Fr. Mike Griffin’s monthly column in the Bishop’s Bulletin.
Like most people, I love springtime. It is such a gift to move from winter, with its cold darkness, into the growing warmth and light of spring. It is renewing in hope and transforms us as the world around us comes to life again; the growth inspiring us to grow and come to life again […]
For these past weeks of social distancing, I have taken the opportunity to check in on some friends, old and new, through various means of social media and phone calls. Recently I had a friend mention to me that he thought I was probably not as busy recently as I may be used to, and […]
Every year, every Lent, the Church invites us to a unique place, for a unique time. It begins every year on the First Sunday of Lent when we walk with Jesus into the desert, there for a time of testing and self-discovery. From that moment forward, the wilderness becomes the enduring image of the season. […]
A few years ago Bishop Swain honored me with a request to become the pastor of Saint Mary parish in Aberdeen. While I was sad to be leaving Pierre, I was excited about the challenges and opportunities a new parish affords. However, unlike any of my other transfers, this one brought me home. I was […]
F or several months this past summer and early autumn, the road along our parking lot, Kline Street, was torn up to replace some sewer lines and for other routine maintenance. For those months I had the chance to watch the workers as they labored their long hours, rolling in as I unlocked the church […]
Thanksgiving is long over, Christmas Day is behind us, and even New Year’s Day has passed. We are still celebrating the beautiful season of Christmas in our parish churches, but for many the decorations in the home are being put away for the year. This takes us into January. Now this is not a huge […]
Several years ago I was standing in the Exchange store at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I was a few days away from graduating from the Army Chaplain School and was there to pick up my dress uniform from the tailor. I also knew I was just a few days from leaving for my deployment to […]
A few weeks ago I drove to Brookings for the annual Hobo Day festivities. This has become something of an annual tradition, and because of that, certain rituals and routines have arisen. I tend to park in the same place, stop in at the Newman Center on my way to the parade, watch the parade […]
When I was 6 years old, just a few weeks before I started first grade, a lunar module designated “Eagle,” landed on the moon. A little over six hours later, Neil Armstrong, the commander of the mission, stepped from the module to the lunar surface. The first human being to step on a soil that […]
Here in Aberdeen, we have a little place called “The Roncalli Nearly New.” It is a small shop on north Main Street where people drop off their stuff and some nice people in the back sort it and price it and put it out for sale. They work so hard and all the profits go […]