Deacon Michael Halbrook

Deacon Michael Halbrook

Faith, family, work, and life - all intertwined.

Permanent deacon of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. Husband, father of four sons, builder of Catholic technology, and writer of essays, fiction, and homilies.

The Commission
The Lost Crown ↗

The Commission

What follows is drawn from a single document in the Alton library, catalogued by Teodor Maren as: commission document, Latin, 1291, notation confirmed, provenance: received with the formal instrument.

The Cell at Auschwitz
Two Lamps ↗

The Cell at Auschwitz

Two Lamps, Issue 15: Saint Maximilian Kolbe and Saint Maximilian the Martyr, cell 18 of block 11 at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the night of August 13 into August 14, 1941

The Kraków Thread
The Lost Crown ↗

The Kraków Thread

What follows is drawn from two sources: a household journal kept by the Baranski family of Kraków between 1863 and 1921, and a deposition taken in 1922 from Anna Baranska, regarding the disposition of certain materials in her custody following their transfer to a new keeper.

What I'm Not Doing This Week
Ad Alta ↗ Reflections

What I'm Not Doing This Week

Last week I promised a new offering would open for booking today. It isn't. Here's the decision behind the delay - and why the delay is itself the essay.

The Modern Steel Mill
Another Voice ↗ Essays

The Modern Steel Mill

Granite City has lived next to industry for 130 years. Data centers are the industrial technology of our era, and we already know how to do this - if we're willing to negotiate instead of refuse.

The Basement at St. Mary's
Two Lamps ↗

The Basement at St. Mary's

Two Lamps, Issue 14: Blessed Michael McGivney and Saint Cajetan of Thiene, the basement meeting room at St. Mary's Church, New Haven, Connecticut, the evening of October 2, 1881

The Argument
The Lost Crown ↗

The Argument

What follows is drawn from a manuscript in the Alton library, catalogued by Teodor Maren as: partial treatise, Latin, late thirteenth century, provenance uncertain, notation confirmed.

The One Who Stays
Faith & Life

The One Who Stays

A reflection on Luke Burgis's "The One and the Ninety-Nine"