Presenting at the 2026 Catholic Men’s Conference on the campus of Saint John’s University and Saint John’s Abbey (Collegeville, MN) was an honor and a pleasure. I want to extend my warmest gratitude to all of the conference attendees, who showed up in their hundreds, I also am grateful to the attentive organizers who did well in exercising the Benedictine value of hospitality that was very appropriate for our day and location together.
I presented during all three breakout sessions on the topic of financial well-being and mental wellness, highlighting 10 protective factors for financial well-being. During our sessions, I guided participants in completing a simple self-assessment of themselves for each of the 10 protective factors. I also guided participants in identifying one thing they could do in the next 30 days to improve the status of each of the protective factors in their lives. We also reviewed how stress and coping skills work when it comes to managing personal and household finances. Our time together in each session included revisiting what the Gospels and Catechism of the Catholic Church say about the place of money and worries in our lives, and quickly reviewed sage advice from Francisco de Osuna — a historical figure in the Franciscan tradition who was also a profound influence on Teresa de Avila.
Conference participants and interested others can find a copy of the session’s PowerPoint presentation, a full version of the self-assessment and planning tool, and a “Francisco’s Reminders” compilation of helpful Franciscan principles for money worries — all under the Resources tab for this website. During the breakout sessions, we covered Part 1 of a larger presentation and workshop I have developed. Part 2 covers mental wellness in more depth. If you would like a summary of Part 2, or you are coming from a parish or community that is interested in having Part 1 (same content as the conference session) and Part 2 as a presentation or guided small group series, email me at tom@liveandforgive.com and we can make that happen.
Thank you all, and may all the Lord’s peace and good be with you.
If your parish or faith community is seeking a deeper experience of wellness, forgiveness, inner renewal and spiritual growth, Live and Forgive is here to help. To begin the conversation, email Live and Forgive presenter and facilitator Tom Delaney at tom@liveandforgive.com — he will be glad to connect with you for a conversation.
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