I am retired, proud old guy. “The kind they don’t make anymore”. While raising a large family and establishing soccer/football as a major sport I found a way to graduate college at age 50.

After I retired, I felt the call to get active in political circles. (I did not WANT to - I was called to do so.) I obeyed. Today I sometimes wonder how it came to be that I now have state Senators, state representatives, Mayors, and “higher ups” calling on me as a friend and confidant.

It often seems so surreal when I realize who I am rubbing elbows with. Yet, it is in those moments that I am reminded, “They are the lucky ones to rub elbows with you.” So, I let them know that truth.

Even so my most important vocation, or calling, is the spiritual life. I am called to prayer. I have always followed that path, and it is primarily through the graces of the Holy Roman Catholic Church which guides me to and through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - and rest of his family!

I found genealogy to be a very powerful spiritual labor and a great way to improve my spiritual life. I love when I am asked why I love genealogy. I often reply, “Because Jesus loved genealogy! He studied it, he memorized it and kept it near his heart all his life and he was especially proud of his lineage.” So, if it was important to him. It surely must be important! That reason is good enough for me and should be for you too!

I am also a “published author” thanks to my paternal grandmother who told me a story about an incident in her life. It was enough to encouraged me to start me on my genealogical “calling”. Thirty years later I wrote that story for a college class which led to it being submitted it to a large publisher. They loved it and paid me a few hundred dollars!

I find genealogy to be an extremely spiritual exercise. I admit I overdo it sometimes … hence the 24-month hiatus I just went through. Yet, my spiritual director completely understands when I explain the emotions, the highs, the frustrations, and the tears that sometimes escape my eyes when something beautiful happens in my research.

Many may not understand nor agree but genealogy is actually a prayer … a prayer for family … a prayer for a connection that leads to something more than just another family.

It seems to me genealogy provides a socially acceptable cover for what is actually a much deeper desire for something that is lacking in our culture.

It seems there is a quiet desperation at work here that is seeking a way, a path, that might - just possibly, in some way, perhaps lead us to that small, quiet reminder of our ultimate reunion with our family and the ultimate truth that is “Our Father”.