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Father Patrick M. Carrion

paschal candle

Keep the Flame Glowing

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Catholics who enjoy foreign travel often comment on their delight in attending Mass in a foreign country, in its native language. It is a true mark of the Church’s catholicity that while the travelers do not know the language, they know what is happening. The simple gestures, rites and rubrics of the Mass connect travelers Read More
leadership

Improv Leadership

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There are many leadership styles. Depending on which best-seller textbook you might read, the top 10 styles range from the democratic to the autocratic, from inspirational to results-oriented, etc. Then, leaders nuance their preferred style depending on the situation at hand, but their own basic style pervades their modus operandi. When a priest is thrown Read More
BALTIMORE LISTENING SESSIONS

Listening Sessions and the Passion

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“Seek the City to Come,” the title of the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s parish planning process, is in its final stages. In its “open mic” stage, parishioners are reacting to the latest draft regarding what might happen to the 60 parishes being reviewed. The draft has bundled these 60 parishes into 20. The June 2024 Priestalk Read More
church closings

Which Parish to Close?

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“Sophie’s Choice” is a 1979 novel penned by William Styron and in three years became a movie starring Meryl Streep. The title of the novel and movie has become an expression when one is given the impossible task of having to choose between two equal goods or two equally bad outcomes. It might describe where Read More
Scripture

Favorite Prayers or Scripture Passages

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Having favorite prayers and Scripture passages is common. These can be the prayers that, when they come around every four weeks in the Psalter, brighten the day. Or maybe it is that favorite Eucharistic prayer whose tab you pull even when it is not the best fit for the readings, but it is what is Read More
priest vocations

If I Had to Do It All Over

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If I had to do it all over again, would I? Would you do it again? Are there regrets? Probably, we all have asked ourselves or been asked by others these simple questions. The questions might be regarding a place you have visited: “Would you vacation there again?” The inquirer may be asking more for Read More
people in church

The Need for Connection

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What is the password to the Wi-Fi here? I only have one bar on the cell service in this area! My cell phone needs charging, only 10% left. I can’t find my iPhone. I might be missing an important text or call! People panic when they do not feel connected. How and why in the Read More
LIVESTREAM MASS

Searching for Contentment

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“Father, the livestream was crackly this past Sunday. It was not easy hearing the music or your homily. I turned the TV off and tried again thinking it was my TV in the kitchen, but it was still the same.” This comment occurred when the parishioner drove to the office one day to get a Read More
priest walking

Moving Onward

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We have heard and probably said the phrases, “Been there, done that,” or “Nothing new under the sun.” And from the other side of the coin: “It has always been this way.” But in reality, it is fair to say, “It has never ‘always been that way,’” or, in other words, to express the oxymoron Read More
To do list

The To-Do List

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Different phrases and images come to mind that describe what happens to us in the normal unfolding of priestly ministry. An acclamation often spoken by the late Cardinal William H. Keeler, for whom I had the pleasure of working, was, “All the trains are coming into the station at the same time.” These are the Read More