Good morning to All,

            It is a pleasure to be able to continue to share good news with you. Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement to Fr. John! He continues to make exceptional progress in his rehab environment and is now in his 2nd week in the Generose Building at the Mayo Clinic and is being pushed in every facet of his recovery. The results are showing! Fr. John is now walking regularly and today he is hoping to be cleared to walk without assistance of someone right by his side as he tours the building. 

            We still have no pathology report from the oncologist as they continue analyzing the findings of the surgical removal of his tumor. It still seems likely that the next course of action will be some regimen of chemotherapy and radiation but we will not know for sure until his team makes a formal diagnosis and prescription for next phases of treatment. The good news on the healing front is that today he is scheduled to have the staples that closed the surgical incision removed. The incision has healed perfectly and we look forward to this milestone to be cleared - just another step in the long road to recovery! Thank you so much Dear Lord!

            Many of you who follow Father John on the social media platforms that he uses are aware that, as of yesterday, he is now celebrating mass on his own! This is a huge advancement for him both physically and spiritually. The mass can be viewed on YouTube at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u4_VJeILGQ

            When Father John went into the hospital two weeks ago, we were all aware of the coronavirus but had no clear understanding at that time of how it would impact and dominate phases of both our personal lives and the life of the Church. Fr. John now sees and is aware of the current impact and has a deep sense of Mission about somehow being more present to his staff and parishioners, his campus ministry, and those in the penitentiary that he ministers to. He is not sure what he is going to be physically able to do but his desire is to be with his people in any way possible. I believe his social media outreach with Mass, morning prayer, night prayer, and other means is his first salvo in understanding how a priest recovering from brain surgery can be present to his people. I am sure more will be forthcoming as he continues to get stronger.

            I spoke with Fr. John last night and we agreed that it seems like he is recovering to the point that he can soon begin to speak for himself. Unless there is a serious setback in his ongoing recovery, this will likely be our last post for a while. Fr. John will be speaking for himself on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.  He is scheduled to be at the rehabilitation hospital for another week or so but we are not sure where he goes from there. 

            Our hope and prayer is that wherever he is, he can give you that update himself. Thanks for your extraordinary love and support for Fr. John, our family, and God’s holy Church!

            Come Holy Spirit!