I attended Mass on St. Patrick’s Day morning. I try to do it every year. I like to take selfies with the stained glass image and feel my Irish roots. No picture this year, unfortunately. Our baptismal font in the entrance to the sanctuary at Sacred Heart had literally over-floweth a few months ago. There were still repairs to be completed so masses were held in the social hall until recently.

I nabbed a seat in the back row. It’s my default location anyhow, but there was a pretty good turnout. One of our deacons read the Gospel, from Mark. The one where a scribe asks Jesus, “which is the first of all the commandments?” Of course you know His response.

Fr. Carlos then offered a brief homily. Now Fr. Carlos is maybe 5-feet tall. With no dais or rostrum on which to stand, I couldn’t see him. Somehow, that made his words more memorable. I closed my eyes and listened.

Fr. Carlos spoke of loving our neighbor and offered insights to how we might accomplish that task. And he said-rightly, I think-we have to know our neighbor. To know them we must talk with them. We must engage.

Beyond exploring my own shortcomings in this regard, I began to flash on Conor. To be sure, he was already in my thoughts. It was just the evening prior that I had learned of the extreme gravity of his situation. The homily-as they often do-seemed especially timely and appropriate.

The Conor I knew, never shied away from engagement. He never missed a chance to know someone better. Some of those conversations were sure to be awkward, but he pushed through. A great trait for a journalist (in my time so employed, I searched for content. Conor searched for Truth) but an even better trait for a Christian.

Love and Peace to you all, Chris (Deighan)