Hace poco estaba sentado en la sala de espera de un hospital y un guardia de seguridad caminando por la sala se detuvo e inició una conversación conmigo.  Nuestro breve intercambio progresó rápidamente y abarcó varios temas. Me dijo cómo los niños son como el pan, se pueden moldear en cualquier forma que sus padres y su entorno deseen. Me habló de su familia en Carolina del sur y cómo los últimos serán los primeros y los primeros serán los... Read more

I was recently sitting at a hospital waiting room.  A security guard walking across the room stopped and sparked up a conversation with me.  Our brief exchange progressed quickly and covered many topics.  He told me how children are like biscuits, they can be molded into whatever shape their parents and environment molds them into.  He told me about his family in South Carolina and how the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. About halfway through... Read more

Mary Magdalene approached the tomb heartbroken; her mind filled with so many questions, doubts and sorrows. Her day had started every early, before the sun rose, so she could be at the tomb before the first signs of light.  Despite her terrible pain, she came to the tomb of Jesus in order to finish preparing the body. Her sorrow turned into bewilderment as she approached, the stone had been removed from the tomb! Just when Mary thought things could not... Read more

  Estaba esperando parado en silencio al borde de la Plaza de San Lorenzo, ocasionalmente sentándome en la acera para dar un merecido descanso a mis piernas adoloridas. La noche estaba fresca.  Aunque estaba inquieto, sabía sin duda que la espera valdría la pena.  Con las piernas estiradas hacia la calle, tenía mi mirada fijada en las puertas cerradas de la iglesia pequeña al lado opuesto de la plaza. No esperaba solo. Miles se habían reunido para ver, aunque sea... Read more

I stood silently at the edge of the square of San Lorenzo waiting, occasionally sitting on the concrete curb to give my aching legs a deserved rest.  The night was warm but not enough to make me sweat.  I was restless, yet I anticipated the wait was certainly worth enduring.  With my legs stretched out into the street, I fixed my tired and hazy eyes on the closed wooden doors of the small church on the opposite side of the... Read more

  Yesterday I visited for the first time Mepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery northwest of Charleston, South Carolina.  Founded in 1949 on land donated by Henry Luce and Clare Boothe Luce, this property on the banks of the Cooper River was originally Mepkin Plantation, the home of Henry Laurens, a South Carolinian who served as president of the Continental Congress after John Hancock from 1777 to 1778. The grounds of the Abbey are spectacular.  The Luce family built an extensive... Read more

I have only seen a sign like this one once in my life.  No smiling allowed.  What could have happened in a place where smiling is forbidden?  The site has no guards to enforce this rule, but simply recounting the horrific acts that unfolded there is enough to keep a person from smiling. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum was built as a high school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and in 1975 the ruling regime, the Khmer Rouge, converted the school... Read more

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day from Savannah, Georgia, home of the second largest Saint Patrick’s Day parade in the country (after New York City).  The celebration began with 8am Mass at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist celebrated by Bishop Hartmayer and was followed by the start of the 191st annual parade. My day began with a gentle knock at my door at 6:30am.  Before I could finish wondering who it could be, the door was flung open and in... Read more

Pope Francis has declared that from November 30th, 2014 until February 2nd, 2016 the universal Church will celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life.  Our diocese has already joined in this celebration through a Mass celebrated by Bishop Hartmayer at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah last February 2nd where several dozen consecrated men and women (mostly religious sisters) who currently work in our diocese were recognized for their service.  He is also meeting with most of the... Read more

Last week I turned thirty-three years old. For some time I have wondered what it would be like to be thirty-three, the age of Jesus at his death.  Honestly, like at every birthday, I feel quite the same. This birthday was different from my previous twenty-five birthdays because I had the joy to be present at the country of my birth, Peru.  The last time I celebrated my birthday in the city where I was born was when I turned... Read more