Why Renewal?
"His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.'" Matthew 25:21

I created www.renewaloffaith.org in 2008 after maintaining my own personal website for ten years. Over those ten years it went from being a website about me to a website about the Catholic faith.

I had been looking to reorganize my web page for some time.  Over my years in seminary I added material on Catholic Social Teaching, vocations, life in the seminary, and much of what I learned yet I wondered why I did all this.  The bottom line is that I want to offer others the opportunity for renewal of faith in their lives that I have experienced.

The idea to use renewal of faith as the new direction for my web page came to me after my diocese (Rochester) announced a new diocesan spiritual to begin in Lent 2008 and continuing for three years.  The diocesan spiritual renewal has been given the title "Spirit Alive."  I have embraced this spiritual renewal and decided to orient my website around the theme of renewal.

The diocesan spiritual renewal,"Spirit Alive.", was outlined as three year process as follows:

To be renewed in our relationship with Jesus. We must first be reconciled. During Lent 2008, each region in the diocese was asked to hold a "Prayer Service for Reconciliation and Hope."  I was given the honor of preaching the homily at our regional service.  Click here (in pdf format) to read my homily on reconciliation, hope, and love.

I said it is easy for me to see a renewal of faith in my life. I am a priest for the Diocese of Rochester.  After completing my seminary formation at Theological College at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.,  I was ordained a priest on June 30, 2007. My first assignment was at St. Mary's Southside in Elmira, NY.  I am currently serving at Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Community.

I am not a "traditional vocation." I graduated high school in 1987 and in 1991 graduated from Alfred University with a B.S. in Ceramic Engineering. I worked for a few years in civil engineering before entering seminary. What is even less traditional about my vocation is that I did not attend church after my confirmation until I was 28 years old. Hence, a renewal of faith, followed my return to church.

Please note that I provide the biographical information about myself not tell my own story. Rather, it is provided to understand how the events of my life have shaped to make me who I am today. That said here is a page about My Life Before Seminary. Be sure and checkout the Vocations section to read about life in the seminary and as a priest.