflections from the “Lenten 40” 40km relay race in Saskatoon
Every Lent, we talk about the “Way of the Cross.” We pray the stations, we contemplate the Sorrowful Mysteries, and we look for small mortifications through our Lenten sacrifices. But there is a particular clarity that comes when the “Way” is no longer a metaphor. That’s the idea behind the 41.9
wind-swept, unpredictable, and physically demanding kilometer stretch of Saskatchewan road and trail that makes up the Lenten 40 Prayer Run.
There were 90 participates for the 4th Annual Saskatoon Lenten 40 this year. It was a communal pilgrimage, starting and ending at the 30’ high outdoor crucifix in front of the Cathedral of the Holy Family, and crossing Saskatoon’s NE to the SW corner and back again. For the “St. Theresers” who participated, it became a living classroom where the theology of suffering manifested in the reality of sore legs and the chilly wind.
The Lenten 40km is the Saturday just before Holy Week. The route is broken into four legs, 12.6km, 8km, 10.1km and 11.2km, and primarily follows the South Saskatchewan river as it cuts through Saskatoon. Teams can register as pairs or 4-person squads. The person currently running carries a small, foot-tall wooden cross; the cross gets passed like a relay baton to the next runner at checkpoints and maybe even serves as a witness to some who happen to see the runners pass.
This was my second year participating in the run, which is a bit of a miracle in itself. I was overweight most of my life. I hated running, and in elementary school, I would fake feeling sick so that I could stay home on the days when we’d be doing long distance runs in gym (if my mom is reading this, I have a confession to make the next time we chat).
Fast forward to 6 years ago when I started walking to work and dropped 30-40lbs over Lent 2020. I had dabbled in jogging a bit in my adulthood, but I discovered in 2025 that I could now easily tackle half-hour runs. I trained for a few weeks and ran with three Bruno teens in last year’s Lenten 40km.
This year, I had the joy to form a family team with my three oldest kids! My kids ran the first three legs, and I ran the fourth leg.
On my leg, I prayed, took in the beauty of God’s creation, and of course ran, ran, ran. I also had time to think and reflect. Chatting with some of our St. Therese alumni and friends who ran, I was excited and encouraged by their reflections, too.
The Vision: A Catholic “Death Race”
The vision for this running shoe pilgrimage began when Bruno-raised Dominic Montpetit and his team took to the rugged trails of Grande Cache, Alberta, for the annual extreme Rocky Mountain 125km ultramarathon, the Canadian Death Race. Dominic, a close friend of St. Therese Institute, recalls the spark of inspiration.
“I had just finished the Death Race with my two brothers and Bishop Mark Hagemoen. It was my first time in the running community, and the intensity of it really inspired me. I’ve always loved trying new things, and after that race, I had a desire to see how I could put a Catholic spin on a run. Chatting with my brother Jerome and Bishop Mark, we came up with the Lenten 40.
“It’s been a cool opportunity to help others experience a unique Lenten discipline through exercise. I think it’s important for us to embrace ‘The Way of Suffering’ and run to the cross; that’s exactly what this event is about. It’s always a mystery—Saskatchewan weather is unpredictable—but seeing so many people embrace the challenge and unite themselves with Christ’s suffering with a smile on their face makes it special.”
The “Uncurated” Cross
We often like to choose our own crosses—carefully selecting a fast or a discipline that fits our schedule. Jamie (Schwark) Broschinski (Alumna ’14-’15) shared that the most transformative moments are often the ones we don’t choose.
“I like schedules,” Jamie says. “I like how they enable you to mentally prepare for suffering. I thought I had my race all figured out—I was doing the last leg, so I could just cheer and eat snacks for the first few hours. We had a group of 8 running 2 separate races, but we decided to run each leg in tandem, paired up. But at the third leg exchange, everything went sideways. One teammate arrived early and the other was missing, and suddenly someone was looking at me frantically, trying to hand off the cross.
I had to throw my running number into my pocket (didn’t have time to pin it on) and just start running. I hadn’t prepared. I hadn’t ‘curated’ this moment to be within the scope of my abilities. It reminded me that while we try to control our spiritual lives, sometimes you are called to take up your cross by surprise. You can’t always prepare for the situation, but you can choose to say ‘yes’ when the cross is handed to you.”
