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.


Up Next

Daniel

One of the most common questions I get, either during Q&A sessions during presentations I give at parishes or during conversations at Catholic craft fairs, is what is my next book going to be about.

I never had an answer to that question. Until now.

I’ve begun work on a follow-up project to 52 Masses, one that is structurally similar but with a different take. As with 52 Masses, the new book will be a collection of stories of Catholic men and women around the country. However, this one will focus exclusively on men and women who have come to the faith later in life, either as converts, reverts or really any other potential verts.

As a cradle Catholic, I’ve never been called home to the faith the way so many people have. I’ve just always been Catholic. Thus, the idea of being drawn into the Church is a bit of a mystery, one I hope to explore by talking to men and women all over who have made such a transformation.

I have already begun interviewing people for the book. If you know of someone with a compelling conversion story, please feel free to share my information with them.

The Word in Practice

Daniel

During daily Mass at St. Catherine Thursday, the lector began to experience difficulty seeing, struggling to get through the first reading from the Book of Esther. Without saying anything, the presiding priest walked over and took over, finishing the reading and leading the Responsorial Psalm, “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.”

As Father Woodke moved onto his homily, one focused on Christ’s final words in the Gospel reading, “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you,” a parishioner walked over to the lector and sat beside him, a quiet offering of comfort.

Finally, another parishioner stepped forward and assumed the role leading the Communion Antiphon, “Everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will open.”

I couldn’t help but notice how this was the Word playing out right in front of me. One of us needed help and several stepped forward to answer his silent call.

We all appreciate the art and architecture in so many of our churches and shrines. But the ever-present Beauty of All Catholic Churches is found in every single place we worship, in the Word and Eucharist.

St. Jude’s in St. Pete’s.

Daniel

I pushed my cathedral Mass count to an even dozen on Monday thanks to a work trip to the Tampa Bay area. I experienced the liturgy at St. Jude the Apostle, the seat of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

St. Jude the Apostle was unlike any of my previous cathedral visits. It is not a hundred-plus-year-old worship space like so many diocesan seats. Rather, it dates only to 1963, and that modern aesthetic is quite noticeable, for better or worse. Ornate adornments and dark wood were replaced by a more open concept and ample natural light.

Perhaps its most notable feature are a pair of crosses. The striking Baptismal font is in the form of a cross. So too is the building itself, the design “derived from the Byzantine period of the Eastern Roman Empire and the plan was based on a Latin Cross,” the church’s website says.

That cross is far more obvious from the aerial view. Alas, I was unable to provide that shot with my Iphone.

Sister Thea’s Cause Moves Forward

Daniel

I woke to learn the Diocese of Jackson has completed the proceedings and advanced its cause for canonization for Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA. My trip to Mississippi took me to Holy Child of Jesus in Canton, Sister Thea’s home parish, and nearby Sacred Heart in Camden.

Sister Thea remains a significant presence at both Holy Child of Jesus and the nearby Sacred Heart, the two historically black churches in Madison County.

During my trip, I was also blessed to visit with Sister Dorothy Ann Kundinger, another Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, who served alongside Sister Thea during the final years of the Servant of God’s life. Sister Dorothy Ann, who has since passed away, shared with me her reflections on Sister Thea’s incredible gifts, which inspired Sister Dorothy Ann to leave teaching and become a caregiver for those facing their final days.

It was an incredible experience. And I’m so excited to hear the news of her canonization cause moving forward, which seems particularly fitting news this month.

The first two photos are from Holy Child of Jesus, the second from Sacred Heart. And the last is a gift from Sister Dorothy Ann, a photo of Sister Thea and her parents Mary Esther, who followed Sister Thea’s lead and converted to Catholicism.