Latest News

Before you toss professional dress out as superficial, let me argue that the notion of rejecting the material is profoundly anti-Catholic. We live in a world where God became man and took on flesh, where He explicitly used material to convey grace

“We must be convinced therefore that work is a magnificent reality, and that it has been imposed on us as an inexorable law which, one way or another, binds everyone… It is an indispensable means which God has entrusted to us here on this earth. It is meant to fill out our days and make us sharers in God's creative power. It enables us to earn our living [...]

Having a daily prayer life is essential to strengthening one’s relationship with Jesus Christ and nurturing the body, mind, and soul. As Catholics and Christians, many of us have built prayer into our daily lives and rely on God heavily throughout each day. For others, it is difficult to begin a prayer routine and build it into a busy schedule or once begun, to stay consistent with it. [...]

As Catholics, we are blessed to have a plethora of prayers, reflections, meditations, spiritual readings, and so much more at our fingertips that nurture our faith and allow us to grow closer to Our Lord. While we strive to live our lives in the way God is calling us to, oftentimes we seek a deeper, more intricate prayer life and wisdom from the Holy Spirit that comes with [...]

“As Catholics, we bring the richness of our faith to the public square. We draw from both faith and reason as we seek to affirm the dignity of the human person and the common good of all.” 1 There seems to be a lot of confusion in the Catholic Church surrounding the upcoming election. Priests and bishops are supporting both candidates, congregations are hearing mixed messages, and people [...]

A global pandemic, racial injustices, and an election year each on their own are enough to make anyone crazy. But this year brought us all of it. We’ve had to adapt to new ways of living and “being.” We’ve watched and experienced true devastation. Our faith and hope have been challenged in ways that we never thought possible or perhaps never expected in our lifetime…And the year isn’t [...]

Disclaimer: This blog post is not about selling indulgences. “The Catholic Church does not now nor has it ever approved the sale of indulgences. This is to be distinguished from the undeniable fact that individual Catholics (perhaps the best known of them being the German Dominican Johann Tetzel [1465-1519]) did sell indulgences–but in doing so they acted contrary to explicit Church regulations. This practice is utterly opposed to the [...]

This was the speech given by Denise Barajas, President of the Tepeyac Leadership Initiative Class of 2020 in California, at the graduation ceremony for the 2020 TLI cohort in California. ___ Good evening, everyone. I am honored to be named the first president of the Los Angeles TLI cohort. I want to take this time to thank Archbishop Gomez for welcoming TLI into our Archdiocese, Bishop Olmsted for [...]

This was the speech given by George McNeely, President of the Tepeyac Leadership Initiative Class of 2019 in Arizona, at the graduation ceremony for the 2019 TLI cohort in Arizona. ___ Bishop Olmsted and distinguished guests, First and foremost, on behalf of the TLI Class of 2019, TLI Director Cristofer Pereyra, thank you for your courage and endurance. To paraphrase Alexandre Havard from his book, Virtuous Leadership, “Courage [...]

This was the speech given by Luke Kircher, President of the Tepeyac Leadership Initiative Class of 2020 in Arizona, at the graduation ceremony for the 2020 TLI cohort in Arizona. ___ In the tradition of TLI, I’d like to start how we begin all TLI gatherings – with our opening prayer… “O Mother, strengthen the faith of our brothers and sisters in the laity, so that in every [...]

This was the speech given by Gustavo Estrella, President of the Tepeyac Leadership Initiative Class of 2018, at the graduation ceremony for the 2018 TLI cohort. ___ Thank God for our Bishop, Thomas Olmsted, for his visionary leadership and remarkable foresight in arming the people of the Diocese of Phoenix with faith-forming programs, such as TLI, in order to advance the mission of the Church. Your passion and [...]

No matter who you are, what you believe, or where you stand on the current events in our country, this time in history is a time we will all look back on and remember. What happened yesterday in Phoenix, Scottsdale, San Jose, Chicago, Tampa, and many other places is heartbreaking. This situation is hitting close to home for many people. For me, it’s knowing that some of my [...]