Running for Another
Once the cross is in hand, and the cross of fatigue and soreness starts to weigh, the question becomes: Why keep moving? For Carina Lynn (Alumna ’24-’25), the physical exhaustion became a window into the heart of Jesus.
“As I was running, I was really reflecting on the walk Jesus made with His cross,” Carina shares. “Every time I wanted to stop or just give up, I remembered that Jesus probably felt that, too—but He kept going with me in mind. He would have made that trek a million times over for each one of us.
“I had a specific person in mind that I was running for, and that intention changed everything. It gave me a glimpse into how Jesus kept going for us. I understood the amount of love He has for us just a little bit more with every single step.”
The Physicality of Prayer
For Christina Denis (Alumna ’19-’20) and Will Cornish (Current Gap Year participant), the prayer was grounded in the physical weight of the moment.
“At a certain point, I started to feel tired and wanted to stop,” Christina says. “But as I ran, my hand tightened around the wooden cross we were given to carry. My fingers felt the grain of the wood, and it pulled me out of my head and into the moment. The pain didn’t go away, but it became more purposeful. My focus shifted away from my own discomfort and toward Christ’s suffering.”
Will, who entered the race with very little training, found that the lack of preparation served a higher purpose. “It felt extra penitential,” Will admits. “But those physical limits gave me extra opportunities to pray for those I had been wanting to pray for. It helped me understand the Passion of Jesus in a small, very real way.”
The Winding Path Home
As for my own run, I was most struck by the “crookedness” of the journey near the end. The river-side paths were predictable, following the curves of the river. The sections through parks and along residential roads that followed were straight. As I entered the final kilometer, I caught sight of the cross atop the Holy Family Cathedral—the finish line was coming up! But then, the path turned left. Then it swerved right. And then back and forth again!
I found myself complaining: The section of greenspace I was running through was straight-sided, but the engineers of the trail had built the path to weave back and forth down the length of the area! “Why isn’t the road to the Cross straighter?” I asked, slightly annoyed before laughing at the experiential reality of it all. Of course our journey to Christ is never a straight and easy path! And suddenly, the Cathedral cross was gone, hidden behind trees that I had drawn close to. I felt a little betrayed by those annoying trail engineers! I knew the cross was still there, but I couldn’t see it. I wanted it back!
The call to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7a) came to mind, and I pressed on, lengthening my stride. In life, we often have the goal in sight, but a sudden illness, an injury forces us to slow down. These aren’t necessarily detours or obstacles. They can be gifts from God.
Chatting with my wife, Heidi, after the race, we discussed how important it is to have good people with you on the journey as “guides.” In the Lenten 40, these were the checkpoint personnel. They were stationed at critical turns when the path became confusing. They gave verbal instruction about what to do next. They motivated you with a much needed, “Way to go! You’ve got this! Keep it up!” But they weren’t at every turn.
Sometimes, I had to rely on the witness of the faithful who had trod the path before me—especially the organizers who the night before had marked the course sporadically with surveyor’s tape and arrow signs! Without both the people and the markers, I would have gotten lost. In our real lives, it’s also those “guides”—the mentors, the saints, and the community—who keep us on course when the way is uncertain or the destination disappears from view.
The Lenten 40km reminded me that we are all on a path that swerves. Through the contours of the journey, we must keep our hands tight around the wood of the Cross to find our way home.
This run has now become a part of my Lenten observance, and I’d love to have you join in next year! You can find out more about the event and sign up for email updates at http://www.Lenten40.com.
James Riley has been at St. Therese Institute longer than any of the rest of the mission staff can remember. He has seen many things and has worn many hats. He currently serves Christ as the Deputy of Operations.
Justice, Kindness, and the Lay Apostolate
The Catholic Social Teaching Spring Course at St. Therese Institute
It is easy to compartmentalize our lives. We have our Sunday morning faith where we pray, sing, and receive the Sacraments. Then, we have our Monday reality of workplace dynamics, bills to pay, global news to scroll through, and the checkout line at the grocery store.
But for Catholics, there are no “secular” spaces where God does not belong. The Church offers us a roadmap to bridge that familiar Sunday-to-Monday gap: Catholic Social Doctrine.
Our upcoming Spring Course, “He Has told you, O mortal, what is good”: Catholic Social Doctrine & the Lay Apostolate, runs March 23-27, 2026. The title of the course is drawn directly from the prophet Micah: “He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, RSV).
