John the blessed

Here it is almost the end of May and a lot has already happened.

My last day of school this semester was May 15th and for the first semester since going to seminary I was totally finished with all of my required assignments before leaving St. Meinrad. It was a very good feeling!!!!! I drove to Cincinnati to help teach at a School of Evangelization lead by my friend Charlie Osburn. I was able to teach/preach on many different subjects relating to evangelization and living Christ’s message of love and mercy. It was quite a week and a good kick off for the summer.

Next I drove to Tulsa and participated as a server for the ordination of 11 permanent deacons and 2 priests for the Diocese of Tulsa. My school mates and diocesan bothers Brian O’Brien and Gary Kastl were ordained as new priests. It was a truly wonderful celebration held in the Reynolds Arena on the campus of the University of Tulsa. Between the newly ordained, the clergy, the thousands of Catholics in the assembly and the beautifully transformed worship space it was a memorable time of praise and thanksgiving for the Church and these men of God. I am glad I was able to participate.

On Tuesday I began my summer assignment. I will be in the CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) program at Hillcrest hospital in Tulsa. Basically I will be trained to minister to the sick, dying, their relatives and friends, and the staff of the hospital. This will be an intense program of learning and self-discovery. I am looking forward to the next 12 weeks. I am living at Christ the King parish with Fr. Tam Nguyen and the newly ordained Fr. Brian O’Brien. I am appreciative of the warm welcome and hospitality of Fr. Tam, his staff, and the parishioners. It should be a great summer.

Since I am in Tulsa, call me or drop me an email and maybe we can get together. I would love to visit with anybody who is in Tulsa for the summer. The time will go fast so give me a buzz……