THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #58 My Name is “Father” I have a very common first name, or baptismal name, which was given to me by my parents at my baptism. I never use it. The reason I never use it will become clear as we proceed. When I was assigned…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #57 – DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #57
THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #57 Homeless people, Panhandlers, addicts, and plain old-fashioned Thieves As I begin this diary entry, I realize that it could grow to be an entire book of its own. My stories like those which follow are endless. Every priest everywhere is called upon almost every day to…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #56 – DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #56
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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