About a decade ago, friends of mine attended a high school reunion at their all-boys Catholic school and met the first alumna: their transgendered classmate.   As society rapidly changes, many of us have a tough time keeping up.  Female alumnae of all-male schools are probably not a big issue for most people in modern times […]

Many of us are intrigued and, at the same time, agitated when hearing the story about Joseph fleeing from his homeland to another country, with his young wife and little son, seeking safety while being chased by murderous bullies.  Though the Holy Family may not have sought political asylum in any formal way, they were […]

The May retreat offerings at my spirituality center filled up quickly.  It tells me that people are eager to enhance their relationship with God and, subsequently, their relations with others.  These sessions will be a general, though brief, introduction to retreats through prayer, scripture, discussions about faith, and spiritual exercises.  Starting in June, we will […]

When Peter asked Jesus, “How many times must I forgive, seven times?”  He responded, “Not just seven but seventy times seven times.”  There may be a few different translations of the seven and seventy numbers but essentially the message remains the same.  Seven is a biblical and religious number pointing to human completion or perfection: […]

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus said to His disciples, “Come away by yourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.”  This scene occurs in a very busy chapter of miraculously feeding thousands of people, healing others, battling storms, enduring the death of John, contending with rejection, and additional challenges.  Christ sent them out in pairs to […]

Each spring as we recall the passion of Christ, we recollect His walk to Calvary and our own walk of destiny.  As He encountered good and bad people, from soldiers carrying out His execution and religious leaders demanding His death to those who sought to relieve His pain or who watched in horror, including His […]

Though it has taken me a while, this week I am able to introduce a website for the Farnan Spirituality Center (FSC).  You can visit it by clicking here, thanks to Lane Lucas, webmaster for Saint Charles Church and Borromeo Academy.  There is a brief back story.  In my previous pastoral assignment at Saint Charles […]

I have had a few recent encounters with students, alumni, and friends of Rockhurst University that, I believe, will help shape my role there in upcoming years.  They all pointed to the value of friendships.  Perhaps, most explicit was the installation ceremony of new members in my fraternity’s local chapter.  Through it, I reminisced how […]

In Robert Services’ famous poem, “Carry On,” he encourages human engagement in every aspect of life, from the youthful energy of overzealous adolescents to the struggled breathing of those in their final days on earth.  He ends with these words: “Carry on! Carry on! Fight the good fight and be true; believe in your mission, […]

Author David Brooks will be the guest of Rockhurst University later this month, speaking about the road to character in today’s world.  Among his many best-selling books are The Social Animal, The Second Mountain, and The Road to Character.  He is a columnist for the New York Times and an analyst on PBS NewsHour and […]