Welcome to my journal.
If you are reading this, you are here by invitation. This is not a public publication, but a personal space for reflection, wrestling with faith, and trying to make sense of the world through the lens of a life lived. Before we walk any further together, I feel it’s important to be honest about the path I am on, so that you can decide if it’s one you wish to accompany for a while.
Let’s be clear about a few things from the start. I am not a Traditionalist Catholic. I am not one who chases or puts my faith in Marian apparitions. I do not subscribe to the popular end-times theology that permeates much of evangelical thought. And, though I wear my identity proudly, I am not a Friar—I am a lay Franciscan, living out my vocation in the world.
My perspective—my worldview, my national viewpoint, and my local viewpoint—is deeply informed by a lifetime of formation. I am a Secular Franciscan, professed since 1995, and my commitment to the Order has included 25 years of service in leadership at every level. My life in the Church has also been one of active participation; I have served my local community as a catechist and as a parish council president.
Professionally, my life has been grounded in the secular world. For 51 years, I have been a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, one of the oldest trade unions in the country. Within that career, I spent 35 years as a supervisor, where I always strove to work as a servant leader. These decades of leading teams, managing projects, and engaging with people from all walks of life have shaped me just as much as my explicitly religious roles. I am also a husband to my wife, Kathleen, a father, and a grandfather.
But of all these experiences, my perspective was most profoundly sharpened on the anvil of street-level ministry. My work with the poor on the streets of Detroit spans 15 years, including 12 years serving at St. Aloysius Neighborhood Services located within the Archdiocese of Detroit. Simultaneously, this calling led to something more. For the past 12 years, and still active today, my wife, friends, and members of my Fraternity have created and serve in our own 501(c)(3) organization called Franciscan Ministries. Through this work, we directly serve the poor, the unhoused, the sick, and the disabled right where they are.
In all this time, I have witnessed the raw, unfiltered beauty of God in the most broken places, and I have seen the crushing weight of systems that fail the very people they are meant to serve.
It is this total sum of experiences—as a Franciscan leader, a union carpenter, a parishioner, a husband, and a co-founder of a street ministry—that gives voice to my thoughts. My words are not born from a desire to be controversial, but from an obligation to be honest about what I have seen and what I believe the Gospel calls us to be.
You are welcome to keep reading and to walk this journey with me.
If, however, you find that my experiences—and my giving voice to them—are hurtful or harmful to your spiritual life, I ask you in charity to please unsubscribe. This is a space for honest searching, and the peace of your soul is paramount.
If you choose to walk with me, then understand this is a journey of grappling, not of settled answers. In this light, I welcome your thoughts.
Wishing you all peace.
Pace e Bene. (Peace and All Good)
