Living Monstrance

Pope John Paul II’s autobiography is called Witness to Hope. What does that phrase mean, “witness to hope”?
Some friends of mine evangelize out in public. They have some big signs, even a speaker and a mike, and they set up in a spot in downtown Boston or Cambridge and hand out “tracts” and [...]

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Several years ago, I got a phone call from a great friend of mine.  We became best friends in college and have kept in touch pretty regularly, even though he lives with his wife in New Jersey and I am in Boston.  Well this night he was filling me in on what had happened to [...]

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St. Francis’ love for God drew him to relate very personally to all of God’s creation.  He even called his own body “Brother Donkey”.  He disciplined Brother Donkey consistently, and he was seemed to be denying it many things.  Now, why did he choose the name donkey for his body?  And why was he always [...]

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As a Franciscan postulant, I got to spend time ministering to the people of our neighborhood in Lawrence, Mass.  Lawrence is the poorest town in the state.  Though historically it has beautiful character in its work ethic and family culture, it now has much of the breakdown in family and neighborhood that are too typical [...]

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For Boston sports fans, this year has been an incredible year.  First, you’ve got the Red Sox winning the World Series.  Then, you’ve got the Patriots winning every game (OK, except the big one).  The Celtics have been the best team in basketball.  Now, Boston College won the NCAA hockey championship.  What more?  How much [...]

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I lived on a mountain as a postulant with a Franciscan community for a month.  One of the difficult tasks was to get stuff up the mountain.  It was a difficult path, and it took an off-road 4-wheeler to make it all the way.  So, some stuff had to be brought up the old-fashioned way.
One day I had the [...]

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I often go to the local coffee shop in town here for coffee and a couple of muffins for breakfast.  The other morning I ran into a man named Bill I hadn’t seen in the shop for a while and we got to talking.  He is about 55 or so, and since his stroke last [...]

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“In the world you shall have distress.  But have confidence.  I have overcome the world.”  (Jn 16:33)  The Lord spoke these words to His apostles at the Last Supper, the night that He was betrayed and taken captive, and the day before He was crucified to death.
Now, hold that thought and bear with me as [...]

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For a time I worked at the parking garage behind the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Boston.  One night I was working collecting fees from cars as they came into the garage, and this brand-new big Mercedes Benz came rolling to a stop next to me and the window dropped down.  Staring at me [...]

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