Inhale! Exhale!

Well, for the relative silence this week, a time to catch my breath this morning, return phone calls and stop for an noontime holy hour with priests. Until then, a few things:

First, my latest article that ran last week in Cincinnati's Catholic Telegraph has finally appeared at Catholic Exchange.

*As a side note, after the article appeared in the print edition, someone emailed me to say: 'You must be the smartest priest in the Archdiocese!' Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was a compliment or derision (I took it as the first), so I sent back: 'Not really, just the best plagarizer!' To which she responded with a laugh, so I guess it was the former, after all.

Be sure to look around the new site over there, looks great, more content, better layout, etc.

You know those prayers offered for my mom yesterday, well, keep em coming. Today is her birthday! (for the sake of staying in the will, I will not reveal what number it is....)

Last night, we had our first Andrew Dinner for this fall. 35 young men from the northern part of the diocese attended!!!! From my count, mainly from just 5 parishes scattered around a four county area. Vocations are out there, don't let anyone tell you different! Please offer a prayer for those who attended that they might truly be open to a vocation to the priesthood.

Finally, one last prayer intention: my spiritual director when I was in college died unexpectedly this week. He was only 61 and now serving as a spiritual director at Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass. A good and holy Jesuit, he helped me walk through that difficult transition from secular college (THE Ohio State University) to life in the seminary, and I am eternally grateful. A favorite memory of mine regarding him. We were in a play together, I guess it was my first year at teh Josephinum; he, too, was in the play. At one point, I guess for the dress rehearsal, he walks in wearing a neck-tie, instead of his usual collar. One of the brothers quipped: 'Ah, Father, you finally look like a Jesuit!' He retorted: 'That was perhaps the unkindest cut of all!' God rest this laborer in the Lord's Vineyard.


three days in a row of leaving the house by at least 6:30 AM; the last two nights saw a return of 10:00 PM or later; today is dragging. COFFEE!!!!