The filly arrived at my place in need of training. After four weeks, she was ready to return home as a gentle, respectful mount. When I called her owner to pick her up, he surprised me by asking if I’d like to keep her as my own. It had been a dry summer and I suspect his feed costs were high. I happened to have a vacant pasture at the time, so I said, Sure! Having recently moved to Texas from Ripley, Ohio, the birthplace of Ulysses S. Grant, I named her Cincinnati, the name of General Grant’s horse during the Civil War. For the next fifteen years “Cincy” made her home in my barn, helping ..read more

The death of my sister calls me home to Ohio. The week of her funeral, I find myself driving down the country road to my brother’s farm, the one on which four generations of our family were raised. My mood is somber, but my spirit is buoyed by the faith that resides in the loam of the soil as well as the humble lives that comprise this rural community known as Ft. Loramie. Before turning into the lane at the home place, I pass another farm which, back in the 1940’s, produced an abundant yield of religious vocations: two priests and two nuns, one of which was Sister Dorothy Stang. Raised on tha ..read more

A Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent I’ve trained quite a few horses in my life. Some of them left an impression, literally. Just ask my x-ray technician. I remember, in particular, a colt named Moonshine. He appeared calm when that his owner dropped him off at my place. But the next day, when I slipped a halter across his ears, Moonshine reared, landed a hoof on my chest and sent me flying! Later, his owner mentioned that Moonshine once caught his halter on a nail and spent an entire day snagged tight to post, unable to move. “He’s a bit touchy around the ears,” said his owner. (Thanks for ..read more

This is an excerpt from the book The Traditional Virtues According to St. Thomas Aquinas: A Study for Men, by Jason M. Craig. A thing lives when it breathes in and out. The virtue of charity is only alive when it “” in and out, so to speak, in loving God and man. This love is more than a feeling. “[It] is an act of charity to do good to others [for God’s sake],”[1] says Aquinas, and this “good” must be true action. Charity “requires that not only should we be our neighbor’s well-wishers, but also his well-doers.”[2] “Doing good” is labeled by Aquinas with the broad title of “beneficence,” whic ..read more

The voice of hospital receptionist sounded concerned. “His name is Angel.” She was calling to inform me that a family was requesting my presence at the bedside of a man who did not have long to live. It was Ash Wednesday. I was filling-in for a vacationing pastor, so I checked the Mass schedule, then told the receptionist that I would be there shortly. I knew the hospital was nearby. The name Angel is common among Hispanics, yet the coincidence of being called to the bedside of a man named Angel on Ash Wednesday was remarkable. Allow me to explain. Three weeks ago, my sister died. I was u ..read more

Two nuns occupy a corner of the waiting room. I take a seat near the door. To my right, an elderly woman pages through a copy of People magazine. On the sidewalk outside the window, a mother is giving instructions to three children.  The oldest one, a boy, frowns and stomps his foot. Soon, they enter the door and the sisters beckon the family to their part of the room. I lean my head against the wall, hoping for a quick snooze. The door opens again and I catch a glimpse of a black hat. A cowboy with manure-crusted boots plops down in a chair across from mine. He is young and sta ..read more

Having enthroned himself as a god, modern man struggles with the ideas of prayer.  Why pray for something with a touch of uncertainty when I know that Amazon can get it to me in a few days anyway?  I’m only slightly joking, but it is true that affluent and wealthy peoples have a harder time developing the healthy sense of need, of sending a request out with the possibility of hearing a “no,” like one does with the form of prayer we call petition.  Our entire lives are filled with “yes.”  Click the “L” key and the letter appears.  Turn the thermostat and the air warms ..read more

I cease yanking the pull cord on my push mower to catch my breath. Gas fumes waft in the air. “No, Tuff! Don’t kick the bucket today!” It is mid-November and the last time I’ll need to mow the lawn. “Just one pass, pal.” I glance at a swath of grass beyond the mole hills, then give mower one more yank. Then another. Then another. Tuff  hacks a dry cough. Another yank. Nothing. No click. No sputter. Not a quiver. Kneeling, I remove my hat. These difficult starts have been a summer-long issue. Fortunately for Tuff, the season was dry and my budget’s been low. I place my hand on th ..read more

The rector was out of town and I was asked to offer the Masses at the cathedral in his place. While vesting in the sacristy, I noticed a picture on the wall, a drawing of a young John the Baptist. It was striking. I studied it a moment, figuring it was a print of some timeless classic. I was wrong. In 1907, a daughter of pioneer ranchers, Kostka Harvey, became a teacher and established the first Catholic school in the Texas panhandle. Among the subjects she taught was art and this picture was one of her drawings. I learned all this from the deacon who was vesting alongside me. But what he said ..read more

Cell-Block Salvation: A Prison Homily Some folks find answers in the Bible. That makes me jealous. When I open the Bible, I find more questions than answers. Today’s gospel passage provides a good example. When Jesus surprises his listeners by praising a dishonest thief, he’s called to task. In response, he points out that that people who break the rules tend to get more accomplished than those who play by the rules. Now, mind you, he’s not saying that it’s okay to break the rules, he’s just pointing out that some folks stop at nothing to get what they want. That’s where the discussion wi ..read more