Fr. Joe Nangle OFM – Stories of Mission

My good friend and mentor, Fr. Joe, passed away December 14th. His life was celebrated in a wonderful ceremony a week later. I was honored by Joe in his asking me to give the homily when the time arrived. In the homily I mentioned Joe was a gospel man and a wonderful storyteller. A while back I had the opportunity to meet Joe at one of our houses of formation in Silver Spring, MD – the purpose was to capture Joe on video telling stories. We did several videos with just Joe reminiscing, but there was a “spark” missing. I suggested we try a another video but this time with a dialogue partner. All good storytellers need an audience.

Below is the video. The plan was to go for about 7-8 minutes, but as the conversation evolved, I just let the camera roll. The whole video is 35 minutes, so grab some popcorn and a beverage, and enjoy!

Thanks to Russ Murray, OFM: you were a great audience!

Feast of the Holy Family

This coming Sunday is the Feast of the Holy Family with the gospel taken from Luke 2:41-52. There are major feast days dedicated to each member of the Holy Family – Jesus, Mary, and Joseph – but the Feast of the Holy Family commemorates their life together, and the celebration focuses on religious life within the family. It is a Feast that seeks to portray the Holy Family of Nazareth as the “true model of life” (cf. Opening Prayer of the Mass) from which our families can draw inspiration and know where to find help and comfort.

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