Our friend Rapheal Prevot (RIP)

I went to the funeral of a friend today who died of colon cancer and who was not yet 50 years old and has an 8 year old son. Rapheal was a great guy, not just a lawyer but the labor relations council for the National Football League's management counsel. I knew him simply as someone who loved his family--especially his wife Roberta and son Rapheal III, his friends, his church and clearly his God. He always helped everyone he met including countless alumni of his beloved Indiana law school

I've been helping out my priest-friend Fr. Jack Collins, CSP with a parents group where the goal is to explore our faith so that we can pass it on to the next generation. I'm really just there to help Fr. Jack but, I've gotten into the group's dynamic discussions as my wife Marion and I continue to discuss adoption. Roberta has been a huge comfort to me in the group and Raphael, while more of the silent type, was also someone who had a rock-solid faith that moved me more than he probably knew. He'd always have a great story or even a struggle in his own life that he was able to convey in such a human way--that let us all know that we were all going to be OK, no matter what happens to us. Little did we know that this was probably Raphael's way of saying good-bye to us without us actually knowing it.

Fr, Jack mentioned two wonderful things in his homily. Fr. Jack also lost his father not long after his 8th birthday. He told little Rapheal that he knew how he felt and that even though his dad was gone that he's always been able to keep him in his heart and talk to him whenever he felt like it all these years.

Little Raphael responded: "Fr. Jack! We're Twins!"

Ok, go get a tissue. I'll wait....

His second point was that many of us in the parish didn't realize how serious Rapheal's cancer was. Some of us didn't even know that he was sick. "He refused to live in the shadow of his illness," Roberta told our group in an email this week. Fr. Jack recalled this and then noted. "And he didn't....

He lived in the shadow of his God."

Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto him O'Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May Rapheal's soul and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen

Wall-E

A great review of a movie I hadn't planned on seeing today by Jeff Guhin on BustedHalo

John Allen and Ron Rohlheiser

I had planned on blogging some of this myself but wanted to digest it further.

John Allen and Ron Rohlheiser were two speakers at the Paulist 150th Celebration.

Gashwin blogs a good post on these two giants.

Under a bushel basket

Fr. Steven Bell, CSP celebrates his first mass today. The gospel is the bit about "You are the light of the world." And also, "You can't hide your light under a bushel basket."

Let me tell you straightforward: Fr. Steven always lets his light shine and has been a light for so many--especially when they find themselves in dark places...

And I don't think there is a bushel basket that big to contain all the light he exudes.

Congrats on your first mass!

Go Bishops Go!

The U.S. Bishops addressed a letter to the leaders headed to the G8 Summitt on July 7-9.

Some Highlights:

As the G8 Summit in Japan approaches, we write on behalf of the Catholic bishops’ conferences to the leaders of our respective nations to urge you to deepen your commitments and actions to reduce global poverty and address global climate change.

As our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI said at his visit to the United Nations in April: “[Q]uestions of security, development goals, reduction of local and global inequalities, protection of the environment, of resources and of the climate, require all international leaders to act jointly and to show a readiness to work in good faith, respecting the law, and promoting solidarity with the weakest regions of the planet. I am thinking especially of those countries in Africa and other parts of the world which remain on the margins of authentic integral development, and are therefore at risk of experiencing only the negative effects of globalization.”

Our religious and moral commitment to protect human life and promote human dignity moves us to be particularly concerned for the poorest and most vulnerable members of the human family, especially those in developing countries. The experience of the Catholic Church in serving the needs of poor communities leads us to applaud the Summit’s focus on development and Africa.

Read the entire letter here

Fr Mark Mossa - new blog

No commenting on the new blog...but always a thoughtful comment.

http://frmarkmossasj.blogspot.com/

Extemporaneously Speaking

During Scott Appleby's presentation he misspoke and called our website "Broken Halo." I mention this not to slight the good professor's name (God knows thousands of people make the same mistake--so much so that we even tried to buy Brokenhalo.com a few times), but rather to offer a few funnies.

One Paulist yelled out: "BUSTED halo."

To which Appleby replied: "Shoot...right sorry. Wow! It's even more drastic than I thought."

To which I replied: "At least it isn't SHATTERED."

And it was all that quick. Laughs all around.

My advisor said to me..."You've got a real gift for quick retorts. Were you always that quick? Or does that come from your radio training?"

