Sacrifice Archives - The Practicing Catholic

An Open Letter to my Parish: Why I am Discerning the Diaconate

June 16, 2011 by Deacon Joel Schmidt 12 Comments

This letter appears in the June 19 & 26, 2011 bulletin of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines, IA. My name is Joel Schmidt, and Fr. Hoefler asked me to write this column to introduce myself to you. Why? Because I am a parishioner here at St. Francis of Assisi and, … [Read more…]

Detonating a Charity Bomb

November 11, 2010 by Deacon Joel Schmidt Leave a Comment

St. Martin of Tours helps refine our understanding of who a soldier is. Editor’s Note: Today we are reprising our original Veteran’s Day post from last year. You’ll be happy to know that Eric, the man about whom I wrote below, is now back home safe with his family, as is his son Brady who … [Read more…]