What Exactly is “Catholic Social Doctrine?”
The consistent ethos of our Spring Courses Series is to bring theory (theology, philosophy, psychology, etc.) into praxis – applying ideas as practical skills that move the New Evangelization forward and help us progress in the Christian life.
For the Catholic Social Doctrine course, we bring back STIFM alumnus and former staff member, Chris O’Hara. Chris is a Halifax native, who currently serves in the Pastoral Life department of the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth. He has a degree in Music and a Master’s in Theology, and loves to blend them into a symphonic embrace of beauty and wisdom.
Chris’s Catholic Social Doctrine course description reminds us that “the greatest commandment is love of God, but love of God entails a concern for justice for our neighbour”. It goes on to state “this course is a survey of key themes from Catholic Social Doctrine with practical applications to key areas in this current age.”
When asked to elaborate, Chris explained:
“Catholic Social Doctrine is kind of a loose canon of teachings from the last 150 years. In particular, it relates to Catholic engagement with social issues. This body of teaching reflects how the Gospel and the teachings of the Church shape the way Catholics behave in civil society. It asks questions like: What is our responsibility to our neighbour? How does the Gospel inform the way we build the Kingdom of God within the realities of the world around us?”
When asked to elaborate, Chris explained:
“Catholic Social Doctrine is kind of a loose canon of teachings from the last 150 years. In particular, it relates to Catholic engagement with social issues. This body of teaching reflects how the Gospel and the teachings of the Church shape the way Catholics behave in civil society. It asks questions like: What is our responsibility to our neighbour? How does the Gospel inform the way we build the Kingdom of God within the realities of the world around us?”
Along the way, Chris will explore how these principles guide the “lay apostolate”, which is a fancy way of saying “the unique mission given to the Catholic laity”, to be “leaven” that raises the world to Christ by the ways we integrate our faith in the details of our otherwise normal worldly lives.
The “Communion of Persons” and the Checkout Line
During our chat about the upcoming course, Chris shared a personal “lightbulb” moment from his own studies that illustrates how Catholic Social Doctrine impacts daily life.
“The Christian life is about a communion of persons,” Chris explained. “Catholic social teaching pushed me to think about my everyday consumer choices – like going to the grocery store – through that lens. How do choices I make with my money express what I believe about the Church and the Gospel? Are the decisions I make reinforcing a communion of persons, or are they contributing to division and isolation?”
Taking it further, are we brave enough to act on God’s call to sacrifice for the Common Good, in Malachi 3:10, and to trust in His promises in return, as it says:
“Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”
In modern terms, a tithe is 10% of our income! Do we believe God will take care of our personal needs – as He promises – if we give that much, up front, to His “storehouse” – which today would mean our parish and other forms of charitable Catholic work? It takes courage to ask these questions.
This willingness to reflect heroically on our normal lives is behind St. Thérèse’s “Little Way,” too. Thérèse taught that we don’t need to perform “great deeds” to reach holiness. We become saints by noticing the profound choice that is always there; a choice to either open or close our hearts to God’s power and love, which stand ready to transform us and the world around us. This choice happens in the “small” decisions that confront us day to day.
Applying Catholic Social Doctrine is the “Little Way” in action:
- Solidarity in Small Things: Recognizing that the use of our money is a moral act (not just an economic one) and that our choices affect our brothers and sisters across the globe.
- The Dignity of Work: Treating work not as a burden, but as a way to exercise our human potential. As the Church teaches, “Work is for man, not man for work” (CCC 2428).
- Care for Creation: Respecting the environment as a gift for the “common good of past, present, and future humanity” (CCC 2415).
A Topic that Matters Today
In what is often called a post-Christian society, we are called to “do justice” and “love kindness” in spaces where the Gospel is more easily forgotten. Catholic Social Doctrine provides the roadmap for this mission. It isn’t just a collection of abstract ideas; it is the Church’s compass for how a person who has encountered God transforms the culture around them by living in brave testimony to the truest reality, in every walk of life and in all the seemingly small and more or less “secular” details. It can be most scary – and it can hold great prophetic promise – when it challenges us to break from comfortable patterns that we trust and would like to protect. St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians are an exhortation to all of us: “If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise” (I Cor. 3:18-19).
