Father and Dad

In this episode of Father & Dad, join Fr. Steven and Dad as they unpack the spiritual richness of their recent pilgrimage to MaryTown, a sacred pause that goes beyond Sunday Mass and breathes life into everyday faith. Discover how stepping out of routine can open your heart to deeper communion with the Lord. Then they recount the highlights of the Emmaus Conference, a vibrant missionary discipleship gathering for the Diocese of Gary. From stirring keynote talks to meaningful fellowship, h...

In this episode, Fr. Steven shares about his latest academic adventure — beginning work toward an STL (Licentiate in Sacred Theology) in the New Evangelization at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. What exactly is an STL? Why go back to school now? And what does the New Evangelization even mean in a world that often seems tired of religion? Fr. Steven unpacks the structure of the program, the classes he's diving into this semester — Theology of the New Evangelization, Carmelite Spirituality, ...

In this special Father’s Day episode, Fr. Steven sits down with Dad to reflect on his first full year of priesthood. They talk about the joys, challenges, and surprises of this past year—from parish life to school ministry—and share how it’s impacted both of them. They also discuss attending the recent Ordination Mass for Fr. Alex and Fr. Ivan, newly ordained for the Diocese of Gary. The episode wraps up with a shoutout to the upcoming Collars vs. Scholars Softball Game at Andrean...

In this episode of Father and Dad, Fr. Steven shares the experience of his first Holy Week as a priest. He and his dad dive into the highs, the surprises, and the sacred moments of those unforgettable days. Fr. Steven recalls the profound experience of speaking the part of Jesus during the Palm Sunday Passion Gospel and the fraternity of the Chrism Mass where he reaffirmed his priestly promises. In an unexpected turn of events on Holy Thursday Fr. Steven needed to step in for his pastor...

Fr. Steven shares the incredible journey of writing The Bluff, a musical he and some friends have been working on for the past 10 years and is now set to be performed by a Catholic high school in Monroe, MI. He and Dad reflect on the creative process, how faith has shaped his storytelling, and the joy in surrendering all things to God. Join them for a thoughtful discussion on vocation, creativity and how priests - like everyone - are called to use their gifts for God's glory. Here is a link t...

The end of January brings with it Catholic Schools week. Fr. Steven’s home parish St. Thomas More traditionally holds and open house accompanied by a pancake breakfast on this Sunday. Fr. Steven has been assigned as the chaplain to two local catholic schools. The first is the grammar school associated with his parish. While pastor Fr. Ted serves more of an administrative role with the school Fr. Steven is able to serve as the “fun uncle”. Fr. Steven make...

This was Steven's first Christmas as a priest and it marked his first time attending Christmas mass at a parish other than his childhood parish. In recent history, midnight mass at our local parish has been a bit of a Caraher family affair with Steven and his brother serving at the altar and his mom playing music. Now that Steven is a priest, the challenge is to integrate that into our family life. Even during non-holiday times, Steven's time is not his own in that variou...

The Prodigal Son has returned! Father Steven was invited to speak at St. Thomas More, his home parish. Pastor Father Mike of St. Thomas More invited Father Steven to speak during our annual 40 Hours of Eucharistic Adoration. Though a parish priest's life is filled with many activities, priests must work to constantly strive for spiritual growth. Father Steven's talk preparation flowed out of this ongoing formational work. Work such as ongoing prayer, reading...

The past week Father Steven spent 4 days on a convocation of the priests of the Diocese of Gary. During these convocations Priests of the diocese come together. These convocations occur approximately every 2 years. One of the greatest blessings of these gatherings is the confraternity among brother priests. The group celebrated mass and prayed together during the gathering. In addition presentations were made by outside speakers. &nb...

Father Steven learned that the life of a priest can often be unpredictable. Days that were once open can quickly fill up. Recently, Fr. Steven found that his open day was immediately filled. One of these items was a funeral. Fr. Steven discussed how he prepares for a funeral. The first part of preparation is getting himself ready; praying and deepening his understanding of death. The second part is preparing with the family member or...

Father Steven has been at his parish assignment for 2 months and has been settling in to the life of a parish priest. Along with parish life, Father Steven has been assigned as priest for both a pre-K through 8 grammar school and a local Catholic High School. Father Steven has been doing his best to be available and getting to know everyone. We discussed how these assignments came about and ultimately, it is the Bishop who makes these assignments. It is the Bishop's job to und...

Father Steven and Dad both attended the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress the past weekend and shared their experiences. The 2024 National Eucharistic Congress was the first held since 1976. This gathering was the culmination of several years of work in coordination with the National Eucharistic Revival. Eucharistic procession pilgrimages from the North, South, East and West all converged on Indianapolis for the start of the Congress. Dad had not originally planne...

The day following his ordination, Steven celebrated his first mass at his home parish. Numerous brother priests and fellow seminarians celebrated this mass with Steven. Steven found the mass a mixture of both the surreal and natural. Natural in that he had prepared for this and surreal in the realization that this had all come to fruition. The homily for this first mass was given by Fr. Chris Stanish who served served as Steven's first Spiritual Director. Fr. Chris...

Ordination Day finally arrived! The day Steven has been preparing for these last 6 years - and even his last 28 years - came and with it a full cascade of moments, memories and emotions. Steven and Dad review the Ordination mass itself and various highlights of the day. Also discussed are particular moments that stuck out for each. Key among these were the anointing of Steven's hands with the Chrism oil, Steven being vested by Fr. Mike and then concelebrating his first m...

Steven graduated from Sacred Heart Major Seminary and with that, ended 23 consecutive years of schooling! Steven took this time to reflect back on his academic priestly formation which began in 2018 at Mundelein Seminary. The transition from college where he studied Mathematics to the seminary and Philosophy proved more challenging than expected. Figuring that the logic and mathematical thinking would easily segue into philosophy, Steven discovered things more challenging. Ste...

[Production note: apologies for the imbalance of the sound on this episode.] Steven was in town for Easter and got to serve as a deacon during the Triduum at his home parish. Before the Easter break Steven partook in his final Scrutiny with the Bishop. This was a time to check in and make certain that there was no ambiguity at all. One last set of Final Exams await Steven as he wraps up his seminarian career. He has an upcoming 2 day comprehensive exam, the first ...

Last month we discussed how during his final semester Steven has been practicing administering the various sacraments. Over the past month Steven was able to perform several "practice" confessions with his brother seminarians. Afterwards, Steven and his classmates were able to review each other's styles. We discuss the challenges that lay people face with the sacrament of Reconciliation. Regular confession helps aid the conscience and allows it to be better formed....

With Priestly Ordination right around the corner, Steven started his final semester at school. This period of time is unique in that it offers the opportunity to prepare and pray through the mass and the sacraments. His "Mass Practicum" class during this final semester of formation involves practicing reciting the mass parts. It's been an edifying experience going through this with his brother seminarians. Steven and his brother seminarians have also practiced conf...

Steven is home for the Christmas Break. At the beginning of the break he went shopping for a chalice. For Steven it is important to choose a chalice that reveals the beauty of what is happening during consecration. The priests actions at the altar and the chalice gives a message. It can serve as a catechesis. When choosing, there are guidelines for chalices. These Guidelines can be found in General Instruction on the Roman Missal. At the start of th...

After a quick visit home during the Thanksgiving Break, Steven is back at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit. Steven is in the middle of a Marian Consecration that he is SHARING with several fellow seminarians. This consecration is timed with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th. Steven first learned about the Marian Consecration while in college and was initially resistant to the idea. During the Summer after his first semester in seminary, S...