by Damian Torres-Botello, SJ | May 4, 2023 | A Deacon's Diary, Religious Life ~ Approx. 6 mins
As a kid, I never really understood what was going on in the mass. Fr. So-and-So (his name I cannot remember) would begin the Wednesday student mass at Visitation Catholic Church in Kansas City, Missouri, with a hearty roar, “What day of the week is it?!” All of us...
by Damian Torres-Botello, SJ | Mar 9, 2023 | A Deacon's Diary, The Jesuits ~ Approx. 3 mins
I’m stepping onto the aisle of the chapel, standing next to one of my best friends, Fr. Eric. Only a handful of months ago he was just Eric. This aisle in the chapel is the chapel at the Novitiate of St. Alberto Hurtado in St. Paul, Minnesota. It’s the same chapel...
by Damian Torres-Botello, SJ | Dec 29, 2022 | A Deacon's Diary, The Jesuits ~ Approx. 4 mins
I’m in Kansas City, Missouri. It’s Christmas time and I’m in my hometown visiting family and friends. And this is my first Christmas season as an ordained minister! My dad attends St. John Francis Regis Parish. It’s not a Jesuit parish, though it is named after a...
by Damian Torres-Botello, SJ | Nov 17, 2022 | A Deacon's Diary ~ Approx. 3 mins
The first time I went to New York City I was in my mid-twenties, and my best friend, Jeremy, called me and proposed an adventure, “let’s go to New York for a weekend!” I’m not a very spontaneous person, but I loved the idea! Every single step to make this weekend...
by Damian Torres-Botello, SJ | Oct 6, 2022 | A Deacon's Diary, Religious Life, The Jesuits ~ Approx. 3 mins
This is the first installment of A Deacon’s Diary from our new deacon. For our former deacon, check out his goodbye article. “I don’t need health insurance.” That’s a phrase I said to myself once, quite unconvincingly. I had a job at a child development center and it...
