Earlier this month I had the pleasure of interviewing Brie Sanford, an alumna of Catholic Marriage Prep. We discussed baseball, high school, and avoidable wedding mistakes, but even more importantly I heard the story of her faith journey, long-distance engagement, and...
People often ask me what I remember best from my wedding. I could reply with the predictable answers, like walking down the aisle, exchanging consent before the altar, or dancing at the wedding reception: all vivid memories of some of the most important moments of my...
I needed a wake-up call on what it means to "love your neighbor." My husband and I live in an apartment, our very first. We’ve only been here two months, but already I would say that we have lived through the gamut of classic apartment stereotypes: the...
Many people in our culture believe in love at first sight. I’ll never forget the first time I asked my mom to explain how she knew that she would marry my dad. She smiled serenely. “Oh,” she said, “I just knew.” How, I wondered, could this be possible? Ten years old...
"Let go, let God" This is a phrase I’m sure you’ve seen around, maybe written on a sticky note in your friend’s planner, maybe posted to a classroom wall in a Catholic school, or maybe as a piece of kitschy wall art for sale at the Hallmark store. To me, it has...
ACM’s own Ashley Ruybal describes her experience with Catholic Marriage Prep, long-distance relationships, and wedding-planning during a pandemic. Tell me about your husband. His name is Christopher, and when we met, he was a student at Colorado School of Mines...
On any given night, you will find me leaning into the bathroom mirror, concerned about my face. It always starts the same way: stepping out of the shower, wiping the condensation from the mirror, leaning forward to apply moisturizer, and the realization. My face is...
We all want to love God. But do we understand how to do so effectively? To love the Lord, we can’t just admire Him from afar. We must seek a relationship with Him—this is what He made us for. Here are seven strategies that have helped me fall in love with the Lord....
A reflection on living as a Catholic in a secular world. Friday, June 24th, 2022. Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. A momentous day for abortion laws in the United States, and a balmy summer night in Fort Collins, Colorado. The thunderheads that...
Gratitude for my infant baptism took some time. For years, I regretted not remembering my own baptism. If this is the most important moment in most people’s spiritual journey, why was I baptized before I was even aware of what was happening? For context on my own...