REVEREND MR. KURT GODFRYD is editor of Catholic Journal and a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese of Detroit. Married and the father of five children, Deacon Kurt was ordained to the diaconate on October 4, 2008 by His Eminence Adam Cardinal Maida and is assigned to St. Clement of Rome parish in Romeo, Michigan. A native Detroiter, he was educated at the Jesuit-run University of Detroit Mercy, where he received a B.S. in finance, M.B.A., and M.A. in economics. His theological training was taken at Detroit's Sacred Heart Major Seminary, where he earned an M.A. in pastoral ministry.
A man I know once told me the story of a time in his life when his once-thriving business began to decline. As more companies moved into his small town, competition increased, and his sales began to suffer. Not surprisingly, this caused him to make...
The opening prayer for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time begins with these words: “O God, who in the abasement of your Son have raised up a fallen world, fill your faithful with holy joy…” In our first reading, 500 years before the Incarnation...
There is a story of a young woman who, one evening, was waiting for a bus in a crime-ridden area. A rookie policeman approached her and asked: “Do you want me to wait with you?” Quickly, she noted: “No, that won’t be...
In Mark’s Gospel (14:22-26), we read about the Institution of the Lord’s Supper. There, in the Upper Room, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said: “Take, this is my body.” Shortly thereafter, Jesus took a cup...
Our opening prayer for the Third Sunday of Advent provides us with insight that something big is coming: “O God, who see how your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity, enable us, we pray, to attain the joys of so...
In Sacred Scripture, “the word, father, is a designation used not only for the immediate male progenitor, but also for the head of a people or tribe (Gen. 19:37), or for the founder of a town (1 Chron. 2:41–52), or of some institution (Gen...
There was a couple that had been married for more than 50 years when one day, unexpectedly, the husband passed away. A few days after the funeral, their pastor visited the widow and found that even though she was grieving, she was filled with peace...
For a moment, imagine the Parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Lk 18:9-14) unfolding before us. The Pharisee is dressed to the nines. Accompanying his flowing garment is an extra-large phylactery, a leather case containing scripture...
