Molded
Molded
June 8, 2025
My artistic skills leave much to be desired. But I have always loved looking at art, and art history was one of my majors in college. Since then, I have relished visiting numerous museums whenever I travel. Perhaps because I lack any artistic skills in any medium, I appreciate those with talent to create art. The fact that I have no talent or skills in this area was pointed out to me by my fifth-grade art teacher. I do not recall the exact assignment, but I vividly remember painting a picture of a vase with flowers. The vase that I painted had no base at its bottom, but instead came to a V-shape. The art teacher was quick to point out that my creation was silly, as the vase was incapable of standing up without a base to hold it up and therefore would collapse. My eleven-year-old ego was somewhat bruised after the negative comment made by the teacher. Only decades later did I think of a retort. If Picasso could paint a woman with one eye and three breasts with flesh in several colors, why couldn’t I paint a vase that rests on a point? (more…)
In preparation to be ordained a priest, I spent four years studying in a seminary. They were some of my life’s best, yet most challenging years. I met those who would become lifelong friends. During those years I tested and questioned myself more than almost any other time in my life. While discerning a calling to the priesthood is demanding, it is even more so for a gay man. I knew that a calling to serve God in His Church was a blessing, I just had to figure out what that meant exactly and how to carry my calling out. In other words, it was a considerable mystery to me. It was a blessing that was also a mystery.