Mass and David Thorp Memorial Lecture

Holy Family Parish in Concord, Massachusetts is holding their annual David Thorp Memorial Lecture again this year. We are honored that they have so graciously offered to organize this event.

The event will take place on November 1st. There will be mass at 5pm at Holy Family followed by a reception and lecture at the Parish Center. The event will conclude at 7:30pm. Fr. Frank DeSiano, President of Paulist Evangelization Ministries in Washington, D.C. will say a few words along with my mother Barbara Thorp and myself.  

All are most welcome! 

Holy Family Parish 
55 Church St. 
Concord, MA 01742 


There will be copies of Dad's book available to purchase at the event.
Copies of the book are also available for purchase online by clicking on this link. 

In other news a beautiful article was written in The Pilot about Dad's book.
Click here to view the article.
 

Gift of Knowledge

You can get a glimpse of a person by the library they kept. Dad's library was a place of seeking, learning, delving into the heart of things you might say. From books back at Princeton Theological Seminary with copious notes in the margins to books on the Bible, books about Saints, and even a book about the Beatles in there too! This is the life of a man who was most certainly the smartest person I ever knew. And that is the funny thing about Dad. I honestly don't think I ever fully grasped how much he did "know." His unassuming, light-hearted demeanor and his infectious laugh, his caring and supportive hand always there to help me up -- that was my Dad. To others he was a Bible Scholar, Great Friend, Prayer Warrior, and don't forget rabid Hockey Fan who constantly reminded us of his Canadian roots! 

I wish I could just say, "Dad, tell me everything you know about Bonhoeffer, just because!" I can see him now with his big smile laughing at me for blurting out something so clearly out of character for me to ask. But Dad knew everything about all these philosophers. He knew more than I could ever imagine. And now what is left is his library. A great treasure for us. One that should be shared. 

Last week we went through box after box of Dad's books. One's from his office, personal library, etc. It took days to go through but we finally did it with the help of my Mom, brother Nick and sister in law Cate. Mom felt strongly that we should donate Dad's library. We each kept a few books that meant something to us and the rest were put back into boxes. We decided to give his books to theMAM Program. The Masters of Arts in Ministry is a degree one can receive from St. John's Seminary here in Boston. Over three hundred of Dad's books will now be available to not only St. John's Seminary students but to Boston College students (Dad's alma mater) as well. It's what Dad would have wanted. A great treasure should always be shared.

Updated Flyer for Book

Hi All,

Just a little housekeeping. We updated the flyer so that it was easier to access and to print out as a PDF.

Click here to view the new flyer.

The response to Dad's book thus far has been overwhelming. Thank you for all your enthusiasm, love and kind thoughts!

Finally a book by David Thorp!

 If you knew David Thorp than you know he was an amazing speaker and writer. His reflections, some of which I try to share on my blog, have finally been put into a book format.

I know many people would say to Dad, "David you really need to write a book." He would always politely laugh it off. Well Dad, the day has come... you have written a book!

After combing through the many, many files I came across an incredible find: Three years of reflections Dad did in anticipation for the Jubilee Year. So once a week, for three years Dad wrote reflections for the local Charismatic Renewal Newsletter focusing on the Holy Trinity.
"Wow," I said to myself, "This has got to be shared!" So, I asked Mom, "What about the Paulist's down in D.C. Do you think I could contact them?" "Mom, said, It couldn't hurt! Give it a try!"

Dad had on and off over the years done reflections during Advent and Easter for the Paulist's and Mom knew a couple of priests that I could contact. Without question I got a resounding yes from Fr. Frank DeSiano, President of Paulist Evangelization Ministries. He and his staff have painstakingly taken on the task of turning pages upon pages of Dad's writings into a beautifully concise book of reflections, allowing also space to journal.

We could not be more thrilled with the book. We know Dad is overjoyed and I can see him saying now, "For God's Glory!"

You can order a copy here from www.pemdc.org

Click here for a pdf flyer you can share with friends, family, your local parish, etc.

Unclog My Arteries, Oh Lord

I am going to skip over the fact that it has been too long since my last post. Instead of dwelling of my inability to keep up on this blog and because you all are graciously loving me through it I am going to get right to it... 


I was looking through the good ol' files today and came across this reflection Dad did back in 2000. I read it over several times and a big smile formed across my face because just this morning God was having a conversation with me about my heart. Only to read later in my Dad's reflection that he is thinking about it too.


