Matthew Chicoine

There wasn’t a blinding light. No booming voice from the heavens. Just a quiet tug—a whisper in the middle of everyday life.

I’m a husband, a father of four, a Catholic school teacher, and the founder of The Simple Catholic blog. I’ve always been Catholic—Mass on Sundays, prayers before meals, the works. But in 2014, something changed.

We lost a child to miscarriage.

And then again, in 2017.

Those were some of the darkest, most disorienting moments of my life. No one prepares you for that kind of grief—the silence, the questions, the emptiness. I knew God hadn’t abandoned me… but He felt distant. My faith, once automatic, had to become intentional. I could either drift or go deeper.

And it was in that brokenness—when I finally stopped pretending I could carry it all—that God met me.

He didn’t take away the pain. But He transformed it. The Cross wasn’t just a symbol anymore—it was a reality. Suffering, when surrendered to God, became the furnace where my faith was refined. And strangely enough, humor and the sacraments became the two anchors that kept me from sinking.

Confession gave me peace. The Eucharist gave me strength. And humor—holy, human humor—reminded me I was still alive. That joy could exist alongside sorrow.

That journey is what gave birth to The Simple Catholic. I didn’t set out to be an evangelist or influencer. I just wanted to create a space where other Catholics—especially the ones limping through life—could rediscover that God is still here. That holiness isn’t about perfection. It’s about saying yes, again and again, in the middle of the mess.

Through blog posts, memes, reflections, and writing, I’ve tried to remind people that grace is often hidden in the ordinary. That you’re not alone. That God works with the small, the broken, the simple.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned through it all, it’s this: the suffering you’re begging God to take away might be the very soil where He’s planting your sanctity. And when you let Him work in your wounds, something beautiful—something eternal—can grow.

So say “yes” to God. Even if your voice trembles. Even if all you can offer is your broken heart. That’s more than enough.