Mark 10:49-51 “... Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus could have called the blind man to Himself without the help of His Apostles, but He didn’t. Instead, He wanted the Apostles to help bring the man to Chr

They are trying to pressure me at work to fit a client in on Saturday. The only space to take her in would require me to give up my lunch break and prayer time. I will not do that. This makes me uncomfortable, as did kneeling for Communion yesterday, knowing my pastor might make me stand. I also need to let them know that my status regarding Covid vaccination is not to be discussed with anyone. If anyone asks, no answer is to be given. If I choose to make it known, that is my

My housemate, Brian, left for Sports Camp yesterday, a Courage event for men who deal with wounds related in some way to sports and teamwork. Now I have more time to myself, more time to be “productive.” But is that really better for me? To will the good of the other is how we in the Catholic Church define love. To will my own good is self-love. So is it better for me to be alone and more productive, or to be with around someone who wills my good but distracts me from being p

Don’t fear happiness, my child. I have planted seeds in your heart. These seeds are taking root. The fruits of these new growths call you to a different life. One that is not of this world but still in it. The desires of your heart are what make you happy, and My seeds are blossoming in your heart. So the desires you have that bring you true happiness are of Me. So do not fear this happiness. I want it for you. I always have. But you had to go through your own ideas of happin

A friend recently shared that he doesn’t tell those who know him as gay that he no longer lives the “gay lifestyle,” because he prefers to keep it quiet and doesn’t know what to say. As he spoke, I did my best to control my confused, agitated expression, but I am not sure I succeeded. I have been given the gift of truth, as have all of us in the Courage apostolate. Life-changing, soul-saving truth. For the last 8 years, I have done my best to share this good news through my b

I now understand my call to priesthood and fatherhood as that of a sacrificial servant of and for Christ. How do I live this call faithfully? In a moderate, balanced way rather than either of the extremes I grew up with. As a kid, I was blessed to grow up with a dad who believed in a rougher, tougher version of serving fatherhood: teaching us how to do for ourselves. This sometimes meant leaving us in difficult situations we would have liked help out of, and some people would

As I read over the manual for loved ones of people experiencing SSA from Encourage, I am struck, in particular, by its section on the acceptance we want to feel. What stands out to me is the need for that acceptance and the reality that many of us who seek it already have it in our relationships in regard to everything in our lives except our same-sex activity. Because we identify ourselves this way exclusively, and because society encourages us to do so, this behavioral choi

The word privileged is thrown around a lot. So much so that we who see the manipulation behind its overuse can easily forget how privileged we are and our duty to those whom God has given us as our charges. “If the goods of earth are extensions of my person and if I love my neighbor as myself, I naturally share my good things. It is idle for me to proclaim concern for the poor, the homeless, for example, and at the same time indulge in elegant dining and drinking, pleasure tr

Some churchmen and some cops share an unfortunate trait. In their zeal for unity, they can lose sight of whom they serve. To protect and serve means doing what is best and right for the community you police, not necessarily for fellow officers. Likewise, to serve the Church means to serve Christ, who is the truth. So serving the truth does not always mean getting along with—or standing in “unity” with—other clergy. If a cop sees another cop mistreating someone they are suppos

Girls are gross...mmm no. Boys are cute...mmm no. As a child, neither of these experiences fit me. I found neither sex particularly exciting or repulsive. I do remember being excited by the battle between good and evil in Star Wars, and that was where my focus was as a kid. But that wasn’t good enough for the world. Garrett, go hold her hand. Put your arm around her. Oooohhhh, Garrett has a girlfriend. These pushes toward sexualization were common in my early double digits, a

Last week, I started praying again with two of my coworkers after taking a long break because, in my mind, they weren’t doing their part. I asked one if she reads the Bible daily, and she said no, but she would like to. So I started sending her one of the daily Mass readings each day. Yesterday I forgot, and she asked why I didn’t send it, which frustrated me, but this morning I did. I then felt it would be good to do this for others who don't have others to look to for Catho

Yesterday, I reread my journal entries from about six weeks into the pandemic lockdown. In them, I reflected on having once lived a more disciplined life, reliant on Jesus and His Church, and how, over time, I shifted back to depending on worldly comforts. My routines shifted when Brian and I began nightly check-ins, often late at night. Bedtimes moved from 9:30-10:30 to as late as 2 or 3 a.m. Morning rising slipped later, sometimes causing me to rush through prayers I used t

A few Sundays ago, a friend of mine was speaking with my housemate Brian and told him that he was not feeling well. Brian offered to take him to urgent care. I was frustrated with this because I feel it is important to help people, in some situations, by forcing them to help themselves. This is the way of my earthly father. Teach them to be self-sufficient by leaving them to do for themselves. While this can be an effective way to help people grow, it can also be detrimental

Yesterday, a client and I were discussing the coming plague of cicadas. She said she doesn’t understand what the point of their lives is, since they live for such a short time. Our conversation got me thinking about how we often misunderstand the value and purpose of things we do not immediately grasp. I started to explain my theory, beginning with “we assume because their life above ground is short that they serve no purpose.” She cut me off with some scientific mumbo jumbo,

City of God 2:27 “... The whole city learned in public both by the words and gestures of the actors. They saw that the gods delighted in the commission of these things, and therefore believed that they wished them not only to be exhibited to them, but to be imitated by themselves...” We all learn through example, unless we have been given, by almighty God, the ability to see past example. When we see virtue and discipline, we tend to imitate them. This is not necessarily beca

Today is Good Friday. The day Jesus, who had already sacrificed by lowering Himself to take on human flesh, made an even greater...

Back more than a year ago, when the initial stay-at-home order ended, DC Mayor Bowser made a comment in relation to worship service and Mass that was not the beginning of, but revived a feeling in me that a line had been crossed in our view of our own bodies, minds, and spirits, and those of our fellow man. She said something along the lines of, “We will allow worship again.” This ruffled my feathers. Feathers that were already ruffled by a few other statements and incidents.

One of the plants in my bedroom needs to be transplanted. It no longer bounces back to life after I water and feed it. I do not enjoy transplanting, so I avoid it, and the plant continues to live in a droopy state. Getting the plant out of the pot in one chunk without tearing it apart is difficult. Soil ends up everywhere. After transplanting, the plant often goes into a bit of shock and droops even more than before. So is life. We often avoid change because it is messy, espe

My housemate and I discussed his rough day at work yesterday before our night prayer. Afterwards, he was obviously agitated. When I asked why, he said it was partially due to my “communication style,” which “lacks in empathy.” Empathy means understanding and sharing another's feelings. Empathetic means showing this understanding and sharing. So, according to these definitions, I do have empathy: I understand and sometimes share others' feelings. Where I struggle is in how I s

As we walked into Mass this morning, my housemate Brian moved anxiously to make sure he got hand sanitizer before entering the church. I snickered. He said, “What?” angrily, and I said, “Nothing.” My sense of humor is a gift from God, but as with all other gifts, it must be exercised appropriately and with discretion. I often laugh at things that make me uncomfortable, and I admittedly find it funny to make others uncomfortable with my sense of humor sometimes. This means som