Tom Faranda

45 years as a Deacon.

Of course one of the all-time popular Saints – a great mystic. his Feast Day is October 4th and I came across a novena to him that begins on September 25th. It's going on my calendar. Starting on September 25 and ending on October 3, Pat McCloskey, OFM, Franciscan Editor of St. Anthony Messenger and the author … Read more

Brigid and I had done this a couple of years ago (actually in 2011 – hard to believe!) with Brigid’s niece June and her husband Andrew. Go here. This time with the Riner & Cannon contingents yesterday. Total walk on a totally flat surface with great views in ideal weather – just over 3 miles. … Read more

Apparitions! An interesting & difficult topic. This is from The Washington Post, so no pay wall. Excerpts below the link. The Faranda family guru, the late Fr. Benedict Groeschel, would appreciate this. Father Laurentin, a French theologian who died Sept. 10 at 99, was perhaps Catholicism’s preeminent scholar of contemporary miracles and Marian apparitions. A … Read more

Today is the 230th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. Many Americans are poorly informed about basic constitutional provisions, according to a new national survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.     The annual Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey finds that: More than half of Americans (53 percent) incorrectly think it is accurate to say … Read more

The new place in "downtown" Croton-on-Hudson. Brigid  & I ate there on a Saturday night a couple of days after it opened. Good food but slow service – which I expect they'll fix, if they haven't already. Here's LoHud's take – Fratelli's Trattoria offers northern Italian cuisine in Croton-on-Hudson The eatery, which he said specializes … Read more

I hate today. Below is a posting I first put up in 2006. Tommy should be 46. I knew seven people killed on 9/11. But I only knew one of them real well. I knew Tom Knox ("Tommy") because I coached him for five years at the North Jersey Rugby Club. He was a great … Read more

Average shortstop, great General Manager, and by all accounts a great person. How he built the "core four".  

Now of course St. Teresa of Calcutta. The Jesuit publication America has re-posted a # of features from past issues about her – just go here – What was so extraordinary about this “saint of the gutters?” How could someone revered as a saint not feel God’s presence for long periods of her life? Mother … Read more

Wow an unsupported "hike" that wiped out both the supported and unsupported records. McConaughy is a former Boston College cross country and track runner. he's in his mid-20's now and averaged 48 miles a day. Joe ‘Stringbean’ McConaughy, a well-known speed hiker, set a new record on the Appalachian Trail today. He hiked the 2,190-mile … Read more