2026 has been a madhouse already, and though I’ve been “off the air” since December, I plan on more podcasts very soon. I’e also been writing some important articles over at Stoking the Embers, which I’ll bundle in a nice, simple little newsletter here for my Firebrand Dispatch subscribers. But for now, here’s a bit of exclusive commentary for you; this one is a spiritual combat call-to-arms

Catholic life is not soft, and it was never meant to be. Anyone who presents it that way is either confused or already negotiating terms with the world.

The Christian life is lived under pressure. We are pulled by comfort, distracted by noise, seduced by approval, and worn down by ease. The devil doesn’t need spectacle; he does his best work when vigilance fades and resistance feels unnecessary. Our own weaknesses — habits, appetites, quiet compromises — make us vulnerable to both. This is not theory. It is the daily terrain.

Holiness requires toughness. Not bravado, not posturing, not anger — but real spiritual hardness: the ability to resist when it would be easier to yield, to endure when retreat feels reasonable, to remain disciplined when no one is watching. Left to ourselves, we fail. Not sometimes. Consistently.

Lorenzo Scupoli is blunt about this in The Spiritual Combat: “Distrust yourself, and place all your confidence in God.”That is not a devotional slogan; it is a sober assessment of reality. Self-reliance is not strength. It is exposure. The moment we begin to trust our own resolve, our own clarity, our own steadiness, we have already shifted our weight onto unstable ground.

The only reason we are capable of standing at all is because Jesus Christ stands with us — and because He supplies what we lack. The sacraments are not symbolic reassurances or spiritual accessories. They are reinforcements. Confession is not therapeutic reflection; it is restoration after damage. The Eucharist is not comfort food; it is sustenance for those who are still in the fight.

St. Ignatius of Loyola opens the Spiritual Exercises by clarifying the entire purpose of human life: “Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.” Everything else — success, pleasure, reputation, safety — is secondary. Useful only insofar as it serves that end, and dangerous the moment it distracts from it. That clarity hardens a man. It gives him orientation. It tells him what can be sacrificed and what cannot.

The world wants you passive. The devil wants you isolated. Your own weakness wants you tired, distracted, and unguarded. Catholic life answers all three the same way: discipline, vigilance, and complete dependence on grace. This is not a leisurely walk through a park on a pleasant afternoon. It is a campaign that demands alertness and resolve.

You were not made to be prey. But you will be, if you pretend this is easy.

Take the sacraments seriously. Stop flirting with the world’s comforts. Abandon the fantasy that holiness happens by accident. On your own, you are weak and exposed. Fighting with Christ, you are stronger than the enemy arrayed against you.

Stand your ground, people. God be with you all!