Fr Tom Gardner

As you all may recall, I am a huge fan of the “Lord of the Rings” movies. I believe they belong in the conversation along with other movies considered cinema classics, movies like “The 10 Commandments,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Gone With the Wind,” and others. Like all cinema classics, the “Lord of the Rings” stories […]

The Gospel passage this weekend has my mind on the beautiful love that God has for us and the way He relentlessly pursues us. Recently I heard the story of Shayne Smith coming into the Catholic church, as shared in a conversation he had with Matt Fradd. Matt has a YouTube channel I really enjoy

When I was a bright-eyed college freshman, I felt so excited to be living with other men whom I could truly call brothers in Christ. One brother I particularly looked up to was named Dan. Dan had recently served for a year in a ministry called NET, which stands for National Evangelization Teams. While on

When I was 16 years old, “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones” was released in theaters.  One particular scene from this movie came to mind as I was pondering our readings for this Sunday. It is a moment where Yoda, the diminutive green sage mainly known for his wisdom and gravitas, confronts Count

I am so happy to be old enough to appreciate the game of basketball when the Chicago Bulls made their run of championships in the late 90s. It was awe inspiring to watch the play of Michael Jordan along with teammates like Scottie Pippin, Tony Kukoc, Dennis Rodman and others. Of course, Michael was a

Msgr. James Reuf was an important part of my journey to the priesthood. When I was a college student at Ohio State, he was the pastor of my parish, Holy Name. Msgr. Reuf was definitely a curmudgeon and had a pretty gruff exterior, but over time, beneath this facade I found a priestly heart filled

When I was a seminarian, I got to know a lot of “seminarian groupies.” These are people who just love seminarians–they come to all the public events at the seminary, they know all the seminarians’ names, they host parties for them at their houses and get them gifts at Christmas. I really enjoyed the seminarian

St. John Paul II is a hero of mine. He was the face of the Catholic Church as pope for decades and had a profound impact on the modern history of the world. As we gather to celebrate this great feast of Jesus’ birth, a poignant and powerful moment in St. John Paul II’s life

Many of you may not know that my middle name is ‘Lion’–L-I-O-N. My Dad gave me this unique middle name because he is a family history buff and knew that the first Gardner in America was named Lion Gardiner (with an “i” in the middle, but that’s another story), so in honor of him, my

Recently I was hearing Confessions for a men’s retreat. I was posted at a spot outside with a propane space heater nearby to keep me warm in the midst of the cold December evening. As I sat there and stared into the undulating heat of the space heater and its glowing grill, my mind went