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Posts published in “Uncategorized”

A monk fish story

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– You cannot live in Utah without hearing a good fish story or two. My personal favorite involves an unconventional catch by an unconventional man. He was…

Forty Years at St. Thomas More Parish, 1981-2021

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By Gary Topping– The Kingdom of God, Jesus said, “is like mustard seed which, when planted in the soil, is the smallest of all the earth’s seeds, yet once it…

Monkservation Easements

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– The laudable efforts to preserve the Huntsville Trappist monastery open land in Northern Utah (see: “Huntsville monastery has faded away, but preservation prayers have been answered…

Does a famous Beatles song channel a popular Catholic prayer?

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– When looking for sacred allusions in Beatles’ music, folks often point to Paul McCartney’s “Mother Mary…speaking words of wisdom” lyrics in “Let it Be.” McCartney has…

The monastery that wasn’t

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Those of us who knew and loved the old Trappist monastery in Huntsville, Utah, fondly recall the place’s unique Quonset hut structure. Yet, two of the…

My back yard wild life

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Salt Lake City is nestled along the Wasatch Front, on the sunset side of a 160-mile long mountain range extending north into Idaho. Because of this…

The Whispering Signs

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Signs led my troubled family and me to a life-changing event—our first visit to the old Trappist monastery in Huntsville, Utah. I don’t mean miraculous messages…

Nickeled and Dimed

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– In September 1988, singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith performed “Love at the Five and Dime” at a Salt Lake City concert. I’d never heard of either her or…

Genetic Blarney in my DNA

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By Michael Patrick O’Brien– I realized early on that I loved writing. This explains the many volumes of childhood “books” and “newspapers” that I “published” and foisted on family, friends,…