During Lent, there will be no burger with my fries

By Matt Palmer [email protected]

Go big or go home, right?

Lent is about sacrifice and walking in the journey with Jesus. People all across the globe will start the season with Ash Wednesday and try to come up with something they are giving up for 40 days.

A year ago, I gave up sodas, no small feat for a guy who drinks Cherry Cokes like they’re water.

This year, I’m pulling out the big gun. I’ve giving up … wait for it … hamburgers.

Stop laughing. Seriously, pick yourself up off the ground and breathe.

Giving up burgers is a big deal to a picky eater like myself. The way I see it, great burgers are an art form, taken for granted like a 1980s Hall and Oates song – always a reliable hit.

As a reporter, I’m constantly on the run and getting a drive-thru burger is an easy fallback. As a regular guy, I look at a restaurant menu of what other people see as a display of delicious food and wonder what the hamburger tastes like.

More often than not, someone says, “Like a burger.”

And I respond, “Awesome. I’ll get that.”

Sometimes I get an itch and just run out and a buy a burger. It’s really that bad. Of course, I like making burgers on the grill, too. It gives me that boost of feeling extra manly about my burger addiction.

Lenten Fridays have always been tough for me. A day without meat is a sacrifice, even if I like pizza and fish of all kinds.

The idea of adding in all the days of Lent makes the march to Easter Sunday look daunting.

Boy, I feel stupid writing that. Whether it was sodas last year or burgers this year,

I’m trying to compare my inability to eat burgers with the suffering of Christ and the simple thing is, I can’t. We know what Jesus did and why he did it. If you think about what he went through for us, it’s almost incomprehensible.

My “march” is small and I’ll have to keep that in perspective. Lent’s a time when we should be spiritually in tune with Christ and I really shouldn’t need a lack of burgers to do that.

As we all take on our sacrifices during the next 40 days, let’s remember what Christ did and try to be more like him.

Video: Pilgrims leave to continue work of archdiocese

By Catholic Review Staff

The consistory celebrations have come to a close, but memories from the week will remain embedded in the consciousness of Archdiocese of Catholics for years to come.

Christopher Gunty, associate publish of Catholic Review and CatholicReview.org, files this special video report from Rome, which also looks forward to upcoming events.

Watch the video below:

Avoid the seductive voice of the devil

By Father Joseph Breighner

Few moments in the Scriptures are more poignant than Jesus confronting Satan in the desert. In our Lenten season of prayer, fasting and giving we see this scene as our own scene. Ironically, one of my Lenten temptations came during the Christmas season. Let me explain.

As I was opening some Christmas cards, a check for $1,000 fell out! Naturally I was thrilled, but when I looked more closely at the check I realized that the part that read: “Payable to the order of” was blank. “To be or not to be?” was the question Hamlet wrestled with. To put my name there, or not to put my name on the check, was what I wrestled with.

Naturally, the voice of the devil argued for me keeping the cash: “You don’t get a salary. You need the money. It will help pay your rent. Stop denying yourself!” But the voice of conscience, the voice of the Spirit in me – the quiet, still voice of God – said: “You wanted to be a philanthropist. You asked people to mail checks to you so that you could send them to the Little Sisters of the Poor. Keep your word!”

So I mailed the check to the Little Sisters. (In the future, please mail checks directly to the Little Sisters. I lose too much mail. And they still need $12.8 million for their capital campaign.)

I hasten to emphasize that good doesn’t always win in my life. As long as there is original sin, there will be poor choices. (See my column about the Ravens online at CatholicReview.org.) Put in its simplest form, original sin means we can’t always make the right choice.

But what does affect our choices? How do we know the still, quiet voice of God within from the very seductive voice of the devil? And the simplest answer I can give is that the voice of God constantly invites us to live for others, and the voice of the devil invites us to think only of ourselves.

Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Yes, we must love ourselves. But the irony is this: We love ourselves best when we love others. To love ourselves doesn’t mean just to look out for this limited ego, this flesh-and-blood individual on this planet. To love others as our self is literally to see that we are all part of one self. When we love others, we are loving and caring for ourselves. St. Paul caught it best when he used the image that we are all part of the body of Christ. When we love others, our love connects the whole world to this body. We recognize the oneness of all humanity. To look at it another way, the purpose of Lent is not to make ourselves miserable. We don’t give up something for a period of time, just to go back to it in six weeks. We give up our attachments to various things so that we are free. In its simplest form, during Lent, we first pray in order to keep ourselves aware of our oneness with God. Second, we fast. We give up things or behaviors that distract us from God or separate us from God. Third, we give alms as a way of recognizing that what we do “to the least” we do to God. To love ourselves and to love others unconditionally is to know the greatest love possible. We have all known the love of one person. Imagine loving 7 billion people. How good would that feel? Let’s find out this Lent.

Theology on Tap

By Sarah Greenberg

Review correspondent

The young adult years can often be a time of transition and uncertainty. Twenty- and 30-somethings find themselves in a state of flux, as they negotiate the daunting responsibilities placed upon them: navigating the workplace, finding significant companionship and planning for their future.

The Catholic community provides its young parishioners with an antidote to their malaise, complete with cold, frothy beverages.

Theology on Tap, a program that offers faith-related conversations in area restaurants and bars, engages young adults in their 20s and 30s – though all ages are welcome – in the richness of the Catholic faith. The program consists of regularly scheduled discussions, in which a notable speaker presents on a certain topic before opening the conversation to listeners. Theology on Tap serves as a way for young people to connect with one another and ground themselves in Catholicism.

Local Theology on Tap groups meet in Baltimore, Ellicott City, Frederick and Annapolis, gathering in accessible areas and venues such as the Greene Turtle in Fells Point and Patrick’s Irish Pub in Baltimore. With topics ranging from war theory and Islam v. , to stem cell research and same-sex marriage, the events draw crowds of 30 to 40 people, mostly in their early 20s to early 30s.

“We first and foremost present these topics with charity,” said Rodnie Matute, 34, of St. Michael’s at Aberdeen Proving Ground and a leader of Theology on Tap in Fells Point for six years. “We pride ourselves on having a friendly environment.”

Some of the featured speakers at the Fells Point Theology on Tap group have included Edwin F. O’Brien, Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, Bishop Denis J. Madden, Father Leo Patalinghug of Grace Before Meals and Mary Ellen Russell of the Catholic Conference.

Meeting in pubs and restaurants helps open eyes to what’s going on in the church in a “real-world setting,” Matute said, “which allows people to see the broader sense of our faith.”

The discussions demonstrate to today’s young adults, regardless of the level of their commitment to a religious practice, that they can incorporate their faith into everyday life.

“Young adults tend to compartmentalize their lives, but you can bring your faith and social life together, said George Brunner, 23, of St. Peter the Apostle in Libertytown and a Theology on Tap group leader. “I want to break that barrier.”

Expanding young adults’ sense of Catholicism “converts hearts,” according to AnnaMarie Link, 28, of St. Mary in Annapolis and a leader of a Theology on Tap group.

“We educate and promote discussion about what the believes and why the Church is strong,” she said. “Young adults get a solid teaching from someone educated on the topics.”

Such open discussion reifies abstract concepts of faith that elude or intimidate young adults “looking for something more because they feel that nothing is offered for them,” Brunner said.

Theology on Tap is a national movement that began in Chicago. Feelings of insecurity plagued college student Tim Leerning in 1981 when he sought solace from Father Jack Wall of St. James Parish in Arlington Heights, Ill. Father Wall and youth minister Tom James responded by designing a six-week program of open discussions they dubbed “Theology on Tap.”

