It is Sunday morning, and the night before has brought forth a frosty-white blanket on the ground; remnants left behind from an early morning freezing rain that tapped upon our windows at 4:11am. I awoke to something that sounded like a sharp object tapping relentlessly on the bedroom window. It was at that very moment when my day started. Read More
I love modern technology! Maybe this is because I have spent the bulk of my career surrounded by its bleeding edge innovations, but I am constantly in awe of the immense impact it’s had in our lives. However, it has been said that technology has exceeded our humanity. Well, I don’t know about that, but technology is super cool – especially if you know how to use it. Read More
Last night while sifting through some old notes and quotes of mine, I found this paragraph in the chapter about self-conceit from the book “The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas a’ Kempis. I was deeply moved again as I was the first time I read these words: Read More
With Christmas fast-approaching, I wanted to share this true story that I discovered from many years ago as I was sifting through some of my older writings. My prayer is that each of you will experience the true meaning of Christmas, discovering the true peace and joy of the season.
There are many things in life that confuse me. For example, why does lemonade have imitation flavoring, but furniture polish contains real lemon juice? Why does “fat chance” and “slim chance” mean the same thing? If something “goes without saying,” why do people still say it? Why is it that if someone tells you that there are four billion stars in the universe you believe them; but if there’s a sign that says wet paint, you have to touch it to be sure? Some things just don’t make any sense. Read More
When I was in Cub Scouts many years ago, one of our big outings was to Eagle Cave in Wisconsin. My friend John and I were paired up to go on one of the more difficult cave hikes. As we stood in front of an extremely tight space that we needed to crawl through, we looked at each other with a sense of doubt. But John ventured right in. John, who was – shall we say – on the husky side, crawled on the ground and squeezed his way within the tight passageway – where he got stuck. After shifting and maneuvering for several minutes, he eventually got unstuck and made it through. Then it was my turn, and a sudden feeling of panic came over me. Now, I’m not one who is afraid of small, cramped spaces or even what might be crawling on the ground in a dark, slimy cave; but after watching John struggle, I was terrified to go any farther. I was afraid of taking a risk. Luckily, John kept me calm by saying everything was going to be fine, and that there’s no way that I would get stuck. (I was as skinny as a rail at that time.) And if I did get stuck, he said that he would be right there to help me. Well, I easily bellied through and when I emerged out of that tiny crevice, I was rewarded by seeing a vast and beautiful cavern. If I had not taken that risk, I would have not experienced the beauty of the cave. Read More
The year 2020 has certainly been one of those years for the record books. This global pandemic has really changed so many things in our lives – things that we used to take for granted. Our definition of freedom ‘to do what we want, when we want and where we want’ may never be the same.
I read an article about how our life in lock-down is forcing all of us to live like monks. As we have become somewhat accustomed to shelter-in-place and home-quarantine, this has hopefully given us the opportunity to get over our fear of solitude and fully embrace our spiritual connection with God.
Have we embraced our inner monk during this solitude? If not, here are seven ways that we can live like a monk every single day (pandemic or not). Read More
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
In that one, single sentence, Jesus sums up what it really means to be a Christian. There is so much depth in that sentence that we need to unpack it phrase-by-phrase to fully understand its meaning in our lives. Let’s look at the first point, one “must deny himself.” Read More
For the fruits of his creation,
Thanks be to God;
For the gifts to every nation,
Thanks be to God;
For the ploughing, sowing, reaping,
Silent growth while men are sleeping,
Future needs in earth’s safekeeping,
Thanks be to God.
In the just rewards of labor,
God’s will is done;
In the help we give our neighbor,
God’s will is done;
In our world-wide task of caring,
For the hungry and despairing,
In the harvests men are sharing,
God’s will is done.
For the harvests of his spirit,
Thanks be to God;
For the good all men inherit,
Thanks be to God;
For the wonders that astound us,
For the truths that still confound us,
Most of all, that love has found us,
Thanks be to God.
~Text by F. Pratt Green
These are the words to a hymn that opened up my Evening Prayer last night. As I read this words, I was deeply moved by its simplicity, yet poignant message.
With all that is going on in our world right now, it is so easy to simply forget to give praise to our Father in heaven. Between all of the hate and violence that surround us, the lack of love and support for our neighbor, and for the inability to respect the sanctity and beauty of human life, we need to pray this prayer more than ever. And not only that, but to simply know and believe that we are loved by our God.
My words today are short and sweet. I pray that all of us are able to find true peace in our loving Father. May we have the strength to praise our God no matter what we are experiencing in our days. May we be able to find the ability to take time in our busy schedules to pray, to find it in our hearts the ability to give honor and glory to our Creator and Savior. Let us find in our hearts the beauty that lies within, and the peace that can only be found in our Lord, Jesus Christ.
May the spirit of the living God be with you always. And always remember that you are loved. Amen.
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” ~Mark 8:34
If you are anything like me, you have probably thought about this verse more than once over the years. What did Jesus really mean by following him? What does it truly entail?
Following Jesus means responding to his call every day and believing in the gospel. But it is more than just following and believing; it is also about imitating his example. We need to be asking ourselves these questions: Are we living in a manner that reflects Christ to everyone we encounter? Are we putting the needs of others before our own? Are we being kind and treating our neighbors (and I mean ALL our neighbors) with dignity, respect, and love – acknowledging that they, like us, are made in the image and likeness of God?
Honestly, following Jesus is downright difficult; however, it can be done. During every step of our journey, we must make a conscious effort to follow Jesus through the narrow gate of life into the abyss of the unknown. If we can faithfully do this, we will find peace. Fellow composer and musician John Angotti wrote about this when he quoted Jesus in a song:
“He said to me, ‘Come and follow me.’ He said to me, ‘Come and follow me.’
There you’ll find peace of mind if you just come and follow me.”
And this is what I now ask of you: to make that conscious effort to come and follow me, too. I want to assist you on the journey by providing spiritual and faith-based guidance through my thoughts, writings, and insights. But due to my busy schedule, my blog posts do no appear as often as I would like. Therefore, the best way to keep up with me is to follow me on social media. Hopefully, I can provide you with some peace of mind through my Daily Thoughts, Noonish Nuggets, PM Ponders, and just a little bit of my ‘Deacon Allen’ humor. Here is where you will find me:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeaconAllenT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeaconAllenT/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deaconallent/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deaconallent
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DeaconAllenT
Website: https://www.deaconallen.com
Blog: https://www.deaconallen.com/blog
In the words of author Francis Chan, “We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.”
I would be honored if you would come and follow me. May God bless you on your journey.
Deacon Allen
© 2026 Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker. All rights reserved.
