Category Archives: The Diary of an inner-city Priest – El Diario de un Sacerdote urbano

THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST/EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO – #51

THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #51 Brenda and Eddie In 1977 Billy Joel released an album called The Stranger.  One of the songs, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, tells the story of a fictional couple, Brenda and Eddie, who were the popular king and queen of the high school prom, married just…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #50 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #50

THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #50       NICK Very early on in my priesthood I was assigned to a large suburban parish situated on a beautiful piece of property with a very large parking lot.  This parking lot would prove to be, for me and many of my younger parishioners, a…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #48 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #48

THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #48    The Miracle I Witness Every Day  Long before I thought of becoming a priest I went on a pilgrimage to various holy sites in Europe with a good friend from high school, who was by then ordained a priest, and a group of his parishioners.  At…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #47 –  EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO#47

THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #47: Other Christmas Stories As I have written before, Christmas does not evoke many nostalgic memories for me as a priest. I have treasured memories of Christmas from my childhood and early youth, but for many years as a church musician, and later as a priest, I…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #46 –  EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO#46

THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #46: The Laughing Ladies at the Funeral Home  I have witnessed many strange things during my years as a priest; so many strange things that it takes something particularly novel or extraordinary to stop me in my tracks.  That happened to me recently as I was conducting…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #45 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #45

THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #45: Singing at Mass  In 1991 author and Catholic Church musician Thomas Day published a book entitled Why Catholics Can’t Sing.  In it he proposed many explanations for why Catholics can’t, don’t, or won’t sing at Mass.  It was a book very popular among Catholic musicians at…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #44 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #44

THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry #44: “You saved my daughter’s life.”  I was invited to a neighboring parish one evening for a round of the game “Stump the Priest”.  Typically, this “game” involves a panel of two or three priests and a crowd of interested Catholics who gather for dinner. During the course…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #43 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #43

THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST Diary Entry: #43 “We Hate Latin!”  “We hate Latin!”  I will never forget these words hurled at me one Monday morning by an old Polish couple who had come to the rectory office to complain, just after I had assumed the role of pastor at an inner-city parish.  Prompting complaints…
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THE DIARY OF AN INNER-CITY PRIEST #42 – EL DIARIO DE UN SACERDOTE URBANO #42

Diary Entry #42:  The Guy Who Stole My Newspaper I had been the new pastor of an inner-city parish for a few months. I enjoyed the fact that the previous pastor had taken a subscription to the local newspaper. While a newspaper subscription costs relatively little, it does cost something. I had never taken one…
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