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Posts published in “Uncategorized”

The Gypsy Sisters

Mike O'Brien 1

By Gary Topping– (Editor’s note: The Boy Monk dedicates its April 2021 blogspace to Utah’s Catholic sisters and nuns.) The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City has been remarkably…

The Monkey on the Shelf

Mike O'Brien 0

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– (Editor’s note: The Boy Monk dedicates its April 2021 blogspace to Utah’s Catholic sisters and nuns.) Utah was blessed for a long time to host two…

Crushed Bones: A Reflection on Psalm 51 in Dance

Mike O'Brien 0

By Megan Mary O’Brien (Guest Contributor)– (Editor’s note: this reflection discusses a liturgical dance by the author and by dancer Trevor Wilde performed at Missio Dei in Salt Lake City…

The Goofy Day My Mother Danced with Pluto

Mike O'Brien 0

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Over the years, I have traveled to Disneyland in California with several very excited people. The most excited one—over three decades ago—was my then almost 60-year-old…

The Blessing of the Fields

Mike O'Brien 3

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– After watching spring emerge in Northern Utah’s lovely Ogden Valley for almost five decades, I finally witnessed something I had never seen there before—the blessing of…

A 50-Year Reconnection with a Lost Family Member

Mike O'Brien 0

By Jathan Janove Family rifts are as ubiquitous as they are damaging. In 1971, a spat between my Aunt Inga and her older sister Julie (my mom), effectively ended relations…

The Irish Grands and Greats

Mike O'Brien 0

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– In the middle of a pandemic, economic doldrums, and unprecedented political storms, my first grandson Walter Patrick Dahlberg made his debut into a world that sorely…

Keeping My Brother

Mike O'Brien 4

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– For the first several decades of our fraternity, I loved but was not close to my older brother Kevin Peter O’Brien, Jr. There were many reasons,…

A 150-year-old Irish Woman’s Voice (part 3 of 3)

Mike O'Brien 0

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– After years of knowing her only by rudimentary biographical facts (see: Mary Leonard story part one), I finally “heard” my dearly departed Irish great aunt Mary…

A 150-year-old Irish Woman’s Voice (part 2 of 3)

Mike O'Brien 0

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Yesterday  (part 1 here), I began the story of how—in addition to learning basic biographical facts—I also first started to “hear” the voice of my great…