She said, “I will.”

By Joel | October 25, 2015 |

Yesterday,  Jean LeClaire said, “I will,” when asked by Father Rolf Tollefson if she will love me and honor me all the days of her life.  On February 9, 1990 she said words similar to these but instead to The Honorable Patrick Burke during his lunch break at the Hennepin County courthouse. I remember that…

Read More

Missing a Friend…Father Howard Hansen.

By Joel | November 30, 2014 |

Father Howard Hansen entered my life on Holy Thursday, April 17, 2003. At the time, I was not ready to meet him or understand the impact that he would later have on me. Fr. Howard died on Palm Sunday, April 17, 2011.   I attended the Franciscan Retreat Center’s Men’s Holy Week Retreat for the…

Read More

A Positive Way to Start the Day

By Joel | June 21, 2014 |

About five years ago, I came across a website called, dailygratitude.com. This site is run by a guy names Wes Hopper who used to be an engineer, has had some struggles, came across a system for helping him see the world differently by a guy named by Bob Proffet and now produces a daily gratitude…

Read More