Fr Tom Gardner

In 1656, a baby girl was born in an Iroquois village in Upstate New York to a Christian mother and Mohawk father. Her mother wanted her to be baptized, but her father resisted. She was known as “Little Sunshine” until the age of 4. At that time, tragedy struck her life as her mother, father […]

Some of you may remember from my previous Christmas homilies that I am a big fan of the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s actually my favorite Christmas movie. I watched it this year on Christmas Eve. It’s one of those movies that I really never get tired of watching. The themes of faith, family,

When I think back on Christmas memories, few things stick out in my mind more than the feeling of coming down the stairs on Christmas morning. I don’t know about all of you, but the “Santa’s helpers” at my home on Christmas Eve always did such a phenomenal job of arranging the presents just so.

We had a really great time with the Sacred Heart Youth Group teens this past Sunday evening. As we gathered to spread some Christmas cheer by caroling at a couple of the Coshocton nursing homes, we started the evening in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to be at work. And boy, did He show up!

I have so many special memories from going to World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro as a seminarian in 2013. It was amazing to gather with literally millions of other young people to pray and grow in faith together. One of the coolest things was getting to be up close and personal with the

Hearing somebody’s testimony about how Jesus has worked in their life is a powerful thing. Just recently, I saw a testimony online of a man whose life was saved through a pastor on the radio. He talked about growing up as a pastor’s kid who believed, but eventually drifted away from faith as an adult.

As I pondered Jesus’ words for us this Sunday about the central importance of love, my mind was drawn back to the Holy Land in the year 1219. At that time, the Holy Land was enveloped in a violent conflict between the Muslims and Christians. St. Francis came to the Holy Land with members of

Today I want to tell you stories about two different married couples. The first story involves a young married couple named Ali and Chris. They were out to eat with their children when they noticed an elderly gentleman at a nearby table eating alone. They sent their kids over to ask if he wanted some

There are some musical artists I just never get tired of listening to. One of those artists is Rich Mullins. He was an extremely successful musician and songwriter throughout the 80’s and 90’s and was constantly played in the Gardner household growing up. One of the things I always loved about Rich Mullins was his

My thoughts are on “The Lord of the Rings” as we ponder the readings the Church gives us today. For those few people who may not be familiar with the story, “The Lord of the Rings” follows the grand adventures of Frodo, a member of a race of little people known as hobbits. Frodo comes