I Embrace a Crooked Path

My Introduction to Illumination

A Biergarten in Austria. Photo: Schoenhofer

Thanks so much to Dr Mehmet Yildiz for inviting me to join Illumination as a writer. I go to my profile just to see myself as a staff writer for Illumination. His invitation to join this impressive group of writers has helped me to up my writing game.

So a little about me.

Living in Europe

Three things that have always interested me are mental health, spirituality, and writing. Being a catholic, I thought the only way to spiritual living was to become a priest. I lived in Rome, Italy, for four years to study theology, learned to speak Italian, and traveled all over Europe. My cousins, who are Bavarian, invited me to come to their home in Munich, Germany, every holiday. I lived in Liverpool, England, for three months in a catholic parish. I loved the chance to travel, experience new cultures, and study in one of the great universities in Rome, The Gregorian University, in Italian.

A Priest

I became a priest in 1977. A decision I regretted almost as soon as I made it. In 1984 I volunteered to go to Zimbabwe, Africa, on a mission to help people in that area find ways out of the deep poverty they experienced. I learned their language, Tonga, and lived in a remote area called Binga, for almost six years. During…