I started baking recently and it has been a total disaster and I’m OK with that. I was inspired to try my hand at baking by several friends who encouraged me with pictures of delicious sourdough bread you could practically hear crackling and crunching through the image. I thought, “It’s bread; this is beginner stuff.” Incorrect.
Growing up as an altar boy, and spending the last five years as a seminarian, it has become so natural and normal for me to put on a cassock and surplice when serving Mass. Yet I recently found myself doing something that felt a bit uncomfortable and abnormal; I put on an alb and a dalmatic, the vestments of a deacon, for the first time. This surreal and almost supernatural moment struck me with some force because, God willing, I will be ordained a deacon in just over six weeks. The occasion for this moment was assisting at a “practice Mass” for a friend who will soon be ordained a priest. I felt as though I might have been dreaming, but it really was happening.
“Have you ever thought about the monastic life?” The question made me start, and I tried to dodge his gaze: “It’s not a life I understand well,” I replied, and the Dominican friar let the matter drop.
Like many people, I was surprised at Pope Francis’ announcement on the feast of the Immaculate Conception that we were starting a year dedicated to St. Joseph. What a perfect moment to go deeper into the life of the patron of the universal church.
Skiing, I’ve heard it said, is like golf: the more you try to take control and use your own power, the more likely you are to see poor results. If in golf it is advised to “Let the club do the work for you,” in skiing it can equally be said to “Let the skis do the work for you.” Do not try to power your way down the hill; use the skis as they were intended, knowing how and when to properly turn and slow down, and trust that if properly fitted, your skis will get you downhill safely.
The World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, instituted by Pope John Paul II and connected to the feast of the Presentation of the Lord Feb. 2, will be celebrated in parishes Feb. 6-7.
I stood at the ambo and looked out at the crowd. They were all friendly faces, yet I was afraid to speak for fear of crying. It was only the second eulogy I had ever given, the first many years earlier. But this one was different. Patrick had died the week before at age 95, missing his 96th birthday by a week. He and I weren’t related and I only had known him for a few years, but we had become like family, my adopted grandpa. We hung out weekly, he knew my life story and I knew his.
Each year on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington’s Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary renew their vows during the school Mass. This year, the school community took a few extra moments after Mass to recognize and celebrate one of the sisters celebrating her 50th jubilee.
For the past month I’ve been living back in my hometown of Front Royal and attending seminary on Zoom, a familiar turn of events in COVID-19 times. This is the most significant length of time I’ve spent at home since beginning seminary seven years ago.
I have always loved Advent. The anticipation of something wonderful coming filled my childhood world with delight and awe. Of course, as a child, I was not fully aware of the true nature of my excitement and the anticipation was focused more on myself than on the true gift that was about to fill our world.
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