Author name: Thomas Gardner

I’m currently in the midst of a wedding marathon. Last weekend, I had the joy of concelebrating the wedding of my friends Ellie and Otis in Dublin at St. Brigid Church. It was such a gift to see them exchange vows and start their new married life together. Just yesterday, I had the great privilege […]

I want to take you back to June 24, 1950. It is a special day in the Vatican and a huge crowd has gathered in St. Peter Square for a solemn Mass of Canonization. The candidate is Maria Goretti, a twelve year old girl who died as a result of wounds inflicted by a man

I am so grateful to God for this opportunity to celebrate Mass with you on this night where we give thanks to almighty God for the gift of ten years of priesthood in my life. I can remember that day ten years ago like it was yesterday. The gorgeous music from the organ, choir and

Imagine with me that you are in a pub in Turin, Italy in the early evening. The year is 1924. Across the room, you see several tables all occupied by young adults who are all obviously in the same group. They are laughing and drinking and having a good time. In the middle of this

Firstly, I have to say that it is a blessing to be Catholic and to see the continuity of our faith stretching all the way back to the Apostles. We have been hearing about the preaching and ministry of St. Peter a lot in our readings from the Acts of the Apostles during this Easter

I know this last week has been a mix of greatly conflicting emotions in my own heart–the glorious joy of the election of our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, and the heavy burden of sorrow at preparing to leave this parish family that I’ve come to love so dearly in my time here. But

I really enjoyed the movie, “Hook,” as a child. It was fun to see a modern twist on the Peter Pan story where Peter is all grown up. Robin WIlliams plays the grown up Peter, who has lost what it means to have the heart of a child and has put behind him the adventures

Shawn and I recently watched the movie, Of Gods and Men, together. It is a powerful story about courage, faith, community and trust which follows the lives of 9 Cistercian monks living in a monastery in Algeria in a largely Muslim area. The movie focuses on their struggle with how to respond to the threat

Blessed Holy Thursday to all of you. My heart is so full as we gather to celebrate the Paschal Mystery of the Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection, starting tonight with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Tonight is our opportunity to give abundant thanks to the Lord for His two great gifts of the priesthood

The Holy Spirit put St. Maximilian Kolbe on my heart as I prayed with the wonderful readings the Church has given us to ponder this Palm Sunday. I recently received a beautiful statue of him from my friends David and Molly. The statue now greets me from the garden each time I come and go