In the mid-1980s, when Eric Clapton was going through dark personal struggles and loss, he wrote a beautiful song, Holy Mother. It is a prayer of surrender which expresses his conversion from being self-centered to being centered in the mystery of life, God, and connecting to others in efforts that contribute to society’s good rather […]
Advent is a mystical journey. Mary and Joseph set the tone for us with their journey to Bethlehem. It is a journey of trusting in visions and locutions, a journey of being ostracized and ridiculed, a journey of believing in impossible things, an adventurous journey that changed the course of human history. Their journey weaves […]
In late November our nation invites us to pause in gratitude for the numerous blessings we receive and share. The ritual began over 400 years ago, before the country was even born, when pilgrim-people from across the Atlantic sailed to the unchartered land we now occupy. According to tradition, colonists gathered with indigenous Pokanoket people […]
My sixty-five-year-old body increasingly reminds me of my age. For the past several months I limped around because my left side, from hip to ankle, has been hurting and dragging. For the first time in my life, walking and climbing stairs was painful. In retrospect and to my detriment, I probably never gave my body […]
I love the Catholic Church and am blessed to have been shaped by it. It has anchored my life and kept me oriented toward the good. It has educated me, inspired me, employed me, ordained me, and helped me through difficult times. Like many other things that I love—my family, my country, my home—I always […]
After a tornado, cyclone, hurricane, or other storm hits us, we can feel both relieved and devastated at the same time: relief that we survived yet devastated by the destruction. After a grueling game or sport season, team members can feel both exhilarated and exhausted. Feelings can be similar on the day after a general […]
At the funeral of Irish rock star Shane MacGowan nearly a year ago, his friends sang “Haunted,” a ballad he wrote in the 1980s for the iconic film, Sid and Nancy, and performed numerous times with Sinead O’Connor. The lyrics, “I want to be haunted by the ghost of your precious love,” could be a […]
Though I don’t suppose most churches have a designated parish bar, many of those that I served happened to. Down the street from my first assignment, Visitation Parish, was the (original) Peanut; members of Vis often shuffled there after meetings, games, prayer, or community gatherings. Teachers periodically assembled there on Friday afternoons for happy hour. […]
October begins with the Feast of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus (aka The Little Flower or Therese of Lisieux). The middle day of the month is dedicated to Saint Teresa of Jesus (aka Teresa of Avila). I have the privilege of serving as priest for Saint Therese Little Flower (STLF) Parish in urban KC […]
The Greek word “metanoia” is sometimes used in church jargon. It means an about-face or one-eighty-degree change—a total turn-around conversion. This week in Kansas City many sports fans marveled over how our major league baseball team fared last year with a 56-106 record (tied for worst in their history) compared to where they ended up […]
UPON THIS ROCK 