Posts by Deacon Kurt Godfryd

In 1898, the British painter, Francis Barraud, created a portrait known as His Master’s Voice that became the symbol for a powerful, upstart company of the 1920s—Radio Corporation of America (RCA).  The painting is of his dog, Nipper, who enjoyed “nipping at the back of patrons’ legs.” When asked about the inspiration for the painting, he said: It is difficult to say how the idea came to me beyond the fact that it suddenly occurred to me that to have my dog listening to…

In the Book of Exodus (19:3), when Israel was encamped at the base of Mt. Sinai, God summoned Moses and provided him with a message to convey: “You have seen how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now, if you obey me completely and keep my covenant, you will be my treasured possession among all peoples…” (19:4-5) On that day, God’s glory shone upon Moses and His chosen…

For more than 30 years, I’ve served as a an adjunct lecturer in economics at a local university. During Covid, I remember the department chair asking if anyone would be willing to teach in person, to which I gladly replied— “YES.” Now if you remember, during the midst of the pandemic, few cars were on the road. At the university, the same was true when my students and I seemed to be the only cars in the parking lot. Each…

In 1938, a young Spaniard traveled to Japan where, for more than a quarter century, he worked as a medic, teacher, and counselor. One date, however, divided those years: August 6, 1945. For on that morning, at 8:15 a.m., he was tending to his responsibilities in Hiroshima when a single B-29 airplane flew over the city and dropped a bomb that killed nearly 80,000 people and injured at least that many more. This Spaniard’s name was Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J.,…

In the final scene of the 1998 film, Saving Private Ryan, a now old Private James Francis Ryan is found kneeling among thousands of white crosses at the American Cemetery in Normandy. At the grave of Captain John H. Miller, whose mission was to locate and rescue him following the deaths of his three brothers, Ryan spoke: “My family is here with me today. They wanted to come with me. To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure how I would…

In 2011, during a “Lift the City” flash mob, a Capuchin friar in England entered a public square, exposed the Blessed Sacrament, and began to speak: Jesus Christ is in every book of the Bible. In Genesis, Jesus is the Seed of the Woman; In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb; In Leviticus, He is the Priest, the Altar, and the Lamb of Sacrifice; In Numbers, He is a Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by…

As human persons, God (potentially) gives us five senses: …to See, to Hear, to Touch, to Smell, and to Taste. Given these gifts, we note that we are different than the angels. Unlike our heavenly helpers, who are purely spiritual beings, we humans have been created with both spirit (soul) and matter (body). According to the Baltimore Catechism, “a sacrament is an outward sign, instituted by Christ, to bring grace.” In each of the 7 Sacraments, God (through His Church) uses physical…

There was a couple that had been married for more than 50 years when one day, unexpectedly, the husband passed away. A few days after the funeral, their pastor visited the widow and found that even though she was grieving, she was filled with peace and joy. “Mrs. Winslow, I’m glad to see you’re holding up so well. But even so, I’m sure you must miss your husband terribly.” The widow responded: “Oh, yes, I miss him more than ever.…

This past Christmas marked 10 years since my father’s passing. During his illness (that began in early October), there was a two-week hospital stretch that I remember as a “twofer.” For each morning, I sat in the middle of a room he shared with another man (a WW2 veteran) also suffering from a heart condition. During Morning Prayer, with both men sleeping (my father on the right and the other man on the left), I prayed that God would heal…

Years ago, a friend told me of a trying time in her life. After being diagnosed with skin cancer, her physicians recommended that she receive treatment at a renowned skin cancer center. Upon arriving there, her condition continued to worsen. The following day, she recalled laying on a hospital stretcher and feeling as though her body was on fire. At that moment, this faithful woman of prayer needed Jesus more than ever. With a desire to enter into lengthy prayer…

In my family, annual vacations have always been a priority. Looking back, all have brought grace-filled moments and, given that there are six of us, always a tussle or two. But, despite the latter, I can’t think of one that I’ve wished we’d never taken. Today, however, with all but one of our four daughters in their twenties, my wife and I are nearing the so-called “empty nest.” For me, this has resulted in a new tradition of spending one-on-one…

A speaker once opened the Holy Bible and pointed to the intersection of the Old and New Testaments. There, he noted, is John the Baptist’s role and mission within salvation history! Having followed generations of prophets who proclaimed that the Messiah was coming, the Baptist had been given the unique role of pointing Jesus out and introducing Him to a world in desperate need: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John 1:29 After doing so,…