It will be difficult for anyone who knows me now to accept the fact that I was a good kid in my youth. I never ran afoul of the law and I even studied my lessons (sometimes), not that it did me much good looking at my grades. In any case, after high school I entered a Catholic Seminary to become a missionary priest. That ill-starred effort only lasted about a year and a half but it signified my intention, or ambition at least, to lead a decent life.

I wonder what happened to that good and pious young man? Oh well!

Nevertheless, while I have led a conventionally debauched and selfich and irresponsible adult life, I yet have this instinct to tell others how THEY ought to live. And unlike those disgusting tele-evangelists, I do it for free since that is just about what it is worth.

Yes, this is me posing in some borrowed clerical gear. I did look the part, like a competitor to Bing Crosby (who played the kindly and wise priest in those 1940’s movies) though my favorite was Gregory Peck in Keys of the Kingdom.

And here I am on the right with my two seminary roomates. They were still there when I left as I recall but I doubt they lasted. Vocations collapsed after my ill informed try. I wonder if I was somehow responsible. The college level Maryknoll Seminary located just outside Chicago was bursting at the seams when I entered in 1962. It was out of business when I brought my wife for a visit a decade later.

But to my spiritual lesson:

These two memes capture what it was all about for me. It was never about a personal deity which I never believed in, not really. It was never about any religious institution or tradition which generally were perverted to conform with their leader’s preferences.

No, it all came down to the message found in many spiritual lessons. Love. Be kind. Be understanding. Be compassionate. Be accepting.

That’s it, the rest is noise or non essential ritual. I went into the seminary because of the core message. I left because I realized a belief in a personal god wasn’t necessary to live that message. Unfortunately, the message is the first thing lost to most of us, especially those who proclaim their religious convictions the loudest.

Rather we should find grace in those who perform quiet and unnoticed good acts. If you are looking for Providence, that’s where you will find Him or Her.

Father Tom