I said, "Well I learned a bit in radio...but I was the state extemporaneous spaking champ for a club I was in in high school. That's where I really learned it. In fact, that's probably where I learned how to preach."

And I went to public school...

In short--the rules I learned for extemporaneous speaking are as follows:

1) Tell stories throughout--and one that grabs the audience right away up top.

2) Speak vibrantly and strong as if you were trying to make a point that the audience just had to know--as if their lives maybe didn't quite depend on it--but rather something that you just had to share.

3) Speak between 3-5 minutes only. That makes you narrow in on a point.

4) Have ONE point and one point only. Stay on topic and don't try to go through any back doors.

5) Speak ENGLISH. No high fallutin words.

6) Know your audience--and if you don't know your audience (for some odd reason) try to lead with stories that everyone can resonate with.

7) Make people fall in love with your idea--not neccessarily appealling only to the intellect but more to the heart.

8) Don't go overboard with syrupy stuff--have a gentle balance while leaning towards the heart.

All good advice. Hopefully I've lived up to it.

Always good to get praise

I got a nice note from my boss this morning saying how proud he was of Bill McGarvey and myself during the entire 150th Anniversary gathering of the Paulists. Every presenter had mentioned BustedHalo and Bill and I were the only two non-Paulist workshop presenters during the breakout session festivities.

I tend to thrive on that kind of praise so today--I'm flying high.

Good News on Dad

Some kind of "airborne, mysterious" virus entered my dad's system and THAT was what pushed his blood pressure and heart rate up--not a stroke or a heart attack. I suppose it's not actually great news when doctors use the word "mystery" but in truth, the antibiotics pushed everything back down along with a little bit of lopressa (sp?).

I saw him yesterday and he looked great and in good spirits. He underwent a stress test today and passed that with flying colors. They are waiting on some blood work but it looks like he will return home tomorrow.

Thanks to all for the prayers and especially to fellow blogger Gashwin who knows all too well the feelings of fear I went through. Please pray for his family as they lost their father last year.

More from Fr. Bell's Ordination

The newly ordained pictured here with My wife and I...and his new priestly hat...our gag gift to him.

Fr. Steven will serve his first assignment at St. Austin's Parish in Austin, TX and will celebrate his first mass next week at St. Augustin's parish in our nation's capitol.

Fr. Steven Bell, CSP - new priest

Fr. Steven Bell, CSP is the newest member of the priesthood of the Paulist Fathers.
Fr. Steven spent a summer with us at BustedHalo.com and is a delight to be around.
A coalition of singers from St Augstine's and St Joseph's parish joined the Paulists and their collaborators for a most joyful celebration. The ceremony was filled with the style of African-American culture...from the lectors who enlivened the word to the outstanding choir...this was a celebration that allowed us to believe that the spirit is alive and that Jesus is truly present!
Special thanks to Archbishop O'Brien the Archbishop of Baltimore for being there for the new Fr. Steven. As he said, "I feel the spirit here today!" Indeed.
Pictured above is Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP laying hands on the ordinand.

Prayers for Dad

Readers:

I am at the Paulist 150th Anniversary in Washington but while I was here my dad was taken to the hospital with an elevated heart rate, trembling and a high fever. He seems fine now and my sister is with him and says he seems to be better. The doctors believe that an infection pushed his heart rate up. Regardless, he is 80 years old--so this is a fairly serious situation. Secondly, he has been the primary caregiver for my mom who is not in good health. I will be returning home tomorrow afternoon to care for my mom while my sister cares for my dad's needs.

Prayers are very seriously needed. This is my nightmare to be honest. I love my dad so much...if you want to know what kind of dad he's been--read this article I wrote on him after the movie Million Dollar Baby came out.

Tour of DC Monuments

After dinner the Paulist associates/collaborators (read: lay people) went on a tour of the DC monuments.
Here's a shot of the Capitol rotunda.

Another reason to love the Ipod

So for the second time I left my ipod shuffle in my shirt pocket and in it went to the washing machine.
Amazingly...it still works!

And now it's all shiny!

