Category Archives: Other

posted 5/8/20 I remember a conversation with a man named Jim who was sharing with me his life story.  He told me that he grew up as a Protestant, but during his young adulthood he found himself kind of lost, drifting from the faith of his childhood and wondering what life was about.  After some years of real struggles and some darkness, he found himself reading aContinue reading “Faith”

posted 5/7/20 When I was a kid there was an unwritten (though oft-spoken) rule in our house that when you came home from Tashua Pool in Trumbull you were to hang out your towel to dry in the backyard.  I usually complied with this rule, through there were times when I would just leave it on the floor in theContinue reading “Revealing Ourselves”

posted 5/6/20 There’s an organization in Jamaica called Mustard Seed Communities that provides homes for people with severe disabilities.  In my last assignment, the members of the parish youth group would go down there each year to volunteer as part of a mission trip.  It was not easy work, but it was very rewarding to see how the teenagers fromContinue reading “Lessons from Mustard Seed”

posted 5/5/20 So, let me tell you how my life has been ever since I published my reflection on the sin of acedia yesterday.  I wasted at least an hour watching YouTube videos and checking my Twitter feed, I fell asleep during my holy hour in church, I mindlessly snacked on junk food in the rectory kitchen instead of making a proper dinner for myself, andContinue reading “Acedia: Take Two”

posted 5/4/20 When I was the Vocation Director of the Diocese one of the things I was expected to do was have what’s called a “social media presence,” which meant posting content on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.  I quickly realized how social media can easily suck up all your attention and waste huge amounts of time with things that are not very edifying.  While usingContinue reading “Acedia”

When I was in seminary, one of the priests on the faculty told us a story about his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land when he was a seminarian.  He and the rest of the group were near the Sea of Galilee and as the tour guide was telling them about the site they were visiting, theyContinue reading “The Good Shepherd”

posted 4/29/20 “Do you know, daughter, who you are, and who I am?  If you know these two things, you will be blessed.”  So spoke Our Lord to St. Catherine of Siena in a vision.  Our Lord continued, revealing to her the answer: “You are she who is not; whereas I am He who is.  HaveContinue reading “God Is”

posted 4/28/20 In yesterday’s reflection, I wrote about the importance of liturgy in our lives, distinguishing liturgical prayer from devotional prayer.  Devotional prayer is important, but liturgical prayer is necessary. In the context of liturgy we pray collectively and uniquely as the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church.  When we pray in this way, we actually participate in the interior life of Jesus Christ. Continue reading “Liturgy and the Spiritual Life”

posted 4/21/20 Growing up I had a friend named Darren whom everyone called “Doc.”  Everybody liked Doc.  He was very friendly and had a great sense of humor.  He was always telling funny stories, most of them made up, and would make fun of you in a way that you couldn’t help but laugh as you thanked him for the insult. Continue reading “Doc”

posted 4/16/20 Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the terrible fire that threatened to completely destroy the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.  Before the fire, Notre Dame was one of the most-visited places in the world.  Jason Baxter, a professor at Wyoming Catholic College, noted in a recent article in America magazine that Notre Dame had 12 million visitors each year, moreContinue reading “Notre Dame”