This morning my good friend's mother went to her eternal reward.  Earlier this week, I had the privilege of praying the old rite prayers of the Commendation of the Soul.  (I didn't know the above picture was being taken at the time.)  The old rite prayers after the mysteries of holy Extreme Unction and after the Apostolic Pardon are extremely powerful.  Here's an example of the many prayers we prayed and I assure you it's worth reading these examples:  

As most of you know, I went to a normal diocesan seminary.  One of those seminarians was later ordained for a midwest diocese.  On his Facebook profile, he once put up an interesting conversation he had with an older priest.  He asked the older priest if young priests would save the Church.  The old priest said "No, young priests will not save the Church.  Jesus Christ will save His Church."  Of course, the post had hundreds and hundreds of likes. I wanted to "like" it too because it shows that Christ is in charge of His Church.  I also wanted to "like" it because it reminds us priests to be [...]

Recently, I was praying my Roman Breviary while walking a beautiful autumn evening around the Highline canal trail, just south of Denver.  I was born in the city-limits of Denver.  I grew up in the city-limits of Denver, and ever since I was 12 years old, I loved maps and riding my bike around the Highline Canal.   Now, 30 years later, I find myself still on the same trails.  This autumn, as I walked the above trail praying the old Divine Office, I thought a lot of what has happened in twelve years since my ordination as a Catholic priest.  As I walked and thought, I remembered an event that [...]