Category Archives: Catholic

“Love is the core. Love is what lasts. Love is what never dies” – Fr. Patrick Collins

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NOTE: We haven’t posted an interview in over a year for two reasons: (1) We took a sabbatical. It’s exhausting being love in a world that seems to prefer hate. But now’s not the time to wither; it’s the time to be more loving, to build sturdier bridges, to ask, “How may I help you?”, and (2) we lost our wonderful professional transcriptionist. So transcribing each interview takes us much, much longer than it used to.

But we’re back…ready to love, build, and ask.

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In June of 2018, The Only Love Project’s Bill Murphy (BM) conducted the following interview with Fr. Patrick Collins (FP) at his beautiful home near Lake Michigan.

And when I write “beautiful,” I mean it. We sat on the deck that overlooks a lush, well manicured lawn and flowers, a slight breeze tinkling the wind chimes, the sound of running water from nearby fountains gurgling and bubbling.

It was an idyllic spot for the conversation that follows.

And what follows is an eloquent, fascinating interview not only about love, but also about the life of one of the most genuine people I’ve ever known. Enjoy!

BM: What would you like others to know about you?

FP: Well, I’m almost 82 years old, and I was born in Peoria, Illinois, raised in a small farming community called Wyoming.

I was a Protestant when I grew up; I became a Catholic during Continue reading →

“If you love you are not going to want to hate. It’s just not going to be compatible.” – Br. Paul Quenon

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This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Merton.

Merton (1915-1968) was a writer, contemplative, mystic, social activist, artist, photographer, and Trappist monk at The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani not far from Louisville, Kentucky.

Despite living in a cloistered monastery – eventually living by himself in a small building called The Hermitage about a mile form the monastery – his influence extended around the world…and continues to this day.

We were going to wait until the exact BrotherPaulday of Merton’s birth [January 31] to post this interview; however, what Brother Paul Quenon, a former student of Merton’s, had to say couldn’t wait any longer.

NOTE: This interview with Br. Paul [BPQ] was conducted by The Only Love Project’s Bill Murphy [BM] on October 28, 2014, at the Abbey. All photographs (except for the Merton book cover, the Casey book cover, and the photo of Father Louis) were taken by Bill.

BM: Please tell us your background. What would you like others to know about you?

BPQ: Oh, well, I am a monk, and I have been here [at the Abbey] most of my life. I love singing, and I do pretty well at that — get a lot of energy out of choir — and I like to read and read pretty broadly, and do a little bit of writing. I don’t write whole lot, but I have published six books of poetry, yeah, then produced a few anthologies, so I think some influence from Father Louis could be seen there. I refer to Thomas Merton as Father Louis because that was his name here in the monastery, so you will just have to bear with my habits.

BM: That’s great.

BPQ: And I cook and love being outdoors, and if I can’t be Continue reading →

“Love can open doors, knock down walls, penetrate the enemy, feed the hungry, heal the sick” – Louis St. August

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On December 13, 2013, the Only Love Project’s Bill Murphy (BM) called Louis St. August (LSA), vocalist for the legendary Boston-area melodic-rock band MASS.

The transcript of our conversation is printed below. Enjoy.

And thanks again, Louis!

LSA: Hello?

BM: Is this Louis?

LSA: Yes, it is.

BM: Louis, this is Bill Murphy calling.

LSA: Hey Bill, how are you?

BM: Doing great. How are you?

LSA: I’m good, thanks. How is it over there in, where are you living – Ohio?

BM: Michigan, Grand Rapids.

LSA: Michigan, Michigan.

BM: Yep.

LSA: So you must be experiencing the cold weather as we are here in Boston.

BM: [laughs] I don’t know what you’ve had in Boston, but I know what we’ve had throughout the Midwest here. It hasn’t been pretty. You guys having the same kind of crappy weather?

LSA: We are. It’s been little flurries, it’s been very cold, in the 20s, and we’re expecting a little snowstorm tomorrow, 8-10 inches, or 8-12 they’re predicting.

BM: Wow.

LSA: Yeah, everybody’s going to run out to the stores and buy that milk and bread because the end of the world is coming. [laughs]

Louis DoorwayBM: [laughs] Well, I appreciate your time tonight. I’ve been a fan for well over two decades, since the mid ‘80s.

LSA: Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah, we’ve chatted quite a bit on Facebook, and if I recall maybe back in MySpace days.

BM: Yes. Yep.

LSA: I think, if I remember correctly. I try to remember everybody, but it’s kinda hard.

BM: [laughs] Well, I appreciate it. I approached you for an interview for The Only Love Project because of your posts on Facebook. Everything about you seems so positive. Same for your band. So, I thought you’d be a great candidate to share that with people.

LSA: Thank you.

BM: The first question is, Briefly tell us about your background. What would you like others to know about you?

LSA: Well, I guess this: Continue reading →