Tag Archives: Catholic Diocese of Spokane

Five Gems To Embrace

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This past Saturday I spent the day at Gonzaga Prep for the Spokane Diocese Hearts on Fire Men’s Conference. It was the sixth time I attended the gathering since moving back to Spokane and this year the event organizers didn’t have to go far to find their headliner. Bishop Thomas Daly, the leader of the Diocese of Spokane, served as the main speaker as he delivered three different talks throughout the course of the day.

Bishop Daly spoke to the male faithful at the 2026 Hearts on Fire Men’s Conference at Gonzaga Prep. I took this photo during the bishop’s first talk.

Bishop Daly is a rock star and kept the nuggets of gold coming all day long. In fact, you didn’t even have to be Catholic to appreciate the insight that the seventh bishop of Spokane was dispensing. I thought I would share just a handful of the gems that Bishop Daly shared on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.

It is always a treat to listen to Bishop Daly speak. He was the headliner at the Spokane Diocese Hearts on Fire Men’s Conference.

– Although I had heard Bishop Daly say it before on a podcast, his anecdote of children listen to their mothers but watch their fathers never gets old. It is a reminder that dads have a high call to set the absolute best example for their children because you better believe that they are watching.

– Sometimes life can hit us hard and we find ourselves in desperation. It is possible that praying is the last thing we want to do. But Bishop Daly challenged us to pray when we don’t feel like praying. Whenever any anti-prayer thought enters our mind or heart, the only logical response is to drop down and pray. This even applies when times are really good and prayer might seem unnecessary or when we find ourselves in a prayer rut. Respond to any voice that says prayer is obsolete by—yes—praying!

– A good piece of advice for me to heed from Bishop Daly was his reminder that when we complain about something, we lose God’s graces we could have gained from it. I am fantastic at whining when I get a man cold (just ask Sidney) but if I could instead just take it on the chin perhaps I could recover from it with better perspective and heightened respect from my wife.

– To begin the retreat, Bishop Daly offered mass. During his homily he sternly told all of us men in the pews the following: Don’t be so occupied with fending off evil that you fail to do good. It is admirable to avoid doing bad things but we have to do more than refrain—we actually have to DO. If we just hide all the time, when are we going to evangelize or do all the good acts that Jesus commanded us to do?

– I easily could have stretched this blog post to 10 items but since I capped myself at a handful, let me end with the most fitting and all-encompassing thing that Bishop Daly said. The path of holiness is not beyond us. We can all take up our cross, do good, and live as saints. When Daly was about to become a bishop, he had a mentor who told him the following: “Remember Tom, 11 of the 12 apostles were martyred.” So is it going to be easy? No. But is it achievable? With God, anything is.

Bishop Thomas Daly offers mass at the Spokane Diocese Hearts on Fire Men’s Conference inside the Gonzaga Prep chapel. During his homily he would tell those in attendance to not become so occupied with evil that we don’t do good.

Thanks to Bishop Daly for speaking at the 2026 Hearts on Fire Men’s Conference and for being so open to all of us in attendance. May God continue to bless him. Don’t Blink.

Fr. David Gaines Dispensing Healing and Forgiveness

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It is always interesting and uplifting how a seemingly disturbing incident can produce fruit.

On Tuesday evening, Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral held the second day of prayer for the Lourdes Novena for Healing. Our Lady of Lourdes is the mother church of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane to which our family belongs. It is always a blessing and a treat when we attend mass at the Cathedral as it is a magnificent and beautiful house of worship. As is the case with most mother churches in dioceses across the world, things are usually done on a grander scale—or how us Catholics describe it—with extra “smells and bells.”

Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane. It is a beautiful place of worship and attracts people from all walks of life.

Our Lady of Lourdes is located in the heart of downtown Spokane in a very urban area. The throngs of worshippers who attend the parish come from all walks of life. Attend any service at the Cathedral and you are bound to see a vast representation of all God’s children. Many people who walk through the grand cathedral doors are suffering greatly.

During the prayer service on Tuesday, a shocking episode happened. As the celebrants knelt to pray in front of the Mary statue nestled in the makeshift grotto, someone rushed the sanctuary. The individual sprinted from his pew, ascended the stairs, and attacked Fr. David Gaines who knelt directly behind Bishop Thomas Daly. The assailant threw wild punches at Fr. Gaines as he managed to make contact with varying degrees of success. I have watched the stream numerous times and one thing is for sure: it is tough to watch. It is near impossible to defend yourself when someone is charging you from your blind spot while on your knees.

A screenshot from the Our Lady of Lourdes livestream of the attack on Fr. Gaines (edited photo courtesy of Metro).

Thanks be to God, parishioners and Cathedral staff quickly overpowered the 40-year-old mentally ill individual and removed him from Fr. Gaines.

Two things from the incident stand out that exemplify the compassion taught by Jesus Christ.

1. While he is literally being attacked, Fr. Gaines is calmly telling his attacker, “It’s okay buddy. It’s all right, just calm down.” With someone trying to seriously injure him, this warmhearted priest is trying his best to comfort the troubled gentleman.

2. After the man was removed, Fr. Darrin Connall, who was leading the Novena, didn’t scorn him. Instead, he prayed for him. He led the congregation in a “Hail Mary” for the guy who tried to harm his brother priest.

I met Fr. David Gaines during Hoopfest 2023. He came and watched our team play and then we got to hang out with him afterwards.

The aftermath has been just as inspirational. Thanks to the live streaming capabilities of Our Lady of Lourdes, the local media ran the video and covered the incident. It didn’t take long for the national media to follow suit. Media giants like TMZ and the New York Post latched on. NBC News did too—and they even interviewed Fr. Gaines.

Fr. David Gaines speaks with Camila Bernal of NBC News. What a great ambassador of the faith that Fr. Gaines has been.

In his humble and Christ-like nature, Fr. Gaines didn’t hesitate to express his forgiveness for the man. In fact, he even went beyond. In his own Pope John Paul II moment (the former pope/now-saint met with the person who shot him), Fr. Gaines said he would also like to meet with the person who sought to do him harm.

My brother and I received a blessing from Fr. David Gaines right outside of Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral during Bloomsday 2024.

What an amazing example of what it means to be a Christian! I am proud to be Catholic, proud to be part of the Diocese of Spokane, and proud to know Fr. Gaines. Please pray for the healing of everyone, especially those dealing with mental illness. Don’t Blink.