Over the years, I’ve met several people who have decided to temporarily leave their everyday lives in order to travel. They would travel to Europe, moving from town to town with no plans, no set destinations, no reservations and no particular schedule. They often needed to rely on the kindness of strangers for food and shelter. Read More
Deacon Allen | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker - Part 23
On the Inside; On the Outside
On Wednesday, I whipped up a batch of homemade Sweet Corn and Crab Soup for dinner. There’s nothing like a good pot of soup on a cold, winter evening. So I went grocery shopping last weekend to make sure that I had all of the needed ingredients to prepare the feast. I’m always amazed at the number of ingredients needed to make a pot of homemade soup. And it can be anything from meat, fish, various vegetables, and usually several spices. Then you have to do all of the necessary chopping and mixing. So the question to ask: is it soup yet? Well, not quite. You need to have the soup simmer for a period of time. Once these steps have been completed, you can finally partake in your creation (and hopefully it turned out well). Read More
I was doing some research this week on the Internet, when I stumbled across something that I had never seen before… Read More
Birthdays are strange. I mean, think about it. It’s the one day of the year where depending on your age and your situation in life, the personal acceptance will be completely different. Read More
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m getting really tired of those prescription drug commercials on TV. Now I don’t watch a lot of TV, but it seems like when I do, there are more and more of these drug companies advertising their particular drug. And it’s not that I’m bothered by the dancing elderly people, or the guy playing with his grand-daughter and her dog, or the frisky couple sitting in two separate bath tubs overlooking a lake; what gets me is the never-ending warning labels within those commercials. Here is an example of one I recently saw: Read More
While in deacon formation, one of our final steps before ordination was to meet with the diaconate board for final approval. The board was made up of both clergy and lay people and their primary responsibility was to make sure that we were prepared for ordained service to God’s people. I guess you could compare this to a final job interview – that lasted for more than four years.
The pressure was on, and I was feeling it. As I had mentioned before, I am a worrier, so this was an extremely stressful event in my life. We had a specified time to be there, so while I was waiting with my classmates, I felt pretty good about it all. One of my classmates emerged from his interview and stated that it was not so bad. But then another came out and said that it was a brutal experience. (They had two different groups interviewing us.) My stress level shot through the roof! I was feeling sick to my stomach, and apparently I was looking quite pale. Read More
With yesterday being the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, I’ve been thinking a lot about Mary. Every year, I’m blown away by Mary’s faith when she said “yes” to God. Especially as a young teenager, I can only imagine what her faith was like. Read More
Last weekend, my wife Stephanie and I along with our pastor took a group of 11 teens to the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. Today, I wanted to share with you our experience of this powerful three day pilgrimage. Read More
May this story give you hope and the ability to realize all of the blessings that God has given. May your Thanksgiving Day be filled with love, happiness, and gratefulness. Read More
Is God really in our midst or not? Is God really here among us right now? Sometimes, we ask these questions in moments of great distress when we have suffered some terrible tragedy or we have fallen away from God in some way. We wonder, is God really with us? Read More