I was in my first semester of my freshman year at Arizona State University. As a Catholic who desired to continue living my faith in college, I hoped to find a community of people desiring the same thing. However, my shy personality combined with how overwhelming this new college experience was made me too scared to venture over to the Catholic Newman Center on campus. About a month [...]

The Oxford dictionary offers three definitions for leadership: 1) the state or position of being a leader, 2) the ability to be a leader or the qualities a good leader should have, 3) a group of leaders of a particular organization, etc. In other words, the dictionary is of no help. It describes the destination but offers no map for the journey. I tried the RAE too; the definitions were [...]

It was Thursday, of the second week of March. I was in California facilitating the fifth session for the new Tepeyac Leadership Initiative (TLI) Los Angeles cohort. Things were going well! We had been hearing about the Coronavirus since late 2019. But this wasn’t the first time the public was made aware of the imminent danger of a virus from Asia. A state lockdown, an almost complete shutdown [...]

In the summer of 2013 the Lord brought me to work at Grand Canyon University in their Strategic Educational Alliances department (now called K12 Educational Development). From the moment I began, my boss encouraged me to pursue a Masters degree. I was hesitant at first, but after much discussion with my family, friends and mentors in my life, I decided to move forward. I actually ended up earning [...]

I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit tired of hearing the word “coronavirus.” It seems to be all anyone is talking about right now. I do not say this to diminish the problem and I acknowledge that we do need to be concerned. It is unlike anything our world has seen for a long time. And we each have our own ways of dealing with it. [...]

The Oxford dictionary defines brainwashing as “pressurizing (someone) into adopting radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible means.” I looked it up, because recently someone who had been admitted to—and later decided to pass on—our Tepeyac Leadership Initiative program, provided the following explanation to me over email: “The more complicated part of the reason is that my wife was surprisingly unsupportive of my participation. Ultimately, she [...]

I am convinced that one of the reasons our leadership program is so successful is because by God’s grace we have been able to help people in two fundamental areas where many a young professional seems to struggle today: identity and purpose. This is—to me—the most essential question in life: who are you? Of course, you have an answer, but I am looking for something deeper than your [...]

“Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others…” Colossians 3:23 Work is a blessing because it was ordained by God. It is a great gift to be able to get up each morning with a purpose and intent for the day, knowing that what we do will bring in support for ourselves and our families. There is also great opportunity in [...]

There are three things we need more of in today’s workplace: commitment, accountability, and simple professionalism. This 2020, I’ve decided to be more disciplined in each of the three. I hope these thoughts will inspire others to follow me. I believe these are basic rules all serious professionals should demand of themselves, independently of the field or industry they occupy. For Catholic professionals, observing them should also take [...]

Today’s so-called progress tends to come in the form of new answers to very old questions. It also seems humanity sometimes seeks change for the sake of change, forsaking along the way the most zealously guarded treasures of its forefathers. That same humanity later makes inadequate attempts at rediscovering its lost treasures by giving them different forms, names or connotations, thus unnecessarily obscuring and even obstructing their true [...]

Back when I first entered the workforce, the slogan “dress for success” was still a popular phrase printed on business invitations. I am not sure how popular it is today. After all, in the era of workforce perks, flexibility and remote-work arrangements, we’ve all heard stories from Silicon Valley about the extravagance of going to work in shorts and sandals. But in my professional experience (which started in [...]

Everyone has a desire to belong and it’s this desire that drives us to pursue friendships with the people in our lives. We were made for friendship and community, in our homes, in our workplaces, and elsewhere. For now, we will take a closer look at building friendships at work, which is so integral to our mission at Tepeyac Leadership Initiative. The American Time Use Survey found that employed [...]

Undoubtedly, for some, getting a degree in theology is exactly what God wants. Some might be destined for the priesthood or religious life, but have not yet discovered it. They could definitely use the knowledge. There are also those, like Dr. Scott Hahn—made for academia—for whom advanced studies in theology are a must. Then, there are many other lay people who thrive as catechists, leading an apostolate or [...]