Paulist 150th Anniversary in DC

We were treated to a wonderful day on the Campus of Catholic University today and got two rousing lectures by Dr. David O'Brien and Dr. Scott Appleby from Holy Cross and Notre Dame respectively who spoke on Isaac Hecker, the Paulist founder and the implications of his ministry for today's group of Paulists.
Afterwards we had some small group breakouts and then we celebrated mass in memory of the deceased Paulists. Seminarian Tom Gibbons put together a wonderful slideshow of pictures of almost every Paulist who has gone before us. I nearly lost it when Fr. Michael Hunt (who many will remember from his Westside Paulist blog) came on the screen. He edited the initial manuscript of Googling God and gave it some new direction before handing it off to Fr Mike Kerrigan.

Pictured is Patti Simpson a lay pastoral associate from the Paulist Center in Boston during the procession for the deceased Paulists.

Tomorrow: More lectures and a Gala Celebration.

Tim Russert: Laid to Rest--Welcome Home

An outstanding memorial service as if there could be such a thing--but a true honor of a man's life. May we all be fortunate enough to be so loved--and to love others the way he obviously did.

See exerpts from the memorial here:

Coming Up: Mobile Blogging the Paulist Sequicentennial

That's 150 years, folks! The Paulists are celebrating their 150th anniversary this week in Washington, DC and I'll be there providing all the pictures descriptions and accounts of the game without the express written consent of Major League Baseball.

Deacon Steven Bell will also be raised to the order of the priesthood! Yay! Steven was the Cantor at the Mass for the Pope at Nationals Stadium and is one of my all-time favorite people. And let me tell you--that guy can SING!

Mark Mossa, SJ: Right out of the box--an awesome homily

Fr. Mark Mossa's first mass was certainly an interesting affair. It was held on the Loyola, New Orleans campus and that morning it rained as it has never raimed before--flooding the area around the Jesuit residence and causing a panic--how will the newly ordained get across the now river separating him from celebrating his first mass?

Ah, with God, all things are possible. A truck was procurred to get Fr. Mark on his way. Some quotables:

"Well, this isn't quite the way I envisioned my first mass but as it says on my ordination card: You duped me, Lord and I let myself be duped. So I guess God is just at it again.

The purificator that the wipe the oils from the newly ordained's hands is traditionally given to their Mother. So Mom, here ya go. When you see St. Peter at the gates, just show him that and you should be good to go!

Tim Russert: Father's Day

I was a big Tim Russert fan. I'm so jealous of Fr. Dave who has a picture of himself and Matt Lauer when he was on the Today Show with them. A graduate of John Carroll University in Cleveland, Russert always had much praise for the church, the Jesuits in particular. He will be missed.

I wrote this piece for BustedHalo on Friday:

For a Father

Tim Russert

1950-2008


By Mike Hayes

The lecture hall was packed as the crowd awaited a speaker known by millions for his enormous insight into American politics. Every Sunday, Tim Russert spoke to the titans of American politics as moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press” where his grilling of public figures on the issues of the day had become legendary. But tonight people came from far and wide to hear him speak about a topic far more dear to him: his Father. The publication of his riveting memoir, Big Russ and Me, offered a window into the values and experiences that were at the core of this well-regarded Washington newsman’s life. The book’s success had a surprisingly large impact on the American public.

His dad, Tim Sr., a hardnosed working class guy, who worked two jobs, neither of them particularly elegant—he delivered newspapers and picked up garbage for a living—and yet Russert talked about him as the epitome of class. Big Russ taught him the values of living with faith, discipline and simple honesty. He made an honest living and family always came first. What more could a son ask for?

Universal Truths

Throughout Russert’s life, when he saw those values reflected back to him in the people he came across like the Jesuit priests who taught him and his dad’s drinking buddies, to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan who Russert helped get elected in 1976, Russert drew a clear line tracing it all back to his father’s living room in Buffalo.... [More]

Fr. Mark Mossa, S.J. Mass #1

Fr. Mark all smiles!
Next stop: Boston College for doctoral work.

Fr. Mark consecrates the Eucharist for the first time

Let us adore Christ!

Fr. Mark Mossa - First Mass

At St Ignatius Chapel at Loyola University. (l-r) Fr. Mossa, Myself and my wife Marion Hayes

New Orleans Jazz

The band played us to the reception.

and off to the reception

The New Fr. Mark Mossa, SJ

Congrats, Fr. Mark!

Anointing of Hands

Bishop anoints Mark's symbolizing the strengthing power of the Holy Spirit.

