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.
Each Good Friday, we Christians ask ourselves: How would we have behaved? Would we have been among the faithful women remaining as Jesus breathed his last? Or would we, like many of Jesus’ closest friends, have fled the scene? While none of us know...
On Good Friday, we arrive at Calvary. With darkened skies, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (the Synoptic Gospels) note those present: the faithful women; chief priests; scribes and elders; and the two thieves who have been crucified (one...
A priest once told me a story of being invited to the home of a young couple shortly after the birth of their newborn baby. Upon arriving at their home, he was greeted by the proud parents and asked if he would like to hold their baby. And, of...
There is a story of General Stonewall Jackson and his sister crossing a treacherous torrent just below the mighty Niagara Falls. It is said that when the violent current began to rock their boat, his sister became terrified, at which point the...
The 18th century Austrian composer, Joseph Haydn, was once asked why his church music was so cheerful and he replied: “When I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were, from my pen, and since God...
The 20th-century Dutch Catholic priest, Fr. Henri Nouwen, noted that “we should pay attention to the people God puts in our path if we want to discern what God is up to in our lives.” How many of us sit in awe and wonder regarding the...
Last Sunday, on the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we found ourselves in a vineyard parable (Mt 20:1-16) filled with workers and a landowner. In the story, you might remember that there were workers who had toiled in the fields from dawn to dusk...
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...
