Different Shades of Freedom

Different Shades of Freedom

FELT LIKE FREEDOM The plastic boat felt thin beneath the small boy’s feet. But the waters stirred up from the paddles that splashed onto the 12-year-old’s face and arms felt like freedom. As the boat pushed Edwin and his father over the Rio Grande River and closer to...
The Willing Victim: The Priest Nailed to the Cross

The Willing Victim: The Priest Nailed to the Cross

THE WILLING VICTIM: THE PRIEST NAILED TO THE CROSS PRIESTHOOD IN CHRIST In the concluding episode of today’s Lenten Journey, Fr. Dan Leary shares thoughts on the victimhood of Father Al’s priesthood. The centerpiece of one’s priesthood, Fr. Dan shares, is an...
The Saints Who Shaped Him Into One

The Saints Who Shaped Him Into One

THE SAINTS WHO SHAPED HIM INTO ONE In Episode 6 of the “Lenten Journey with Jesus and Fr. Al” Fr. Dan Leary shares intimate thoughts on ten saints who helped to engineer Fr. Al’s priesthood. Personally, one of the treasures of having researched the life of Fr. Al for...
The Prayerful Mystic; or the Non-Stop Worker

The Prayerful Mystic; or the Non-Stop Worker

THE PRAYERFUL MYSTIC; OR THE NON-STOP WORKER BOTH/AND Few could pin Fr. Al down. At the tortuous moments just prior to his death from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, he belted out whispered commands to those at his bedside: Please remind the Sisters that they must pray three...
“The Boldest Man I Ever Knew”

“The Boldest Man I Ever Knew”

“THE BOLDEST MAN I EVER KNEW” Finally, Monsignor James Golasinski was stumped. Throughout the many conversations he and I shared in 2020 while I researched the life of Venerable Aloysius Schwartz for my biography Priest and Beggar: The Heroic Story of...