I still get asked why I continue to put my body through these seemingly ridiculous and difficult things, and while it’s still a little hard to articulate my desire to do these things, my heart simply burns within me.

A priest friend once said to me, “Death is the fate that all men share.” Growing up and visiting churches with visible cemeteries you get used to seeing the tomb stones knowing that the person’s bones are several feet beneath the surface of the ground. It wasn’t until my deacon year of seminary that I […]

Everyone has a story. Have you ever experienced that “wake-up” moment, when you looked at the people around you and realized, “Wow! Every person has their own story!? The waitress who serves us our meal at our usual restaurant, the UPS man who drops our Amazon packages at our door, and even the priest at […]

“Nice catch.” After participating in Baltimore Quo Vadis for each of the last ten years, this simple encouragement a seminarian gave me during a game of ultimate frisbee is one of the things I remember most. I was a rising freshman in high school back then, and I can’t remember if it really was a […]

Where have I met God in my life? This is a question I ask myself each day and even each moment in my life. Indeed, I experience God talking to me every day, and I can recognize and hear His voice. In particular, I have recently encountered God through the homeless.  I still remember that […]

I can recall the ecstatic feeling I had only six months ago when I was about to begin my first year of seminary. Leading up to August 20th, move-in day, I remember sharing this excitement with another seminarian who had already been in formation for a few years. We were sitting outside at a restaurant […]

I have a Friend who loves me very much, who is always available to listen to me without judging, blesses, and guides me, who is there when no one else is, who stands by me when I have strayed away. I have often been asked by my formators and brother seminarians if I spend time […]

The first thing to pierce my consciousness is the shrill tone of my alarm clock interrupting the precious moments of much-needed sleep. I roll over and peer with one eye at the little device that abruptly transported me back to the dark, quiet, and cold reality of the world beyond the warmth of my bed. […]

It was quite the unusual day in Dublin, Ireland. The weather provided a beautiful summer day in the “Emerald Isle.” Sunny, a gentle breeze, and a nice temperature of 68 degrees. I don’t know about you, but that’s ideal for the end of July! Around 3:30 in the afternoon, my father and I were making […]

You and I often go to considerable lengths to avoid suffering. We avoid toil because it is burdensome, we put off fasting because it is painful, or perhaps we withhold our truest self from God in prayer because honesty is frightening and uncomfortable. Although the avoidance of suffering is natural and nothing to be ashamed […]