I don't know about you but for me, I tend to get to mass with about two minutes to spare. Life takes over. Today I "by accident" got to the chapel early. At first I thought, oh great, maybe I can squeeze one last errand in before it begins. But no, I decided instead to go in and sit quietly (gasp) by myself with no one else in the chapel. While sitting there I got this image of my arteries and they looked pretty clogged. I am a thirty-something who likes to run and stay fit so was surprised by this image... my physical body might be in shape but my spiritual body is on the verge. Thank you Lord for calling me out. My prayer today was Lord, unclog these arteries that are keeping me from having you flow freely throughout ALL of me.  During this time of Lent know that I will be praying that same prayer for all of you too.


 Wednesday, March 8, 2000      Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:12-18 ~ Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17 ~ 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 ~ Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

“Return to me with your whole heart … Rend your hearts, not your garments.”  Joel 2:12,13

Think of all the ways that we use “heart” in our speech: brave-hearted, pure-hearted, heart of hearts, had my heart set on, half-hearted, cold-hearted, wear your heart on your sleeve…  My heart – it’s all of me!  “Heart” is found frequently in the Lenten readings.  The invitation, and challenge, of Lent is presented today.  God wants me to bring my entire self to him: my thoughts, my desires, my emotions, my body, my dreams, those things that I regret, things of which I am proud.  If there is any part of my life that I have kept from God – bring that back to God.  And, don’t just bring it.  God invites me to crack open all of my life so that God can enter so to change, repair, heal and strengthen.

God, show me what parts of my heart I am withholding from you, what parts I close to your grace.  Help me, during this holy season, to return to you with my whole heart.

Prayers asked

Most of my blog posts begin with, "It's been awhile." 

As the new school year begins in our house I am making a new commitment to sharing of Dad's writings. I have many blog posts started now I just need to finish them!

But today I am here to again ask for prayers for our dear friends the Mingolelli's. We got some sad news last week that Mike will have to undergo triple bypass surgery. As you might remember Mom donated her kidney to Mike this past winter.  This was a shock to us all. Amazingly his kidney functions are better than they have ever been. Since the surgery he has been the "come back kid." Energy up, color back in his face, and even was able to just two weeks ago play 9 holes of golf.

The medical hardship this family has gone through is beyond comprehension.  But with every passing day I am truly inspired by the grace they exude and their faithfulness in times of extreme trial. Along with Mike I ask prayers for his wife Betty who was scheduled for back surgery this month and for their children Mike, Jr., Marc, and Laurie.

Mike's surgery is this morning (actually as we speak).

Thank you in advance for all your prayers!

Blessings,

Catherine (Caterina as Mr. "Mingo" always calls me)

David Thorp Memorial Lecture

I am constantly humbled by the out of the blue e-mail from someone expressing how much they loved my Dad and were touched by his ministry. I still get the, "You are David Thorp's daughter" and every time I proudly say with a big smile, 'I AM!"

So, today I humbly and proudly invite all of you to a memorial lecture in honor of my Father. This is the second year that Holy Family parish in Concord has hosted an event in honor of Dad. We are truly in awe of Ken Meltz and the parish community for putting this event together. Dad only worked for Holy Family for a year and yet this little parish has showed so much love for Dad. That love is a mutual one, for Dad loved his time working for this parish. I remember him coming home and discussing all the great things happening at the parish and sharing about all the wonderful people he worked with.

The event is this Thursday, June 6th at 7:30pm.
Below you will find info on the event. It is a free event and all are most welcome!
Looking forward to seeing many of you there!

Holy Family Parish in Concord, MA is pleased to present Reverend Frank Desiderio, CSP in a memorial lecture on June 6 at 7:30 PM in the lower level of the Holy Family Parish church in Monument Square . The lecture is in memory of David Thorp who served Holy Family parish for slightly less than a year as its first Director of Faith Formation. His untimely death two years ago touched the hearts of thousands of people locally, not only in Holy Family parish, but also throughout the Archdiocese of Boston where David labored for more thirty years in many capacities. When he died, David was the Director of the archdiocese’s Catholics Come Home Evangelization program. The ongoing success of this initiative can largely be attributed to David’s deep faith, compelling witness and extraordinary organizational skills. We are honored that David’s widow, Barbara, as well as some family members and archdiocesan colleagues will be joining us for this tribute and memorial.

Father Frank Desiderio of the Paulist Center will be showing and discussing his documentary movie The Big Question: A Film about Forgiveness. The film and discussion will be held in the lower level of the parish church in Monument Square in Concord. 

A reception will follow this talk, which is free and open to the public.