Laying of Hands

Bishop Fiorenza lays his hands on Mark.

prostration

Mark and Jose prostrate themselves in submission before God.

Mark Mossa Ordination-The Questions

Mark and his co-ordinand Jose Fetzer, SJ answer the questions of Bishop Joseph Fiorenza who will ordain them priests.

Mark Mossa, SJ

Mark Mossa, SJ is being Ordained to thee priesthood today. Mark is the author of the "You Duped Me, Lord" blog

More on Fr. Paul Keenan

Fr Paul's radio work spanned over a long period of time and he purchased much of the time himself and then selling advertising to everyone from funeral homes to pet stores. He worked like a dog to keep the show on the air including one evening when a check from an anonymous donor came in about 5 minutes before he was scheduled to go on.
On WOR his show was called "As You Think" and it was often billed as "positive radio". Keenan acted partly as priest, espousing different pieces of tradition and partly pastoral counselor fielding listener calls from many a lonely customer looking for direction, many in their old age who were often ignored.
His WABC show which had a bigger following was called Religion on the Line and dealt with ecumenical issues. He co-hosted the show with a rabbi (who's name escapes me).
Fr. Keenan wrote several books his best seller was Good News For Bad Days which included personal reflections of his own and others to serve as a "pick me up". Fr Paul had a hearty laugh and often would shoot back a zinger to those of us in the control room who'd whisper a funny in his headsets through the talk back. My favorite was:

Me: "OK Keenan, let's see what you can do. Try not to make radios click off all over the city."

PK: Why? Are you the first guest?

I howled.

Ric Sansone, his longtime producer, often credited Keenan for making the most out of any situation. When times were tough Fr. Keenan didn't fold, he often expanded his ministry into something new. Besides the terrestrial radio shows, most recently, Fr.Keenan moved onto satellite radio on Sirius and penned a column for Catholic New York.
A longtime confidant of many in the radio business, Fr Paul's life blessed so many of us. He was so excited about the Sirius gig and the Archdiocese's committment to it...it seems somewhat cruel that he only saw it succeed for a short time.

Rest in Peace, Fr. Paul. God says your show is at 9pm Heaven Standard Time.

Fr. Paul Keenan - Rest in Peace

I was stunned at the news that the longtime director of radio ministry in the Archdiocese of NY, Fr. Paul Keenan has died. Fr. Paul was a wonderful guy and was a great colleague when I was at WOR Radio in NYC and then at Sirius.
His deep baritone will be missed. I will try to call the Joey Reynolds show on WOR tonight since he was a frequent contributor there.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Huge Success in Boston

Bolting back from Boston today after a wonderful retreat on the Cape. Fr. Ruben Patino, CSP and Rich Andre, CSP--a Paulist seminarian--joined me in providing the young adults from the Paulist Center with a retreat experience..or I should say they provided us with the experience as the retreat we design is run by young adults for young adults.

The group was a wonderful and interesting one and from several different backgrounds--a lot of people working in the public sector as teachers for low income students, healthcare, and social work; a few grad students and employees of Harvard and other Massachusetts schools.

I was privileged to be there and did a good deal of spiritual direction and led the reconciliation service. I think this retreat has legs here in Boston. The group itself was very impressive--smart, friendly and interested in their faith. The Paulist Center has a great tradition of social justice so that was indeed a focus for many.

The question box session we run was indeed fun and spilled over into our social hour in the late evening on Saturday. We also played a game until the wee hours called Apples to Apples--which is hysterical.

Blessings to the team who made it all happen.

Bolt to Boston

So I'm blogging from the Bolt Bus on my way to the first Boston-Based BustedHalo Retreat! Should be a good time.

Boltbus is a new company that is a subsidiary of Greyhound and you can get a fare for as cheap as a dollar if you book in advance long enough. I booked yesterday and got a one-way fare from NYC to Boston for $15...that beats Amtrak by a long shot. What's more is there is free wi-fi access on the bus--how awesome is that. I've gotten so much work done! I even watched Fr Rodrick's show for a little while and did a bit of blogging on my dog's blog. At times it's a bit slow but for the most part it's awesome. There's supposedly more legroom on this but I wouldn't say it's significantly more as compared with Amtrak--but for $15 it's roomy.

