Diary Entry # 18 “Is this where you wrote ‘Full Moon?’” As I have said before, I have never considered myself a writer, though I have spent most of my priestly life doing both technical and creative writing. My primary audience has been my parishioners. I have occasionally been asked to write for broader audiences,…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #17 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #17
Diary Entry # 17: The Lady Who Could Not Hear One Sunday after Mass an elderly lady complained to me that she could not hear the announcements about upcoming parish activities customarily made at the end of Mass. We usually put these announcements in the parish bulletin, or on the website, and reinforce them with…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #16 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #16
Diary Entry # 16 Mr. Chocolate Man Each of us has his idiosyncrasies, his quirks; but some of us have more than others. Sometimes idiosyncrasies devolve into instability. Mr. Chocolate Man was one of an elite group of eccentrics who, in my experience, despite their eccentricities, are able to maintain stability, to stay with us,…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #15 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #15
Diary Entry # 15: How I know I am living in a post-Christian culture (four vignettes) One Christmas season my secretary and I were determined to organize a Nativity play with the kids in our Religious Education program. We realized at the 11th hour that we did not have costumes for Mary and Joseph. The…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #14 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #14
Diary Entry # 14 Cats One of my favorite short stories of Ernest Hemingway is The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. In it, Francis (the protagonist) is on safari in Africa. His guide sets him up to hunt a big cat (lion), but, at the crucial moment, Francis loses his nerve and runs. The…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #13 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #13
Diary Entry #13: I Have a Dream I have never thought of myself as a writer, though I have been writing for most of my adult life. As I commence this piece, I sense that my skillset is completely inadequate to convey in writing the experience I wish to convey. Nevertheless, I will try, because…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #12 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #12
Diary Entry # 12: The Iguana One may wonder at what the connection may be between an inner-city priest and an iguana. Read on. One Saturday afternoon following the 4:00 pm vigil Mass I was preparing the church for the 7:00 pm Spanish Mass. I usually grab a bite to eat between 5:00 and 5:30…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #11 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #11
Diary Entry # 11: Auld Lang Syne The song Auld Lang Syne is familiar to English speakers as that which is traditionally sung at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. It is also sung by some at other occasions, as we shall see. The title is a Scots-language phrase popularized in a…
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The Diary of an Inner-City Priest #10 – El Diario de un Sacerdote Urbano #10
Diary Entry #10: The Lector On my first day on the job at one of my assignments, I showed up to offer the daily Mass at noon. As I was vesting in the sacristy, I heard a knock at the door. “Come in!”, I said, as cheerfully as I could. (I am not a cheerful…
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The Diary of an Inner-City Priest #9 – El Diario de un Sacerdote Urbano #9
Diary Entry # 9: The Mystery Woman In the Catholic Church we use the word “mystery” to refer to something for which there is an explanation, but for which we do not have the explanation. To give a simple, natural example, we know that the pyramids in Egypt were, in fact, constructed. However, the last…
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