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.
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Reflections
What the Wait Actually Buys You
Two expected payoffs don't materialize when you wait to ship something whole. Three quieter ones actually do. On what the wait actually buys you.
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.
Dinner
Aldric had chosen the restaurant, which told Joshua something, though he was not yet sure what.
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
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.
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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.
What Ambrose Says Again
He had been composing his reply to Aldric for six days without sending it.
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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, 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
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.