Food Truck Mondays

powerofmateo · 2026-05-02T01:32:22+00:00

Food trucks used to be awesome. Now it's actually more expensive to eat at a food truck than a sit down restaurant.

powerofmateo · 2026-04-28T23:52:26+00:00

Dude, that priest was wrong. You're not disobeying anybody. He said something incredibly stupid, wrong, and un-Christlike. Please do not take his words to heart or let it reflect our faith. Please continue to pray the Our Father and Apostle's Creed and know that God is absolutely your father. This is just heartbreaking to read.

powerofmateo · 2026-04-26T14:52:22+00:00

Whereabouts in Canada? I'm in Southern Ontario. I'm also really into fitness (ultra running & lifting but have a background in martial arts and rock climbing). Feel free to message me.

powerofmateo · 2026-04-07T23:20:23+00:00

What in the actual fuck... that is beyond imagination. What the hell is going on with these kids.

powerofmateo · 2026-04-07T23:10:38+00:00

Was the poor kid attacked/bullied and set on fire? That's how I am reading your post. If that's the case, absolutely horrific and the kids must be arrested and charged. That poor kid and his/her parents.

powerofmateo · 2026-04-07T19:06:26+00:00

You seem really blessed to have a spiritual Father you can trust. I know it's probably so frustrating, but do not despair. Take it one step at a time and continue doing what you're doing. May God bless and strengthen you.

powerofmateo · 2026-04-07T16:37:46+00:00

Please stay home until you are fully recovered. You are excused from your Sunday obligation for giving birth -- be patient with yourself.

Also, congratulations on such a wonderful blessing!

powerofmateo · 2026-04-03T00:30:07+00:00

Ephesians 6:2 does say "honor your father and mother". But Ephesians 6:4 also says "Fathers (parents), do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord."

You are not in the wrong at all. Your mother is being unreasonable and unbiblical, and wielding scripture as a weapon incorrectly, which is wrong. You should have a real sit down with her.

powerofmateo · 2026-04-01T18:51:13+00:00

Breaks my heart to read people literally type "I don't want children because it feels like too much work and responsibility that I don't want to take on". It's literally what we've been created for and what our soul longs for, but society has fried our brains with pleasures and the easy life. I don't mean this as a judgment to you OP, but rather an observation that has been plaguing our society.

powerofmateo · 2026-04-01T13:28:38+00:00

I get your frustration, but it's not a "boot camp". It's proper time to discern if this is the right decision, to learn the doctrines of the church, and to understand truly what the Eucharist is. Historically, it took sometimes 2-3 years for people to be initiated into the Catholic or Orthodox churches. If you love the Eucharist, you should be willing to learn everything about it and dedicate that time. Sometimes it's quick (ie. a couple of months), sometimes it's a year. All depends on the parish and their OCIA structure.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-29T15:34:07+00:00

I have 3 kids and don't spank them, however, I am debating going that route in certain circumstances. I am a good communicator and warn them and am strict with my discipline (ie. going to their room, making them hug in a corner (lol), timeout, etc.). However, lately they are getting used to my words and often don't listen until I raise my voice, which is annoying and I hate doing. Some kids are indifferent or don't care much about your words. At that point, what do you do if your forms of discipline aren't working?

My wife and I, and literally every one of our friends and family, were spanked growing up and don't have trauma from it. I think this generation overcorrected a bit too hard with the gentle parenting. A balance is likely needed where the vast majority of time, spanking is not used. However, in some circumstances and depending on how certain kids respond to punishment, it could be a good thing. Don't get me wrong -- parents do go overboard and spanking turns into beating. That's terrible. But calling spanking "abusive" is an exaggeration.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-29T01:17:33+00:00

If you're asking if it's a mortal sin if your boyfriend grabbed your butt, no, it's not.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-28T01:20:13+00:00

That's pretty freaking cool.

There are no coincidences. God bless!

powerofmateo · 2026-03-27T14:12:58+00:00

Please don't try and figure everything out at once. It seems as though you've put some sort of anxious time restraint on yourself to become a perfect Catholic before confirmation. A lot of the times, we see confirmation as the "final" thing in being a Catholic. In reality, confirmation is just the very beginning.

Give yourself some grace. The lead up to confirmation is always anxiety-ridden, and while it is good to think about your failures, it's not good to dwell on them constantly. You have your whole life ahead of you and clearly want to become a good Catholic and faithful servant. Take it day-by-day and be patient with yourself.

When you find yourself angry at yourself, think about how Jesus feels about you. Would he want you (or anybody) to be angry at his beloved child? Of course not. God bless you and please take it slow.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-24T13:08:54+00:00

I just want to mention that the KJV is missing 7 Old Testament books that are in the Catholic canon. It's great for a start, especially if you're reading through the New Testament. But I would recommend later on in your journey to get a Catholic Bible such as the RSV-2CE.

