As I watched the donkey watch us last year on Palm Sunday, I was reminded of simpler things and things less fancy. I noted the shadow of the cross on his back. It was in his expression that I knew this year needed to be different. This Holy Week was meant to be different. This … Read more
[Editor’s Note: Father Jeff Hood is an advocate for the condemned on death row. He is a voice for those without voice and without compassion. Father serves at Saint Miriam as our Chair for Faith, Justice, and Humanitarian Efforts and works closely with our team to ensure we remain vigilant and on target to continue … Read more
Poverty comes in many forms. It isn’t just financial. Trust me, as a priest I find the poorest people have the largest bank accounts and the weakest spirituality. The love of things that will pass drive people to insanity as they chase the elusive dream of happiness through objects of little permanence. True giving is … Read more
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.’” – Matthew 6:9 It’s no secret that I despise the phrase “prayers ascending”. It has become an almost trite way for people to offer some form of support to those who request prayer in the immediacy of some event or tragedy or sadness, … Read more
We gained a parishioner after my letter regarding abortion went viral! Yay! We lost a parishioner after my image to honor Pride Month was posted! Oh no! We are a fickle bunch, aren’t we? We certainly are, at the very least, used to a more commercial cafeteria church where we want what we want and … Read more
As I watched the donkey watch us at our Palm Sunday blessing of palms outside this year, I was reminded of simpler things and things less fancy. It was in his expression that I knew this year needed to be different. This Holy Week was meant to be different. This Holy Week will not be … Read more
I lost Holy Week in 2020. The world around us shut down about March 16th; my first son – Jameson – came bright and early April 9th; Holy Thursday! We had been in labor over 46 hours and confined to a hospital birthing suite where we could not leave due to the pandemic. Father Frank … Read more
Like St. Francis, I have always loved the Holy Season of Advent, but this year Advent has an even deeper meaning for me, as we are pregnant with our second child! Katelyn and I will soon welcome another baby boy. He will arrive, God willing, right before we begin the Season of Lent! And he … Read more
It’s almost time. The holidays will soon be here and many of us will struggle. Some of us have anticipatory grief, others are dealing with actual or delayed grief, some are simply depressed or at least ‘blue’. Some folks are lonely or missing family or just battle with the amount of joy over the holiday … Read more
The recent Facebook ala Meta corporate identity change is akin for me to the Pandemic. I had hoped it would bring us together, but instead, it made things worse. Let me explain.’ The massive social network, (I use ‘social’ reluctantly) has been under fire for spreading misinformation, looking the other way with an increase in … Read more
We have had to make a lot of changes and adaptations during the last almost two years of a waning pandemic. We have had to make these changes both corporately as church and individually, deep within. We have had to invest in technology, television and radio broadcast capabilities, new ways of coming together, and marvel … Read more
Scripture reminds us of a simple truth, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) This can be an uncomfortable reminder, especially for those who hold tightly to wealth or restrict giving or fail to see the benefits that come from supporting the greater church. It can be especially difficult to give … Read more
Our doors are open. We have pleaded. Summer is now waning into fall and now it’s time. Come home. Our Catholic Catechism states clearly that parents are rightly called to be the primary teachers of the Faith to their children. Church leaders, educators, child psychologists and other experts persistently say, and have said, that the … Read more
It was March of 2020. That is just 15 months ago, although it may seem forever. We monitored closely what was happening around the world and within our own region. We sat, prayed, and consulted with one another. Then, we made that decision: close it all down. We intentionally put lives ahead of liturgy. We … Read more
Danusha Lameris’s poem, Feeding the Worms, reads, Ever since I found out that earth worms have taste buds all over the delicate pink strings of their bodies, I pause dropping apple peels into the compost bin, imagine the dark, writhing ecstasy, the sweetness of apples permeating their pores. I offer beets and parsley, avocado, and … Read more
In “The Unknown Craftsman,” Japanese art critic Soetsu Yanagi writes, “We, in our own human imperfections, are repelled by the perfect, since everything is apparent from the start and there is no suggestion of the infinite.” If you visited our home right now, the wall that leads upstairs to Jameson’s room, bears a trail of small fingerprints. Those … Read more
Last week, I watched the season finale of 911. In one dramatic scene, a standoff of sorts occurred between Bobby Nash, a firefighter Captain, and a sniper — a disgruntled former member of the LAPD SWAT team member. The sniper was angry that the fire department saved everyone. How could they save someone with a drug … Read more
I think one of the hallmarks I love best about Saint Miriam is that I have never once claimed to be perfect. In fact, we don’t ask anyone else to be either! While we do go to great lengths to protect our children, staff, and parishioners from such things as inappropriate touching and harassment, etc., … Read more
Saint Miriam has always recognized our imperfections. We, in fact, celebrate the cracks of our lives – and of our histories – and bring them weekly to the altar of God. All of us are welcome at a place of light and hope. All of us are permitted to reach out our feeble and broken … Read more
In my homily this past Sunday I used a line from Author David Kindred where, when asked why he does what he does, he simply replied, “Writers Write”. I suppose that is why I do what I do as a priest. Why I sacrifice for God and the Church, and why I try not to … Read more