52 Masses: What is it and how to order

Daniel

Over the course of 2021-22, I attended Mass in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, writing about something at each parish he visited. In Bakersfield, California, I sat down with the inspiring women of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who have dedicated themselves to the care of families who have lost children in the womb through its Shrine of the Unborn. In Newton, Connecticut, I visited St. Rose of Lima to learn how the parish helped the community recover from the tragedy of the Sandy Hook shooting, both in the immediate aftermath and the years that followed. And in Gallup, New Mexico, I explored how the Little Sisters of the Poor provided care for that most vulnerable of groups, the elderly poor.

All of these stories are collected in 52 Masses, written to explore the many ways we are living our faith as Catholics.

To order 52 Masses, visit here.

Or go to https://52masses.square.site

You can order the book in one of three ways, autographed hardcover, paperback or autographed paperback.

Thank you so much for your interest in the book and my experiences. I pray you are as inspired by the men and women featured in the book as I was.


Welcome to 52 Masses

Daniel
CONTACT ME: I welcome any visitors to the site to reach out to me directly if you are interested in sharing any information with me, are looking for more information or are interested in learning when the book is published. Please email me at 52Masses@gmail.com if you’d like to reach me or be added to my mailing list.

To order 52 Masses

Welcome to 52 Masses. Thanks for joining me.

My name is Daniel Markham. I’m a lifelong practicing Catholic who worships at St. Gerald in Oak Lawn, Illinois. I have also been writing professionally for almost 30 years. Now, these two biographical data points have collided.

Starting in June, I embarked on a mission to attend Sunday Mass in each of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. At each parish or place I visit, I will write about something going on there, a short profile of the many interesting and inspiring people and endeavors in the Catholic Church in the United States. Upon completion of my year-long trip, the journey will be chronicled in the book, 52 Masses.

These won’t necessarily be groundbreaking types of stories – merely interesting ones. It’s my assertion that every parish has at least one story to tell, if not many. Every day, Catholics across the country are doing amazing things, putting their faith into action in innumerable ways. The hope is that through this collection of stories, I can paint a broader picture of life in the Catholic Church in 2021.

Here, I’ll update the progress of the book over the next two years, chronicling highlights of the trip as it takes place. I welcome any and all to join me, with thoughts, comments and suggestions. I hope to have many of you accompany me on this journey, at least in the digital sense.


God Bless

Auschwitz: Not Long Ago, Not Far Away

Daniel

Kem and I took advantage of her birthday gift from the kids Monday. It was a sobering but memorable experience.

Auschwitz, an exhibit focused on the most infamous World War II death camp, is on display at the Cincinnati Museum Center. The lengthy tour takes you firsthand through the early days of its focus as a prisoner-of-war camp on through its use as the worst of the death camps, with harrowing inhumanity the single through line. Photos, artifacts and recorded interviews with survivors tell the gruesome story.

Sadly, today there seems to be a resurgence in efforts to downplay or even celebrate Nazi ideology. This exhibit is a powerful rebuttal to those misguided ideas.

The exhibit is at the Museum Center through mid-April, for any Midwestern folks. If it someday makes its way to your community, jump at the chance to see it.

Polish-born French-Jewish artist David Olere survived his experience in Auschwitz, where he was put to work as a Sonderkommando (the men forced to empty the gas chambers and burn the bodies). He provided testimony to the horrors of Auschwitz through his drawings, like this one of Crematorium 3.

Polish priest St. Maximilian Kolbe was among the victims of Auschwitz, volunteering to die in place of fellow prisoner Franciszek Gajowinczek, who ended up surviving the war. St. Maximilian Kolbe was killed by the Nazis by lethal injection.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Daniel

File this under: Why didn’t I think of that before?

I was in the Chicago area this morning, up here because our company’s Advent Party is this afternoon (disclaimer: I’m the only one who calls it that). With time on my hands, I attended the Mass at Queen of All Nations Parish in Hillside, Illinois.

Now, Queen of All Nations is a bilingual parish, with that other lingual being Spanish. That meant I was worshiping at a Spanish-speaking Mass on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

It was predictably beautiful from start to finish, with Our Lady adorned in her traditional flowers and Father Lam singing a beautiful ode to her at the conclusion of Mass.

Daniel

In honor of Veterans Day here in the U.S., it’s only appropriate to recognize how the faith is celebrated on our nation’s military bases. This is Ellsworth Air Force Base in Box Elder, South Dakota, where I was blessed to meet with some amazing active duty and retired airmen and airwomen who shared how the faith has supported them during their time in service.

The rules are quite a bit different on a base than anywhere else. The church buildings typically have multiple uses, so the stained glass here was more generic in nature. Additionally, statues must be covered when Catholic Mass is not being celebrated. In some cases, they are placed on swivels. The one condition unique to us: in each place where Mass is offered, there must be a Blessed Sacrament.

While the aesthetic beauty that is so common to our churches is somewhat lacking here, for obvious reasons, the true beauty of our faith is as strong here as anywhere, as men and women who have dedicated their lives to defending us find strength and comfort in the Eucharist.

Thanks again to the Archdiocese of the Military for allowing me to worship there.

Cathedral of the Incarnation

Daniel

Work took me to Nashville the last two days and an early wake up and a brisk walk took me to morning Mass at Cathedral of the Incarnation, the seat of the Diocese of Nashville.

This previous combination of events brought me there a few years back, but the church was undergoing a major construction project at the time, so my view was limited. As you can see from the photos, it was worth it to make it back.

By my count, this became my 11th Mass at a diocesan seat (eight here in the states, one in Puerto Rico, and two outside the country), which means I’m now working on my second Cathedral Punch Card.