Personal Journey

Forgiving, But Not Forgetting: Navigating the Complexity of Healing

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Fr. Kenn Nelan created the images in this post. The images in this post may NOT be reproduced or used without the author’s express written permission. In the tapestry of life, we sometimes find ourselves in situations where we are wronged, hurt, or betrayed. In these moments, we are faced with a choice – to hold onto the pain or let it go. When searching for answers, we are often told the best course of action is to forgive and forget. However, forgetting can lead us into further discomfort or even darker passages. I invite you to think a bit …

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Co-creators of a New Creation – The +Christ Made Manifest

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The featured image (top) is copyrighted by Fr. Kenneth J. Nelan. It is part of a shield given to him by his one-time friend, +Brother, and former bishop after his installation as Vicar of the Diocese under his former jurisdiction. Fr. Kenn has since retired the shield but the image remains a permanent part of his charism. We are – co-creators of a created +Creation; aware of our own created-ness and of our participation in the ongoing creation of the +Created. We are not merely beings; we are BEing itself manifest in beings. Created and creating, we wander this sacred …

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And When You Pray; Use Your Heart

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We know the words so well that whenever we recite them we race through them as if we are in some imaginary competition to finish first. Each time the race begins, I am bothered deep within my soul. You see, for me as the Mass is deeply personal. It is an opportunity to commune wholly and completely with our Christ in a spiritual moment of Creation – a time when we can finally still our hearts, minds, and soul so that we are refreshed and renewed through the “Holy and Living sacrifice.” The prayers we recite become mantras that help …

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Tag; +You’re It!

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My reading list is, at the very least, eclectic. I often find inspiration in theological dissertations, scientific journals, science fiction (and fact), and even the occasional build-it magazine. There are a few, though, that transport me back to my own sacred wandering – to those times I looked away from the Divine and into the world around me to find comfort and some sort of path to the Creator – fool that I was. But I would change nothing. Those moments of running away from the very thing I sought helped me to understand the intricacies of life and to …

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Photo by Joshua Eckstein on Unsplash

I Am, In and Through You, Restored

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Thursday, June 24, 2021 – Last Day of SynodReflection from our Celebration Mass Responsorial Psalm:I praise +You, for I am wonderfully made. Ps 139: 1b-3, 13-14a, 14b-15 “+You know me, my God. +You know me, and I am just beginning my journey of knowing +You+You know my heart and soul, my pain and Joy, my heartache and wonderment.My wandering brings me closer to +You and yet I feel the farthest I ever have been, but I know +You are there! +You hold me and I am restored.” Those were the first words I wrote for that day – words inspired …

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Prone to Wander No Longer – Healing

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I’ve struggled with the concept of hostels versus homes for many years – 27 long years to be precise but I think that has finally changed because I will no longer let others determine my path. Only the Creator has that ability and even then self-determination is a big part of the package. One small morning celebration where pen met paper and paper was placed into the capable hands of one of my Sisters or Brothers, and it’s gone. Written on the paper – “False Prophets”. There was a lot of meaning chosen in those two words. Throughout my time …

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Photo by Delfino Barboza on Unsplash

The Desert Blooms in Vibrant Hues

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I had planned to write on another subject, one dealing with professionalism and ethics in the church, but maybe I’ll write on that another day. While thinking about the subject of ethics, I remembered something that happened at my internship site years ago – something few people in my industry allow themselves to embrace, let alone experience. My internship was at a site where I gave back to my community, as was once given to me in my own youth. I worked with kids who were thrown away by their parents for whatever reason or else sold into a very …

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Optimism as a Way of Life

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Relentless Optimism The original article was published August, 2016 in Convergent Streams – this is the heavily edited version for personal publication. Take a moment to sit back, sip on whatever beverage is beside you, and reflect on the major changes in your life – specifically how you reacted to those events. The events themselves are important, but for this moment I want you to focus on your reaction to the event. You see, most of us will react in extremes. We either knee-jerk react to what we hear without bothering to stop and think, or we do not react …

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Shake the Dust: A Renewed Understanding

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This month is the one year anniversary of being released from one organization to find God in another. That isn’t to say God didn’t exist in the former. Many of the parishioners I met, and perhaps even one or two priests, were filled with a Great Spirit – one that enabled them to be happy and free. They, too, have moved on to bigger and brighter tomorrows. The following is my own writing and does not reflect the views or opinions of any other person, group, or entity. Some was written in 2014 – another time of great change where …

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