The program’s success prompted the Archdiocese of Chicago to establish an Office of Young Adult Ministry, headed by Father John Cusick and lay minister Katie Devries. In 2003, Father Cusick and Devries joined forces with RENEW International, an organization lauded for its success in creating parish-based programs. Since partnering, RENEW Theology on Tap has exploded throughout the country.

Theology on Tap invites young adults seeking meaning and guidance during this confusing time in their lives to pull up a chair, grab a drink and chat. At the close of his Theology on Tap discussions, Matute often hears from his attendees: “I really needed that.”

Visit BaltimoreCatholic.com for links to local Theology on Tap resources.

Former St. Mary’s president was demanding teacher, friend

By Matt Palmer [email protected]

Sulpician Father William James Lee’s tenure as president of St. Mary’s Seminary and University during the 1970s and early 1980s opened the doors to lay leadership at the historic institution.

Father Lee was also friend and consummate teacher to the likes Father Thomas Ulshafer, the Provincial Superior of the American Province of the Sulpicians.

Father Lee died Feb. 19 at the age 89. He had been living at St. Martin’s Home in Baltimore. He was to be buried Feb. 24 at the Sulpician Cemetery in Catonsville following a funeral Mass.

“He was great,” Father Ulshafer said. “I think a lot of people were influenced by him because he was a strong personality. He was involved in all levels in life.”

Initially ordained for the of Cleveland in 1946, he was admitted to the Sulpicians three years later. He earned masters and doctorate degrees in economics from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Father Ulshafer said Father Lee’s was financially “shrewd,” which had long-term benefits for the Sulpicians and St. Mary’s.

Before he came to Baltimore, Father Lee was on the faculty at St. Edward’s Seminary in Kenmore, Wash. and was an assistant to the president for the Divinity College at Catholic University. He arrived at St. Mary’s on Paca Street in 1958 as a faculty member, teaching sociology and economics.

Father Ulshafer was eventually one of his students.

“As a teacher, he had a reputation of being very demanding,” Father Ulshafer said. “If he called on a student in class, he expected them to have the answer. He kept people on their toes.”

Father Ulshafer continued: “He had a very good sense of humor. He liked verbal sparring matches. If you got to know him, he could give and take it. He loved it when you came back.”

In 1961, he became the dean at St. Mary’s and then the rector of the seminary in 1966, a role he served in for three years. In 1969, he became the rector of the seminary’s liberal arts college in Catonsville.

Finally, in 1972, he became the president of St. Mary’s Seminary and University.

Father Ulshafer said that Father Lee didn’t want seminarians to lose connection with “the real world.”

“He influenced us as seminarians by emphasizing the importance of knowing about current affairs,” Father Ulshafer said

In the wake of the , Father Lee called on lay people to become involved in the board of trustees.

“The lay community had been somewhat distanced from the seminary,” Father Ulshafer said. “He knew he needed to involve lay Catholics in the governance and finances and in other areas that they were a lot more experienced. He was the father of the current board of trustees.”

Father Lee served as the Sulpician provincial secretary from 1981 to 1992 and retired to St. Charles Villa in 1992, where he remained until 2006. He then moved to St. Martin’s Home and lived there until this year.

Father Ulshafer said Father Lee was a devoted priest who became more than teacher.

“He was,” Father Ulshafer said, “a friend.”

Hispanic immigrants are a blessing to the community

By Religious Sister of Mercy Mary Neil Corcoran

When John F. Shettle called me three years ago about his interest in working with immigrants, I was reminded of so many dedicated and generous volunteers likewise inspired. So I reminisced about the early days of the Hispanic , now the Esperanza Center, and decided to share these memories with you as we prepare to celebrate our 50th anniversary next year.

What today is the Esperanza Center is the fruit of the vision of Nancy Conrad, who had just returned from Latin America as a member of the and quickly became involved with the problems recently-arrived immigrants were experiencing. As the Latino population grew, she recognized the need for an organized agency to respond and address the needs and concerns of the ethnic group. Cardinal Lawrence Shehan shared her concern and authorized the opening of such an office. Thus was born the Hispanic Apostolate!

