How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)   We live in a time of division. The priesthood is not exempt: young vs. old; tradition vs. innovation; social justice vs. prayer and fasting. This past week, I listened to a presentation by a priest who urged his fellow priests to consider exempl...

Mighty grain elevators—1,500 broad-shouldered "Sentinels of the Plains"—once stood guard over farm towns across the State of Texas. Today, less than a third of the aged watchmen report for duty. In their place, prison towers now shadow the edge of many rural communities. I spent the first week of November in one of those prison towns. Normal...

This article was previously published in Sword & Spade magazine.   Ed Toth, Fraternus Sage, didn’t recognize his worldly  attachments and identities until they were gone. I remember hearing the revelry and cheering outside as the new year dawned on December 31st, 2019. I was alone, laying on the floor of my newly emptied office...

The prison guard weighed the small plastic bottle in the palm of her hand. “It’s not grape juice?” “No, ma’am.” She held the three ounces of rose-colored liquid up to the light. “Not permitted,” she said. I was taken aback. “Ma’am, Catholics are required to use real wine for Mass. I’ve been to this unit numerous...

This article was previously published in Sword & Spade Magazine. Gregory Matthews, corporate lawyer, is concerned that versions of  the American dream are leading some to a nightmare. Our communities are being torn apart today by a host of divisive agendas that are seemingly promoted by all of our cultural institutions, from the classroo...

The first time I met a resident of Wheeler, Texas, I made a snide comment: “Where’d your town get its name? It is full of wheeler-dealers?” Sometimes God pays me back for smart-aleck remarks. A couple Sundays ago, I substituted for the priest at Wheeler. During the opening prayer, a family entered church and filed into the last bench: a...

Do you have a favorite coffee cup? I’m not referring to the one that looks like all the rest except for the chip in the handle. Rather, I’m thinking about a mug on the corner of your desk or the tumbler with the lid that rides along in your truck. Or, maybe, you got a number of favorite coffee cups.  If they’re like mine, they sport nifty...

This article was previously published in Sword & Spade magazine. Fr. Matthew Buettner, Spiritual Director at St. Joseph College  Seminary, Charlotte, distinguishes loneliness and solitude. Man is a social animal. Most of us enter the world in the context of a community, principally, a family. Even the Son of God stepped onto the stage of...

Children occasionally wander off, casting parents into a state of anxiety and panic. As a celibate, I can only imagine how that experience must feel. Adult children also wander off. As a priest who minsters to addicts and inmates, I share common ground with parents whose adult children get lost on the road of life. The agony that I feel is but a...

This article was previously published in Sword & Spade Magazine.   By: Joseph Pearce, father and scholar, helps us to  get into the books we need to get. As with all things, it is best to begin with the basics. Before we can understand how to read great literature properly, we need to know how to read properly, and before we can ...