Posts by Deacon Kurt Godfryd

I wish to place before you an image of goalposts. And now, with this image embedded in your imagination, let us twist it and imagine these earthly goalposts as divine. Now regarding divine goalposts, I would wager that certain images come to mind; say: the Ten Commandments, Beatitudes, or Jesus’ words regarding earthly riches in Matthew’s Gospel (Chapter 19), that “…it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to…

Many years ago, a colleague sat me down for a “wisdom” conversation. For more than an hour, he shared the story of his family and career. Then in his late fifties, he was filled with regret because of foolish choices, incomplete relationships, and precious time lost. Perhaps the nineteenth century American poet, Henry David Thoreau, best summed up his feelings when he wrote: Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in…

The great mystic and visionary, St. Catherine of Siena, “Sometimes saw the holy angels serving around the altar at which the Mass was celebrated, holding in their hands a golden veil, or in company with the saints, praising and blessing God. Sometimes she saw three Faces in one substance, or the altar and the priest wrapt in a flame of fire. At other times a great and marvelous splendour seemed to shine forth from the altar; or again, when the priest…

In Matthew’s Gospel (7:7-8), Jesus reminds: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Years ago, when my wife was expecting our fourth child, she and I were active in our local crisis pregnancy center. The largest fundraiser conducted by the clinic was a…

I don’t know about you, but whenever I walk into a room with a mirror these days, my first inclination is to reach for the dimmer switch—and dial it lower. Privately, I tell myself, “less light will be better for your eyes” and proceed to mimic that “clap on, clap off” commercial. For bright lights and mirrors reveal way too much: wrinkles, imperfections, and what’s left of my hair that grows grayer by the day. Quickly, however, the Spirit leads…

In the first chapter of Lumen Gentium, the fathers of the Second Vatican Council noted that “To carry out the will of the Father, Christ inaugurated the Kingdom of heaven on earth and revealed to us the mystery of that kingdom. The Church, or, in other words, the kingdom of Christ now present in mystery, grows visibly through the power of God in the world. This inauguration and this growth are both symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the…

This past Thursday and Friday, I had the blessing of traveling with my youngest daughter on a whirlwind day-and-a-half college tour from Michigan to Cincinnati to Cleveland and back to Michigan. At some point, because fathers just know, I turned to my daughter and gave her my advice where she should attend and then had some fun and predicted a future event when a boy named Tommy Gunn would call and let me know he was in love with her.…

A website devoted to the discipline of psychology reminds that when we lose something, we should embrace a three-prong approach: first, calm down and don’t panic; second, carefully look around; and third, if necessary, trace our steps. After considering these, many Catholics have long recommended a fourth option; that is, a quick shoutout to St. Anthony of Padua. For Anthony, the twelfth-century Doctor of the Church and patron of the poor, is also known for his assistance in finding missing…

In 1898, the British painter, Francis Barraud, created a portrait known as His Master’s Voice that became the symbol for a powerful, upstart company of the 1920s—Radio Corporation of America (RCA).  The painting is of his dog, Nipper, who enjoyed “nipping at the back of patrons’ legs.” When asked about the inspiration for the painting, he said: It is difficult to say how the idea came to me beyond the fact that it suddenly occurred to me that to have my dog listening to…

In the Book of Exodus (19:3), when Israel was encamped at the base of Mt. Sinai, God summoned Moses and provided him with a message to convey: “You have seen how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now, if you obey me completely and keep my covenant, you will be my treasured possession among all peoples…” (19:4-5) On that day, God’s glory shone upon Moses and His chosen…

For more than 30 years, I’ve served as a an adjunct lecturer in economics at a local university. During Covid, I remember the department chair asking if anyone would be willing to teach in person, to which I gladly replied— “YES.” Now if you remember, during the midst of the pandemic, few cars were on the road. At the university, the same was true when my students and I seemed to be the only cars in the parking lot. Each…

In 1938, a young Spaniard traveled to Japan where, for more than a quarter century, he worked as a medic, teacher, and counselor. One date, however, divided those years: August 6, 1945. For on that morning, at 8:15 a.m., he was tending to his responsibilities in Hiroshima when a single B-29 airplane flew over the city and dropped a bomb that killed nearly 80,000 people and injured at least that many more. This Spaniard’s name was Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J.,…