Father Manuel Roman was appointed the first director and Ms. Conrad served as his assistant and then as director until 1975. In 1968, the apostolate moved its headquarters to a handsome building on E. 25th Street. Renovating this structure was a community project spearheaded by Ms. Conrad, Father John Auer, Roberto Arellano, president of the center’s board and many loyal Hispanic volunteers. In the early 1980s the Hispanic Apostolate relocated to Southeast Baltimore and became affiliated with . In 1989, I was appointed coordinator of Hispanic Ministries by Cardinal William H. Keeler in addition to my responsibilities as director of the Hispanic Apostolate. A great source of guidance for me in serving the Hispanic community was the Pastoral Letter on Hispanic Ministry prepared by the U.S. bishops in 1983, “The Hispanic Presence: Challenge and Commitment.”

In this pastoral letter, our bishops proclaimed “… we recognize the Hispanic community among us as a blessing from God. We call upon all persons of good faith to share our vision of the special gifts which Hispanics bring to the Body of Christ, his pilgrim church on earth.”

Twenty years prior to the publication of this letter, our archbishop realized and practiced this reality by founding the Hispanic Apostolate to serve newly arrived immigrants to our archdiocese.

This tradition of service and commitment to the Hispanic community continues in the ministry of Maria Johnson, her staff, priests and numerous volunteers. Maria was appointed director of Hispanic Ministry in 2000, and has continued to recognize what our bishops proclaimed: …the Hispanic community among us is a blessing, rather than a problem.”

Witness the phenomenal progress of participation and integration of Hispanics in our Catholic parishes in recent years. In our archdiocese, there are 17 parishes with liturgies in Spanish and the active participation of thousands of Hispanics in parish activities. They pray and work side by side with their English-speaking parishioners and join them for bilingual liturgies and activities.

What the American bishops pleaded for in their pastoral letter on Hispanic ministry, our beloved late Archbishop William D. Borders expressed so well in his own heartfelt commitment and love for the Hispanic community:

“We of the Archdiocese of Baltimore have been blessed by the richness of your varied cultures, by your insight into the Church as a family, and by the beauty of your music. I think of the loss that would have been ours if you had not come.”

Sister Mary Neil is the former director of the Hispanic Apostolate in Baltimore.

Thoughts on our Church: Lessons from the consistory

By Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien

Editor’s note: Cardinal O’Brien gave the following homily at the consistory pilgrimage farewell Mass at the Pontifical North American College Feb. 20 in Rome.

There are two reasons why I think it is fitting to conclude this Consistory pilgrimage here at the Pontifical North American College.

First, for us Baltimoreans, there has from the very beginning been a close tie between our Premier See and this College.

In 1855, Pope Pius IX communicated to the American bishops, through Archbishop (Francis P.) Kenrick of Baltimore, his desire to found a seminary in Rome for young American men, to deepen their appreciation of the universality of the Church and of the See of Peter. Archbishop Kenrick was very favorable to the idea but had to persuade Archbishop (John J.) Hughes of New York who was originally opposed. Later that year the eight Provincial Council of Baltimore decided to pursue the project and voted to send a delegation to Rome to proceed. (Incidentally, the seven represented on the Council voted to contribute $25 to $50 each to pay for the expedition, led by Archbishop Kenrick!)

The College opened in 1859 in the center of the city and was granted full pontifical status 25 years later. At the Third Council of Baltimore in 1884, Cardinal Gibbons, in the name of all the bishops of our nation, thanked Pope Leo XIII for this official recognition and pledged to send the College “seminarians of good health and superior talents so that when they returned after ordination they might be safely entrusted with major diocesan assignments.”

Our Archdiocese has benefitted many dozens of times over from the College’s solid priestly formation and we are happily represented by four young men studying here at present.

