Friday, April 27, 20180209Several weeks ago, I got an eye-opening education on the life of the first Black Roman Catholic priest in the United States, Father Augustus Tolton. This came in the form of the play, “Tolton...From Slave to Priest,” which was presented as a one-man drama at Bishop Dunne Catholic School and at St. Rita Catholic Church.
Wednesday, April 11, 20180392I guarantee that the Holy Spirit worked overtime during the past Holy Week. One inspiration came via email saying that if sometimes you feel overwhelmed and are buried deep in the earth, Easter is the time to rethink that thought and consider that you might have just been planted. Consequently, it is Spring and the right time to rise and...
Friday, March 2, 20180425Back in the late 1960s when North Texas was known as the Diocese of Dallas-Fort Worth, a wonderful event occurred. Four parishes in Dallas had creative young adults who recognized that the high school youth of those times were in danger of slipping out of the barque of Peter, also known as the Roman Catholic Church.
Thursday, February 15, 20180233Charles Dickens had a way with words. In his novel, “A Tale of Two Cities,” he penned the famous quote: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Most of us have memorized those few words, but Dickens went on to flesh out the meaning of that phrase.
Monday, January 22, 20180242We were all taught by our parents and by our teachers that we were each called to be someone special. That call was labeled a “vocation.” As we grew up in a certain home or neighborhood, our first calling would be to orient ourselves to imitate our mother or father or some interesting neighbor. However, when a hint of some particular...
Friday, November 3, 20170290The current month of November brings the joy and the sadness of autumn to us in a vivid way as the trees vest themselves in many colors, but then those same leaves flutter down to the ground in a dance of death.
Thursday, October 19, 20170238During the past few weeks, there has been enough violence to fill hundreds of historical documents, but history can remain very dry and far distant from most of us. However, for the families and the neighbors of the victims, there is the sadness of the loss and of the pain and of the frustration.
Wednesday, September 20, 20170169In the days just before the recent catastrophic hurricanes in Texas and Florida, there were many hours of warnings about what was about to happen. What so many have just lived through happened almost exactly as had been predicted. How did the weather forecasters get their knowledge? My good sailor father had a saying which he often...
Tuesday, September 5, 20170173As I write this column, there are preparations going forward in Oklahoma City for the beatification of a priest missionary to the Central American country of Guatemala. Father Stanley Rother has been acknowledged by Pope Francis as the first recognized martyr of the Catholic Church to have been born in the United States.Since he came...
Wednesday, May 10, 20170176During his public ministry, Jesus would often come to his hometown to visit and to relax. It was on one of these occasions that someone in the crowd cried out, “blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!”
