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...

Gospel of Peace Father John Dear recently published his latest book, The Gospel of Peace, in which he offers commentary on Jesus’ mission of nonviolence.  In it, he analyzes the words and actions of Jesus from a lens that magnifies Christ’s role and purpose as the...

UPON THIS ROCK The Magi’s Magis “Magis” is a Latin adverb that roughly translates into English as “greater” or “more” or “higher degree.”  It was made popular as a noun (the more) by Jesuits that follow the spiritual path of their founder, Ignatius of Loyola, who...

Lingering Holiday The Hallmark Christmas channel has endless stories featuring a girl named Holly or Noel and a boy named Nick or Chris who, after one of them achieves great success in the big city, returns to their hometown of Winterland or Candyville where they get...

Enough “Sometimes we are so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count our blessings.” I don’t know where that quote originated but I’ve been thinking about it since Thanksgiving morning in the Church of the Little Flower where some of KC’s inner-city...

The Trail I live along the Old Santa Fe Trail, one of three major roadways originating nearly 200 years ago along the Missouri River heading west.  Recently a landscape crew dug up a horseshoe in my front yard that dated back to the era of wagon trains, frontiersmen,...

Autumn Giving There are lots of opportunities to participate in Autumn Giving.  If you’d like, I can serve as a conduit for your generosity or, in holiday language, we can make elves of ourselves. Journey to New Life, a ministry that assists incarcerated people to...

Ecclesial Twister The Vatican is a long way from Kansas City.  But what is happening there impacts us here.  This semester, I have the privilege to work at two local Catholic universities, Rockhurst and Avila.  On the campuses, I witness tremendous diversity. ...

UPON THIS ROCK Age-Old New Ways When Jesus introduced new ways of thinking about religion to His Jewish community, most of the church hierarchy of the time did not accept it or want anything to do with it.  When His followers began to reach out and engage non-Jews, it...

Forgive Us as We Forgive The late American author and theologian, Frederick Buechner, once wrote: “To forgive somebody is to say one way or another, ‘You have done something so unspeakable, and by all rights I should call it quits between us. Both my pride and my...

UPON THIS ROCK October Saints “May today there be peace within you.  May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.  May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.  May you use those gifts that you have received and...

Critical On a recent trip to Italy, a Roman guide commented about their city’s many visitors from around the globe and, perhaps to appease me and my companions, spoke favorably of those from the United States saying, “I am always impressed with the candor by which...

The Penske File In a particular Seinfeld episode, George has a job interview with a company president who is leaving town.  George shows up the next workday, but no one there knows that he was hired.  Nevertheless, he is given the Penske file.  Having no idea what do...

UPON THIS ROCK Descent of the Holy Spirit The third glorious mystery is the promise of Christ, the gift of love, the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon the earth.  Sixty years ago, participants of the Second Vatican Council prayed to the Holy Spirit for a new...

UPON THIS ROCK Growth with Change Cardinal John Henry Newman once said, “In a higher realm it may be otherwise but here below to live is to change; and to be perfect is to change often.”  From the moment we burst into this existence we scream out with divine spiritual...

UPON THIS ROCK Neighborhood Justice I met George O’Laughlin in the early 1990s when I was assigned to my first pastorate; it was in the inner city.  He was the first person I knew who was a member of two Catholic parishes at the same time: one in the suburban...

Mostly Catholic In an interview with Mr. Alvin Brooks, namesake of the Alvin Brooks Center for Faith-Justice at Rockhurst University, I praised him for his leadership role and servanthood within the Catholic Church.  He clarified that he is “mostly Catholic.”  Over...

Magis On the Rockhurst University campus, there is a building which everyone refers to as The MAC (Magis Activity Center).  Most of its space is dedicated to equipment for training, shaping, and strengthening bodies’ physical well-being.  “Magis” is an unusual word. ...

Judgment or Condemnation? A decade ago, at World Youth Day, Pope Francis spoke about God’s role as our judge: “God judges us by loving us.  If I embrace his love then I am saved; if I refuse it, then I am condemned—not by him but my own self.  That is because God...

UPON THIS ROCK Best and Worst of Times For local sports fans, it is the best of times and worst of times as major league baseball gives way to the national football league.  The worst season the Royals ever had was in 2005 when we won only 56 games against 106...

UPON THIS ROCK Urban Connection I salute those who live, learn, work, worship, dine, or do volunteer activities in the inner city.  Urban centers tend to get abandoned by sprawling populations, but we know that, just as with a human body, the core must be strengthened...