The second reason why it is fitting for us to conclude our consistorial pilgrimage here at the Seminary which, from its very beginnings has been dedicated to our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, is a bit more profound, and might serve as the spiritual centerpiece for all we’ve seen, heard and done during our very brief time in the Eternal City.

We have seen here the splendor of our Church in its all its richness – its architecture, its liturgies, its pomp, with Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulcher and hierarchy at every level and faithful from all over the world united in joy and enthusiasm.

All of these valid and inspiring externals of the Church are meant to impress upon us Christ’s gift to us, of the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Rome with Benedict XVI its shepherd in the chair of St. Peter.

If I might indulge in some recent theological insight, we have been experiencing, particularly in Benedict’s role, the Petrine principle of the Church’s identity, summarized in Christ’s charge to the first pope: “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not overcome it. And I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

No doubt, the well-founded power and authority entrusted by Christ to Peter and his successors to guide the Church through the ages, is the Petrine principle.

And there is a complimentary principle to the Petrine principle, and that is the Marian principle, emphasizing Mary’s special role in and example for the Church in every age.

In his homily to the cardinals in his very first consistory in 2006, Pope Benedict stressed this Marian principle in the Church through the ages. The Petrine principle of the Church which we celebrate in a consistory offers serious insistence and great reassurance to the College of Cardinals as the eminent Senate of St. Peter.

But, Pope Benedict said, there is a more fundamental, Marian principle, stressing the example for us in Mary’s acceptance of the divine world: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me in accordance with your word.”

“Everything in the Church,” the pope said, “every institution and ministry, including that of Peter and his successors, is included under the Virgin’s mantle, within the grace-filled horizon of her ‘yes’ to God’s will.”

In the Gospel just heard we see the Apostles, the one-sided Petrine element, as they argue over power – the power to drive out the evil spirit possessing a young boy. They fail, embarrassingly so. And Jesus reminds them: “This kind can only come out through prayer.” The Marian principle of prayer trumps the Petrine principle of power.

Our first reading from the Letter of St. James warns the early Church against bitter jealousy and selfish ambition – rarely absent from the Petrine Church – and exhorts them to show good works by a life of humility and wisdom. The Marian principle of humility over ecclesial rank and ambition.

Is this not exactly the Pope’s warning to me and all the new cardinals in Saturday’s consistory homily? He said: “Dominion and service, egoism and altruism, possession and gift, self-interest and great witnesses: these contrasting approaches confront each other in every age and place. There is no doubt about the faith chosen by Jesus. He does not merely indicate it in words to the disciples of then and of today, but he lives it in his own flesh.” The Pope concludes: “For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life for the ransom of many.”

That, my dear friends, is what this whole wonderful weekend has been about – things visible – yes heavenly beauty, God-given power, heraldry and hierarchy. All part of God’s plan in founding His Church on Peter.

But without deep prayer, prompting loving and self-sacrificing service, humility and obedience to the Word of God, Mary’s gift is missing – and to us the radical core of our faith.

As tomorrow we all go our separate ways, may we do so in gratitude for our Catholic faith built on the rock of Peter and in resolve to deepen our love for Mary, Mother of our Church ever in prayer.

(This column has been corrected due to a transcription error.)

Video/slideshow: Catholics observe Ash Wednesday

By Matt Palmer [email protected]

Catholics across the Archdiocese of Baltimore attended Ash Wednesday Mass to begin the observation of Lent, the 40 days that lead to Easter.

Watch this video of a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a slideshow of young students receiving and showing their ashes.

Video

Slideshow

Same-sex marriage is a focus at Lobby Night

By Elizabeth Skalski [email protected]

ANNAPOLIS – For more than 10 years Richard C. Gross Sr. and wife Lois Gross have come to Annapolis to lobby their lawmakers on hot-button issues. This year their focus was on same-sex marriage.

