Forgiveness, gardens, and hard work

How do you offer forgiveness? I suspect that the most common offer consists of “I forgive you” or “Don’t worry about” “Don’t give it a second thought” or “It’s nothing.” And that all might be true, but sometimes it is only the socially-expected response. It is what we do because we are Christian and we are called to forgive 70 times 7 – or about 490 times…and maybe, just maybe, some of us keep track. But, are we really at peace with our response? Continue reading →

Looking back

May the grace and peace of Christ be with you. It is hard to believe that it has been 13 years since I arrived here at Sacred Heart in Tampa. Back in 2007 I was expecting to be assigned to our N.C. Franciscan parish in Raleigh. Tampa and  Sacred Heart were not on my radar at all. Although perhaps it should have been! Afterall I was baptized at a Sacred Heart and in Kenya served for several years at Parokia Moyo Mtakatifu (Sacred Heart). They say good things come in threes, so perhaps I should have expected the assignment. What a blessing it turned out to be in my life, my life as a friar, and my life as a priest. Continue reading →