Written by Father Don FarnanDecember 9, 2025 Our Lady of the Americas Advent is a time to believe in impossible things.  Prophetic writers foretell of a virgin birth, and scriptural passages that dominate our liturgical gatherings this month offer scenes in which wolf...

Advent means the Coming or Arrival.  Each year Christians join in a four-week, end of calendar, spiritual journey.  But it is a little difficult for us to comprehend exactly what is coming, whether it comes now, or only at the journey’s end. I’ll start with the coming...

A sanctuary is a protected place where birds, animals, or people can gather to find refuge and safety from dangerous conditions.  It’s original meaning has biblical roots and refers to an enshrined haven or holy place set apart because God’s presence is made manifest...

In Bob Dylan’s pensive ballad, “Not Dark Yet,” he reflects upon a once great relationship that is not quite over and, at the same time, muses about the end of life or our relationship with human existence.  He suggests that, even at the tail end or waning moments, we...

Communication is, and probably always will be, the Achilles heel of healthy relationships.  Healthy communication takes work, patience, and continual attention.  Each November as Thanksgiving gatherings inaugurate the holiday season, numerous families are concerned...

Nathan Soderblom once stated, “Saints are people who make it a little bit easier for the rest of us to be good.”  They are light bearers, they are trail angels, they are people with rough edges like everyone else but who have somehow remained focused on God and our...

In 1920’s Mexico, under President Plutarco Calles, clergy were restricted from public religious practices, religious education was outlawed, and many Catholics were persecuted, imprisoned, or executed for their faith.  These anti-Catholic measures or “Calles Laws”...

Catholic bishops throughout the world make “ad limina” visits to Rome every five to ten years.  These periodic trips bring them to the threshold or entryway, as the Latin word implies.  “Ad limina” refers more specifically to the tomb, meaning the crypt of Saint Peter...

I was first assigned to Saint Therese Little Flower (STLF) Parish, on Kansas City’s east side, in 1992.  At that time, it had a parish school that served neighborhood children.  One day I ran into the diocesan school superintendent there; she was walking the halls and...

A sanctuary is a protected place where birds, animals, or people can gather to find refuge and safety from dangerous conditions.  It’s original meaning has biblical roots and refers to an enshrined haven or holy place set apart because God’s presence is made manifest...

Live, learn, work, retire, die.  So goes the rhythm of earthly existence for many of us.  Included in there, of course, is engagement with the world, participation in needful endeavors, faithfulness to our beliefs, love for those we cherish, and leaving behind a...

I begin here by admitting that I never heard of Charlie Kirk until the day he was killed earlier this week.  Like you, I know that we will hear and learn much more about him in the weeks, months, and years ahead, especially his movement, Turning Point USA, that...

Too Seriously By Father Don Farnan on August 28, 2025 The Jesuit priest, Henri de Lubac, once said, “The person who takes himself too seriously will not dominate his pain.  His pain will dominate him, even if he seems to have got the better of it.  It puts a strain on...

Higher Law By Father Don Farnan on September 28, 2025 In 1920’s Mexico, under President Plutarco Calles, clergy were restricted from public religious practices, religious education was outlawed, and many Catholics were persecuted, imprisoned, or executed for their...

Successful Marriage By Father Don Farnan on September 20, 2025 Far be it from me, a celibate priest, to offer advice on marriage.  My comments herein are not advice, only observations.  They start with remarks of nineteenth century philosopher Frederick Nietzsche who...

Civil Discourse & Classic Catholicism By Father Don Farnan on September 13, 2025 I begin here by admitting that I never heard of Charlie Kirk until the day he was killed earlier this week.  Like you, I know that we will hear and learn much more about him in the...

Humility By Father Don Farnan on September 8, 2025 Nineteenth Century British author John Ruskin once wrote: “The first test of a truly great person is humility…The greatest people among us have a curious feeling that the greatness is not in them, but it...

Synodal People By Father Don Farnan on August 13, 2025 In the early 1940s, C. S. Lewis wrote in his famous book, Mere Christianity, “Already the new people are dotted here and there all over the earth.  Some are hardly recognizable: but others can be quickly...

Urban Parishes Step Up By Father Don Farnan on August 7, 2025 Some people think that priests who get assigned to inner-city ministries are being punished.  Their comments give them away: “You must have done something awfully bad to get sent to the ghetto” or “The...

