"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman
took and mixed in with three measures of flour until
all of it was leavened." Matthew 13:33
took and mixed in with three measures of flour until
all of it was leavened." Matthew 13:33
Life is Good: A Remembrance of Fr. Tom Prag, S.J.
Originally published in E-Leaven, October 27, 2009, Issue 17
by Jim Garcia
I first met Fr. Tom Prag about 15 years ago when he arrived in Denver after he finished his assignment at the Sacred Heart Retreat House in Sedalia. At the time, Fr. Tom shared with me that he was hoping to establish a small Jesuit community in one of Denver’s Latino neighborhoods, and he wanted to know if I could show him around town so that he could find a house that was best suited for his “yet to be defined” ministry. He finally settled on a property near Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on Lipan street that had three separate buildings – to say that these properties were run down would be a huge understatement. The roofs leaked, the floors were sunken in and the walls were crumbling inside and out. But like Charlie Brown and his Christmas tree, Fr. Tom saw the potential in these buildings and decided that they were a perfect fit for his purpose.
And what was his purpose?? Fr. Tom’s purpose was, quite simply, to be present to our community and listen to the families that formed the community. In his own quiet and unassuming way, he became part of the fabric of our community. It was this approach that helped to bring people together in support of a common purpose and it was this approach that resulted in the birth of Escuela de Guadalupe, Denver’s first dual-language school.
One of Fr. Tom’s favorite activities was to walk down the street to the home of Tina and Ramon Villegas to have coffee and practice his Spanish. He was a diligent student, and he was bound and determined to give a complete homily in Spanish, (which he did!). But he was even more diligent about connecting with people as they went about their daily lives.
He spent the first several months walking the neighborhood, saying mass, visiting with families, offering blessings to anyone who asked and sometimes blessings to those who didn’t ask. Blessings were Fr. Tom’s specialty, whether it was a blessing for a Guadalupe statue or a special blessing for a Ford truck with Guadalupe mud-flaps -- he would give you his undivided attention
When my wife Gloria and I asked Fr. Tom to be the Godfather of our daughter Sofia, he was stunned and flattered all at the same time. After getting approval from his provincial in St. Louis, Fr. Tom embraced the role of “padrino” with gusto. After Fr. Tom moved away from Denver to become the Director of Formation in Minneapolis, we kept in regular contact, whether it was through e-mail or a short note on the back of a cartoon, that he found to be hilarious and that we only sometimes got. For Sofia, her nino Tom would always have a special place in her heart.
The day after Fr. Tom passed away, our family felt compelled to pay a visit to Fr. Tom’s long-time friend, Br. Al Dorsey. As we were driving down I-25, the reality of losing our dear friend just starting to sink in, a bright, yellow jeep pulled in front of us – the tire cover on the back of the jeep had the “Life is Good” slogan in big, bold letters. My wife and I turned to each other as we recalled Fr. Tom showing up at our house many times wearing his yellow baseball hat that also had the “Life is Good” slogan. With the image of his broad smile and his contagious laugh fresh on our minds, we could almost hear Fr. Tom saying, “Life is Good brother, and eternal life is really, really good”!