As Chris says, “Catholic social teaching is about what happens when a person encounters God and how cultures are transformed when they are shaped by people who have encountered God. The principles of Catholic social teaching guide and inform our engagement with all areas of life – public policy, education, care for the poor, questions of governance, how we use our money, and how we treat people in our workplaces and families.
“The course will challenge people, affirm some things they may already sense intuitively, and give them the language of the Church to understand those instincts more clearly” while “asking how the Gospel can shape every part of our lives.”
James Riley has been on the St.Therese Institute mission staff since before anyone else here can remember, and he has done a little of everything in his time! He currently serves as the Deputy of Operations.
Rediscovering the Glory of Being Human
Theology of the Body at St. Therese Institute
For many of us, the morality teachings that we’ve received from our parents and the pulpit can feel like a list of rules—a series of “thou-shalt-nots” that prudishly try to keep us oriented on the straight and narrow. But the straight and narrow is easy to fall off. Falling off leads to guilt and shame, followed by struggling back on the road and heading to confession, followed by the ‘successful’ repression of desires for a while… followed by another fall and a restart of the cycle.
But what if the Church isn’t saying “no” to our desires? What if she is actually saying, “They are good and holy” and is pointing you toward the only thing that can truly satisfy them?
This is where St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (T.O.B.) transforms everything you ever thought you knew about human and sexual morality.
This week, St. Therese Institute invites the public to join us for four days and to discover T.O.B. in our “The Gospel of the Body: Theology of the Body & The Mystery of Divine Love” Spring Course.
The course features a series of videos recorded at St. Therese Institute featuring renowned T.O.B. teacher, Christopher West. He titled it The Gospel of the Body & The Little Way, a series designed specifically for STIFM which combines two great modern doctors of the church – St. John Paul II’s teachings on the beauty of the human body with powerful insights from St. Therese of Lisieux.
Julie (Godin) LeBlanc is the facilitator for this upcoming course. She is a St. Therese alumna who had her passion for life and God set on fire through Theology of the Body, which is now the central point of her theology degree studies. We recently sat down with Julie to talk about why this week is often described as “mind-blowing” and why Theology of the Body is the key to understanding who we truly are and truly created to be.
Moving Beyond the “Soul in a Body” Myth
One of the biggest obstacles to understanding ourselves is a hidden dualism—the idea that our “real” self is just a spirit trapped inside a physical shell, or that the soul is good and the body is bad. We see it around us in our world all the time: from eating disorders, to feelings that someone was created as the wrong gender, to zombies (soulless wandering body) to ghosts (bodiless wandering soul), to our disconnected-from-the-reality-around-us texting and doom scrolling.
Julie explains that this course shatters our misconceptions:
“I just think most people, including most Catholics, don’t know Theology of the Body, which is essentially to say they don’t know that a human being is a body and a soul, not a soul in a body. They don’t necessarily know what our design as male and female is for or what our desires are truly for. Why are we male and female? Why do we have these strong eros desires? Why is it that our bodies are us and not just a container for us? Theology of the Body takes up all of those questions. Just hearing that your body is you and your body is good is something most people, I think, aren’t acquainted with!”
The Redemption of Desire
A central theme of the week is the redemption of eros—that fiery, restless longing for love and union. Far from being something to repress, this desire is actually a signature imprinted with fire in our souls by God himself.
Christopher West explains that we often “miss the mark” (the literal meaning of sin, derived from an archery term) not because our desires are too strong, but because we direct them toward finite things that cannot satisfy us. We turn “icons” (foretastes of heaven) into “idols”.
But the solution isn’t to kill the desire. It’s to aim it correctly. As West explains, “Christianity is the religion of desire—the religion that redeems eros… [the saints] have had the courage to feel the abyss of longing in their souls and in their bodies”.
This is where St. Thérèse of Lisieux becomes a vital guide. Though a cloistered nun, she was a woman of “immense desires,” realizing that her thirst for love was actually a thirst for the Infinite. By pairing her “Little Way” with St. John Paul II’s theology, this course shows us how to navigate our own passions, seeing them not as enemies, but as the fuel for our journey to God.
A “Mind-Blowing” Experience
The week features video sessions by Christopher West, recorded specifically for St. Therese Institute, and facilitated live by Julie. West is famous for making deep theology accessible, using examples from movies and pop culture to drive points home.
