Tilt-a-whirls, funnel cakes, and a pretty good view of the steeple! Festival weekend at St. John Vianney is this weekend! Details at stjohnv.org/festival

Eight years ago today, the bishop asked me: "Do you resolve to be united more closely every day to Christ the High Priest, who offered himself for us to the Father as a pure Sacrifice, and with him to consecrate yourself to God for the salvation of all?" And I answered: "I do, with the help of God." Eight years later, I am still being made into what I promised to be. And that is exactly where I want to be. Deo gratias 🙏

The first night with the steeple lighting replaced and God generously complemented it with the perfect backdrop!

First Holy Communion celebrations are all the more special when they align with your aunt's visit home from the Motherhouse! Such a blessing to celebrate three new communicants in our family with my sister home from MN! 🕊️🤍

Fewer vocations means fewer Masses. Longer drives. Harder schedules. That part is obvious. The harder part is this. The Church doesn't just need priests to celebrate Mass. She needs shepherds who know their flock. Jesus didn't just feed the crowds. He called us by name. That kind of love takes a ministry of presence grown over time. Pray for vocations! Not just so the schedule gets easier. So that we as shepherds can know our sheep.

Here is what the Hawthorne Dominicans are about:

"And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage." He is risen!

"Stay awake, watch!"

Feeling very grateful for my parishioners! After a long day of Lenten confessions (it was our annual diocesan event: "12 Hours of Reconciliation"), I returned to my rectory to find this picture perfect loaf of bread!

Fulton John Sheen causesanti.va/it/santi-e-bea…

So blessed to have spoken at the Columbus Catholic Women's Conference last week!

From the dust jacket of "Approach to Penance," by Dom Hubert Van Zeller, OSB When asked if he'd like bookstores to host autographing parties, he replied: "God forbid." 🤣

Easily the winner for best ashes ✝️

This is the first Ash Wednesday since Around the Horn aired its final show. Feeling a little nostalgic for @TonyReali and his faithful ashes on air each year. A small but steady witness of faith in sports media 🙏

St. Francis de Sales Seminary wins a hard fought victory over St. Meinrad in overtime to bring home the championship! 🏆

18 seminaries represented 450 seminarians and priests 1 Champion will emerge 🏆

The last march of the Ents

"The mountains melt like wax before the Lord." Psalm 97:5

Pure poetry from the good bishop Saint Methodius today on the Feast of Saint Agatha 🔥

Jacques Fesch, after murdering a policeman during a botched robbery attempt, spent years on death row where he underwent a profound conversion to Christ. Once an atheist, he embraced prayer, the sacraments, and mystical union with God, even calling his prison cell a "monastery." On the morning of his guillotine execution in Paris at age 27, he kissed the crucifix fervently and asked for it again as his last request. In his final journal entry hours before death, he wrote: “In five hours, I will see Jesus.” As the blade fell, he entrusted himself to the Blessed Virgin and the mercy of the Lord.