Father Michael Ackerman
Trust in the Lord
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Generally speaking, I am not much of an outdoorsman, but a young adult group convinced me to go rock climbing with them at one of our state parks. Rock climbing is incredibly difficult if you have never tried it. It uses muscles that you did not know you even had, and they become sore for Read More
Facing Our Shortcomings
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When I was a public school teacher, I used to enjoy the stories in the faculty lounge shared by seasoned veterans. My favorite came from a math teacher who told me that a student, who did not want to take an exam, absconded by jumping out of a second-floor window. When the student realized that Read More
Perception and Reality
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Not far from where I grew up was a legendary doughnut shop that attracted a great deal of customers. They would open at 5 a.m. and nearly sell out within the first hour. People even started lining up at midnight to make sure they got their doughy concoction. I have to admit that I ate Read More
Strength in Our Weaknesses
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Charity golf outings are often some of my favorite events of summer. I always enjoy networking with new people, trying challenging courses and, of course, simply relaxing and having a good time. On one occasion I was invited to play in a charity outing benefitting the Sisters of St. Francis. I was paired with some Read More
Only the Best for God
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Toward the end of the academic year, as I walked through the halls of our grade school, I noticed a young man sitting slumped over a desk. “Are you OK?” I asked him. “Yes, Father,” he informed me. “I am finishing up a test.” When I looked down, I discovered that half of his page Read More
It Might Just Be Acedia
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For preschool graduation one year, our students sang the song “Frère Jacques,” the famous children’s hymn about a friar sleeping through morning prayer. The kids thought the song was hysterical, but I can empathize with the poor cleric who needed rest. If we are honest, assuredly we all have felt tired or have had difficulty Read More
Faithful Friends
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An elderly man at the parish recently gave me a great anecdote about friendship. He said that a group of his high school friends had decided to meet for lunch in the city. He pulled into a parking garage but received no ticket. Even though he found that odd, he went off to lunch and Read More
Facing Fears
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You can say many things about priestly life, but it certainly is never dull. A family from the parish invited me to dinner one evening and our conversation turned to travel. “I am not a fan of airports and flying,” I told my host family. One of their daughters, a woman in her 20s, looked Read More