The one downside thus far--the bus was late and we're about an hour behind schedule. The company is only 3 months old--but so far it might be the place to go if you're taking a quick trip to Boston, Philly or Washington DC.

As for the BustedHalo retreat--this should be fun. I'll be preaching the reconciliation service on Saturday night on the prodigal son--some of which I sampled on here this past week.

The Greatest Commandments

In today's Gospel Jesus speaks his famous lines (which are right out of the old testament) on which of the Commandments are the greatest. A lot of people get confused because these are not two of the "heavy ten" that Moses carried down from the mountain. In Jewish law there are hundreds of commandments to follow not merely the 10 we always point to. So Jesus picks two out. The first one is well known from Leviticus but the second one is a rather obscure reference and he thus turns those listening on their heads when he reports it.
Interestingly, we often forget about the response of the person who asked him the question to begin with. He says that Jesus is right and it seems that he is following these directives. Jesus tells him that he is not far from the Kingdom of God.
Loving God with all of our being and then loving others as we love ourselves is tough stuff. I find it hard to love others well...especially those who make it hard to love them. Loving co-workers after you've had an argument or disrespected you is essentially our call. Loving my wife when I don't feel like it because I'm grumpy in the morning calls me to examine how I'm too self-involved in those wee hours.
How can we more appropriately love God better..with our whole being though? This strikes me of being the stuff that's more difficult. Don't I ignore God until it's convenient for me to ask for His intercession or until He hits me with a two by four and wakes me up to realize I need him and I'm not all powerful? We all like to make ourselves into Gods. We have all the answers, we know what's best for us and we control our own destinies. Hogwash. Jesus reminds us that we need God and that we are called to serve.
Today's prayer: Lord, Help me realize that I am vulnerable and need you in my life and help me begin to notice your presence more within those who make it hard for me to love them. Amen.

The Older Brother

The one thing that is awesome about the parable of the Prodigal Son is the fact that many people resonate with nearly all the characters. We've all been there when we think we've wasted something. We've all felt the disappointment when someone lets us down or wastes an opportunity we've given them. But perhaps the character of the older brother that Jesus has named is the one we should all pay the most attention to and he is often the most overlooked.

The older brother stayed home, some scholars say that he had little ambition and just kind of went along with the crowd while the younger brother might have screwed things up and was way too headstrong, but still took a risk and found out who he really was.

Regardless of the speculation, the resentment shown by the older brother is personified by the Pharisees who were grumbling about Jesus' teachings. Jesus is reminding them that they have forgotten about the destitute in their midst. They have been "looking down" on people because of their own righteousness and that when people repent of their own sinfulness they were apt to let "sleeping dogs lie."

So the message is really one of a call to put aside resentments and judgments on the part of those of us who tend to be the "older brother" not those of us who are the "Fathers." The Father is all too ready to forgive and he forgives in the same manner that God does--he can not help BUT forgive. The older brother is the one who needs to shore up his forgiving.

How does the story end? We don't know. We never hear if the older brother goes inside or not to join is brother or if he stands in resentment for the rest of his life.

And that is where the challenge is presented to the Pharisees and to us. Where do we need to get past our resentments and welcome those who we have a hard time forgiving? Who are the people in our lives who we think have squandered their gifts and have lived like pigs but who now need that warm embrace not merely from God but also from those who felt the brunt of their lack of committment to their obligations? For those who are unemployed, who have not cherished life in all forms, who have ignored the needs of their families and who now turn toward someone for forgiveness...let us make our prayer for them and let us call ourselves to action--to stop looking down at them and instead look into their hearts and let that turn our own into a welcome embrace.

What time is the party?

Prodigal Son

"He Came to His Senses"

I think that one line of scripture encapsulates much of the younger brother's repentence. He had squandered all of his father's wealth and even his asking for his inheritance was the equivalent of wishing for his father's death. Think of what that must've done to his poor father, the man who had given him everything.
His obsession with his own freedom led him into the pigsty, a somewhat appropriate place for someone who lived so lavishly. The symbolism should not be lost on us though, a jewish man amongst pigs...possibly the lowest place he could be. How could he possibly go home now?
And yet...he came to his senses and realized that his father might need another slave and swallowing his pride might just be the thing he needed to do.
He rehearses his apology...and when he gets near his home he finds his Father who has been obsessively waiting for him to return home...a son who has sold the property around his own home piece by piece and the new owners have been moving in all around him, each another sign of his son's malevolence and now that all the land is gone it means everyone has taken advantage of him and have probably left him for dead.
But now....NOW...the son returns home! Imagine the father's joy..the tears down his face as his muddy, smelly, squandering son comes home. Despite how filthy he is he goes running and embraces and kisses him.
This is exactly how God loves us too. Today may we realize the God who knows no resentment...who runs to greet us even when we are so filthy and ashamed and feel like we have wasted it all. When we feel like a pig.
Tomorrow: The Older Brother.

