Mass With Fr. Don

At Alvin Brooks Center

In partnership with Rockhurst University, we invite you to join Father Don Farnan for weekly Mass each Thursday at 12:15 p.m. at the Alvin Brooks Center Mabee Chapel (5401 Troost Avenue, Kansas City). All are welcome! Learn more about the Alvin Brooks Center.

This weekly gathering connects people from across parishes and the city to share in the Eucharist, strengthen community, and support ministries serving our urban-core neighbors. It's a simple but meaningful way to deepen faith and fellowship in the heart of Kansas City.

Make this part of your summer rhythm. Come as you are, bring a friend, and take a mid-day pause for prayer and community. Stay for conversation or step in for a quiet moment of prayer.

Catholic Wedding Gap

Those who attend lots of Saturday weddings are familiar with the Catholic Wedding Gap; it refers to the time between an early afternoon church ceremony and evening reception. The two-to-three-hour frame has become part of our Catholic culture. During that afternoon time, guests usually assemble in small groups at bars, hotels, homes, or Airbnb’s until the bigger party begins. During that same period, bridal party and families usually take lots of pictures.

The gap exists because most newly married couples prefer their reception to begin with cocktails and toasts in the late afternoon, followed by dinner in the early evening, and dancing into the night. But most Catholic parishes have weekly confessions and a Sunday Vigil Mass around 4:00, forcing the Saturday wedding ceremony, along with its necessary preparation and clean-up, to get scheduled a few hours before the vigil gathering. Read the Full Post.

Father Don and his sister, Barbie, drop a podcast about podcasts, particularly this podcast, Upon This Rock, as we pause operations to assess its impact and how the church can reach people in our twenty-first-century virtual society. They reminisce about messages from the hundred-plus conversations and how we can encourage people to talk with one another about matters of faith and faith that matters to us, our families and friends, our community, and our world.

Direct Link. Listen on Apple and Spotify. Download the MP3 file.

Listen to all the Upon This Rock episodes. #uponthisrockpodcast

Saint Thomas More (STM) Parish has a sister community relationship with San Andrés Itzapa, a rural parish in south-central Guatemala. STM Parishioners Phil Smith and Marla Byrne have visited frequently in recent decades, often leading groups on work retreats and pilgrimages of faith that support foreign friends. The STM group has escorted thousands of Kansas Citians, including over a thousand teenagers, to Central America to encounter brothers and sisters who struggle in ways that open their eyes and hearts.

Direct Link. Listen on Apple and Spotify. Download the MP3 file.

Listen to all the Upon This Rock episodes. #uponthisrockpodcast