Fr Tom Gardner

Two Summers ago I was blessed to reconnect with my good friend, John Bradford, who is the founder of a men’s apostolate in the Church called Wilderness Outreach. John started this apostolate as a way to build up Catholic men to live out their vocations more fully. As John puts it on the Wilderness Outreach […]

I want to tell you the story of Bree Solstad today. Her story has been featured by multiple Catholic outlets recently and is really beautiful. Bree grew up in a single parent household as a Lutheran, but drifted away from her Christian faith during her college years. She fell hard into drinking and promiscuity and

Not too long ago, I saw a movie entitled The Boys in the Boat. If you haven’t seen it, do it! Based on a true story, it’s a great movie about a rowing team in the early 20th century. I’ll probably talk about the story from that movie in a future homily, but this Sunday

This Sunday I’m thinking of the life of a young Catholic girl who was born in very humble circumstances. Her father, Francois, was a poor miller. After being raised by a wet nurse for the first two years of her life, this young girl returned home to her family. They didn’t have much, but their

I have been introducing Benedictus and Abs to the TV show “The Office” during their time here this summer. The show tracks the misadventures of the staff at a small paper company named Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Maybe some of you are familiar with this old sit-com. It is one of my favorite comedy

Presence is a powerful thing. There is nothing that compares to being in the presence of a person you love, a pet you love, or even a place you love. People, pets and places have a way of impressing themselves on your heart. For me, it was great to return home, even though my pilgrimage

All of you who were alive on 9/11 probably remember where you were when you heard the news. I was in Mrs. Montanero’s French class at Bexley High School. I want to tell you the story of 24-year-old Welles Crowther, who was working for the investment firm Sandler O’Neill on the 104th floor of the

Today’s celebration of the Trinity is an important feast in the life of the Church. What we believe about the God who created us and has revealed Himself to us has important implications for how we live. It’s always tricky to preach and teach about the Trinity because God is God and we are not.

My favorite year of elementary school was fifth grade. The person who made that year truly special was my teacher, Chris Kaune. Chris was passionate about teaching and loved us students, giving many of us nicknames and treating us with great kindness. He brought an energy and excitement to the classroom that was hard not

I have two heroes on my mind as we ponder the beautiful readings for this sixth Sunday of Easter; one who is nationally known and one who is locally known. The national hero on my mind is a man named Desmond Doss. In case you don’t know who that is, he is a hero from