The Woz

I e-mail interviewed the founder of Apple Computers Steve Wozniak. He's not particularly religious but, does lots of good work with kids. A subject that I would have liked to delve into more with him, but over email I was only entitled to some cryptic responses. Regardless, he's a cool albeit eccentric guy. With the almost religious dedication that Mac fans have to their product (and I may soon head that way myself) I thought it wise for us to try to get inside the mind of a guy who started it all and find out a bit of what makes him tick.

The interview is here

The Infant Jesus

During this period of what we Catholics call ordinary time I thought I'd do a few reflections on some of the classic Gospel stories starting with The Nativity.

We often see God as we see ourselves. Some years ago I was struck by a religious sister's response to the question: Who do you pray to?

Her response: The baby Jesus.

Now honestly, up until this point I didn't think this woman was particularly bright and often she tended towards dominating conversation. So her remark about the baby Jesus was met by a friend by his whispering in my ear:

"Of course! The baby Jesus can't talk--so he just has to listen to her blather on all day."

But yet...

Do we ever place ourselves in that manger at Christmas? Do we ever look upon ourselves as the vulnerable one? Do we dare ever become the Jesus that we gaze upon adoringly each Christmas?

The baby Jesus has dared to become one of us. The God we profess to believe in enters this world as a little baby--who needs constant care by his parents. They will spend every waking hour wondering if he is OK. Checking in those early days on his breathing. Making sure he gets enough to eat (and in early Mideastern culture this was no easy feat).

Do we ever dare to allow someone to have THAT much control over our lives as adults?

The answer not only at Christmas is to see ourselves as the vulnerable little child and God as the God who dares to break into our world to care for us for all eternity. But to do so--God must become like us, be born into our world, and die our human death.

And so, the same is true for us. We will face horrors and one day succumb to our own mortality. And the truth of the matter is that we are very easily forgotten after we are long gone (how many of us remember our great-great-grandparents?). But the truth that we profess is that God never forgets us. God loves us enough to become one of us--to experience the fear of being vulnerable and the very fear that we all have of being a forgotten soul.

God's response is the fact that he was lying in that manger, in a lowly place, filled with the fear of all of this newness--completely vulnerable to the world around him--and yet still being God.

Yes, the infant Jesus is the vulnerable one to whom we must aspire to become. We place the gift of our very selves at his manger--filled with all of our rawness, our mistakes, our hungers, our fears.

We know not what awaits us--but our faith tells us that whatever may lie ahead that we are able to bring our whole selves to God--even when we don't think much of who we are. Remember the manger and know that God is with us in all our vulnerablity.

Before You Die...

I started a great book today: The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die by John Izzo, PhD.

Izzo interviewed over 500 people that other people pointed him to as having a sense of profound peace about themselves: from town barbers to Holocaust survivors they all have something to teach us. A full review comes when I finish.

Saints and Sinners

Dr. Maureen Tilly of my famed Alma Mater, Fordham spoke at Apostolst--the young adult group at St Paul the Apostle on Saints and Sinners and was remarkable.

One of the quotes I'll keep with me is:

"Be patient: God isn't finshed with me yet."

How often I forget that I am a Saint in the making and that the saints are such interesting people. We (no pun here) sanitize the saints and forget that St. Francis rejected the status quo of his father's riches and stood naked in the street. We are apt to think of him as a quiet man in a garden talking with the animals. (In truth he wanted the birds to shut up during mass).

But I think that provides me with enough reflection this week. How am I becoming more of the person that God wants me to be? How am I sharing the Gospel? How am I living a Saintly life--that's often filled with adventure and hard choices?

This week's BustedHalo Cast features Paul Cammarata from The SaintCast who gives us a tour of Saintly Sights.

Thanks to all for an inspiring week.