Author Archives: Kathy

Father Dan’s Funeral Sermon

Posted on August 6, 2017 by Kathy

When I mention that Father Dan wrote the sermon for his own funeral Mass, people are sometimes taken aback–people, that is, who didn’t know him. “Wouldn’t somebody else have liked to say something?” one of them asked me, implying that … Continue reading →

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Moving Mountains

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Kathy

Because Father Dan wasn’t the formal celebrant on St. Cecilia’s last day, he couldn’t deliver the homily. That’s a rule. According to canon law, the Bishop says the last Mass and gives the homily. Father Dan was leaving his neighborhood, his … Continue reading →

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If Nothing Ever Changed . . .

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Kathy

Google proved a goldmine of information for Father Dan’s homilies. On Epiphany, he would explain the Star of Bethlehem this way: the astronomical conjunction of planets in about 6 BCE lined up in Pisces, a constellation special to the Hebrews, sparking … Continue reading →

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The Power of the Spirit

Posted on May 21, 2017 by Kathy

        That power of the Spirit is what transforms our goals from the things that are here today and gone tomorrow to the things that last forever.   Father Dan delivered this homily in May, 2009. The … Continue reading →

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A Funeral

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Kathy

I posted this essay about seven years ago, when the Diocese of Cleveland was in the process of closing St. Cecilia and Epiphany churches in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. I don’t know why I didn’t name Father Dan Begin back … Continue reading →

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Love the One You’re With

Posted on April 22, 2017 by Kathy

Whenever I asked Father Dan for advice, I’d feel some sympathy for Jesus’s disciples, because I usually had no idea what he was talking about until much later. Once, many years ago, I sought his advice about my high-school-aged daughter, … Continue reading →

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Review

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Kathy

Thanks to Ethan Boatner for this very nice review of Missing in Lavender, a Twin Cities publication addressing LGBTQ issues.   Missing: Coming to Terms with a Borderline Mother Kathy Ewing Red Giant Books $14.95 If you didn’t grow up with a Borderline … Continue reading →

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Welcoming the Stranger

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Kathy

One of the most noteworthy things about Father Dan Begin was that his words and his actions were almost perfectly in sync. This quality made his sermons especially powerful; if you knew him, you could hear his advice and immediately … Continue reading →

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A Perfect Day for Bananafish

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Kathy

Culling an old folder just now, I ran across a copy of Time magazine dated July 10, 1939. On page six, there’s a letter written by my father, Martin R. Miller, dateline Fairport Harbor, where he lived before marrying my mom … Continue reading →

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Father Dan on Grieving

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Kathy

Father Dan delivered this homily on Palm Sunday, March 23, 2009, the week after Bishop Richard Lennon announced the closing of his churches, St. Cecilia and Epiphany.   I think as we watch Jesus struggle, it affirms in us that … Continue reading →

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