But what makes this week truly special is the effect it has on participants. It’s not just an academic class; it’s a moment of synthesis where the fragmented parts of our faith suddenly fit together.
For many, it is the moment they finally understand the why behind the what. Why does the Church teach this about marriage? Why is chastity a “yes” to love rather than a “no” to pleasure? Why do I feel this ache in my heart?
Julie describes the reaction she sees in students:
“[Through facilitating the course], I’ve seen and heard the students having these mind-blowing moments, saying, ‘So many things in my life are starting to make sense.'”
Suddenly, the “rules” aren’t rules anymore—they are a roadmap to the happiness we’ve been searching for.
Join Us for the Journey
Through Theology of the Body, the straight and narrow becomes a highway. Guilt and shame are replaced by the promise of grace. Confession becomes a loving embrace. Repression transforms into a powerful invitation to focus our passions and desires toward Heaven—reorienting ourselves from the finite to the infinite. Temptation itself becomes a door to holiness. That’s just a piece of all that T.O.B. can do.
In a world confused about gender, sexuality, and the meaning of the body, we need this teaching more than ever. We need to know that we are not accidents. We need to know that our bodies tell a divine story.
Julie concluded our chat by sharing about how doing this video course at St. Therese is different: “There is something very appropriate about bringing your body to a study on Theology of the Body, and being around other people in person. You get to study Theology of the Body along with the St. Therese [Gap and Mission Year] participants. You get to live the beautiful way of life of St. Therese Institute: prayer, sacraments, meals, recreation, and community. We may be watching a video, but because we’re watching it in the same room as it was recorded, it feels like something more, and Christopher is still so engaging and funny. Sure, you can watch something like this at home online, but it’s so much richer when you’re together with people, sharing your reactions, laughing together at Christopher’s jokes, understanding his references and examples, asking questions and getting the answers. And the pairing of St. John Paul II with St. Thérèse is something that you won’t find anywhere else.
“While Christopher West may not be with us in person, he will be with us in prayer! He knows that we are studying T.O.B. March 17-20, 2026, and he assured me he will be journeying with us on the spiritual side of this journey.”
Whether you are single, married, discerning a religious vocation, or are ordained/professed/consecrated, this week offers a “sacramentalworldview” that will transform how you see God, your neighbor, and yourself.
James Riley has been on the St.Therese Institute mission staff since before anyone else here can remember, and he has done a little of everything in his time! He currently serves as the Deputy of Operations.
One Weekend to Watch them all!
The Lord of the Rings Movie Marathon Weekend at St. Therese Institute
One of my favorite traditions at St. Therese Institute of Faith and Mission is our annual Lord of the Rings movie marathon. Every year, over the course of a weekend, we watch all three Extended Edition films—nearly 12 hours of storytelling! It is a true marathon, and it is also one of the most communal and joy-filled weekends of the year: fellowship, towering creativity…and even encountering the King of the Universe through the story.
The Epic Quest Begins
The weekend begins on Friday evening as we transform the gym into a “hobbit hole” of sorts, filled with couches and comfy chairs, blankets and pillows. The movie staples of popcorn and beverages sustain us as our STIFM Fellowship journeys with the Hobbits out of the Shire into the unknowns of the wilderness and on to Rivendale. Sam’s declaration, “This is it. If I take one more step, it’ll be the farthest away from home I’ve ever been,” reminds us of our own Christian journeys (and for some, Bruno is the farthest way from home they’ve ever been). We watch as the Fellowship is formed and they begin their near impossible quest to destroy Sauron’s ring of power.
Saturday introduces the first twist to keep our cinematic indulgence far from passive: Our traditional Lord of the Rings Snack Competition! Teams of St. Therese residents imagine and create Middle Earth-themed munchies for the second movie in the marathon.
Unrestrained fantasy-driven creativity has resulted in many glorious…and gory-ous…and gooey-ous…culinary creations. This year’s fare easily met the excited expectations of the community. Bilbo’s hundred-and-eleventy birthday cake launched us into celebration. Lembas (biscults masquerading as elven waybread) and pints of beer (root beer floats) sustained us. The “dead marshes” were represented this year by sour patch kids in lime jello, with cake chunks and pretzel tree stumps protruding from the deadly green gelatinous goo. First prize went to Mount Doom, recreated from chocolate caramel bunt cake and erupting sour cherry lava all over the table. The Eye of Sauron made two appearances: once as devilled-eggs and once in hummus form. The Ents were there too, made of broccoli.