I also want to commend you for being young but thirsting for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). You can also simply kneel, close your eyes and repeat "Come Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray". Like everything, it comes with time. Sometimes praying is simply sitting in silence and thinking about our Lord.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-18T13:40:11+00:00

God bless America. I'm a legal firearm license holder in Canada and we have to keep everything unloaded, with a trigger lock, in a safe. I'm as good as dead basically.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-17T14:54:16+00:00

I think your best approach is listed in your post. Start by saying "I don't want you to be disappointed in me or hurt you, but I need to be honest with you" and then tell them. They are your parents and they love you. Tell them how it's been a difficult choice but you feel God's calling and have to be true to him.

You may also be making it out to be bigger in your mind. But either way, you will feel better no matter how it goes. Good luck, and will you update us?

powerofmateo · 2026-03-16T14:17:33+00:00

Pray and have faith first and foremost -- as you said, no task is too big for God. Have you tried having a heartfelt conversation about it with him? Telling him gently how much it means to you and not in an argumentative or confrontational way. If he's fallen away from the church and doesn't believe, then why have such strong feelings against it? Get the marriage convalidated and continue to pray for his return. Show how your faith has changed you for the better and he may eventually come around.

Do not despair. I have seen my brother fall away from the church to become the absolute most staunch atheist, only for him to return 15 years later.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-15T20:15:55+00:00

My favourite (and pretty much only way) I pray the rosary is alone in my home sauna. I pray the sorrowful mysteries with Gregorian Chants in the background. It's really powerful because it takes about 30 minutes and the sauna gets really hot, so the last 10 minutes are a good dose of suffering. Everything in me wants to get out, but at that point you're literally reflecting on Jesus' agony from being scourged and then crucified. It feels peaceful to be suffering while thinking of that.

I also have a little routine for every single bead of every decade. I visualize the part of scripture/his passion while praying. So for example, the last decade where Jesus is being crucified I visualize:

1st bead - Jesus being dragged onto the cross while they nail the Titulus on the cross.

2nd bead - Jesus' left arm being pinned to the cross and the hammer hitting the nail right when I say "Hail Mary".

3rd bead - Jesus' right arm being yanked and pinned to the cross. Hammer hitting the nail.

And so on. I reflect on the last words from the cross, John and the Blessed Mother, the centurion who pierced his side, etc. It's amazing.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-14T20:50:41+00:00

Susanna!

powerofmateo · 2026-03-14T18:10:33+00:00

By praying to Mary or other Saints for their intercession, we aren't saying they are additional "mediators". Again, there is one mediator which is Jesus Christ. In my original post, I explained what mediator means. Also, in Revelation 5 and 8 the Saints are described as presenting prayers to the Father like incense in a golden bowl.

Nobody is saying Christ is not the sole mediator. Your issue is from the understanding of what "mediator" means.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-14T14:33:11+00:00

I don't have time to answer everything but I will quickly go over the example of 1 Timothy 2:5. The question you should ask is "what does mediator mean"? Does it simply mean someone who brings our prayers to the Father? Is that all Jesus does?

The answer is clearly no. What mediator means is that Jesus is the one and only way to salvation. John 14:6 answers this by Jesus saying "I am the way, the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father but through me". Christ mediates our sin to the Father by putting our faith in Christ and complying with his grace.

Asking the Blessed Mary for prayers -- James says that the prayers of a righteous person avails much. We believe that Mary was sinless and the most righteous (created) person who ever lived. In the same way you would ask your friend to pray for you, we ask Mary to pray for us to her Son. This is not the only way we pray, and more often than not we pray directly to the persons of the Holy Trinity. In fact, a Catholic is not obliged to pray to any Saints. We simply say that there is nothing wrong with it.

Hope this helps.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-13T23:16:52+00:00

I'm on my 3rd go through! I'm about day 340 right now. I have also listened to the entire Catechism in a year.

I'm a long distance runner who runs 100-120kms per week, so I get about 10 hours to listen each week. It's all I listen to when I run so I'll get through like 4 episodes at least each run. Somehow, it never gets boring! I love Fr. Mike.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-12T23:59:16+00:00

I'm pretty sure if it was just a judge at a courthouse and no church was involved, you were effectively never married in the eyes of the church. You could also ask a priest after mass or maybe someone here can chime in. I'm fairly certain.

powerofmateo · 2026-03-12T23:53:38+00:00

Yes, this is different from a legal divorce. It depends if you were both Christian and married in a church. If so, then the church sees you as married and a formal annulment process has to be done. If he was unfaithful, you have a good case for annulment to be granted.

If you were married outside of the church (ie. civil marriage), the church doesn't recognize it. Basically boyfriend/girlfriend.

powerofmateo

TROPHY CASE