“(The House of Delegates voting in favor of) same-sex marriage is the worst thing that’s happened recently,” said Gross, who said he’s “dead set against the decision” that Del. Pamela G. Beidle, an Anne Arundel County Democrat, made Feb. 17 voting ‘yes’ for the same-sex marriage bill in the House.

“It was the wrong decision,” said Gross, 83, a parishioner of Holy Trinity, Glen Burnie.

Nearly 600 Catholics from across Maryland came to Annapolis Feb. 20 for the 28th annual Lobby Night. Lobby Night participants met with their lawmakers to discuss topics including same-sex marriage, abortion and the death penalty, but same-sex marriage received the most attention.

Lobby Night came three days after the House of Delegates voted 72-67 on Gov. Martin O’Malley’s bill to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill needed 71 votes to pass. Maryland would be the eighth state, in addition to the District of Columbia, to allow gay marriage.

Del. Beidle, who met with the Grosses Feb. 20, said she voted in favor of the bill after hearing a personal story of a mother who could not enroll her child in a public charter school because she needed a marriage certificate and a birth certificate with both parents’ names.

“It had to do with my decision,” Beidle said. “Now they can have a marriage certificate.”

The Senate is expected to begin debating on a bill Feb. 23 that would legalize same- sex marriage in the state. The bill cleared the House of Delegates Feb. 17 in a 72-67 vote after needing 71 votes to pass. Maryland would be the eighth state, in addition to the District of Columbia, to allow gay marriage.

Sen. James E. DeGrange Sr., an Anne Arundel County Democrat, who said he will vote against same-sex marriage, said he is concerned because religious organizations are not fully exempt by the House’s same-sex marriage bill. “It’s always the unintended consequences,” DeGrange said. “I think marriage should be between a man and a woman.”

Bob Derencz, a parishioner of St. Mark, Fallston, said he came to Annapolis because he’s concerned that Catholic lawmakers are only “Catholics by convenience.”

“Civil unions would be fine. Everyone is here because of a man and a woman,” said Derencz, 61, of Fallston.

Mary Ellen Russell, executive director of the MCC, told Lobby Night participants in a briefing at St. Mary’s High School in Annapolis before the legislative meetings, that the bill the House passed “does not fully protect religious institutions.”

“Do not accept that argument (from lawmakers),” Russell said. “If this issue is about providing legal protection to loving, committed couples, why can’t we do that through civil unions?”

Lobby Night was sponsored by the Maryland Catholic Conference, public-policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops.

HHS mandate “absolute violation” of religious freedom

By Elizabeth Skalski [email protected]

First District U.S. Rep Andy Harris, a Republican and a Catholic, added his voice to the chorus of critics on a national health care mandate.

“This is really the greatest assault on religious liberty that I remember in my lifetime,” said Harris, a parishioner of St. Joseph, Cockeysville.

On Feb. 10 President Barack Obama announced a revision to a Jan. 20 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate forcing Catholic employers to offer employees health coverage that includes contraception and abortion-inducing drugs. The revision allows religious employers not to offer such services to their employees but insurance companies must.

In a Feb. 16 conference call with reporters from Catholic newspapers, Anthony Picarello, Conference of Catholic Bishops general counsel, said religious organizations weren’t accommodated or consulted.

“Religious liberties are at stake – we’re not going to stop until we get it done,” Picarello said.

To protest the ruling, Mount St. Mary’s University president Thomas H. Powell called for a day of prayer and fasting Feb. 10 at the Emmitsburg school to support religious liberties.

Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien denounced the policy as an over-reach and issued a letter Jan. 25 to parishioners.

Mid-Atlantic Congress for Pastoral Leadership coming to Baltimore

By Elizabeth Skalski [email protected]

Jesuit Father James Martin, the unofficial chaplain to the “Colbert Report” show on Comedy Central, and Bishop Gerald Kicanas are keynote speakers at the first Mid- Atlantic Congress for Pastoral Leadership.