A hungry Fellowship of St. Therese residents helped themselves to the copious spread as they took in the second part of the trilogy, The Two Towers.
On Sunday, the program continues to fire the imagination and foster creativity with a second twist: The Middle-earth Costume Party!
Days or weeks of planning and clandestine work pay off as our St. Therese residents parade into the lounge in full garb, amidst an electric atmosphere of thunderous claps and echoing cheers! Poor Bilbo would be so overwhelmed he would surely collapse, muttering “Struck by lightning! Struck by lightning!” as he did in the Hobbit, the prelude to the Lord of the Rings story.
Some costumes are evocatively simple; some are over-the-top fantastic! Hobbits seemed to be the theme for this year with many notable Hobbiton denizens venturing out to watch the Return of the King, our third and final movie in the marathon’s trilogy.
Other notable cameo appearances are made by Aragon & Arwen, Boramir, Theoden, and Gandalf. The malevolent Lidless Eye of Sauron appears once more, as well.
Tolkien: Author, Professor and Catholic Witness
The weekend is full of fun, food, and abundant creativity, but there is a deeper reason we return to this story year after year as well. Its creator, John Ronald Reuel (J.R.R.) Tolkien (1892-1973), was a man of profound Catholic faith. He famously described The Lord of the Rings as a “fundamentally religious and Catholic work”. Tolkien’s faith was not an add-on; it was the “underlying matrix” through which he understood the world.
This is visible in the “sacramental” elements of his stories. For example, the Elven waybread, lembas, which “fed the will” and gave strength for the journey, is a image of the Eucharist.
Characters like Galadriel reflect Tolkien’s veneration of the Virgin Mary. Even the date the Ring is destroyed—March 25th—was chosen intentionally. In the ancient liturgical calendar, March 25th is the date of both the Annunciation (the Incarnation) and the Crucifixion, the two moments where light definitively overcame the darkness of our own world.
And Jesus’ threefold munera (Latin for “offices” or “missions”) are embodied in the three main characters of Tolkein’s story: Gandalf (The Prophet), the spiritual being made flesh who undergoes a literal death and resurrection to return with greater power; Frodo (The Priest), takes on the “sin” of the Ring and offers himself as a sacrificial victim for the salvation of many; and, Aragorn (The King), the hidden heir who returns to claim his throne, conquering death itself by walking the “Paths of the Dead” (cf. the Harrowing of Hell).
The “Little Way” of Middle-earth
At St. Therese, we find a special connection in the way Tolkien’s “little people” mirror the “Little Way” of our patroness. St. Thérèse of Lisieux taught that holiness is found not in grand, worldly achievements, but in the “nothingness” of small, hidden acts of love.
Frodo Baggins – the hero of the Lord of the Rings tale – is not a classical hero of hubris or self-confidence. He is a small, fearful hobbit who succeeds through “dogged obedience” to a call he did not choose. As Elrond famously says, “Such is of the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere”. This is the essence of the Little Way: recognizing our own weakness so that Divine Providence can work through us. Even when Frodo “fails” at the final hour, his previous acts of humble mercy allow Grace to complete the quest.
A Future Patron Saint of Mythology?
Because of his “heroic virtue” and the way his work has led so many back to the Church, there has been a growing movement for Tolkien’s canonization. In 2017, a significant step was taken when a special Mass for the opening of his cause was celebrated at the Oxford Oratory—the very church where Tolkien attended daily Mass. While the process is still in its early stages of advocacy, we may join the many members of the faithful who pray the official Prayer for his Beatification:
“O Blessed Trinity, we thank You for having graced the Church with John Ronald Reuel Tolkien and for allowing the poetry of Your Creation, the mystery of the Passion of Your Son, and the symphony of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him and his subcreative imagination. Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Wisdom of God Incarnate, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with You. Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we implore… hoping that he will soon be numbered among Your saints. Amen.”
James Riley has been at St. Therese Institute longer than any of the rest of the staff can remember, and he has worn many hats, including wizardly ones. He is the master of St. Therese Institute lore, and an unabashed Lord of the Rings (proof: he has a daughter named Éowyn, and LotR toys in his office). He currently serves as the Deputy of Operations.