Today, I am reposting my friend Deacon Walter Johnson’s eulogy that I had the honor of writing and delivering at his Requiem Mass two years ago. This is in honor of his passing and also of his birthday, which was yesterday. Walter was a good friend of mine through St. Thomas the Apostle, and I…
Tag: bible
From History to Fiction: The Priest Who Inspired Father Briggs in Hope in a Time of Dying
Father Briggs, the priest in Hope in a Time of Dying, draws inspiration from the life and ministry of the Rev. Carroll Barbour, longtime rector of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Hollywood. In the 1980s and 1990s, when fear and stigma around HIV and AIDS ran high, Father Barbour opened the doors of St….
Flash Fiction: When Silence Breaks
It wasn’t that she didn’t love Jacob; he just drove her crazy. He was one of those men who never said what he was thinking, but instead turned silent and stared off into space whenever he was upset. That silence could stretch on for hours, leaving Mary to stew. Mary said to him, “Give me…
To My Late Brother John on His Birthday Tomorrow
Tomorrow is my late brother John’s birthday—the Ides of March. The flash memoir piece below is something I wrote a while back, but it feels fitting to repost it now. My oldest brother was a very good friend of mine. He had a wicked sense of humor and a way of saying precisely what I…
On Forgiveness For Our Misdoings
If you look back far enough, you can see that we’ve all been scoundrels a few times in our lives. We’ve fibbed to cover up something we weren’t proud we did or downright lied when confronted but were afraid of the consequences. We’ve omitted information that could evoke a negative response or gotten too angry…
Our Parish’s Book Honoring Those Who Have Died
At St. Thomas the Apostle, Hollywood, we have a book in which the names of loved ones who have died can be recorded. These people are prayed for every year on or near the anniversary of their death. Every year in February, two names are called out that are very familiar to me: my father,…
20 Minutes a Day 