Fr. Tom Welbers' Reflections on Our Shared Journey of Faith
Last year, I republished the collection of speeches I gave at the T. Willard Hunter Oratory Forum during Claremont's annual Independence Day celebration in Memorial Park while I was pastor at Our Lady of the Assumption. This year, sadly, all public events were again canceled due to Covid precautions. Today, on the 245th anniversary of... Continue Reading →
In 2009, I had a radical prostatectomy after which the doctor assured me that there was no indication that the cancer had spread beyond the prostate itself. I don't recall exactly what the Gleason score was, but it was pretty low. For a number of years, my PSA level was virtually undetectable. A few years... Continue Reading →
U.S. Rep. Norma Torres sits at her desk, near a carving of a boat carrying mythical Maya figures.(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) The excellent story about Rep. Norma Torres on the front page of today's LA Times, "Lawmaker sticks to her guns", reminded me that, in February 2006, she asked me, as Pastor of... Continue Reading →
Celebrating the Ascension gives me pause . . . It's really the culmination of Christ's redemptive action. It's not his "leave-taking." But what is that to you and me? My morning reading today brought together one theme from several very different perspectives: What is redemption / salvation anyway? And so what? Why the cross? What... Continue Reading →
As promised in my previous "Coffee with Fr. Tom" sessions (especially the last two, here and here), I've compiled a brief reading list to introduce you to the Essenes and the increasing evidence that they were more significant than we ever realized in the human origins and formation, life and teaching Jesus - as well... Continue Reading →
An aerial photo shows the 6,000-year-old archaeological site of Ur amid preparations for Pope Francis' visit near Nasiriyah. (AP Photo) For nearly a decade I organized and led an annual pilgrimage to Turkey, which I (and Pope Benedict XVI) called "the Holy Land of the Church." More than any other spot on earth, including Rome... Continue Reading →
Here's a follow-up to John Allen's column a couple of days ago, this one written in the middle of his trip to Iraq. Yes, the Holy Father is very much in the news this weekend. John Allen does his usual masterful job of looking at the event from a broader perspective. Every papal trip is,... Continue Reading →
As I begin writing this (Thursday morning), I'm aware that, barring any unforeseen barrier, Pope Francis will be in Iraq by this time tomorrow. One of the things most western Christians fail to understand is the immense complexity of Islam, and how that influences, even determines, the conflicts that our world continues to experience. Broadly... Continue Reading →
Seventy-five years ago today, "on the feast of the Transfiguration, a light appeared from above and everything changed. In the sky there was a great cloud, and the light radiated forth brighter than the sun." Brighter Than a Thousand Suns says the title of a 1956 history of the atomic bomb and its aftermath, told... Continue Reading →
I love the grand, old lady, Hagia Sophia. I first visited Turkey on a pilgrimage for LA Archdiocesan priests in the fall of 2000, and fell in love with both the people and the land. Between 2005 and 2013, I returned to Turkey 11 times -- as a participant in a study tour in 2005,... Continue Reading →
The Pilgrim Shepherd 