Secret Garden By Father Don Farnan on July 31, 2025 Among Bruce Springsteen’s greatest hits is one from the mid-nineties entitled, Secret Garden.  The lyrics describe how a particular woman welcomes him into her life.  Spending time together, they enjoy many common...

What’s in a Name? By Father Don Farnan on July 25, 2025 The book of Proverbs (Chapter 21) states: “A good name is greater than riches; high esteem is more valuable that silver or gold.”  When we are born, our parents give us a name.  That name helps to shape our...

Leo’s Revolution By Father Don Farnan on July 18, 2025 In 1891 Pope Leo XIII wrote a famous encyclical called Rerum Novarum; the title translates into English roughly as “Of These Things” or “In New Times.” The document became the forerunner to the Catholic Worker...

Maybe By Father Don Farnan on July 12, 2025 There is a famous tale of a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away.  That evening neighbors gathered at his place to commiserate.  “That was bad luck,” they said.  He replied, “Maybe it is—maybe it isn’t.”  The next day, the...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader June Sundays By Father Don Farnan on June 23, 2025 Unlike most liturgical Sundays that are identified by numbers (Second Sunday of Advent, Fifth Sunday of Easter, Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time…), the five Sundays this June...

Read on blog or Reader REM–EMDR By Father Don Farnan on June 29, 2025 Fundraising for local charities and dancing with stars years ago, I was paired with professionals to move and groove to R.E.M.’s hit song Losing My Religion.  Though the southern band explained the...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader America250 As the United States enters our two hundred fiftieth year as a nation, we can look back with much gratitude for the freedom, liberty, and opportunities given to us, while we also call to mind the sorrows of many who...

Four Key Commitments By Father Don Farnan on June 16, 2025 Motivational speaker and acclaimed writer, David Brooks, in his book The Second Mountain, articulated four “commitments” that make a person’s life meaningful and fulfilling. The four foundations have to do...

Go Placidly By Father Don Farnan on June 9, 2025 Ninety-eight years ago, Max Ehrmann wrote the prose poem Desiderata.  It begins with the memorable and soothing line, “Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.”  This pensive...

Pentecost People By Father Don Farnan on June 3, 2025 A prayer that priests and other religious pray in the cycle of our daily Liturgy of the Hours (or Office/Breviary) reads: “Lord, you renew the face of the earth announcing unforetold wonders.  Through a virgin, you...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader Catholic Immigration By Father Don Farnan on May 29, 2025 The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which represents the church’s moral and political views, seems to be at an impasse with the Trump Administration...

Parable of Life Twentieth century clergyman and author Norman Vincent Peale made famous his Parable of the Prenatal Baby which he first told to a wealthy and powerful aging man who asked him about the mysterious afterlife.  He told it not to explain an unknowable...

Good Shepherd By Father Don Farnan on May 9, 2025 As we approach Good Shepherd Sunday, the Catholic Church welcomes our new spiritual father, successor to Peter, and universal shepherd, Pope Leo XIV.  Though his predecessor, Francis, was the first American pope and...

House of God By Father Don Farnan on May 3, 2025 The French term for hospital, Hotel-Dieu, translates into English as “House of God.”  Usually sponsored by religious groups and often operated by nuns or representatives of the church, hospitals served originally as...

Blessed To Know Him By Father Don Farnan on April 21, 2025 The world became a better place because it got to know Francis.  When Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires was introduced as the new pope in March of 2013, he reminded us of God’s merciful love and...

UPON THIS ROCK Last Supper By Father Don Farnan on April 16, 2025 Most of us believe that the Last Supper was a Passover Meal, or Feast of Unleavened Bread—at least that’s the way it is presented in three of the four Gospel accounts.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke report it...

Lean Straight By Father Don Farnan on April 10, 2025 When I was a kid in middle school, I broke my left arm at the elbow.  It has never since been straight.  In my twenties and again in my thirties, I had orthoscopic surgery on my left knee.  For most of my life, I...

Mother Teresa once said, “At the end of life, we will not be judged by how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.  We will be judged by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, taking in the homeless—hungry not only for bread but hungry for love,...

Quo Vadis By Father Don Farnan on April 3, 2025 While the New Testament scriptures were written in the first century, Christians were getting persecuted, especially in Rome.  According to a famous legend, Peter, Jesus’ choice to lead the church, was fleeing the city...

A Woman’s Place By Father Don Farnan on March 24, 2025 About thirty years ago, when I served as vocation director for our diocese, members of a particular religious order visited Kansas City to recruit future priests.  They asked my help to secure a home where some...

