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2 months ago | 
uscatholic.org | Nathaniel Hunter |Tom MCGann |Tom McGann
“Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” • (Luke 6:12)You might say that it was Thérèse who introduced me to monasteries and the importance of silent retreats. Growing up in St. Therese parish in Philadelphia’s Mount Airy neighborhood, I knew Thérèse entered a monastery at the age of 15 and later died there at 24. In 1997, I visited her monastery in Lisieux, France to celebrate the 100th anniversary of her death.
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Oct 10, 2024 | 
uscatholic.org | Nathaniel Hunter |Tom MCGann |Tom McGann
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.” Revelation 14:13“Your recent MRI shows three spots in the area of the former brain tumor.” When I heard those words, I was stunned. The neurosurgeon didn’t know what the spots were, so they wanted me to return in three months. The oncologist confirmed the report.
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Jun 13, 2024 | 
uscatholic.org | Nathaniel Hunter |Tom MCGann |Tom McGann
“We will all be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet.” • (1 Cor. 15:51–52)There is a saying from Heraclitus: “No one ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and you’re not the same person.” In other words, everything is in a state of flux; everything changes. I have been a member of the Claretian Missionaries of the USA-Canada Province for 26 years. But for the first 22 years of my priesthood, I was a member of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
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Apr 4, 2024 | 
uscatholic.org | Nathaniel Hunter |Tom MCGann |Tom McGann
“The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.”(Psalm 19:2)In 2015, Pope Francis wrote Laudato Si’ (On Care for Our Common Home). In 2023, he wrote an even stronger encyclical, Laudate Deum (On the Climate Crisis). Reading these texts has me reflecting on my personal relationship with nature. Growing up, on weekends my siblings and I played outside: TV time was very limited. We usually played tag, rode bikes, or, in winter, went sledding.
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Jan 11, 2024 | 
uscatholic.org | Nathaniel Hunter |Tom MCGann |Tom McGann
“How good and how pleasant it is, when brothers dwell together as one!” (Psalm 133:1)On May 15, 2026, I will celebrate my 50th anniversary of priestly ordination. I am, however, very conscious of my recent history with a glioblastoma tumor. I value as gifts every day and every person who has helped me find my way. When I was in the third grade, Father Joe Lyons asked me to be an altar boy. One day I had to switch the Roman Missal from the right side of the altar to the left.
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Nov 20, 2023 | 
uscatholic.org | Nathaniel Hunter |Tom MCGann |Tom McGann
“I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty!”(Revelation 15:2–3)The saints have always played a role in my life.
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Oct 4, 2023 | 
dailytelegraph.com.au | Tom MCGann |Tom McGann
A horror bushfire which destroyed multiple homes and burnt thousands of hectares on the south coast has seen its threat level downgraded. The Coolagolite fire – which has burnt 6745ha in the Bermagui, Cobargo, Cuttagee and Barraga Bay areas – has been downgraded to ‘advice’ threat level after days of fighting the blaze. Early Rural Fire Service investigations has confirmed at least four houses and one shed have been destroyed.
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Jul 12, 2023 | 
uscatholic.org | Nathaniel Hunter |Tom MCGann |Tom McGann
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 28:19)This past May I celebrated the 47th anniversary of my ordination. Throughout my ministry, I have many memories of the joy, and sometimes the tears, as I accompanied young people in receiving the sacraments. Young people bring a special blessing to the sacraments. I’m grateful to be with them and their families in these moments.
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Apr 13, 2023 | 
uscatholic.org | Nathaniel Hunter |Tom MCGann |Tom McGann
“Do not speak harshly to an older man, but speak to him as to a father,to younger men as brothers, to older women as mothers, to younger womenas sisters—with absolute purity.” (1 Timothy 5:1–2)The Bible, silence, and prayer are all equally significant in my life. I can’t rank them in terms of preference; I need all three. However, there is never enough time in active ministry to fully immerse myself in any as I would like.
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Jan 19, 2023 | 
uscatholic.org | Nathaniel Hunter |Tom MCGann |Tom McGann
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, heasked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ ”(Matt. 16:13) My calling to be a priest came six years before I was born. In June 1944, after the Allies took Rome, Pope Pius XII met with a few soldiers, including my mother, in the Sistine Chapel. The Swiss guards arranged chairs in a circle, and the pope, in broken English, asked where they were from and about their families.