The conference, coming to Baltimore March 8 to 10, works to strengthen pastoral leaders in their ministry and in the church from across the region and will offer classes, trend sessions and nearly 100 breakout sessions. This theme is “Witness Hope!”

Father Martin, the author of “My Life with the Saints” and “The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything,” will explore the relationship between Christian joy and the new evangelization in a talk March 9 titled “Feeding Hope.” Religious educators, deacons, priests, liturgy directors, principals, music ministers and others may attend. Parishioner Day, March 10, is for catechists, visitors of the sick, youth ministers and choir members, among others.

The conference, which will be held at the Hilton Baltimore, is co-sponsored by the Association of Catholic Publishers and the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Department of Evangelization. The conference focuses on the mission and the needs of pastoral leaders with the challenges of a growing, changing church.

To register, sign up for email updates or for additional information, visit www.midatlanticcongress.org.

Father Thomas Walsh, ‘lover of creation,’ dies at 60

By Jennifer Williams [email protected]

A funeral Mass for Conventual Franciscan Father Thomas Walsh, of Church of the Annunciation in Rosedale and a longtime presence at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, was to be offered Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. at Church of the Annunciation. Father Walsh died Feb. 18 of a heart attack at the age of 60.

“His heart failed him, but he never failed us,” said Mission Helper of the Sacred Heart Sister Susan Engel, speaking on behalf of the parish staff at Annunciation where she is pastoral associate. “He was a spiritual leader beloved by all.”

Sister Susan said people were quite attentive during Father Walsh’s homilies, partially because Father Thomas would quiz everyone on the readings.

“He got to the point and he made the Scriptures come alive today,” she said. “He gave us spiritual motivation.”

She described the priest as “another St. Francis.”

“He would have brought birds into the church if he could,” she said. “He was great at bringing in trees and plants and had a great respect for creation, not only for God’s people, but for every little creature.

“Everyone is in shock,” she said of the pastor’s sudden passing. “He fed us spiritually and the people feel as though they are in famine.”

Father James McCurry, provincial of the Franciscan Friars Conventual, said Father Walsh was ordained in 1976. He served at Archbishop Curley High School, as a teacher in religious studies and English, and later as a guidance counselor. A school spokesman said he was the longest-serving friar in the school’s history, from 1975 to 1976 and from 1980-2005 (26 years). From 2005-09, he served as parochial vicar of St. Clement Mary Hofbauer in Rosedale while assisting at Annunciation. He became pastor of Church of the Annunciation July 1, 2009. He also worked part time as a chaplain for Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Father McCurry said Father Walsh was thought of warmly by all the Franciscans.

“He had an endearing, fraternal charity that made him a vital part of our Franciscan community,” he said.

Conventual Franciscan Father Michael Heinie first met Father Walsh in 1985 when they were both teachers at Archbishop Curley.

“He was just a great example of a humble friar who loved to do things and not be recognized,” said Father Heinie, who ministers at St. Joseph Cupertino Friary in Ellicott City and will deliver the homily for his longtime friend.

He spoke of Father Walsh’s “beautiful” fish tanks and how the priest would use them to help relax students who came to the guidance office at Archbishop Curley.

“This nature lover used his ‘hobby’ to safeguard God’s greatest creation, the young men of Curley, their families, the patients at Hopkins, the good people of St. Clement and Annunciation.”

Father Heinie said Father Walsh was extremely devoted to his family, caring for his mother in the last years of her life.

“He was a great example of a devoted son,” Father Heinie said.

A viewing and visitation for Father Thomas was to be held Feb. 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at Church of the Annunciation, 5212 McCormick Ave., Baltimore, MD 21206. A Christian Wake was to be held at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 23.

Notes and condolences may be sent to his sister: Maureen Johnson, 813 Ridge Road, Lansing, N.Y. 14882.