Spring Break By Father Don Farnan on March 17, 2025 Everybody benefits from a break now and then.  Though ancient Greeks enculturated a multi-day springtime “awakening” tradition, our American custom of spring break began in the late 1930s when a coach from frigid...

Irish Mysticism By Father Don Farnan on March 11, 2025 “I arise today through the strength of heaven, light of the sun, radiance of the moon, splendor of fire, speed of lightning, swiftness of the wind, depth of the sea, stability of the earth, firmness of the rock. ...

Wrestling By Father Don Farnan on March 4, 2025 March often enters like a lion and exits like a lamb, for it is the month in which winter officially turns to spring.  The transition is played out as atmospheric pressures and gravitational pulls bring forth weather...

Sinner By Father Don Farnan on February 28, 2025 Twelve years ago, when the new pope, unknown to the world was elected, the first question he was asked by the gathered press was, “Who are you?” He responded by saying, “I am a sinner.”  Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) began...

By Father Don Farnan on February 20, 2025 This Lent, I will offer some mini retreats for people to reflect upon the most significant issues of life and address topics of death.  Utilizing guidance from spiritual directors, life coaches, death duellos, and Catholic...

Fifty-nine By Father Don Farnan on February 6, 2025 I was born in the summer of 1959, the same week that The Chiefs professional football team was born.  It was conceived in Dallas by Lamar Hunt; the name on their birth certificate was Dallas Texans.  The next year,...

Presentation By Father Don Farnan on February 1, 2025 When America’s housewife, the famous columnist Erma Bombeck, contemplated life beyond death, she said that she wanted to appear before God’s throne displaying all her wounds and scars, hobble up to the Lord and...

Drive to Arrive By Father Don Farnan on January 25, 2025 I think that the way we drive says a lot about the way we live.  Many motorists on our roadways are aggressive drivers; some go to extremes and become angry drivers or even suffer road rage.  Others claim to be...

Skin Color By Father Don Farnan on January 20, 2025 I remember being at a Martin Luther King Day celebration decades ago when many well-meaning people, mostly whites who wanted to make a statement against racism, wore T-shirts bearing the words: “I am color blind.” ...

January Holiday By Father Don Farnan on January 16, 2025 Among the numerous contributions that the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) has given to our nation and world is the simple yet profound message that we, by our mere existence, have an obligation—and...

Earth & Sky By Father Don Farnan on January 5, 2025 “There’s a legend that’s known both here and afar, ‘bout a belief that we have in a magical star; Wise Men were overwhelmed but what would they bring, as the star came to rest over the newborn king!” Local...

The Human Fund By Father Don Farnan on December 29, 2024 Seinfeld fans can readily recall the Festivus episode in which, among other things, George decided that instead of giving coworkers a costly wrapped Christmas present for the mandatory office holiday exchange,...

The Night Before By Father Don Farnan on December 23, 2024 The poem below, by an anonymous author, entitled, ‘Twas the Night Before Jesus, will seem rather corny to some readers, including me, but the underlying message is significant. Sometimes we want the...

Inner City Christmas By Father Don Farnan on December 18, 2024 Hamilton W. Mabee once said: “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”  It’s a wondrous scene in urban parishes each December as numerous inner-city residents line up...

What’s In a Name By Father Don Farnan on December 12, 2024 The Rite of Baptism for Christians begins with parents stating the name of their child.  This ancient tradition gives identity to the beloved baby human.  Proverbs, 22:1, states: “A good name is more desirable...

Holy Mother, Hold Me In the mid-1980s, when Eric Clapton was going through dark personal struggles and loss, he wrote a beautiful song, Holy Mother.  It is a prayer of surrender which expresses his conversion from being self-centered to being centered in the mystery...

Advent Day By Day By Father Don Farnan on December 1, 2024 Advent is a mystical journey.  Mary and Joseph set the tone for us with their journey to Bethlehem.  It is a journey of trusting in visions and locutions, a journey of being ostracized and ridiculed, a journey...

Many Ways To Say Thanks By Father Don Farnan on November 25, 2024 In late November our nation invites us to pause in gratitude for the numerous blessings we receive and share.  The ritual began over 400 years ago, before the country was even born, when pilgrim-people...

UPON THIS ROCK Second Naivete By Father Don Farnan on November 12, 2024 I love the Catholic Church and am blessed to have been shaped by it.  It has anchored my life and kept me oriented toward the good.  It has educated me, inspired me, employed me, ordained me, and...

