One of the most difficult realities I’ve had to face as an adult, as a priest, as a husband, and as a father is the waking up to the reality of the complexity of each human person I encounter, including myself. This continuous process of discovery has me regularly...
It’s just who I am. I remember my time at an Evangelical Protestant school for my undergraduate degree, and the 2 years of homiletical (how to give a sermon). It was a bit grueling and my professor was particularly tough on me. One day, I was walking with another...
There is a story about a great man. He had searched the world over for wisdom. He had gone to gurus, and sought out great religious leaders and learned philosophers. But still, his heart ached for more. Sure, he learned great and awesome ideas and heard wonderful words, but...
My dear bride has a hard and fast rule for my two girls: “Wash your hands!” You see, my wife is a trained elementary school educator and part of that training has to do with hygiene. Teaching children to wash their hands before they eat, after they play, and after their...
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to “eat crow” over some idea I had or position I held that turned out to be, oh not necessarily “wrong” but “too small” or “too narrow” for the subject at hand. It’s made me a bit gunshy at times...
I know it is a bit “old-fashioned” and it may be hard for those of this generation to understand, but the timeless message of the Faith is that we are called to battle and tame the passions SO THAT they are our servants and never our masters! So what...
“I’m offended!” It seems that is a common complaint in our day. When did we become such a generation of “fragile little snowflakes” that the slightest challenge sends us into fits of offense and demands for regress? So, what do you think is behind this age of easy offense? I certainly...
He looked at me right in the face and said the words I will never forget: “When you’re ready to ‘sell all you have’ to have this faith, then, and only then will you be ready!” Whoa, wait a minute, let’s talk about this! Everything? Yep, everything. It was a turning...
I looked out at the congregation and said: “If Kmart had a Blue Light special like this, they’d sell out in a minute.” Of course, you don’t know what a “blue light special is. You may not even remember KMart! Suffice it to say it was a marketing trick that...
My grandfather was an amazing storyteller. He was always a larger than life figure in my eyes as a boy and still is even as a grown man. He had this ability to mesmerize us grandkids with his stories of being a police officer in Atlanta, and the stories...