UPON THIS ROCK G*R*A*C*E I recently came across a thirty-year-old newspaper clipping about angels (Advice from the Angels by Tanya Barrientos, Knight-Ridder News).  It caught my attention, especially its encouragement for us, mere mortals, to avail ourselves to angles...

UPON THIS ROCK Upcoming Up & Comers As part of a community or community of faith, part of a city or civic community, part of a family or group of friends, we’re always interested in what’s coming up, or when and where we might gather next, or how our attention...

UPON THIS ROCK Mary of Knots Like many Catholics, I have a rosary that I carry in my pocket.  I’m not sure how I got into the habit, but it has been with me for most of my life.  I go through lots of rosaries because they tend to eventually break: a tiny strand of its...

UPON THIS ROCK Word Cereal Polarity is natural but polarization stymies progress and stability.  Community and communion are good, but communism is not.  Secularity is a reality, but secularism is damaging.  The clerical state can be holy, but clericalism is evil....

UPON THIS ROCK Bonds of Brotherhood For the past five years or so, I have met periodically (roughly quarterly) with a group of guys who desire to deepen their spiritual lives.  Their nucleus is the Rockhurst High School Class of 1990, though a few others, including a...

Please Don’t Tell Me Quite often, church officials, when told by parishioners about something that is not in-line with ecclesial norms (even if they agree with it), will say: “Please, don’t tell me…”  The issue might center around what they’ve chosen to do with the...

Site logo image UPON THIS ROCK Spirit in the Sky Father Don Farnan Jun 25 Next to Danny Boy, undertakers report that Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit in the Sky is the most requested funeral song for services marking the end of life. When the Jesus Rebellion was overtaking...

UPON THIS ROCK What I’m Doing & Why Nearly a year ago, I was transferred from Saint Charles Borromeo Parish in Kansas City’s northland to Rockhurst University in midtown, along with some neighboring parishes.  Returning to my alma mater after forty years and to...

Truth’s Long Journey When Bella Baumfree changed her name to Sojourner Truth in 1843 after being sold and bought four times, suffering decades of enslavement, beatings, rapes, whippings, harsh physical labor, and violent punishment, she was inscribed with a new...

UPON THIS ROCK Eucharistic Revival Father Don Farnan Jun 6 The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is initiating a three-year Eucharistic revival this month to encourage Catholics and others to grow closer to Jesus through holy communion.  The effort...

May turns to June, schools close and pools open, baseball diamonds promise fields of dreams, lake activity multiplies and amplifies, summer vacations begin, and children frolic in an age of innocence.  As George and Ira Gershwin wrote, “Summertime and the livin’ is...

N THIS ROCK BY FATHER DON FARNAN WRITTEN BY FATHER DON FARNANMAY 18, 2023 VIOLENCE IN OUR CITY On Saturday morning, June 3, 9:00-12, Saint Francis Xavier Parish will host a retreat entitled, “Violence in Our City.”  All are invited to come and participate.  The...

Violence In Our City Father Don Farnan May 18 On Saturday morning, June 3, 9:00-12, Saint Francis Xavier Parish will host a retreat entitled, “Violence in Our City.”  All are invited to come and participate.  The retreat, which will take place in the church sanctuary...

Warts and All Father Don Farnan May 14 The late Catholic author and historian, Thomas Cahill, once said, “Just as banks can make people poor, hospitals make them sick, and schools make them ignorant, so can churches make people evil—and the history of our church is...

Heads Spinning Father Don Farnan May 7 About a decade ago, friends of mine attended a high school reunion at their all-boys Catholic school and met the first alumna: their transgendered classmate.   As society rapidly changes, many of us have a tough time keeping up. ...

Immigration Plight Father Don Farnan May 3 Many of us are intrigued and, at the same time, agitated when hearing the story about Joseph fleeing from his homeland to another country, with his young wife and little son, seeking safety while being chased by murderous...

More Retreat Opportunities Father Don Farnan Apr 27 The May retreat offerings at my spirituality center filled up quickly.  It tells me that people are eager to enhance their relationship with God and, subsequently, their relations with others.  These sessions will be...

Seventy Times Seven Times Father Don Farnan Apr 20 When Peter asked Jesus, “How many times must I forgive, seven times?”  He responded, “Not just seven but seventy times seven times.”  There may be a few different translations of the seven and seventy numbers but...