  It Must Be This Way By Father Don Farnan on November 18, 2024 My sixty-five-year-old body increasingly reminds me of my age.  For the past several months I limped around because my left side, from hip to ankle, has been hurting and dragging.  For the first time...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader It’s Over. Now What? By Father Don Farnan on November 6, 2024 After a tornado, cyclone, hurricane, or other storm hits us, we can feel both relieved and devastated at the same time: relief that we survived yet devastated by the...

Parish Pubs By lanelucas on October 24, 2024 Though I don’t suppose most churches have a designated parish bar, many of those that I served happened to.  Down the street from my first assignment, Visitation Parish, was the (original) Peanut; members of Vis often...

Teresian By Father Don Farnan on October 15, 2024 October begins with the Feast of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus (aka The Little Flower or Therese of Lisieux).  The middle day of the month is dedicated to Saint Teresa of Jesus (aka Teresa of Avila).  I have the...

A Best & Worst Week By Father Don Farnan on October 11, 2024 The Greek word “metanoia” is sometimes used in church jargon.  It means an about-face or one-eighty-degree change—a total turn-around conversion.  This week in Kansas City many sports fans marveled over...

Lesser of Two Evils By Father Don Farnan on October 4, 2024 Across the deep blue ocean, church leaders have gathered at the Vatican for a continuation of the ecclesial synod as the pope prays that the church will be welcoming to all people and that governments...

Angel Fund An angel is a spiritual being that acts according to the will of God, is a messenger of God, and an agent of God’s goodness.  An angel can also be a person of exemplary virtue or conduct.  You and I have been blessed to encounter angels in our lives. About...

Mahomes For President By Father Don Farnan on September 18, 2024 When Patrick Mahomes gets asked about political viewpoints of people close to him like his wife, or teammates like Harrison Butker, or friends like Taylor Swift, he responds by stating that he hangs out...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader A New Day “This is the beginning of a new day.  God has given me this day to use as I will.  I can waste it, or I can use it for good. What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow...

Written by Father Don FarnanSeptember 6, 2024 Calcutta To Kansas City From the late 1940s till her death fifty years later, Mother Teresa of Calcutta inspired people all around the globe to take part in making their area of the earth a better place.  Responding to...

KC Irish An Irish friend recently sent me a newspaper article about Father Michael O’Connor who died a year ago this month in Limerick at the ripe ole age of ninety-four.  Father O’Connor was from Tralee in County Kerry and joined the Redemptorist religious order...

Recollections Will Vary By Father Don Farnan on August 24, 2024 When Queen Elizabeth II of England was asked about allegations from her grandson and his wife of racist statements made by members of the royal family, she responded by saying “Recollections may vary.” ...

X Factor I am in my thirteenth year of priestly service at Saint Therese Little Flower Parish (though it has spanned two centuries), in my third consecutive year at Saint James, and only my third week at Saint Francis Xavier.  Most of the parishioners of these three...

Written by Father Don FarnanJuly 26, 2024 Structures exist in most societies because people usually benefit from parameters that contain us and systems to guide us.  That is the general rule; but exceptions accompany most rules. Whether our nation’s political...

Among all the major world religions, Hinduism claims to have no beginning.  Though it can be traced to around 2,000 BCE it may have always been around because it’s not so much a religion as it is a lifestyle.  It has many offshoots.  The major one is Buddhism, founded...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader No Need For God When nineteenth century French scholar Pierre-Simon Laplace was asked by Napolean how God fit into academic equations, he famously responded, “I have no need of that hypothesis.”   Though he was quick to admit that...

Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer of the American rock band, Green Day, wrote a famous song called Wake Me Up When September Ends.  It is a lament about his father who died when the boy was only ten.  Released in 2005, it was adopted by the citizens of New Orleans and...

Read on blog or Reader UPON THIS ROCK Beyond Parish Boundaries I want to thank all of you for your outpouring of food, clothing, gifts, and gift cards to inner-city residents.  Over the past week, you have filled my garage with grocery bags for Saint Therese Little...

East of Troost Many Catholics in Kansas City are surprised to learn that, though there are many Catholic churches west of Troost and several to the north around I-70, Saint Therese Little Flower (STLF) is the only one east of Troost Avenue to the Truman Sports Complex...

