OK, this is a bit of a change from what this "spiritual reflection" page was intended to be. Why a change? Well, for those of you who might have missed it, the Holy Father just wrote a letter to priests (not to each of us individually, but rather, to us as a group!) in which he recommends that all priests ought to create a "blog." It's kind of funny that he would make this recommendation because it was the suggestion of our web designers, but I didn't take them up on the idea.

Why does the Holy Father make this suggestion? My guess is that he recognizes that we priests have to be willing to be transparent with our own thoughts, with our joys and with our struggles. Given that so many of our people want to know their priests, this seems to be a really good way to get to know us a bit. Will all priests become bloggers? Absolutely not! Will I be a faithful blogger? Well, in the ideal world, yes; in my real world, I'll do my best.

So, the blog begins....

I have to admit that, despite my Franciscan upbringing and vocation with the Capuchins, I have a secret love affair with Dominicans. I love the monastic life that they follow (yes, I know they're mendicants), their form of prayer, their commitment to learning. I guess I really love the idea of a Saint Thomas Aquinas who, despite his profound reflections and beautiful hymns (like the Tantum ergo, Adoro te, devote, and Pange lingua), the end of his life was marked with a humility that caused him to say, "All of that was like straw." I can't imagine such a fine mind acknowledging that, compared with the vision of God, our thoughts are as nothing. Hmmmm. Kind of makes me want to see what Thomas saw. Someday....