When I was in the seminary, studying for the priesthood, one of the unique things that I experienced, not having attended Catholic School growing up, was learning about many Saints. There were holy men and…
USING GOD
The closest I ever was to being “truant” or intentionally “tardy” for school was with my two older brothers. I was in 7th Grade, My brother Craig was in 10th, and my oldest brother Chris…
DERELCT IN DUTY
It's been hard to keep up on a daily basis with current events. What's the saying, "There are decades where nothing happens and weeks where decades happen?" Things that in quieter times would've definitely registered…
BELL NO
A former student who’s served our nation in the United States Army since his graduation 15 years ago texted me the other night. He explained he was doing an “18.6 mile…
GETTING PAST THE SURFACE
About 12 years ago, while serving as a chaplain in Illinois for a few weeks for a group of a couple of hundred recent college graduates, I had what I’ll call a delayed reaction of…
IT’S NOT FAIR
Imagine if the landowner in this parable were an actual employer at a business here in the United States in 2023. Someone who had hired individuals at the start of the day, throughout the day,…
DEBTS OWED DEBTS FORGIVEN
When people ask how my parents reacted when I began the application process for seminary to actively begin discerning the priesthood, I explain how supportive they were. It wasn’t a complete surprise. We had many…
THE REAL FIGHT OF GOOD VS EVIL
This is the start of my 17th year here as the Campus Minister at Montclair State University, which is shocking to me. When I first started, the Archbishop at the time said because I was…
FROM “ROCK” TO “SATAN”?
If you’ve been paying close enough attention to the Sunday Gospels between last week and this, you might be thinking, “What a difference a week makes.” Could there be a more devastating blow to someone’s…