THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #56 “Let the Children Come to Me” “Then children were brought to Him that He might lay His hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people; but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #55 – DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #55
THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #55 “The Raccoons will come.” From time to time, I meet people whom I have served at parishes in what seems to me to be my very distant past. I enjoy these encounters because I am often reminded of events I have forgotten. These encounters are often…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #54 -EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #54
THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #54 Cell Phones Everyone who knows me well knows that I do not have, and never have had a cell phone. People who don’t know me do not believe me when I tell them that I do not have a cell phone. I can see it on…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #53 -EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #53
THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #53 Altar Boys The reason for using altar boys at Mass is not necessarily clear to the average Mass-goer. In the Traditional Rite of Mass, the ostensible reason for having altar boys is that they represent the congregation. Their primary task in a Low Mass is to…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #52 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #52
THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #52 PRESUMPTION One day I received a phone message from a barber who once cut my hair regularly. Her shop was a five-minute walk from a parish at which I served for a number of years. After I was transferred away from that parish I would return…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST/EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO – #51
THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #51 Brenda and Eddie In 1977 Billy Joel released an album called The Stranger. One of the songs, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, tells the story of a fictional couple, Brenda and Eddie, who were the popular king and queen of the high school prom, married just…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #50 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #50
THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #50 NICK Very early on in my priesthood I was assigned to a large suburban parish situated on a beautiful piece of property with a very large parking lot. This parking lot would prove to be, for me and many of my younger parishioners, a…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #49 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #49
THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry: #49 One Step Forward, One Step Back; or, Why I Do What I Do. There are times when I am tempted to think that my work as a priest produces very little fruit. Of course, I will not know the fruitfulness, or lack thereof, of my labors…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #48 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #48
THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #48 The Miracle I Witness Every Day Long before I thought of becoming a priest I went on a pilgrimage to various holy sites in Europe with a good friend from high school, who was by then ordained a priest, and a group of his parishioners. At…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #47 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO#47
THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #47: Other Christmas Stories As I have written before, Christmas does not evoke many nostalgic memories for me as a priest. I have treasured memories of Christmas from my childhood and early youth, but for many years as a church musician, and later as a priest, I…
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