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In 2023, I was working as the Pastoral Associate at St. Paul Catholic Church in Riverside, a neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida. The parish invited Dr. Mary Soha to present on the Martyrs of La Florida. For many years I was aware of Dr. Soha, she gave many presentations to the seminarians but for some reason or another I was never able to attend, sadly. This time, fortunately, I was able to go to the parish function and I found the story very inspiring. I asked to sit dow

Let’s talk about interdenominational dialogue for a moment. I am a practicing Catholic–emphasis on the “practicing” part–and from 2023 to 2025 I sang as the Bass section leader for Lakewood Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, FL. There was no ulterior motive of converting the congregation to Catholicism, nor did I feel anyone at LPC trying to convince me to renounce my faith; only profound mutual respect. It was the most welcoming congregation to be a part of, and the choir

I remember when I was 17 years old, I bought a ticket to see Beethoven’s Symphony No.9  at the Jacksonville Symphony. I drove all the way from Keystone Heights just to sit in the very back of Jacoby Hall. It was my first live concert and the atmosphere was incredible. The orchestra was stellar and the symphony chorus sang with such power and clarity I felt I could touch the divine.. At the helm, conducting the orchestra, was a young and vibrant ginger maestro, Courtney Lewis.

During the Jacksonville Symphony’s production of Georges Bizet’s Carmen , I met the incomparable Baritone, Dr. John Daugherty. I asked him for lessons and he obliged after we wrapped. I had never taken formal lessons before, so it was a great opportunity to see exactly what my voice was capable of. After the first few lessons, I was invited to join the University of North Florida’s production of Franz Lehar’s operetta, The Merry Widow , under my new voice teacher’s direction.

Picture it, Florence, 2024. It was my first time in Italy and I was soaking up the street life after the afternoon riposo . As I was walking past the Badia Fiorentina  monastery (the church with the skinny hexagonal spire), I heard the echoes of a chant. And if there’s one thing about me, I’m going to break into a cloistered community to hear some more chant. Thankfully, they allowed visitors, so I entered the monastery and was greeted with the most beautiful midday prayer. T

Pope Francis proclaimed 2021 to be the Year of St. Joseph. In honor of Christ’s foster father, I wrote a motet based on a poem I found about the death of St. Joseph. I was hopeful that the smaller, elite schola at the major seminary would like to sing it to commemorate the Year of St. Joseph. However, without much of an explanation, they excluded my work from their repertoire and told me to kick rocks. Such is life.  For the summer of 2022, I was assigned to Our Lady Star of

I was blessed to have 24 years with all of my grandparents alive and well. Unfortunately, my maternal grandmother passed away in April. This happened while I was studying at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, FL. Coincidently, the rector of the seminary, Fr. Alfredo Hernandez, lost his mother during the same semester. Having never lost a close relative or friend, I’m not sure I knew how to grieve. Thankfully I was surrounded by people who I could turn to