Youth Anxiety In his best-selling book, The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt contrasts Baby Boomers and Gen X children to younger generations.  Those born more than fifty years ago experienced a play-based childhood filled with human interaction and physical...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader Death Doula Many people are familiar with birth doulas, those lovely souls who assist pregnant women to better understand what to expect when they are expecting, who accompany them through the birth of their child and sometimes...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader Succeed On Our Own A mother of four young children recently reminded me that a primary task of parents is to teach children to get along without them, to succeed on their own, to develop skills so that they can take care of...

Right To Speak Freedom of Speech, as spelled out in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, protects the right of individuals or communities to openly articulate opinions and ideas without interference, retaliation, or punishment from the government. ...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader Francis Xavier, SJ Saint Francis Xavier (SFX) Parish, established in Kansas City in 1909, has been led by Jesuits for its entire 115-year history.  Lack of manpower, however, sadly forces the order to withdraw from parish...

Mother’s Day Reflection (Written by Cindy Lange-Kubich) This is for all the mothers who didn’t win Mother of the Year, all the runner-ups and wannabes, the mothers who’re too tired to enter, or too busy to care.  This for all the mothers who froze their buns off on...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader She Sat So He Could Stand On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and was arrested because state law dictated her to do so.  She was a seamstress and worked hard all...

WRITTEN BY FATHER DON FARNANAPRIL 11, 2024 URBAN ADAPTATION I am concerned about maintaining our Catholic presence in Kansas City’s urban core in the future.  We have a limited number of priests serving our diocese; the bishop and diocesan leaders must send priests...

There are about 220 Catholic colleges and universities in the United States, a number that has diminished over the past decade with several closings each year.  The most famous schools are those known for their sports teams, like football powerhouse Notre Dame, or...

Kids & The Easter Story Dr. Ralph Wilson, director of Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries, once wrote: “If you ask your average heathen youngster what Easter is about, he’ll tell you about the Easter bunny and finding decorative baskets filled with annoying plastic...

Week Called Holy             When fishes flew and forests walked, and figs grew upon thorn,             Some moment when the moon was blood, then surely, I was born.             With monstrous head and sickening cry and ears like errant wings,             The devil’s...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader Inexplicable Irish A group of friends I know happen to be pretty good singers.  They discovered this reality one night at a new south Kansas City bar, Corner Cocktail, some forty-five years ago.  One of them was forced by his dear...

UPON THIS ROCK Read on blog or Reader Closer to Fine “I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains, I looked to the children, I drank from the fountains.  There’s more than one answer to my questions, pointing me in a crooked line.  And the less I seek my source as a...

Well, That’s One Thing We’ve Got “You say we’ve got nothing in common, no common ground to start from, and that we’re falling apart…And I said, ‘What about Breakfast at Tiffany’s?’ And she said, ‘I think I remember that film, and as I recall, we both kinda liked it.’...

Closer to Fine “I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains, I looked to the children, I drank from the fountains.  There’s more than one answer to my questions, pointing me in a crooked line.  And the less I seek my source as a definitive, the closer I am to fine.”...

Valentine’s Day Massacre On Valentine’s Day, 1929, in Chicago, when tension between organized crime gangs and city police exploded, there was a bloody massacre that is still talked about today.  Four years later in June, at Kansas City’s Union Station, another...

Super Multidirectional The victory parade route in downtown Kansas City is becoming well known, much like the Mardi Gras parade route in New Orleans each year.  This week they are on back-to-back days as the Chiefs accomplished the rare feat of winning back-to-back...

Mardi Gras The origins of Mardi Gras can be traced to Medieval Europe.  Our American rituals are rooted mainly with practices dating back to 17th Century France when King Louis XIV commissioned explorers to establish colonies in the New World.  French-Canadians, Jean...

UPON THIS ROCKRead on blog or Reader Reactivated Podcast A year ago, working with a wonderful team at Rockhurst, we activated a podcast with the same title as my blog: “Upon This Rock.”  We began by interviewing Alvin Brooks, for whom the future Alvin Brooks Center...

Year of Prayer Two thousand and twenty-four has been named a Year of Prayer by the Holy Father.  This designation is made in preparation for the Jubilee or Holy Year of 2025.  In a sense, this is to be a quiet year amidst the thunder of war, noise of political...

University Shift Two years ago, Father Tom Curran, president of Rockhurst University, asked if I would be willing to join the college staff to advance its mission.  He indicated that I had a unique position as an alumnus who is a diocesan priest that served in the...