Welcome to Costly Things, a Catholic blog written by a pilgrim, for pilgrims.

Update: 10/14/2025

Thanks to everyone who has commented, subscribed or otherwise given feedback so far! While the Costly Things readership is modest, I've come a long way since launching in June.

If this is your first visit, you'll find a few dozen articles ranging from the practical to the contemplative, and a few in-between. I highly recommend checking out my most popular post, Selling Authority: Masculinity In Crisis, here https://costly-things.ghost.io/selling-authority-masculinity-in-crisis/

This month, I launched a fiction series that began as a creative outlet, allowing me to return to the roots of my craft: fiction writing. The first installment of the serial novella series, The Father Gabriel Chronicles, titled Cages, is being released a few chapters at a time on Wednesdays all month. The final chapter will be released and remain available until Saturday, November 1st, at which point the entire novella will be moved to Amazon and available for purchase.

My current intentions and plans for Fr. Gabriel include at least two more novellas, the second of which I am working on and is titled The Brides of Miriam. The third is in crude outline form and remains as of yet untitled. My hope is to pitch the second and/or third installment to a publisher.

I believe in this project, and it explores areas of the Faith via fiction that few others are attempting. I'm calling it sacramental noir, and while it is unsettling and a little scary, it contains no gratuitous gore, violence, or sexual content. It is atmospheric horror that wrestles with evil, belief, spiritual darkness, and the space between the Dark Night and Transformation in Christ.

I am currently very busy; on top of my job and raising six kids with my wife, who runs a successful business and works more than full-time, I am enrolled online in a few theology classes at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, MI. I'm committed to two pieces per month for Catholic Exchange, and I try to send out an additional two pitches to other outlets, such as Word on Fire, Crisis Magazine, etc. I am in the drafting and research phases of my next book, and I also have a big project in the works that I can't say much about yet. With all of that going on, I'm doing a lot of writing! So, for the time being, I'm moving to one post a week here at Costly Things, though there may be two sporadically.

If you've enjoyed Cages or any of my other work (whether here at Costly Things or published elsewhere, such as at Catholic Exchange), and feel moved to contribute to the modest financial commitment this requires, you can do so here https://buymeacoffee.com/costlythingswriting And if you're looking for a writer for long or short-form projects, ghost writing, a personal blog or parish bulletin, or anything else you feel my voice would be a good fit for, send me a message!

One last quick update. A few months ago, I announced that I had completed my first book and intended to publish it under my company, Costly Things Media Group, LLC. While the book is indeed complete, the Lord seems to have other plans for it, so I am currently waiting on direction regarding what to do with it. However, whether I publish it myself or try for more traditional publishing avenues, Built to Bear It: A Spiritual Field Manual is a totally unique work that is not so much a book as it is a distillation of the interior life and how to navigate it and grow within it, and I truly believe it will serve the laity well when it is finally available.

Whether you're a Catholic father, a hermit, or a fellow Christian pilgrim on the road, Costly Things aims to provide edifying formation you can use in the midst of daily life.

This isn’t a lofty or theoretical Catholic lifestyle blog.
It’s an honest look into one man’s daily struggle to love God and His people—with a Bible in one hand and a shop rag in the other.

You'll also find reflections and theological meanderings from a fellow pilgrim: someone raising six kids, who spends as much time praying in the boiler room as in church. This is theology in work boots, sanctification on-the-go, and faith discovered at softball fields and in the holy noise of my domestic church.

We are busy—and some seasons of life can make it feel nearly impossible to prioritize God and tend to our interior lives, no matter how strong our intentions.

But here’s the truth: we can still become saints, even if our habits are food-stained sweatshirts or a dusty pair of Carhartts. The vineyard isn’t far off—it’s right where you are.

An Invitation

If that resonates with you, I hope you’ll stick around.
Subscribe.
Share it with a friend or brother-in-arms who’s also trying to raise a family, rebuild their prayer life, or just stay faithful through the weariness.

You're already in the vineyard.
Time to get your hands dirty.