So this post is off my norm. I have decided I have to learn Spanish. For many years, my parish’s hispanic community has been served by a fabulous deacon, Jesus, who sadly had to move due to work. He has been gone almost a year now, and I have suddenly realized over the last few…
I went to the mall with my daughter the weekend after Halloween. Not only were they already putting up Christmas decorations, banners, trees, ornaments the size of my house, (and not a picture of Jesus to be seen…), but there was already the Christmas mood music playing in the background. Now look, I’m mad about…
The Lord is so good to me, he let me get sick. Not just a little sick, but knock me on my butt, I can’t remember what day it is, sick. Okay, maybe it wasn’t THAT bad, but I’m a man, and that means when I get sick I’m like a little baby. I’m the…
It seems silly to have a feast day for a building. I don’t care how important the building is, a feast day? Would we celebrate the day the White House, Big Ben, or the Eiffel Tower was built? What exactly is the “Lateran Basilica”, and why should anyone care? Every time this feast day comes…
Life is sacramental in nature. It is holy from start to finish, because everything we do, and everything that surrounds us is meant to lead us to God. We often see this in the big and important moments, and once in a while, it seems the light from heaven peeks through. The typical cliche sunset…
On my homepage, I have a picture of an event I put on every year, a trip to our local cemetery for young people. It’s a rather simple affair, we go to the chapel and pray the Office for the Dead together. Then I have students bring forward pictures of those whom have passed away…
I was driving to Mass this week, and I drove by a house that had decorated for Halloween. These folks went all out, there were cobwebs everywhere, tombstones, the whole nine yards, but what really got me was their main decoration in the middle of their yard. It was this huge ghoulish figure surrounded by…
One of my favorite prayers in the world is a short and simple one. The trouble is, it is also a very dangerous one if you want to live a quiet, well ordered life. It has a tendency to mess up all of your plans, and make you feel like you are a cat chasing…
I know I’m not alone in this, only because I’ve seen it in nearly every sitcom I’ve ever viewed, and seen it ever present in nearly every home I’ve ever walked into. I have a chair. It’s MY chair. Sure, on occasion others might sit in it, but people usually don’t like to. I can’t…
St. Francis has to be one of the most well known, and dearly beloved Saints, and for very, very good reason. While he was not great in physical stature, he was truly a giant among men. His clear, complete, and wholehearted devotion to God was a beacon for his time, and even now centuries later,…